This Week in the Office of Senator Marco Rubio
On Tuesday, I spoke at a Senate Committee on Foreign Relations hearing on Afghanistan, where I told Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the Biden Administration’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan is evidence that “we've got the wrong people making military and diplomacy decisions in our government.” Watch my full remarks here.
On Tuesday, I joined Hannity to discuss the Biden Administration’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan and my call for General Mark Milley to be immediately fired following reporting that suggests he circumvented the civilian chain of command. Watch the full interview here.
On Tuesday, I sent a letter to President Joe Biden calling on him to immediately fire Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley. Read more here.
On Friday, I led members of the Florida congressional delegation in urging Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra to reverse course on the department’s sudden decision to ration monoclonal antibody (mAb) drugs for the outpatient treatment of COVID-19, which will cause the State of Florida to face a severe deficit of doses. Read more here.
On Thursday, Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) and I released a joint statement after Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Charles Rettig affirmed that payments given by charitable organizations or directly by members of the public to victims in response to the tragic collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida are tax exempt. Earlier this month, we requested that the IRS provide clear guidance regarding the tax treatment of charitable gifts. Read more here.
On Tuesday, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and I published an op-ed in Newsweek expressing the urgent need to pass our Presumptive Benefits for War Fighters Exposed to Burn Pits and Other Toxins Act, which would provide medical benefits for veterans suffering as a result of toxic burn pit exposure while deployed overseas. Read the full article here.
On Tuesday, I published an op-ed in First Things urging Washington to turn away from economic policies that buy off Americans with cash payments and instead strive to provide dignified work for all Americans. Read the full article here.
On Monday, I spoke on the Senate floor to honor the life of Richard Raymond Kinkoff III, who worked in my office for the past eight years. Watch the full remarks here.
On Wednesday, Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and I sent a letter to Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael J. Hsu raising concerns about Americans losing access to banking services due to their political affiliation or beliefs. Read more here.
On Wednesday, I was joined by Senators Rick Scott (R-FL), Thom Tillis (R-NC), John Hoeven (R-ND), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), John Boozman (R-AR), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Richard Burr (R-NC), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Tina Smith (D-MN), Bob Casey (D-PA), and Joni Ernst (R-IA) in sending a letter to the U.S. Department of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin requesting an exception “to allow the Defense POW-MIA Accounting Agency to proceed with immediate disinterment of the American service members who died in the 1945 Tokyo military prison fire and remain buried as Unknowns at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines.” Read more here.
On Thursday, I joined Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) and nine other senators in demanding answers from the CEO of Google, Sundar Pichai, on the company’s double standard in censoring pro-life Abortion Pill Reversal (APR) advertisements while continuing to allow advertisements for deadly chemical abortion pills. Read more here.
On Tuesday, I joined Luis Artemio on Univisión Orlando to discuss mask mandates, the importance of small businesses, and statehood for Puerto Rico. Read more here.
Legislation Introduced
- On Monday, I joined Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) and Congresswoman Jenniffer González-Colón (R-PR) in introducing a bicameral resolution commemorating the 500th anniversary of the founding of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Read more here.
- On Wednesday, I was joined by Senators Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) in introducing the Preventing Recognition of Terrorist States Act , which would direct the U.S. Secretary of State to designate the illegitimate Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan as a state sponsor of terrorism and the Taliban as a terrorist organization. Read more here.
- On Wednesday, Senators Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), and I introduced the Keep Children and Families Safe From Lead Hazards Act , which would direct the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to identify and remediate risk exposure to lead hazards, including lead wall paint and lead drinking water service lines, in Section 8 housing programs. Read more here.
- On Wednesday, Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) and I announced plans to reintroduce the New Parents Act, which creates a voluntary option for paid parental leave by allowing new parents to use a portion of their Social Security after the birth or adoption of a child. The bill also provides parents the flexibility to use their benefits in a way that works best for their household by allowing parents to combine their leaves, or transfer them to one parent. Read more here.
- On Monday, I joined Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Representative Kevin Brady (R-TX) in introducing the Tax Gap Reform and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Enforcement Act, which would protect taxpayers against Democrats’ efforts to monitor Americans’ bank accounts, place taxpayer finances in a surveillance dragnet, and provide massive, additional mandatory funding to the IRS for an army of IRS agents. Read more here.
In Case You Missed It...
“Marco Rubio and Kirsten Gillibran: Our Veterans Are Still Suffering” (Newsweek, 09/14/21)
“Marco Rubio: Honoring the Dignity of Work” (First Things, 09/14/21)
“WATCH: Rubio Blasts Biden Administration On Rationing Antibody Treatments, ‘Punishing Florida’: ‘It Has To Stop’” (The Daily Wire, 09/16/21)
“Rubio to propose designating Taliban a terrorist organization, its government a state sponsor of terrorism” (Fox News, 09/15/21)
“Rubio: Afghan Rapid Collapse Confirms ‘Wrong People Making Military And Diplomacy Decisions’” (The Floridian, 09/14/21)
“Sen. Rubio Demands Biden Fire Gen. Milley Over Secret Calls With Communist China” (The Federalist, 09/14/21)
“CIA director allays Sen. Marco Rubio’s TikTok fears” (The Washington Times, 09/16/21)
“Rubio, Warnock co-introduce bill to force HUD to inspect regularly for lead” (News4Jax, 09/15/21)
“‘It is dismaying that López Obrador overshadows the day of the Grito de Dolores by inviting the puppet of Raúl Castro to the celebrations in Mexico,’ tweeted Florida U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio in Spanish.” (Cuban leader’s Mexico trip highlights challenges for Biden’s foreign policy in the region, Miami Herald, 09/16/21)
“‘Russia and China want to weaken America and spread their malicious influence across the globe,’ said Senator Rubio in a statement to The Floridian. ‘We see them exploiting President Biden’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. And we see how they try to subvert the U.S. by propping up Marxist dictators in Venezuela, Cuba, and beyond. The Biden Administration should not turn a blind eye to the Marxist threat growing in our own backyard.’” (The Floridian, 09/10/21)
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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