This Week in the Office of Senator Marco Rubio On Thursday, I praised the agreement between the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to begin construction of the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) Storage Reservoir. The Project Partnership Agreement allows for the construction of the EAA Storage Reservoir, which was authorized as part of the Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP) thanks to my efforts. In 2020, I secured a provision in the Water Resources Development Act of 2020 to force the Army Corps to move forward with construction of the EAA Reservoir, after the Army Corps bureaucracy ignored Congressional intent and delayed the project. The agreement to initiate construction of the Federal portion of the Reservoir was made possible by my efforts. Read more here.  Last Saturday, I participated in an event commemorating the sixtieth anniversary of the Bay of Pigs Invasion and honoring the heroes of Brigade 2506. Ahead of the anniversary, I introduced a bipartisan resolution highlighting the importance of continuing "to support policies that promote the respect for democratic principles, civil liberties, freedom and justice in Cuba, in a manner consistent with the aspirations of the Cuban people." Read more here.  On Tuesday, I announced members of my Judicial Advisory Commission (JAC) for the 117th Congress. The JAC closely resembles my bipartisan commission for the 116th Congress. Prior to that, I partnered with then-Senator Bill Nelson for eight years on a similar bipartisan commission. Read more here.  On Wednesday, I published an op-ed in The Washington Times discussing my efforts to defend Florida’s natural resources and the need for policymakers to focus on bipartisan, realistic climate solutions. Read the full article here.  On Tuesday, I joined A Business Minute with Lily López, hosted by The South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (SFLHCC), to discuss my bipartisan legislation to make Daylight Saving Time (DST) permanent across the country, my support for Amazon’s workers, the reintroduction of my bicameral MMEDS Act, and the importance of small businesses. Watch the full interview here.  On Wednesday, I joined Mornings with Maria to discuss Biden’s upcoming climate summit, woke corporations, the border crisis, and more. Watch the full interview here.  On Monday, I joined 17 Republican Senators in sending a Dear Colleague letter to pledge our commitment to uphold a ban on earmarks. Read more here.  On Monday, I sent a letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) about Sodexo, a French company that the U.S. House of Representatives currently employs to provide dining services. Sodexo has a long list of disturbing scandals and anti-worker abuses that it has allegedly committed over the course of its existence. Sodexo recently signed on to a hypocritical statement condemning voter identification laws, and one of its executives called for further action from corporations to meddle in politics. Read more here.  On Monday, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) and I, along with Republican members of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, sent letters to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Inspector General Mike Ware, and SBA Administrator Isabel Guzman requesting their immediate attention and investigation into the unlawful participation of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Read more here.  On Tuesday, Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV), James Lankford (R-OK), and I, along with 20 bipartisan colleagues and members of the Senate Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Anti-Semitism, urged President Joe Biden to expeditiously nominate a qualified Ambassador to monitor and combat Anti-Semitism in order to confront the rising level of Anti-Semitism worldwide. Read more here.  On Tuesday, Senators Jim Risch (R-ID), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and I sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken ahead of this week’s Organization of the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Conference on States Parties. In the letter, we expressed support for enforcing the international norm against the use of chemical weapons, particularly as it relates to the Assad regime’s illegal use of chemical weapons in Syria. Read more here.  On Wednesday, I issued a statement after the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations voted to pass the Strategic Competition Act of 2021. I voted in favor of the legislation, which contained some of the amended provisions which I offered. Read more here.  On Thursday, Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) and I were joined by Congresswoman Jenniffer González-Colón (R-PR) and Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart (R-FL) in sending a letter to Acting FEMA Administrator Bob Fenton urging the agency to work with the government of Puerto Rico to establish a federally supported mass COVID-19 vaccination site, or propose and implement alternative measures to support vaccine uptake. Read more here.  On Thursday, Senator Jim Risch (R-ID) and I were joined by 19 colleagues in sending a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressing concern for the Biden Administration’s recent decision to resume U.S. foreign assistance funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Read more here.  On Thursday, Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and I led eight of our colleagues in a bipartisan letter urging U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Acting Administrator Liz Richter to prioritize protection of and maintain the six protected classes policy in Medicare Part D to ensure the most medically complex patients have access to life-saving and life-sustaining medications. Read more here.  On Thursday, Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) and I, along with 114 colleagues from the Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, sent a bicameral letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Acting Commissioner Janet Woodcock recommending against easing restrictions on mail delivery of mifepristone, a chemical abortion drug, during the pandemic. Read more here. 
