Fighting for Florida
It’s really an honor to be here with you guys. The theme and really the core mission of this organization it couldn’t have been more accurate name given the challenges that we face today, “Focus on the Family,” it’s almost pressing in its importance. I think sometimes the smarter we get as a country, as a society, as humanity, the dumber we realize we are. I think we’re back to that moment where issue after issue, and I mean issue after issue, we turn on the news almost every day and you ask yourself what’s happening domestically?
There’s a challenge in the country, whatever It might be. A horrible tragedy, where just in the last three months, a couple of young men go into schools and take the lives of 27 human beings in two different incidents. The runaway violence in different parts of the country, just issue after issue. You realize that it goes back to when you get back to the core every single one of them has a common theme, at some point, a breakdown in the family unit. Now we are learning more of what happened in Texas. But, we most certainly know that this killer in Parkland is an individual who had very significant home problems specially after the death of the mother and not to excuse it but just to tell you why focusing on the family is so critical.
The bottom line is families are the building blocks of our country, of a society. At its most basic level, and if you look at the most basic level of society it begins in the family. If the family is broken nothing else in society works well. It’s as I’ve said before, many times, it’s the fundamental unit of a society and not only that, it’s the most important institution in terms of passing down values of what’s right and what’s wrong. Laws can tell you what’s legal, laws cannot tell right and wrong. It is the institution that teaches you that there are absolute rights and absolute wrongs. There are things that are absolutely wrong and there are things that are absolutely right. There’s no law, no book, well there is one book that can teach you that. But there’s no degree, that sort of inculcating of values is what allows everything this country is about to flourish. Free enterprise works because while we have the opportunity to make money and prosperity we have for generations in this country deeply infused by Judeo-Christian values believed that we have an obligation to take care of one another and that did not necessarily mean government programs. It meant stepping forward in organizations in our community and to this day, despite all bad news, there’s a reason why any time any disaster faces our country or any tragedy you see Americans respond. I witnessed that twice just in the last year after Hurricanes impacted my state, where our state was flooded and people from all over the country who stepped forward to volunteer time and money.
I’m particularly grateful to the Southern Baptist Mission in North Carolina that were begging to be able to help and came down, they provided invaluable service. Nobody made them do it, there was no tax incentive to do it. Nobody paid them to do it, something compelled them to do it and that is the value and the believe that they had an obligation to care for their fellow men and women. To care for their fellow citizens. But by the way, they’ve also deployed in other countries. Which tells us that their faith infused them with the believe they have an obligation to care for all mankind, including those who may not share our national borders. That’s why the family is so vital to passing down those values from generation to generation. By the way strong families are also incubators of economic opportunity, financial security, and they generate what’s called the social capital upon which an economy such as ours can function and on which our constitutional republic by the way also depends. There is no replacement for the family, there’s nothing, no agency no government program that we can create that can replace the family.
We have great innovations in the 21st century, but for example, Facebook it might be able to help you find out what your high school and college friends are doing now, but there’s no way Facebook can raise children. It can’t help you with a place to stay while you’re in between jobs. Facebook can’t instill the values needed for a productive life or teach the difference between right and wrong. So I will tell you, that in many ways, the state of our union can be determined by the state of our “unions.” I don’t mean labor unions. I’m talking about the union of a strong nation with strong families. So it should be very concerning to everybody, all Americans that, even in the time of a growing economy, American family life is crumbling. Family formation is the last rite of passage into adulthood for our children and it’s increasingly suffering from a failure to launch. In the 1950s, fewer than 5 percent of children were born out of marriage.
Today, that number is over 40 percent, meaning almost half of the children in this country are born into a single parent home and in many cases into a family where the father is non-existent in the child’s life. Financially does not provide, emotionally does not provide and obviously is not part of the family unit in terms of teaching values. There’s a recent study by the Institute for Family Studies found that the number of married Americans ages 18 to 64 has hit an all-time low, with only 48 percent of all adults now are married, compared to 75 percent in 1960 and nearly 60 percent just less than 20 years ago in 2000. The failure to form families is most clear among younger Americans. Last year, only 26 percent of adults ages 18 to 34 were married, that’s down from 40 percent in 1990.
Just this week, the Centers for Disease Control announced that U.S. birthrates hit a 40-year low in 2017. And as the economy began accelerate even faster toward the end of last year; the provisional data suggests fertility began to fall even faster, confounding the historical relationship between the health of our economy and formation of new families and family members. At the same time, America is wracked by total dysfunction for what it means to have honorable, respectable men and women in the home, at the workplace, and in our churches and synagogues, in religion, by the way that’s if they even have faith as part of their life at all. There is no coincidence. Our deeper cultural and societal problems are the fruit of what has gone deeply wrong in American family life.
Gone are the days when our young men and women could expect good, stable jobs, a spouse, and children to provide the hallmarks of a productive life – no matter how good the statistics tell us our economy is. That is, I think, the crucial question for the social contract of the 21st century: can we re-invigorate an America where a working class family can afford a mortgage and three kids, like my parents and your parents were able to do? By the way, this is not the same question as whether “can we get 4 percent GDP growth in our economy?” or “how can we make everyone more upwardly mobile?” These are important questions to be asked, but they are not the questions that will determine the strength of America’s family values in the century to come. The question should matter greatly for those of us who consider ourselves to be conservatives. Where the family tree branches thin out, the appeal for bigger and bigger government grows stronger to step in.
Some of you might remember, in the 2012 election there was a commercial an ad by the Obama campaign, it was called the “Life of Julia” and this ad depicted a young woman whose every choice was either provided for or subsidized by the government from cradle to grave, with no family, or children, or broader community ever seen or even referenced. Without the personal and financial support of strong, close families, people are left to depend on the state on the government to fund and provide for those needs. We know that government has an important role to play, but government will never ever be able to fulfill our needs. Like our fundamental rights in this country, our families are given to us by our creator, by God. And so what really happens when we rely mostly on government to solve our problems, rather than empowering families, is a deep and pervasive sense of loneliness, which I think is a major driver of the toxic partisanship, division and polarization which characterizes our politics today.
