FLORIDA - SENATOR MARCO RUBIO eNEWSLETTER

 

This Week in the Office of Senator Marco Rubio On Thursday, Senators Rick Scott (R-FL), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), and I introduced the Protecting Against Tyrants by Restoring Internet Access and Yielding Vital Interconnectivity in Designated Areas (PATRIA Y VIDA) Act. The Cuban regime’s censorship of internet access across the island during the historic July 11th protests in Cuba highlights the need for this groundbreaking legislation. The PATRIA Y VIDA Act would build a strategy to protect internet freedom worldwide and strengthen support for technologies that allow users to evade foreign government-backed censorship and restrictions. Read more here. On Wednesday, I joined The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show to discuss President Joe Biden’s “Build Back Socialist” spending plan, Democrats’ reconciliation bill, Cuba, and the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Listen to the full interview here. On Wednesday, I released a video message ahead of this weekend’s end of Daylight Saving Time, which forces Americans to change their clocks twice a year in an antiquated practice. Watch the video here. On Monday, I addressed the National Conservatism Conference in Orlando, Florida to discuss why "We Need Corporate Patriotism to Defeat American Marxism." Read my conference remarks here and my op-ed on corporate patriotism here. On Monday, Senators Ron Johnson (R-WI), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and I sent a letter to Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Jim Risch (R-ID), Chairman and Ranking Member, respectively, of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, expressing our concerns with President Joe Biden’s nomination of Dr. Amy Gutmann to be the U.S. Ambassador to Germany. Read more here. On Tuesday, I applauded the U.S. House of Representatives’ passage of S. 108, my bill to allow the Seminole Tribe of Florida’s investment fund to purchase, lease, and sell commercial real estate properties to create generational wealth for the Tribe and its members. Read more here. On Wednesday, I released a statement after the Federal Election Commission (FEC) ruled that federal election law did not prohibit foreign donors from financing support for or opposition to state ballot initiatives in the United States. Read more here. On Wednesday, Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and I, along with Representatives Albio Sires (D-NJ) and María Elvira Salazar (R-FL), applauded the U.S. House of Representatives’ passage of our bill, the Reinforcing Nicaragua’s Adherence to Conditions for Electoral Reform (RENACER) Act. Read more here. On Thursday, I issued a statement ahead of the sham regional elections in Venezuela scheduled for November 21, 2021. Read more here. On Thursday, I joined Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) and several other Republican senators in sending a letter to the heads of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the General Services Administration (GSA), and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to request immediate action to transition federal workers to resume in-person operations. Read more here. On Thursday, Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC), Rick Scott (R-FL), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Ben Sasse (R-NE), Jerry Moran (R-KS), and I sent a letter to the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) Dev Jagadesan asking whether the DFC is unwittingly aiding the Chinese Communist Party’s export of solar panels tainted with the forced labor of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic groups in Xinjiang. Read more here. On Thursday, Senator Rick Scott (R-FL), Congressman Neal Dunn (R-FL), and I sent a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack urging him to address ongoing staffing issues at the Farm Service Agency (FSA) office in Jackson County, Florida. Read more here. Legislation Introduced On Monday, Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) and I introduced the Senior Citizens’ Freedom to Work Act to repeal the Social Security Retirement Earnings Test (RET) to allow Social Security recipients that are below the full retirement age to earn private income without losing benefits. Read more here. On Tuesday, Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), and I, along with several bipartisan Senate colleagues, reintroduced legislation to extend the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) for five years, while instituting a series of sweeping reforms to bolster our nation’s resiliency and reduce flood risk to our communities. Read more here. On Tuesday, Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and I introduced the Protecting Sensitive Personal Data Act, legislation to expand the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Committee on Foreign Investment (CFIUS)’ oversight authority of transactions involving Americans’ sensitive personal data. Read more here. On Wednesday, Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA), John Kennedy (R-LA), Rick Scott (R-FL), James Inhofe (R-OK), and I reintroduced the Small Scale LNG Access Act. This legislation would expedite the approval of natural gas exports equal to or less than 51.1 billion cubic feet per year. Read more here. On Thursday, Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Maggie Hassan (D-NJ), and I introduced the Rachel Booth Act to fix a gap in the way that current law treats dependents of service members who have suffered from domestic abuse. Read more here. On Thursday, I joined Senators Jim Risch (R-ID), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), John Cornyn (R-TX), and Mitt Romney (R-UT) in introducing the Taiwan Deterrence Act, a bill that seeks to bolster deterrence across the Taiwan Strait and strengthen Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against military aggression and coercion from the Chinese Communist Party and its armed wing, the People’s Liberation Army. Read more here. On Thursday, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and I introduced the Strengthening Supply Chains for Servicemembers and Security Act to address the national security risk posed by the United States’ reliance on foreign entities for pharmaceuticals. Read more here. In Case You Missed It… “Rubio‘s ‘Patria y Vida’ bill seeks to counter internet censorship by repressive regimes” (Miami Herald, 11/5/21) “U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio went a step further, arguing in a virtual speech to the National Conservatism Conference in Orlando on Monday that Republicans should split from their connection to major corporations.” (Florida GOP lawmakers poised to take on big business over COVID-19 vaccine mandates, Orlando Sentinel, 11/4/21) “Rubio Pushes for Year-Round Daylight Saving Time” (Washington Free Beacon, 11/4/21) “Marco Rubio: Supply Chain Problems Show SBA Needs to Do More to Help Innovative Small Businesses” (Florida Daily, 11/3/21) “Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said he wants details from the SBA itself on how many loans the agency provided to Planned Parenthood affiliates and what criteria it used to determine eligibility.” (Republicans stall SBA nominee, citing Planned Parenthood loans, Muslim group, Roll Call, 11/4/21) “Rubio: 'It Isn't Even Left or Right Anymore. It's Crazy Versus Normal'” (CNS News, 11/4/21) “Sen. Rubio Decries Difference Between Candidate, President Biden” (Newsmax, 11/1/21) “Saying They Help Florida’s Economy, Marco Rubio Continues Push for National Aquaculture Standards” (Florida Daily, 11/1/21) “Marco Rubio Gets Secure Equipment Act Targeting Huawei, ZTE to Joe Biden’s Desk” (Florida Daily, 11/1/21) “Marco Rubio says big business is 'cooperating with Marxism' and is led by people who are the 'product of decades of anti-American indoctrination'” (Business Insider, 11/1/21) “One of the sponsors of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, Senator Marco Rubio, applauded Kanter for his courage to stand up, in a written statement delivered by a representative at the rally. ” (NBA Player Enes Kanter Leads Rally Against Uyghur Forced Labor, Voice of America, 10/31/21) 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. Keep up with me on Facebook and Twitter.