This Week in the Office of Senator Marco Rubio On Tuesday, I released a statement after the Senate unanimously adopted my amendment to the Senate Budget Resolution that requires the Biden Administration to facilitate free, open, and uncensored access to the internet for the people of Cuba. Specifically, the amendment creates a Deficit Neutral Reserve Fund in the reconciliation bill to deploy internet to the island. Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) joined me in offering the amendment. Read more here and watch a video of my remarks prior to the vote here.  On Tuesday, I filed multiple amendments to the Senate Budget Resolution, including amendments to expand the pro-work Child Tax Credit, protect low-wage workers from non-compete agreements, protect property insurance rates, protect Americans’ genomic data, fully restore Florida’s Everglades, and prevent dangerous gain of function research. Read more here.  On Tuesday, I released a statement after voting against the 2,700-page Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which fails to responsibly address America’s infrastructure needs. Read more here.  On Monday, I sent a letter to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Marcia Fudge highlighting chronic unsanitary and unsafe living conditions at Hilltop Village Apartments in Jacksonville, Florida. I requested that the affected tenants be relocated to decent, safe, and sanitary housing. My letter further requests that HUD reform its inspection methodology to more accurately consider tenant living conditions at Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance properties. Read more here.  On Wednesday, I published an op-ed in RealClearPolitics discussing the historic, organic protests that broke out against the communist regime in Cuba over a month ago and explained what the United States must do to support the Cuban people as they continue their fight for freedom after more than sixty years of communist rule on the island. Read the full article here.  On Tuesday, I joined Eric Bolling on Newsmax TV to discuss infrastructure and my amendment to provide uncensored access to the internet for the Cuban people. Watch the full interview here.  On Monday, Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and I were joined by a bipartisan group of Senators in sending a letter to President Joe Biden expressing our deep concern with the political unrest and security crisis in Haiti following the heinous assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse and attack on First Lady Martine Moïse. Read more here.  On Friday, I joined Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) in sending a letter to Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen to renew our request that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States conduct a formal review of the transactions of Brazilian meatpacking conglomerate JBS S.A., its holding company J&F Investimentos, and any entity owned or controlled by Wesley and Joesley Batista. Over the last fourteen years, the conglomerate has become increasingly active in the United States food sector, acquiring numerous American companies. However, its expansion has largely been fueled by corruption, illicit financial activity, and unfair business practices that undermine legitimate methods of competition and harm U.S. companies and consumers alike. Read more here. 
On Monday, Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and I, along with 17 of our Senate colleagues, sent a letter to President Joe Biden urging the administration to dissuade the European Union (EU) from implementing a unilateral carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) and to instead work with the U.S. and other developed nations on climate and trade policies to address greenhouse gas emissions by the world’s worst polluters, including China. Read more here.  On Tuesday, as Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, I released a statement after opposing the nomination of Matt Olsen to be Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division. Read more here.  On Wednesday, Senators James Lankford (R-OK), Tom Cotton (R-AR), and I, along with U.S. Representative Andy Harris (R-MD) and a group of 80 bicameral legislators, sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Xavier Becerra demanding answers on why the Department of Justice dropped a lawsuit against the University of Vermont Medical Center. The center, which has received federal funds from HHS since 1998, forced a nurse to help perform an abortion against the nurse’s registered conscience objections and in clear violation of long-standing federal law. Read more here. 
Legislation Introduced- On Monday, Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Mike Braun (R-IN), and I introduced the Protect Equality and Civics Education (PEACE) Act , legislation that would prohibit federal funding to promote divisive concepts, such as Critical Race Theory, under the priorities outlined in the U.S. Department of Education’s American History and Civics Education program. Read more here.
- On Monday, Senators Rick Scott (R-FL), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Todd Young (R-IN), and I reintroduced the Protect Our Disabled Heroes Act of 2021 , a bill to protect our nation’s disabled veterans from unethical and unfair practices when applying for Veterans Administration (VA) disability claims. Read more here.
- On Monday, I joined Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Roger Wicker (R-MS), and a group of bipartisan colleagues in introducing a resolution marking the one-year anniversary of the fraudulent presidential election of Alexander Lukashenko for a sixth term in Belarus. The resolution calls for free and fair elections, reaffirms bipartisan support in the Senate for the Belarusian pro-democracy movement, free media, and condemns the Lukashenko regime’s continued acts of transnational repression. Read more here.
- Last Thursday, Senators Mike Lee (R-UT), James Lankford (R-OK), Steve Daines (R-MT), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Josh Hawley (R-MO), and I introduced a resolution expressing that the Senate should not pass legislation mandating the registration of women for the Selective Service System. Read more here.
In Case You Missed It...“Sen. Marco Rubio: Who are Democrats fighting for? Not you” (Washington Examiner, 08/13/21) “Sen. Marco Rubio: One Month Ago Cuba Changed Forever, But Now What?” (RealClearPolitics, 08/11/21) “The councilman’s visit came two days after Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, called for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to relocate tenants at the complex impacted by the mice infestation and electrical problems, among other sanitary and safety issues.” (I-TEAM: Carlucci finds ‘deplorable’ conditions at Jacksonville apartment complex, News4Jax, 08/11/21) “Rubio Memo Reminds ‘Reluctant’ Republicans That Dem Child Allowance Is A ‘Poverty Trap,’ ‘Precursor’ To UBI” (The Federalist, 08/10/21) “The Protect Equality and Civics Education Act, also known as PEACE Act, aims to prohibit federal funding that ‘promote divisive concepts,’ such as critical race theory (CRT). The legislation was introduced by a group of three Republicans that include Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer and Indiana Sen. Mike Braun.” (Republicans Introduce Bill Banning Funding For Critical Race Theory On Federal Level, Daily Caller, 08/10/21) “‘I support investing in roads, bridges, broadband, and efforts to mitigate against sea-level rise, and I hoped there would be a bill I could vote for,’ Rubio said. ‘But this bill was negotiated in secret, rushed through the process without meaningful opportunities to have input, and adds a net increase of $350 billion to the national debt. I can’t vote for a bill like that.’” (What Does Passage Of $1.2 Trillion Infrastructure Bill Mean For Miami-Dade?, CBS4 Miami, 08/11/21) Coming up…- My staff will host Mobile Office Hours next week to assist constituents with federal casework issues in their communities. More information and locations near you here.
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