Loneliness can drive someone to seek out community because we are all programed to seek community, by our Creator. When you’re lonely sometimes you seek out community in national politics, and you come to define yourself by who you voted for, what party you’re a part of, and you end up putting your faith in a human being, a mortal man or woman—flawed, stained with original sin. Putting our faith in politicians that, like government programs, will never be able to fulfill our hopes and dreams – instead of seeking community next door in our neighborhoods, or 30 minutes away at our grandmother’s house. Loneliness can drive some people to seek community based off ethnic pride, which at its extreme can lead to racism and violence. You do that in search of a familial sense of belonging to something that gives your purpose greater than yourself. Loneliness can drive us away from sharing our faith and country with our families, neighbors, and fellow countrymen, and into the anonymity where sin often flourishes.
I don’t mean to over exaggerate or sound catastrophic, but this is the state of the American family. If this is our reality, then we should stop at nothing to address it. And it’s with that in mind that as you go about your work, your activism, your engagement to fix broken families at the personal level, and to fix the conditions that create them at the national level that I wanted to be here to talk to you about it. It’s with that in mind that we must vigorously defend those institutions in society that empower the family to teach values and that’s why I strongly support religious liberty and our defense of it.
I was reading just this morning the story about Philadelphia. Catholic Social Services, which for years has run over 100 foster homes, recently was denied and stopped receiving new foster children from the City of Philadelphia because they won’t certify same-sex or unmarried couples as foster parents. They would prefer people in that situation to another agency but they themselves won’t recognize it, so they now, after all these years, will no longer be able to assist the children under their foster program. And I think that’s such a clear, recent example of how religious liberty and family values go hand-in-hand. Here, you have a government that would rather enforce a progressive, cultural value, and force it on a religious organization than give foster children a healthy home to grow up in. Many of our leaders wonder why American family life becomes increasingly dysfunctional, but the reasons are right there in front of us.
By the way, it’s with that in mind that I stood up for families in the United States Senate. We had our tax debate recently and there were many people, including some of the largest newspapers in America—the WSJ and others—who were very upset when we demanded we expand the Child Tax Credit as part of tax reform. Child Tax Credit, by the way, you can only get if you are working. You have to be working to be able to qualify for it.
How is it possible that the Republican Party can find hundreds of billions of dollars to give to multinational corporations, many of which care little about our country, but we fear cutting the taxes of hard-working families that are trying to make ends meet and provide for their children? If you work hard, pay your taxes, and start a family, you are doing immense good for our country in a time when we need stable families more than ever.
I believe that the preamble to the Constitution declares our purpose to “secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity” for a reason. So we have to put our money where our mouth is. We should defund Planned Parenthood – taking important steps wherever possible like the Administration’s recently-announced restrictions on Title X funding for abortion clinics – protect religious liberty from the opponents of faith, and allow the American people the freedom of conscience to believe and do what’s right.
But we should also expand the Child Tax Credit, bring back high-paying working-class jobs, and enact a conservative, fiscally-responsible parental leave policy that allows parents the option of using Social Security benefits early, when they have a child and cannot afford to take time away from work unpaid. I truly and deeply believe this is the agenda of the future, because it applies our timeless principles and to the gifts God has given us, and it applies to the challenges of our time.
Ultimately, we cannot have a strong country without strong people. We will not have strong people without strong families, and I am thankful that you are a partner in this fight of rebuilding America and strengthening it, not from the top down, but from the ground up. Parents, children, and families. Churches, synagogues and faith communities. That is truly how we restore America’s greatness. Thank you.
Safety Net Hospital Alliance Backs Rubio's Bill
Apr 30 2018
A PDF of the letter is available here.
April 25, 2018
The Honorable Marco Rubio
United States Senate
284 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Rubio,
I am writing to you in my capacity of incoming President of the Safety Net Hospital
Alliance of Florida (aka the Safety Net Alliance). Our members include Florida’s largest and most prominent public, teaching, children’s and regional perinatal care hospital systems.Despite representing just 10 percent of Florida’s hospitals, each year we provide one-fourth of Florida’s hospital care to senior citizens who are Medicare beneficiaries equaling over $4.6 billion netMedicare dollars. Our association would like to offer our enthusiastic support for S. 2690, Reforming Medicare Appeals Process Burdening Florida’s Hospitals. We believe it will bring much-needed checks and balances to Medicare’s Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) finance and accounting administration.
Your good bill makes several important changes to the Medicare statute that will improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the DSH program. Perhaps most importantly, it removes the current handcuffs on hospitals’ right to due process in administrative and legal challenges to Medicare’s DSH payment data and decisions. Allowing hospitals to effectively state their case in these proceedings will lead to more bureaucratic errors being identified and corrected. This will in turn bring increased transparency and efficiency to a program that, while essential to the health of our communities, is too often administered in an obscure and capricious manner.
Why do we care? This bill will ensure that we are able to continue to care for Florida’s Medicare beneficiaries.If you recall, Tampa General Hospital nearly lost two million dollars in Medicare DSH payments last year after a Medicare claims administrator failed to properly account for uncompensated-care claims data. While, thanks to your assistance, Tampa General was ultimately paid what Medicare owed them under the law, an intelligently run program should have no need for such interventions. We hope that S. 2690 will bring some of that intelligence to Medicare’s DSH program.
