Pregnant students are sometimes discriminated against by their schools, either intentionally or unintentionally and there is a concerning lack of awareness about the resources and rights available to them. Due to a lack of services and discrimination, these women may...
News
Latest News
Rubio, Colleagues Reintroduce Intelligence Community Workforce Agility Protection Act
Currently, intelligence community civilians are subject to certain tax penalties for job-related relocation requirements, but active-duty military servicemembers are not subjected to the same penalties. These tax benefits, including the ability to deduct moving...
Rubio Delivers Remarks at Senate Intelligence Hearing
Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Marco Rubio (R-FL) delivered opening remarks and questioned witnesses at a hearing on countering China’s influence in the United States. Watch Rubio’s opening remarks here as well as Part I and Part II of...
Rubio-led Resolution to Raise Awareness for Spinal Cord Injuries Passes Senate
Approximately 302,000 Americans live with spinal cord injuries. To help these people achieve a better quality of life, there is a need to increase education and invest in research. U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) successfully led a bipartisan...
Rubio, Warnock Reintroduce Protecting Sensitive Personal Data Act
Foreign investment is one of the legal means that adversaries, like China, can use to collect Americans’ data, exasperating both privacy and national security risks. To counter this, U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Raphael Warnock (D-GA) reintroduced the...
ICYMI: Rubio Joins Special Report
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) joined Special Report with Bret Baier to discuss the impending government shutdown, the possibility of a Saudi-Israeli normalization deal, and the indictment of Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ). See below for highlights and watch the full...
Rubio, Markey, Eshoo, Scalise Release Bipartisan Statement on FCC Vote to Advance Update to Equipment Authorization Rules
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Edward J. Markey (D-MA) and Representatives Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Steve Scalise (R-LA) released the following statement today after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to approve a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to protect our communications networks and supply chains from equipment and services from China that pose an unacceptable risk to national security. Today’s NPRM mirrors the goals of the lawmakers’ legislation, the Secure Equipment Act.
“We applaud the FCC’s vote to put national security first by keeping compromised Chinese equipment out of U.S. telecommunications networks. We introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation to make this action permanent, blocking technology manufactured by companies that pose a threat to our national security. We thank Acting Chairwoman Rosenworcel and Commissioner Carr for their leadership on this issue and look forward to working with the Commission to protect our nation’s networks from foreign adversaries,” said the lawmakers in a joint statement.
Senators Rubio and Markey and Representatives Eshoo and Scalise previously introduced the Secure Equipment Act of 2021 to direct the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to clarify that it will no longer review, or approve, applications from companies on the Commission’s “Covered List.” The bill would prevent further integration and sales of Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hikvision, and Dahua – all Chinese state-backed or directed firms – in the U.S. regardless of whether federal funds are involved.
In 2020, the FCC adopted new rules to require U.S. telecommunications carriers to rip and replace equipment provided by Huawei, ZTE, and other covered companies that pose a risk to U.S. national security. While that was an important step, those rules only apply to equipment purchased with federal funding. The very same equipment can still be used if purchased with private or non-federal government dollars. The Secure Equipment Act adds an extra layer of safety that slams the door on identified security threats from having a presence in the U.S. telecommunications network.