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This Week in the Office of Senator Marco Rubio
On Tuesday, I welcomed the announcement that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will facilitate free surge testing in Jacksonville, Florida, where there has been a recent increase of new cases and hospitalizations as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Read more here.
On Monday, as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, I released the following statement after the Trump Administration released publicly available data on the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The data disclosure reflects the bipartisan agreement with Committee leaders that balances proprietary information and the need for transparency. Read more here.
On Friday, as Vice Chairman and Acting Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Senator Mark Warner and I issued a joint statement regarding complaints the Committee receives pursuant to the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act (ICWPA). Read more here.
On Tuesday, as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, I requested that Attorney General William Barr conduct an immediate review into the Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s facially unlawful participation in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Read more here.
On Thursday, as author of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act which was recently signed into law by President Donald Trump, I released the following statement after the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced it has sanctioned four Chinese individuals, including senior Party Secretary, Chen Quanguo, and one government entity for grave human rights abuses against ethnic Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang . Read more here.
On Thursday, Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) and I, as Ranking Member and Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Foreign Relations that oversees Democracy and Human Rights, led 31 of our colleagues in a letter to Senate Leadership urging funding for the international response to COVID-19 be included in the next emergency supplemental package. Read more here.
On Wednesday, I released a statement after the Supreme Court issued a decision in Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul Home v. Pennsylvania that the Little Sisters of the Poor cannot be forced to provide free birth control to their employees by the government. In November 2019, I joined my colleagues in an amicus brief to request the Supreme Court hear the Little Sisters of the Poor’s case in order to protect them from the Obama-era HHS contraceptive mandate, which could force faith based organizations to violate their religious beliefs. Read more here.
In Case You Missed It...
“‘We know PPP has been a historic lifeline for more than 4.8 million small businesses,’ Rubio said in a statement. ‘It is clear that financial damage from the pandemic will continue to impact small businesses even as the economy re-opens.’” (The Paycheck Protection Program saved 3.2 million Florida jobs, according to SBA data, Miami Herald, 07/06/20)
“Senate Intelligence Committee acting Chairman Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Sen. Mark Warner (Va.), the top Democrat on the panel, are vowing to protect whistleblowers in the intelligence community from retaliation.” (GOP chairman vows to protect whistleblowers following Vindman retirement over 'bullying', The Hill, 07/10/20)
“U.S. Republican Senator Marco Rubio, who sponsored legislation signed by President Donald Trump in June that calls for sanctions over the repression of Uighurs, told Reuters the move was ‘long overdue’ and that more steps were needed.” (China says it will hit back against new U.S. sanctions over Uighur rights, Reuters, 07/09/20)
“Sen. Marco Rubio Urges AG Barr to Review Planned Parenthood PPP Loans” (Breitbart, 07/08/20)
“‘The uptick of COVID-19 cases in our state is certainly unsettling,’ Rubio said. ‘I am committed to making sure that Florida is equipped with widespread and accessible testing sites, which are critical to our ongoing efforts to mitigate this public health emergency.’” (HHS Opens COVID-19 Surge Testing Locations in Jacksonville, Florida Daily, 07/08/20)
“Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., introduced the Fairness in College Athletics Act last month, which would allow college athletes to profit from their names, images and likenesses.” (When will NCAA athletes get paid?, Fox Business, 07/06/20)
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