The Safety Net Alliance is a Florida not-for-profit corporation whose fourteen members include Florida’s largest and most prominent public, teaching, children’s and regional perinatal care hospital systems. Despite representing just 10 percent of Florida’s hospitals, our members collectively manage one-third of all Florida hospital patient days while absorbing 40 percent of the state’s hospital charity care costs and 30 percent of all Medicaid days. Our small group of hospitals are recognized for their unique shared mission to train tomorrow’s physicians and provide accessible high-quality specialty care to all Floridians, regardless of their ability to pay.
In closing, I would like to extend not only my gratitude to you as a champion for Florida’s most vulnerable and the hospitals that serve them, but offer my assistance as well. Please let me know if there is anything the Safety Net Alliance or I can do to support your efforts to shepherd this important bill through the process.
Lindy Kennedy
Executive Vice President
Preliminary numbers courtesy of Senate Appropriations Committee.
|
Member |
Subcomm. |
Agency |
Provision/Funding |
|
Rubio |
AG |
ARS |
Maintains language for facility lease agreements |
|
Rubio |
AG |
ARS |
Retains report language on Citrus Greening Disease Research |
|
Rubio |
AG |
ARS |
$32.5 million increase for the Agricultural Research Service |
|
Rubio |
AG |
ARS |
Retains report language on Aquaculture |
|
Rubio |
AG |
ARS |
$1 million increase for the Floriculture and Nursery Research Initiative |
|
Rubio |
AG |
NIFA |
$48 million increase for NIFA programs |
|
Rubio |
AG |
NIFA |
$2.5 million for the Food Animal Residue Avoidance Database (FARAD) |
|
Rubio |
AG |
NIFA |
$1.5 million increase for Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment |
|
Rubio |
AG |
NIFA |
$25 million increase for AFRI |
|
Rubio |
AG |
NIFA |
$2 million increase for the Food Safety Outreach Program |
|
Rubio |
AG |
NIFA |
$35 million for the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) |
|
Rubio |
AG |
APHIS |
$178.2 million provided for Specialty Crop Pests, including the Citrus Health Response Program |
|
Rubio |
AG |
APHIS |
$2 million increase for Huanglongbing Multi-Agency Coordination |
|
Rubio |
AG |
APHIS |
$981.9 million provided for APHIS, an increase of $35.7 million |
|
Rubio |
AG |
APHIS |
Report language retained for Huanglongbing Emergency Response |
|
Rubio |
AG |
APHIS |
$705,000 provided for Horse Protection |
|
Rubio |
AG |
FSA |
Fully funds Agricultural Credit Insurance Fund loan programs |
|
Rubio |
AG |
NRCS |
$10 million increase for Conservation Technical Assistance |
|
Rubio |
AG |
RUS |
Water & Waste - $1.057 billion for Water and Waste programs, an increase of $539 million above FY2017 enacted levels. This funding will support an additional $4.1 billion in loans and $895 million in grants |
|
Rubio |
AG |
RUS |
Maintains loan level for direct Rural Electrification Loans at $5.5 billion |
|
Rubio |
AG |
RBS |
ATTRA funded at $2.75 million |
|
Rubio |
AG |
FNS |
$10 million increase for the Commodity Supplemental Food Program |
|
Rubio |
CJS |
NIST ITS |
MEP = $140 million, an increase of $10 million over FY2017 enacted |
|
Rubio |
CJS |
NOAA NMFS |
Gulf of Mexico Red Snapper Stock Assessments - Provide up to $10,000,000 under NMFS for red snapper stock assessments in the Gulf of Mexico. |
|
Rubio |
CJS |
NOAA NMFS |
Report language - econ and social science research - Retained Senate report language |
|
Rubio |
CJS |
NOAA NMFS |
Report language - Gear Study for South Atlantic Region - Retained Senate report language |
|
Rubio |
CJS |
NOAA NMFS |
Report language - MRIP - Retained Senate report language |
|
Rubio |
CJS |
NOAA NMFS |
Report language - South Atlantic Red Snapper - Retained Senate report language |
|
Rubio |
CJS |
NOAA NMFS |
Report language - South Atlantic Red Snapper Hooked Gears - Retained Senate report language |
|
Rubio |
CJS |
NOAA NOS |
Coastal Zone Management Grants - $75,000,000 = $5,000,000 increase over FY2017 enacted amount. |
|
Rubio |
CJS |
NOAA NOS |
Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) - Retained Senate report language |
|
Rubio |
CJS |
NOAA NOS |
National Marine Sanctuaries - $54,500,000 = an increase of $3,500,000 over FY2017 enacted. |
|
Rubio |
CJS |
NOAA NWS |
Analyze, Forecast and Support - Retained Senate report language |
|
Rubio |
CJS |
NOAA PAC |
CDARS = $21,650,000 = an increase of $21,150,000 over FY2017 enacted. |
|
Rubio |
CJS |
NOAA PAC |
Hurricane Hunters - Expanded on Senate report language and provided $121,000,000 for NOAA to procure a hurricane hunter backup. |
|
Rubio |
CJS |
JJ |
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; Missing and Exploited Training and Technical Assistance Program - $76M ($3.5M increase) |
|
Rubio |
CJS |
OVW |
Office on Violence Against Women Grant Programs = $492 million |
|
Rubio |
CJS |
JJ |
National Institute of Justice; Comprehensive School Safety Initative - $75M; report lang included |
|
Rubio |
CJS |
NASA Exploration |
Human Exploration Operations Programs - Full funding for Exploration Ground System at KSC, plus $350 million for new mobile launcher |
|
Rubio |
DEF |
Air Force |
$5.65M above PB for F-15 modifications. |
|
Rubio |
DEF |
Navy |
$7.5M above PB for Ocean Warfighting Environment Applied Research |
|
Rubio |
DEF |
Navy |
$5M for Advanced Submarine System Development |
|
Rubio |
DEF |
Defense-Wide |
Supports PB for Microelectronics Technology Development |
|
Rubio |
DEF |
Navy |
Supports PB for: E-2D, E-2D Advanced Procurement; E-2D Advanced Hawkeye; MQ-4 Advanced Procurement; MQ-8 UAV; P-8A Advanced Procurement; F-18 Advanced Procurement |
|
Rubio |
DEF |
Navy |
$465M for an additional (3) P-8A aircraft |
|
Rubio |
DEF |
Navy |
$739M above PB for an addiitonal (10) F-18s for the Navy. |
|
Rubio |
DEF |
Air Force |
Support of PB for E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) |
|
Rubio |
EWD |
Corps of Engineers |
Supported the budget request of $82 million for Herbert Hoover Dike construction and included an additional $180 million in the additional funding pot for Flood Control in the Construction account. In FY17, the Herbert Hoover Dike project received an additional $18.67 million from this additional funding pot. |
