Following Hurricane Milton’s catastrophic landfall, Governor Ron DeSantis has requested an Expedited Major Disaster Declaration to support Florida's response and recovery efforts. U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), U.S. Representative Vern Buchanan (R-FL), and members...
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Photos: Rubio Joins U.S. Coast Guard Post-Hurricane Milton
Following Hurricane Milton’s catastrophic landfall in Florida, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) joined the U.S. Coast Guard to survey impacted areas across the State. Photos are courtesy of Senator Rubio’s office. Senator Rubio joins the U.S. Coast Guard for a flyover...
Next Week: Rubio Staff Hosts Mobile Office Hours
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio’s (R-FL) office will host in-person Mobile Office Hours next week to assist constituents with federal casework issues in their respective local communities. These office hours offer constituents who do not live close to one of Senator Rubio’s...
Rubio, Scott Support Seminole Tribe’s Request for Pre-landfall Emergency Declaration for Milton
Major Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall in Florida, bringing with it devastating storm surge, winds, and inland flooding. The Seminole Tribe of Florida should have access to the federal resources required for emergency response and recovery preparations on...
Rubio, Scott to POTUS: Prepare for Hurricane Impacts to Port of Tampa Bay
Major Hurricane Milton is forecasted to potentially hinder or obstruct the Port of Tampa Bay, which receives more than 40 percent of Florida’s petroleum products. It’s crucial for the federal government to expedite all requested measures to protect Florida’s economy...
Rubio, Scott Support Florida’s Request for Pre-landfall Emergency Declaration Ahead of Hurricane Milton
Major Hurricane Milton is forecasted to impact Florida with devastating storm surge, winds, and inland flooding. After just being hit by Hurricane Helene, it’s crucial for the State of Florida to have the support of the federal government. U.S. Senators Marco Rubio...
ICYMI: Rubio: With Generosity and Compassion, We Could See an AIDS-Free 21st Century
Coming of age in the 1980s, I can remember the palpable fear and uncertainty that existed in the early years of the HIV and AIDS epidemic. For a long time, this diagnosis was not only a death sentence but one that came with a social stigma that its victims carried with them to their graves.
And then America was introduced to a young boy in Indiana named Ryan White, who had contracted the virus during a blood transfusion. He showed us that this is a virus that does not discriminate; it is one that impacts people of all ages, on all continents, of all races, and from all socioeconomic backgrounds. Ryan White showed us that every AIDS victim is a child of God, worthy of dignity and respect, and fighting the disease took on a moral dimension that had been absent.
Over time, the stories of Ryan White and other victims of HIV and AIDS created an important groundswell of support for policies to combat HIV/AIDS. A landmark law named after Ryan White has helped millions of Americans, including many low-income patients in Florida, receive the life-saving treatments they need. Early on in my Senate term, I saw firsthand how critical this program could be when we succeeded in pressuring the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services to clear the waiting lists of 8,600 patients in 13 states — including over 3,800 in Florida — for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program.
Throughout my time in the Senate, I have also seen one of the great successes of President George W. Bush continue to flourish: the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Among its many fruits, PEPFAR has single-handedly given millions of babies in Africa a life free of HIV/AIDS despite their mothers carrying the infection. America’s faith community deserves a great deal of credit for helping champion and implement this initiative — staffing clinics, mounting educational campaigns and working through the church and other religious institutions in Africa to combat this global scourge. Americans should be proud of the millions of lives we’ve been able to prolong and save as a result. Congress and the next president should continue to make PEPFAR a priority.
The most critical development in the fight against HIV and AIDS is how medical innovators from the U.S. and around the world have increased efforts to find a cure — one that is closer today than it’s ever been. Due to advances in medical science — as well as the humanitarian commitment of the American people — there are millions of people receiving HIV/AIDS medications and living longer, more productive lives that would otherwise be without hope. To be sure, the lives of people with HIV/AIDS are not easy, but medical advances have resulted in a transformational development once thought impossible in the 1980s and early 1990s: HIV/AIDS “victims” have become HIV/AIDS “survivors.”
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