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Next Week: Rubio Staff Hosts Mobile Office Hours

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio’s (R-FL) office will host in-person and virtual 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...

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Rubio Habla en Maxima 92.5 de Tampa Bay

El senador estadounidense Marco Rubio (R-FL) habló con Nio Encendio de Maxima 92.5 de Tampa Bay, sobre cómo la inflación ha impactado a las familias, sobre las olas de migración ilegal, sobre el juicio político de Biden vs. el de Trump, sobre el canje de prisioneros...

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ICYMI: Rubio Joins All Things Considered

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) joined National Public Radio’s All Things Considered to discuss his plan to expand the child tax credit for working families. See below for the full transcript and listen to the edited interview here. On the connection between the child...

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Rubio: “President Biden’s Team is Willing to Accept Beijing’s Promises as Fact”

Jan 27, 2023 | Press Releases

Last fall, the Biden Administration issued its Determination on Major Drug Transit or Major Illicit Drug Producing Countries for Fiscal Year 2023. However, the administration just delivered the official notification of the determination to Congress. U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is scheduled to travel to Beijing, and he must address China’s role in the production of the precursor chemicals for fentanyl. 
 
The current designation, which should include any nation that produces both illicit drugs and precursor chemicals for controlled substances, includes Afghanistan, The Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Burma, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.
 
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) released a statement criticizing the Biden Administration for failing to include China, despite it being the largest source of precursor chemicals for fentanyl illicitly trafficked into the United States.

  • “Fentanyl continues to kill Americans and China is the largest source of chemicals used to create this deadly drug. Yet, for some reason, the Biden Administration refused to list China on its annual list of illicit drug producing nations. There is no reasonable explanation for letting the Chinese Communist Party avoid responsibility for the countless deaths they’ve contributed to in our country. It is outrageous, and yet another sign that President Biden’s team is willing to accept Beijing’s promises as fact to reset relations with America’s greatest adversary.” – Senator Rubio

The Foreign Assistance Act defines “illicit drug producing and transit countries” as any country “that is a significant direct source of covered synthetic drugs or psychotropic drugs or other controlled substances, including precursor chemicals when those chemicals are used in the production of such drugs and substances, significantly affecting the United States.” A designation would prohibit all foreign assistance to China that is not related to international counter-narcotics agreements.

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