|
Rubio |
EWD |
Corps of Engineers |
Included additional $35 million in the Construction account for Environmental Restoration and Compliance. In the FY17 work plan, the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration project received an additional $8.5 million from this additional funding pot. |
|
Rubio |
EWD |
Corps of Engineers |
Included senate report language in the Investigations account for Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP) Expedited Validation Study which urges the Corps to expedite the required validation report for the Central Everglades Planning Project. |
|
Rubio |
EWD |
Corps of Engineers |
Included senate report language in the Investigations account encouraging the Corps to conduct, at full federal expense, a study of the coastal areas in the South Atlantic Division to identify the risks and vulnerabilities of those areas to increased hurricane and storm damage reduction as authorized in section 1204 of the WIIN Act. |
|
Rubio |
EWD |
Corps of Engineers |
Included senate report language in the Construction account that Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan-Indian River Lagoon-South urging the Corps to expedite preparations for design work on the C-23 and C-24 South Reservoirs that along with C-44 Reservoir. |
|
Rubio |
EWD |
Corps of Engineers |
Included senate report language in the Construction account urging the Corps to provide states with guidance and recommendations to implement cost effective measures and planning for sand management. Also included conference report language encouraging the Corps to include in future budget submissions the study of sediment sources authorized in section 1143 of PL 114-322 |
|
Rubio |
EWD |
Corps of Engineers |
Included additional $3 million for the Continuing Authorities Section 103- Shore Protection. |
|
Rubio |
EWD |
Corps of Engineers |
Included two construction new starts for Navigation, and one construction new start for a Coastal Storm Damage Reduction project (the Lido Key Shore Protection project would be eligible to compete under this new start). |
|
Rubio |
EWD |
Corps of Engineers |
Included additional $481 million above the FY17 enacted levels in the O&M account including $24.28 million for Navigation Maintenance; $30 million for Inland Waterways; and $50 million for Small, Remote, or Subsistence Navigation. |
|
Rubio |
EWD |
Corps of Engineers |
Included additional funding to meet the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund spending target established by WRRDA 2014. |
|
Rubio |
EWD |
Corps of Engineers |
Included $40 million in the O&M account for Donor and Energy Transfer Ports. |
|
Rubio |
EWD |
Corps of Engineers |
Included senate report language in the Construction account directing the Corps to make publically available a comprehensive snapshot of all SFER cost-share accounting down to the project level for FY18 by September 30, 2018. |
|
Rubio |
EWD |
Corps of Engineers |
Included $6 million for Coastal Ocean Data System (CODS), $3.5 million above the budget request. |
|
Rubio |
EWD |
Corps of Engineers |
Included $70 million above the budget request in the Construction account for Environmental Infrastructure. In FY17, the Florida Keys Water Quality Improvements received $2M from this additional funding pot. |
|
Rubio |
EWD |
Corps of Engineers |
Supported the budget request of $10 million for the National (Levee) Flood Inventory remaining line item in O&M, $5 million above the FY17 enacted levels. |
|
Rubio |
EWD |
DOE/ODA |
$25 million to address threats to critical infrastructure and industrial control systems |
|
Rubio |
EWD |
DOE/ARPA-E |
$353.314 million for ARPA-E |
|
Rubio |
FSGG |
SBA |
Report language requiring a briefing on the effect of Zika on small businesses |
|
Rubio |
FSGG |
SBA |
Report language for a study on the geographic dispersion of Small Business Investment Companies |
|
Rubio |
FSGG |
GSA |
Funding for Ft. Lauderdale, FL courthouse |
|
Rubio |
FSGG |
Treasury |
Report language on Puerto Rico technical assistance |
|
Rubio |
FSGG |
ONDCP-DFC |
Increased funding for Drug Free Commmunites program |
|
Rubio |
FSGG |
ONDCP-HIDTA |
Increased funding for HIDTA program |
|
Rubio |
Interior |
NPS |
Report language included to help strengthen the coordination between federal and state management of marine fisheries management and ecosystem protection in Biscayne National Park. |
|
Rubio |
Interior |
NPS |
Restored cuts proposed by the Administration for Everglades and $10.032M included for Everglades. |
|
Rubio |
Interior |
USFWS |
Invasive species funding within the FWS is at the enacted level or higher throughout the bill. Within the National Wildlife Refuge account, there is specific report language calling out the Service's work on invasive species efforts in the Everglades. |
|
Rubio |
Interior |
USGS |
Funding for invasive species is continued at the enacted level with report language for Everglades work to continue. |
|
Rubio |
Interior |
USFWS |
Report language related to the Fish and Wildlife Service's current CITES permitting process is included with the goal to identify bottlenecks within the current system causing delays in permit approval. |
|
Rubio |
Interior |
EPA |
The South Florida program is funded at the FY 17 level and there is specific report language relating to the program. |
|
Rubio |
Interior |
USFWS |
State and Tribal Wildlife Grants are funded at $63.6 million, a $1 million increase from FY 17. |
|
Rubio |
Interior |
Smithsonian Institute |
Report language on the Latino museum is included. |
|
Rubio |
Interior |
LWCF |
LWCF programs receive $425M, a $25M increase and includes 4 FL projects. |
|
Rubio |
LHHS |
DOL |
$86.1 million for Bureau of International Labor Affairs |
|
Rubio |
LHHS |
HHS/HRSA |
+$135 million for opioid response within community health centers |
|
Rubio |
LHHS |
HHS/HRSA |
Continues funding at $2.319 billion for Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program |
|
Rubio |
LHHS |
HHS/HRSA |
Includes $20.8 million for Poison Control Centers (+$2 million) |
|
Rubio |
LHHS |
HHS/HRSA |
