FLORIDA - SENATOR MARCO RUBIO eNEWSLETTER

 

This Week in the Office of Senator Marco Rubio  On Wednesday, I joined News4Jax’s Morning Show to discuss Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination to the Supreme Court, NATO, and the latest on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Watch the full interview here .  On Wednesday, I joined Newsmax’s Rob Schmitt Tonight to discuss President Biden’s decision to reduce reliance on Russian oil, the Biden Administration’s declaration that Russia has committed war crimes, and more. Watch the full interview here .  On Thursday, I sent a letter to Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Isabella Guzman demanding answers on the significant backlog of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness applications. I specifically raised concerns that businesses in majority-minority zip codes had some of the lowest loan forgiveness rates in the country.  Read more here .  On Thursday, I published an op-ed in Breitbart News discussing the ongoing border crisis created by the Biden Administration, and how it will only get worse if the administration revokes the pandemic-era Title 42 authority. Read the op-ed here .  On Friday, Senator Leahy (D-VT) and I sent a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to use his Fiscal Year 2023 budget requests for the U.S. Department of Defense, Department of State, and U.S. Agency for International Development to send a clear message that the United States has a comprehensive strategy to counter the Chinese Communist Party’s expanding global influence and the increasing threat it poses to U.S. security interests and those of our allies and partners. Read more here .  On Thursday, I sent a letter to U.S. Government Accountability Office Comptroller General Gene Dodaro requesting a review on how the states, localities, and tribes spent $350 billion in Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds included in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Read more here .  On Thursday, Senators Mike Lee (R-UT), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Rick Scott (R-FL), James Lankford (R-OK), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Ron Johnson (R-WI), and I sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland urging the Department of Justice (DOJ) to formally recognize and reprioritize the threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to the national security of the United States. Read more here .    On Wednesday, Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Jim Risch (R-ID), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and I applauded the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations’ passage of our bipartisan United States-Ecuador Partnership Act of 2022 . Read more here . Last Friday, Senators John Barrasso (R-WY), Mike Braun (R-IN), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Ted Cruz (R-TX), John Hoeven (R-ND), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), James Lankford (R-OK), Mike Lee (R-UT), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Rick Scott (R-FL), and I filed an amicus brief in support of the petition for certiorari in Dr. A. v. Hochul , filed by The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and the Thomas More Society. Read more here .  Last Friday, Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and I, along with bipartisan members of the Senate NATO Observer Group, sent a letter to President Joe Biden ahead of his trip to Europe to participate in the NATO summit. Read more here .  Last Friday, I published an op-ed in the Washington Post discussing the Moscow-Beijing axis and why it is critical that the U.S. condemn the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to support Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Read the op-ed here .  On Thursday, I joined José Alfonso Almora on Exitos 107.1 FM, Miami to discuss the Senate’s unanimous passage of my Sunshine Protection Act , Putin’s war on Ukraine and why I oppose U.S. enforcement of a no-fly zone, the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, TPS for Venezuelans, and the Cuban regime’s unjust sentences against minors who participated in the historic July 11th protests. Read more here .  On Wednesday, I joined MegaNews and La Zeta 92.3FM, Miami, to discuss the Biden Administration’s disastrous decision to send emissaries to meet with Venezuelan narco-dictator Nicolás Maduro. I also spoke about my bill to ban oil and natural gas imports from Iran and Venezuela. Watch the full interview here .  Legislation Introduced On Tuesday, I led Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Jim Risch (R-ID), Dick Durbin (D-IL), James Lankford (R-OK), and Chris Coons (D-DE), in introducing legislation to reauthorize the independent, bipartisan United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) through fiscal year 2024. Read more here . On Wednesday, I joined Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS) and colleagues in introducing the Prohibiting Religious Exemption and Accommodations Databases Act .  The bill would prohibit federal agencies from sharing, disclosing, or disseminating information concerning a religious accommodation request by a federal employee beyond the minimum necessary to process the request. Read more here .    On Thursday, I introduced the Deterring Errant Behavior Risking International Space  Act , legislation that would impose sanctions on foreign actors that recklessly create space debris, which endangers American operations in orbit. Read more here .  On Thursday, I led Senators Tom Cotton (R-AR), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Ron Johnson (R-WI), James Lankford (R-OK), and John Barrasso (R-WY) in introducing legislation to reauthorize the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act for twelve years, until December 31, 2034. Read more here .  On Thursday, Senators Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), James Lankford (R-OK), and I, along with 19 colleagues, introduced a Congressional Review Act joint resolution of disapproval to overturn a Biden Administration regulation that creates a loophole allowing elective abortion coverage in taxpayer-funded Affordable Care Act health exchange plans. Read more here .  In Case You Missed It… “Rubio to file bill to punish countries like Russia for space debris” (Orlando Sentinel , 3/23/2022) “Rubio seeks answers from SBA on PPP forgiveness after Herald series on unforgiven loans” (Miami Herald , 3/24/2022) “Marco Rubio Warns Florida University, College Presidents of Chinese Espionage” (Florida Daily , 3/20/2022) “Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said such an attack could trigger NATO's Article 5, which requires a collective defense in the event of an attack on any member.” (Senators mull the unthinkable: Putin detonating a nuclear bomb, NBC News , 3/22/2022)  “Florida U.S. Senator Marco Rubio says U.S. companies including banking, telecom and oil and gas, are potential targets of Russian cyberattacks and need to be on high alert.” (Florida AG issues alert for potential Russian cyberattacks, WiOD South Florida , 3/22/2022) “Marco Rubio: Feds Should Examine How Pandemic Impacted Student Outcomes, Well-Being” (Florida Daily , 3/21/2022)   “Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) tweeted that Putin's objective was ‘no longer to take over most of Ukraine’ but to achieve a ceasefire ‘on terms he will claim are a strategic victory’ by annexing the southern coast, laying siege to Kyiv and other major cities in the north, and degrading Ukraine's military and industrial capabilities.” (Putin’s Plan B, Axios , 3/21/2022) “Sen. Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, led the letter pushing back on [the Department of Justice’s decision to shutter the China Initiative,] with signatories also including fellow GOP Sens. Mike Lee, Bill Cassidy, Ted Cruz, Rick Scott, James Lankford, Ron Johnson, and Cynthia Lummis.” (GOP urges Garland to bring back DOJ’s China Initiative, Washington Examiner , 3/24/2022) “Florida's own U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio introduced the bill, which drew many co-sponsors from both major political parties.” (Spring forward? Fall back? Let's quit switching and keep the same time all year | Our View, TC Palm , 3/25/2022) 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 .  Keep up with me on Facebook and Twitter.