This Week in the Office of Senator Marco Rubio On Friday, I released a video message honoring Florida’s fallen police officers during National Police Week. Watch the video here.  On Tuesday, I spoke on the Senate floor regarding the Senate’s ongoing efforts to draft a bill to confront the challenges posed by the Chinese Communist Party. Read my full remarks here and watch the video here. 
On Tuesday, I joined Fox & Friends to discuss the success of Operation Warp Speed, the Colonial Pipeline cyberattack, labor shortages, and infrastructure. Watch the full interview here.  On Tuesday, I published an op-ed in Fox News discussing the historic success of Operation Warp Speed and how strong industrial policy serves our national common good. Read the full article here.  On Wednesday, I joined Fox News Primetime with Brian Kilmeade to discuss John Kerry’s testimony to Congress, the conflict between Israel and Hamas, and more. Watch the interview here.  Last week, I received an A+ rating from the 21Wilberforce’s International Religious Freedom (IRF) Congressional Scorecard for my continued defense and promotion of religious freedom worldwide. According to the nonpartisan scorecard, I earned the Senate’s top score in the 116th Congress (2019-2020). On Wednesday, I also issued a statement regarding the release of the U.S. State Department’s 2020 International Religious Freedom Report. Read more here.  Last Friday, I joined the Hugh Hewitt Show to discuss Taiwan, China, Brazil, Colombia, and woke corporations. Listen to the full interview here.  On Thursday, Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ed Markey (D-MA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), and I applauded the unanimous Senate passage of our resolution designating July 21, 2021 as Glioblastoma Awareness Day. The passage of this resolution builds on my work in Congress to promote advancements in the fight against cancer. Read more here.  On Thursday, Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and I sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urging her to use all available tools to hold accountable individuals linked to the Cuban regime who are “using an extensive network of shell companies to circumvent U.S. law.” Read more here.  On Friday, Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and I sent a letter to President Joe Biden urging his to administration to develop a comprehensive strategy that addresses the severe COVID-19 crisis in Latin America and the Caribbean and prioritizes vaccine access for developing countries in the Americas. Read more here.  On Monday, as Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights, and Global Women’s Issues, I joined Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, in issuing a joint statement after the Ortega regime in Nicaragua imposed new electoral reforms. Read more here.  On Monday, Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX), Todd Young (R-IN), John Barrasso (R-WY), and I sent a letter to Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, urging to halt the Congressional notification to move $2.5 million of taxpayer funds to establish John Kerry’s new Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate until former Secretary Kerry answers the Senators’ questions on his reported disclosure of covert Israeli actions against Iranian interests in Syria to Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Read more here.  On Wednesday, Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Todd Young (R-IN), and I sent a letter to the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai and U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo calling on the agencies to address the harmful retaliatory tariffs that inhibit trade of whiskey, other spirits, and wine between the United States, the European Union (E.U.), and the United Kingdom (U.K.). The letter comes as the European Union tariff on American whiskey is scheduled to double to 50 percent in June. Read more here.  On Wednesday, Senators Mark Warner (D-VA), John Cornyn (R-TX), and I sent a letter to Senators Gary Peters (D-MI) and Rob Portman (R-OH), Chairman and Ranking Member, respectively, of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, requesting that the Committee favorably report the Air America Act of 2021 to the full Senate as soon as possible. Read more here.  On Thursday, Senators Josh Hawley (R-MO), Rick Scott (R-FL), Tom Cotton (R-AR), and I welcomed the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs’ unanimous approval of our bill to ban TikTok on government devices. Read more here.  On Thursday, I joined Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Tom Carper (D-DE) in applauding the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs’ passage of the Safeguarding American Innovation Act . This bipartisan legislation seeks to help stop foreign governments, particularly China, from stealing American taxpayer-funded research and intellectual property. Read more here.  On Thursday, I joined Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR), Representative Ashley Hinson (R-IA), and colleagues in filing an amicus brief in Little Rock Planning Services v. Rutledge urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold Arkansas’s law banning elective abortions on unborn babies solely due to a Down syndrome diagnosis. Read more here.  On Wednesday, I joined Claudia Gurisatti on NTN24 to discuss the ongoing crisis in Colombia. Read more here and watch the video here. 