Includes $651.7 million for the Maternal & Child Health Block Grant (+$10 million) |
|
Rubio |
LHHS |
HHS/Opioids |
Provides $3.6 billion for opioid response, an increase of $2.55 billion. Increases are as follows: $415 million for HRSA, $350 million for CDC, $500 million for NIH, $100 million for ACF, $1.2 billion for SAMHSA, of which $1,000 billion is for state block grants which includes a 15 percent set-aside for hardest hit states, $50 million for Tribes, and $4 million State floor. |
|
Rubio |
LHHS |
HHS/CDC |
$615 million (+$30 million) for Emerging Zoonic and Infectious Diseases |
|
Rubio |
LHHS |
HHS/CDC |
$670 million (+$10 million) for Public Health Emergency Preparedness |
|
Rubio |
LHHS |
HHS/CDC |
An increase of $350 million for Prescriptions Drug Overdose activities |
|
Rubio |
LHHS |
HHS/CDC |
$141 million (+$3 million) for National Center on Birth Defects |
|
Rubio |
LHHS |
HHS/CDC |
$49 million (+$5 million) for Rape Prevention |
|
Rubio |
LHHS |
HHS/CMS |
DME Interim Final Rule SOM language |
|
Rubio |
LHHS |
HHS/OS |
Includes Zika report language in the Senate bill |
|
Rubio |
LHHS |
HHS/OS |
Includes Risk Corridor bill language |
|
Rubio |
LHHS |
HHS/PHSSEF |
An increase of $7.5 million for National Disaster Medical Reserve Corps |
|
Rubio |
LHHS |
HHS/PHSSEF |
$25 million increase for BARDA |
|
Rubio |
LHHS |
HHS/PHSSEF |
$200 million for Project BioShield |
|
Rubio |
LHHS |
HHS/NIH |
$3 billion increase for National Institutes of Health |
|
Rubio |
LHHS |
HHS/NIH |
$140 million increase for BRAIN Initiative |
|
Rubio |
LHHS |
HHS/NIH |
$292.8 million increase for National Cancer Institute |
|
Rubio |
LHHS |
HHS/NIH |
$414 million increase for Alzheimer's Research |
|
Rubio |
LHHS |
ED |
$299 million increase for IDEA Grants to States |
|
Rubio |
LHHS |
ED |
$58 million increase for Charter Schools Programs |
|
Rubio |
LHHS |
ED |
$7 million increase for Magnet Schools Program |
|
Rubio |
LHHS |
ED |
$2.5 million increase for Special Olympics |
|
Rubio |
LHHS |
ED |
$10 million for the new Statewide Family Engagement Centers program |
|
Rubio |
LHHS |
ED |
$82 million increase for Aid for Institutional Development programs |
|
Rubio |
LHHS |
ED |
$75 million increase for CTE State Grants |
|
Rubio |
LHHS |
ED |
$107 million increase for Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants |
|
Rubio |
LHHS |
ED |
$26 million increase for AmeriCorps State and National grants |
|
Rubio |
LHHS |
HHS/ED |
$47 million increas for school safety evidence-based competitive grant programs at Education and HHS, and $700 million increase in Student Support and Academic Enrichment formula grants to school districts that can be used for school counselors, school-based mental health and related activities. |
|
Rubio |
LHHS |
|
$47 million increase for school safety |
|
Rubio |
Leg Branch |
Sergeant at Arms |
Increases funding for cybersecurity efforts in the Senate |
|
Rubio |
Leg Branch |
Senate |
Report language for Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control |
|
Rubio |
MilCon-VA |
DoD |
includes full funding for Florida MILCON request at Eglin AFB, Mayport, MacDill AFB, Hurlburt Field and Patrick AFB |
|
Rubio |
MilCon-VA |
DoD |
includes an additional two Florida projects from the UFR list authorized in the NDAA at Eglin AFB and Tyndall |
|
Rubio |
MilCon-VA |
DoD |
includes report language regarding strategic disperal of east coast homported capital ships, as you requested |
|
Rubio |
MilCon-VA |
DoD |
includes report language regarding test and training range instrumentation modernization, as you requested |
|
Rubio |
MilCon-VA |
VA |
Camp Lejeune water claims report language |
|
Rubio |
MilCon-VA |
VA |
PTSD treatment at universities report language |
|
Rubio |
MilCon-VA |
VA |
reforms to expediate the appeals process report language |
|
Rubio |
MilCon-VA |
VA |
oversight of substance inspection programs for opioid treatment report language |
|
Rubio |
SFOPS |
State |
Prohibits funding to implement the UN Arms Trade Treaty. (Section 7062) |
|
Rubio |
SFOPS |
State |
Provides $275 million for the GAVI Alliance. |
|
Rubio |
SFOPS |
State |
Maintains current funding levels for HIV/AIDS programs, including bilateral PEPFAR programs and the Global Fund. |
|
Rubio |
SFOPS |
State |
Includes $20 m for democracy programs in Cuba. |
|
Rubio |
SFOPS |
State |
Includes $15 m for democracy promotion in Venezuela. |
|
Rubio |
SFOPS |
State |
Provides not less than $3.1 billion for assistance for Israel, which is equal to the current MOU level. |
|
Rubio |
SFOPS |
State |
Provides $55.5 m for internet freedom programs, including for firewall circumvention technologies. |
|
Rubio |
SFOPS |
State |
Includes reporting requirement on human rights in Hong Kong. |
|
Rubio |
SFOPS |
State |
Maintains the “Helms Amendment,” banning the use of foreign aid funding for abortions; ensures that family planning programs funded through this bill are voluntary; and prohibits funding of organizations the President determines to support coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization. |
|
Rubio |
SFOPS |
State |
Includes $25m for programs to combat modern slavery. |
|
Rubio |
SFOPS |
State |
Includes a total of $78.8 m for programs to combat trafficking in persons. |
|
Rubio |
SFOPS |
State |
$170m for the National Endowment for Democracy, equal to the FY 2017 level. |
|
Rubio |
SFOPS |
State |
$2m for the Congressional-Executive Commission on China |
|
Rubio |
SFOPS |
State |
$44.2 m for Radio Free Asia. |
|
Rubio |
SFOPS |
State |
The bill continues current law restrictions on assistance for the West Bank and Gaza, as well as restrictions on assistance for the Palestinian Authority. |
|
Rubio |
SFOPS |
State |
$615 m to support the US Strategy for Engagement in Central America. |
|
Rubio |
SFOPS |
State |
$17m to support Tibetan communities. |
|
Rubio |
THUD |
DOT |
TIGER funded at $1.5 billion ($500 million was requested) |
|
Rubio |
THUD |
FTA |
Supports funding CIG consistent with authorized levels ($2.645 billion is provided) |
|
Rubio |
THUD |
FHWA |
Supports fully funding FHWA at authorized levels ($47.498 billion provided) |
|
Rubio |
THUD |
FRA |