Legislation Introduced- On Tuesday, I reintroduced the Medical Manufacturing, Economic Development, and Sustainability (MMEDS) Act , which would encourage companies currently producing medical devices and pharmaceuticals abroad to relocate to the U.S. Read more here.
- On Wednesday, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and I introduced the Protecting Military Installations and Ranges Act of 2021 , a bill to prohibit adversaries from acquiring land near military bases, which they could use to monitor U.S. armed forces activities and put military installations at risk. Read more here.
- On Wednesday, Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and I introduced the Built to Last Act to help local communities and private firms build stronger and more climate-resilient infrastructure that will better withstand extreme weather events. Read more here.
- On Thursday, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and I reintroduced a bipartisan bill to direct the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Secretary of the Treasury — acting through the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) — to conduct a study on the United States’ overreliance on foreign countries and the impact of foreign direct investment on the U.S. pharmaceutical industry and DNA analysis industries. Read more here.
- On Thursday, I joined Senators Mike Braun (R-IN), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Senate colleagues in introducing the Growing Climate Solutions Act, which would assist farmers, ranchers, and foresters in accessing voluntary environmental mitigation credit markets. Read more here.
- On Thursday, I joined Senators Rick Scott (R-FL) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) in introducing a resolution honoring the efforts of Cuban democracy and human rights activist José Daniel Ferrer and the vital contribution and humanitarian efforts of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU). The resolution condemns Cuba's brutal authoritarian Communist regime and calls for the international community to stand with the Cuban people in their fight for freedom. Read more here.
In Case You Missed It...“Marco Rubio: Our communities are counting on bipartisan work, not a war of words” (The Washington Times, 04/21/21) “Florida US Senator Marco Rubio and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said the spirit of the veterans who lost their lives forever lives on. ‘Every time, as you remember them in the conversations you’ve had with them, you realize, their battleground was in Cuba. The cost was really freedom,’ said Rubio.” (Government Officials, Veterans Mark Bay Of Pigs 60th Anniversary In South Florida, CBS 4 Miami, 04/17/21) “‘I can’t think of a better American alive to serve in this role,’ said Sen. Marco Rubio (R) Florida, who introduced Nelson at the confirmation hearing.” (Ex-Sen. Bill Nelson one step closer to becoming head of NASA, Bay News 9, 04/21/21) “Rubio, Warren Plan Directs Feds to Review U.S. Reliance on Foreign Countries for Pharmaceuticals” (Breitbart, 04/22/21) “Republicans, like Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, say potential solutions need to protect rights and be effective. ‘Look, I think everyone is horrified any time innocent people are killed by gun violence and I think the answer to this problem has to be things that work,’ Rubio said.” (‘This violence must end’: Calls for action on Capitol Hill after latest mass shooting, WFLA Tampa Bay, 04/16/21) “Fifteen Senate Republicans, including Sens. Mike Lee of Utah, Ted Cruz of Texas, Mitt Romney of Utah, Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Josh Hawley of Missouri, and Marco Rubio of Florida, signed a letter on Monday pledging to vote against repealing the conference's earmarks ban. ” (Senate GOP says 'no' to pork and upholds earmark ban, Washington Examiner, 04/21/21) “Rubio slams US companies over China ‘hypocrisy’” (Fox Business, 04/21/21) “Food fight: Rubio targets House Sodexo contract over voting rights support” (Roll Call, 04/19/21) “Democratic nations around the world were urged not to ‘stand idly by’ while the horrific abuses continued. US Senator Marco Rubio praised some of them for calling out China’s brutal persecution of the Uyghurs, but called on sustained pressure to ‘hold the CCP to account.’” (The Ayes Have It, The Ayes Have It! UK Parliament Says It’s Genocide, Bitter Winter, 04/23/21) “Marco Rubio, Rick Scott, Byron Donalds Sound the Alarm on PPP Funds Going to Planned Parenthood” (Florida Daily, 04/19/21) |
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