Legislation Introduced- On Tuesday, Senators Roger Marshall (R-KS), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Steve Daines (R-MT), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Tim Scott (R-SC), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), and I introduced the Get Americans Back to Work Act to repeal the increase in unemployment benefits brought on by President Joe Biden and Congressional Democrats. Earlier this year, without any Republican support, Democrats forced an additional $300 in weekly unemployment benefits, in turn allowing some Americans to receive more from unemployment than returning to work. This legislation follows the release of the Department of Labor (DOL) report showing an uptick in the unemployment rate to 6.1%, and employers only adding 266,000 jobs last month, despite widespread projections of more than one million jobs to be gained in April. Read more here.
- On Wednesday, I reintroduced the Safe Temperature Act, which would give the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) the ability to require properties receiving federal assistance to safely maintain temperatures between 71 and 81 degrees Fahrenheit. Read more here.
- On Wednesday, Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and I, along with U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (D-IL), introduced the bipartisan and bicameral Flood Mapping Modernization and Homeowner Empowerment Pilot Program Act of 2021. The bill would enhance the mapping of urban flooding to prevent associated damage and assist cities and towns with the tools they need to address flooding at the local level. Read more here.
- On Thursday, Senators Mike Rounds (R-SD), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and I introduced the Greatest Generation Memorial Act , legislation that would authorize the U.S. Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. Proceeds from coin sales will go toward much-needed repairs and maintenance at the Memorial and support commemorative and educational programming. Read more here.
- On Thursday, Senator Angus King (I-ME) and I led a bipartisan group of our Senate colleagues in reintroducing the Providing Resources for Emergency Preparedness and Resilient Enterprises (PREPARE) Act. The legislation would reauthorize the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Pre-Disaster Mitigation Pilot Program to give small businesses the opportunity to take out low-interest loans for the purpose of proactively implementing mitigation measures to protect their property from future disaster-related damage. Read more here.
- On Thursday, Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and I introduced the Small Business Child Care Investment Act. This bipartisan and bicameral legislation would make small non-profit child care providers eligible to participate in all loan programs available through the Small Business Administration (SBA) – the same opportunity currently provided to for-profit providers – thereby supporting these small businesses in expanding the availability of affordable, high-quality child care to more working families. Read more here.
In Case You Missed It...“Sen. Marco Rubio: Operation Warp Speed's success – this is the lesson we must learn as we work for common good” (Fox News, 05/11/21) “Rubio speech to House conservatives marks free-market evangelism's decline" (Washington Examiner, 05/12/21) “Sen. Rubio joins GOP lawmakers calling for federal unemployment benefits to end” (WFLA Tampa Bay, 05/13/21) “Rubio Comments on ‘Hacking Epidemic’ After Pipeline Cyberattack” (The Floridian, 05/12/21) “Sen. Marco Rubio saw our report and sent two of his investigators to interview tenants with whom we had spoken. After those interviews, the Senator sent a letter to HUD’s secretary demanding an investigation.” (I-TEAM: Tenant waits 359 days for city to take action after reporting mice infestation, News4Jax, 05/10/21) “More than 40 Republican senators led by Marco Rubio (Fla.) petitioned the White House late Wednesday to ‘immediately end negotiations with Iran, and make clear that sanctions relief will not be provided,’ according to a copy of that letter exclusively obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.” (Biden Pressed to Cancel Iran Talks as Tehran-Backed Terrorists Attack Israel, Washington Free Beacon, 05/12/21) “‘Why is anyone surprised that the jobs reports fell short of expectations?’ Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) tweeted on Friday. ‘I hear from #smallbusiness everyday that they can’t hire people because the government is paying them to not go back to work.’” (Unemployment Benefits Become Target Amid Hiring Difficulty, Wall Street Journal, 05/08/21) “Marco Rubio Takes to the Senate Floor to Call for Action Against Chinese Communist Party” (Florida Daily, 05/12/21) “Marco Rubio is Taking UFOs Seriously and He Thinks You Should Too” (Newsweek, 05/11/21) “‘The response was inadequate in the early stages. I think it’s gotten better but still not good enough,” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), vice chair of the intelligence committee, said in a brief interview. “It’s almost like the burden of proof is on these individuals, and given the nature of the injuries they’ve suffered, I don’t think it was initially treated the way it should’ve been.’” ('We owe this to our people': Lawmakers want answers on directed-energy attacks, POLITICO, 05/11/21) |
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