Includes report language on DOT adopting a standardized Bench Test Equipment (BTE) |
|
Rubio |
THUD |
FAA |
Fully funds contract towers at $165 million |
|
Rubio |
THUD |
FAA |
Supports fully funding the Airport Improvement Grants at $3.35 billion ($4.35 billion provided) |
|
Rubio |
THUD |
FAA |
Supports fully funding AST – funded at $28.959 million - $22.587 million for Ops; $4.5 million for F&E; and $1.872 million for R,E&D (Requested $29.587 broken down as $21.587 million – Ops, $4.5 million – F&E, and $3.5 million – R,E,&D) |
|
Rubio |
THUD |
MARAD |
Supports funding the Small Shipyards Grant Program at $30 million ($20 million provided) |
|
Rubio |
THUD |
HUD |
Includes language provisions strengthening inspections and improving the physical quality of HUD-assisted properties |
|
Rubio |
THUD |
HUD |
AFFH – Included modified language that prohibits funds being used for AFFH if HUD is dictating local zoning |
|
Rubio |
THUD |
HUD |
Report language included on best practices for producing new housing in high cost metropolitan areas |
|
Rubio |
THUD |
HUD |
HOPWA funded at $375 million |
Additionally:
$6 million for CDC tracking of Muscular Dystrophy
$38.6 million for CDC vector-borne diseases
$23 million for CDC tracking of Autism
- $2.36 billion for crop disasters as a result of hurricanes and wildfires in 2017 to remain available through 2019
- $22 million to repair damages to Agricultural Research Service (ARS) facilities, including four in Florida: Canal Point, Miami, Fort Pierce, and Ft. Lauderdale
- $165.475 million to repair drinking water systems and sewer and solid waste disposal systems affected by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria in small rural communities
- $24 million to provide an additional 35 million pounds of food for food banks in states affected by hurricanes and wildfires
- $14 million for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) to help repair and replace equipment in WIC clinics in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands
- $7.5 million for State and Private Forestry. The Forest Service will use these funds to support damage assessments, technical assistance, and invasive species assessment and mitigation work on State and private lands
- $15.055 billion for project construction, including expedited completion of Herbert Hoover Dike at full federal cost, and complete restoration of hurricane-impacted federal beach renourishment projects in Florida
- $135 million for project investigations, including Senator Rubio’s South Atlantic Coast Comprehensive Study at full federal cost
- $608 million for project Operations & Maintenance, including repairs to Everglades restoration project infrastructure
- $810 million for Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies needs, including in Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands
- Includes general reporting provisions that requires the Corps of Engineers to provide monthly damage estimates and progress assessments to Congress
- $13 million for activities related to the consequences of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, including technical assistance related to electric grids
- $112.1 million to provide for the costs of Coast Guard personnel responding to Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria
- $718.9 million to repair and strengthen facilities and assets damaged by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria, and Matthew
- $207.6 million for National Park Service Construction to rebuild and repair facilities and other critical agency infrastructure, including for new facilities at Everglades National Park
- $6.2 million for the Superfund program to help repair damage sustained to remedies at Superfund sites, including removal of damaged tanks and containers and repair of groundwater monitoring wells, aeration towers, and fencing
- Provides Puerto Rico access to previously appropriated State Revolving Fund money to help rebuild the island’s clean water and drinking water systems
- $18 million for marine debris removal - important for Florida’s waterways and coastal waters, which are still plagued by safety hazards
- $600 million for the Economic Development Administration to provide grants to communities directly impacted by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, as well as other disasters declared in 2017. This funding will support immediate relief efforts and long-term recovery projects, including repairing and replacing basic infrastructure needs that are vital for local economic recovery
- $200 million for Fisheries Data Assistance (Note: Florida’s fisheries disaster request for Hurricane Irma is still pending with the Department of Commerce)
- $81 million to repair facilities damaged at NASA’s Kennedy and Johnson Space Centers
- Funding for the Disaster Relief Fund to support response and recovery efforts to support Florida and Puerto Rico
- Funding to address damages to CBP facilities resulting from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria
- Funding to repair and restore the San Juan Customs House, improve its functionality, and terminate costly temporary leases
- Funding to repair ICE facilities in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Texas, and Florida that sustained water damage
- Funding for Community Development Block Grant Disaster Relief (CDBG-DR), at least $11 billion of which will go directly to Puerto Rico and USVI
- Disaster Assistance Simplification Act, which will help victims of the natural disaster avoid being penalized for weighing all disaster assistance
- Funding to replace Federal Aviation Administration’s equipment
- Funding for Federal Highway Administration’s Emergency Relief program
- Funding for building and facility repairs and accommodating enrollment of displaced students
- Funding for Higher Education Institutions that have taken in students from hurricane affected areas, such as Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands
- Funding to assist students that became homeless because of the hurricanes
- Medicaid for Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI): $4.9 billion
- For both Puerto Rico and USVI, there is a temporary 100% Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP)
