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Accomplishments

Delivering Results

Key Topics

Key Topics

Annual Legislative Accomplishments Report
Affordable Housing
Child and Family Policy
China
Constituent Service Award
Defense
Disaster Recovery
Everglades
Offshore Drilling
Puerto Rico
Small Business
Veterans
Western Hemisphere

Veterans

ready to assist our veterans

From passing landmark legislation to assisting veterans with benefit questions, Senator Marco Rubio and his team are ready to assist our veterans and their families.

Senator Rubio speaking at U.S. Senate
Senator Rubio speaking at U.S. Senate

Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics

In 2022, Rubio’s multi-year effort to help veterans suffering from toxic burn pit exposure finally became law. The Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act will streamline the process for veterans to obtain benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The new law got its start from a 2021 bill introduced by Rubio and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), the Presumptive Benefits for War Fighters Exposed to Burn Pits and Other Toxins Act. Details on how to apply for benefits can be found here.

help to tens of thousands of Marines

The new law also provides long overdue help to tens of thousands of Marines, military family members, and civilian staff who developed severe illnesses due to contaminated drinking water at Camp Lejeune.

In 2017, Rubio’s VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act became law, giving the VA secretary the power to fire and dismiss bad employees and to protect those whistleblowers who come forward.

Senator Rubio speaking at U.S. Senate
Senator Rubio speaking at U.S. Senate

an unmistakable signal

“Credit is due to Senator Marco Rubio for championing this bill,” Concerned Veterans for America said. The Veterans of Foreign Wars “saluted” Rubio and praised the bill for sending an “unmistakable signal to all employees that maintaining the status quo no longer works for those who have borne the battle.”

Throughout his time in the Senate, Rubio has fought to ensure our veterans are welcomed in the workforce when they return home. In 2014, he made it easier for veterans to become certified mariners. And in 2020, Rubio’s Supporting Veterans in STEM Careers Act became law, assisting veterans re-entering the workforce by directing the National Science Foundation to encourage veterans to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM).

Rubio has also shown his commitment to honoring those veterans whom the United States should not forget. In 2020, Rubio led legislation to rename the St. Augustine VA Clinic after Private First Class Leo C. Chase, Jr., the first man from St. Johns County to be killed in the Vietnam War. That same year, Rubio led legislation to waive statutory limitations and posthumously award the Medal of Honor to Sergeant First Class (SFC) Alwyn Cashe. Former President Donald Trump signed the legislation in December 2020, and President Joe Biden awarded the medal to SFC Cashe in December 2021.

Rubio’s award-winning constituent services team has also helped countless veterans as they navigate the process of securing benefits to which they are rightly entitled. For example, in 2019, a homeless veteran in Orlando was denied assistance due to a bureaucratic error. The veteran contacted Rubio’s office. Staff members confirmed his homeless status to the VA, which made the housing program in question available. He was able to move into an apartment on Veterans Day weekend.