- Funding necessary for Florida’s hospitals to repair damage from the storm
- Includes language modeled after Senator Rubio’s legislation to ensure that HHS has the necessary medical personnel needed to respond natural disasters
- Includes funding to cover increased costs to maintain medical services and funding to repair damaged medical facilities in Florida and Puerto Rico
- Includes funding to repair damages to the Puerto Rico National Cemetery
- Funding necessary to rehabilitate and repair Job Corps Centers in Puerto Rico
- Funding for disaster response economic recovery through the Dislocated Worker National Reserve
- Funding for Small Business Disaster Loan Programs
- Funding to provide storm-related services to LSC client populations affected by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, as well as wildfires in 2017
Rubio Response to the Miami Herald
Jan 28 2018
“Last night I terminated the employment of my Chief of Staff after personally receiving a complaint about his conduct, and thereafter coming into possession of clear and irrefutable evidence of workplace misconduct and harassment. It was the express wish of those injured in this matter to remain anonymous and to not have any details publicly released which could result in their identities being revealed. I have honored these requests to the best of my ability. If at any time in the future they decide to come forward publicly they will have my full support, cooperation and assistance.
“The overwhelming majority of media outlets have responsibly respected our decision to honor this request. They understand that it would be morally wrong to cause further injury to those victimized in this matter by ignoring their wishes. Sadly, at least one media outlet, the Miami Herald, does not share this view.
“On Sunday, they published an article which calls into question the validity of what they erroneously describe as a ‘hasty’ investigation, and cynically imply that by honoring the specific request of the victims we are withholding information they are entitled to. It appears their desire to obtain as many salacious details as possible in order to publish a story that generates traffic for their website has blinded them to the fact that reporting harassment is a very difficult decision for many victims. This is especially true for those employed in government, who too often prefer to not come forward in order to avoid having their stories reported in the press and becoming a permanent result of any internet searches about them.
“No matter how many articles of this kind they choose to publish, they will never pressure me to violate the trust the victims have placed in me. Not only is this the right thing to do in this particular case, if victims of harassment come to believe that they cannot report harassment without having their identities revealed, it may discourage those who do not want to be publicly identified from reporting cases of harassment in the future.”
Happy Thanksgiving
Nov 23 2017
As you enjoy turkey, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, and football, I encourage you to take some time to show gratitude to those around you – for the foundation of a strong and prosperous America always start with the family.
Finally, let us remember that our freedom could not be possible without the valor and sacrifice of our servicemen and women at home and abroad. Many of them will not be able to join their families this Thanksgiving. But while they may be far away today, they are still close in our hearts.
May God bless you. May God bless all those who protect us. May God bless Florida. And may God always bless the United States of America.
From my family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving.
La recuperación de Puerto Rico
Oct 03 2017
Mientras Puerto Rico se recupera después del Huracán Maria, mi oficina está dispuesta a ayudar a todos en Puerto Rico. Para solicitar asistencia directa, envie un correo electrónico a PR@rubio.senate.gov.
Click here for English.
Para ayuda con los alimentos o agua potable, refugio, o suministros medicos contacte las siguientes agencias:
1. La Cruz Roja Americana
Si usted ha sido afectado por un desastre, puede usar la página de la Cruz Roja Americana para escribir "mensajes de sano y salvo” que sus seres queridos puedan llegar a ver. El registro en el sitio web Sano y Salvo es completamente voluntario y usted puede ingresar y actualizarlo en todo momento. Las búsquedas de información en el sitio web necesitarán siempre que usted ingrese solo su nombre y dirección o teléfono. El resultado de la búsqueda solo mostrará su nombre, apellido, la fecha y hora de registro y un pequeño mensaje contando su historia. Para registrarse como Sano y Salvo usted se compromete a hacer uso de la información como esta escrito en esta página.
- Para encontrar búsquedas, haga clic aquí.
- También puede registrarse como Sano y Salvo escriba la palabra “SAFE” en un mensaje de texto al número 78876.
- Para hablar con un empleado de la Cruz Roja Americana sobre una persona desaparecida que tiene un problema de salud muy serio, llame al (1-800-733-2767).
2. El registro de Menores no Acompañados
Si encuentra un menor separado de sus padres o guardianes legales, por favor llame a su agencia local de policía inmediato. Luego completa el siguiente. El Registro de Menores no Acompañados es compatible con el Centro Nacional de Niños Desaparecidos (NCMEC) por los que el público puede reportar la información relacionada con los niños que han sido separados de sus padres o guardianes legales como consecuencia de un desastre. Esta herramienta permitirá que el NCMEC pueda prestar asistencia a las autoridades locales y asistir en la reunificación de los niños desplazados con su círculo familiar o tutores legales. Si le resulta problematico reportar en linea (por internet), por favor, llame al telefono de NCMEC 1-800-THE LOST, (1-800-843-5678). Atienden las 24 horas del dia. Un menor no acompañado es un niño que ha sido separado de sus padres, tutores legales, y otros parientes y no están siendo atendidos por un adulto que, por ley o costumbre, es responsable de hacerlo.
3. FEMA
Aunque muchos estadounidenses están trabajando arduamente para ayudar a sus vecinos en estos momentos catastróficos, hay algunos que siempre tratarán de aprovecharse de los más vulnerables. Para disipar algunos de los rumores falsos que circulan por internet y las redes sociales, FEMA atiende algunos de los temas más communes en esta página web.
Información de FEMA sobre el Huracán Maria está disponible aquí:
Información addicional para Puerto Rico está disponible aquí:
- http://eldiamenospensado.pr.gov/ (Puerto Rico)
- http://www2.pr.gov/Pages/Huracan.aspx (Puerto Rico)
- Puerto Rico’s Federal Affairs Administration:
- Por correo electrónico: maria1@prfaa.pr.gov
Los sobrevivientes pueden recoger alimentos y agua en el ayuntamiento de las siguientes ciudades:
Puerto Rico
- Aguadilla
- Aibonito
- Arecibo
- Bayamón
- Camuy
- Canovanas
- Ciales
- Culebra
- Mayaguez
- Ponce
- Rincon
- Rio Grande
- Santa Isabel
- Utuado
- Vega Alta
- Vieques
As Puerto Rico begins to recover from the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria, my Senate office stands ready to serve you and our fellow Americans on the island. For direct assistance from our office, you can email us at PR@rubio.senate.gov
Para español, haga clic aquí.
If you or any of your loved ones cannot reach family members or friends in Puerto Rico, or know they are in need of food, water, shelter, or medical supplies, please contact the following agencies:
1. The American Red Cross Safe and Well website is a free public reunification tool that allows individuals and organizations to register and post messages to search for loved ones, or for individuals to indicate that they are safe. The site is always available, open to the public, and available in English and Spanish. There are a number of ways to use this service:
-
Registrations and searches can be done directly on the website.
-
Registrations can also be completed by texting SAFE to 78876. Messages exist in both Spanish and English.
-
To speak with someone at the American Red Cross concerning a missing friend or relative who has a serious, pre-existing health or mental health condition, please contact 1-800 Red Cross (1-800-733-2767).
-
The American Red Cross Emergency App features an “I’m Safe” button that allows users to post a message to their social accounts, letting friends and family know they are out of harm’s way. The app can be downloaded for free in app stores by searching for “American Red Cross” or by texting ‘GETEMERGENCY’ to 90999.
2. Anyone who finds a child who may be separated from parents or caregivers, please contact the local police and enter basic information and/or a photo into the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children's Unaccompanied Minors Registry. If you find an unaccompanied child, please indicate whether the child has a disability or has access and functional needs in the appropriate field in the Unaccompanied Minors Registry. If you do not have access to the internet, please call 1-866-908-9570.
3. FEMA is raising awareness that Hurricane Maria disaster survivors, and their friends and family, should be alert for false rumors, scams, identity theft, and fraud. FEMA has a dedicated website to address some of the most common themes. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Visit FEMA's Hurricane Rumor Control page to get the most accurate information from trusted sources.
FEMA information regarding Hurricane Maria is available in English and Spanish at:
- fema.gov/hurricane-maria
- Follow FEMA on Twitter @femaregion2
- https://www.fema.gov/es/huracan-maria
- https://twitter.com/FEMAespanol
Additional information for Puerto Rico is available at the following locations:
- http://eldiamenospensado.pr.gov/ (Puerto Rico)
- http://www2.pr.gov/Pages/Huracan.aspx (Puerto Rico)
- Puerto Rico’s Federal Affairs Administration:
By Email: maria1@prfaa.pr.gov
By Phone: (202) 800-3133
Officials in Puerto Rico have opened points of distribution (POD) for survivors to get meals, water, and other commodities. Commodity Points of Distribution are operating in the following locations, with more locations scheduled to open in coming days:
Puerto Rico
Aguadilla City Hall
Aibonito City Hall
Arecibo City Hall
Bayamón City Hall
Camuy City Hall
Canovanas City Hall
Ciales City Hall
Culebra City Hall
Mayaguez City Hall
Ponce City Hall
Rincon City Hall
Rio Grande City Hall
Santa Isabel City Hall
Utuado City Hall
Vega Alta City Hall
Vieques City Hall
For real time updates on Puerto Rico relief efforts: Please go to http://status.pr/
For people looking to donate or volunteer: To donate or volunteer, contact the voluntary or charitable organization of your choice through the National Voluntary Agencies Active in Disasters (NVOAD) at www.nvoad.org.
Yom Kippur 2017 Message
Sep 29 2017
From Friday evening to Saturday evening, the Jewish community will join together again to observe Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year for the Jewish community.
As Jewish people around the world pray and repent on this sacred Day of Atonement, I hope they find the reprieve of acceptance and forgiveness, as well as the joys of fellowship and family.
May my Jewish friends around the world have any easy fast on this holy day, and may the day seal a promise for a year of health and happiness for all. G'mar Chatimah Tovah.
Rosh Hashanah
Sep 19 2017
By Senator Marco Rubio
As Rosh Hashanah begins on Wednesday evening, my family and I want to wish L’Shanah Tovah to our Jewish friends in Florida and around the world.
As the Jewish New Year and the High Holidays arrive, I am proud to celebrate the many profound contributions that Jewish-Americans and Judeo-Christian values have made to our nation’s history, as well as the unbreakable bonds of alliance and friendship shared between the United States and Israel.
May the New Year bring with it peace, health, and happiness to all.
