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Miami, FL — U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) joined Jackie Nespral on NBC 6 Impact to discuss the Democrats’ radical spending agenda, inflation, vaccine mandates, President Joe Biden’s failed foreign policy outlook, the Cuban people’s continued fight for freedom, and more. See below for highlights and watch the full video here.

On his decision to vote against Democrats’ infrastructure bill:

“First of all, only about 25 percent of the money in that bill is actually going to real infrastructure, and I could have voted for that. I would vote for things that have to do with bridges and roads and even the expansion of broadband. 

“What I’m not going to vote for is something that sends 100 million dollars to a mass transit and rail giveaway to the New York area. I’m not going to vote for something that contains things in it about digital equity – in essence, now inserting all kinds of cultural issues into how we distribute internet in this country. I’m not going to vote for something that gives the federal government more control over how Florida gets to build its own bridges, and roads, and infrastructure. And I could go on for hours. 

“The point is that, oftentimes here, what we get stuck with here, is you either vote for something that has a bunch of bad stuff in it, in order to get a couple of good things, or you don’t. And I’m not going to go along with that. I’m ready to vote and support infrastructure, but not something that has all that in it.”

On President Joe Biden’s ‘Build Back Better’ agenda: 

“It’s not even about the money. The money is a lot of money, but you know, there’s $3.5 trillion, $1.75 trillion of debt spending – it’s not going to be paid for, you’ll see that here with the CBO score with the Congressional Budget Office. But really, it’s the content.  

“Again, it’s going to take an hour to go through all the craziness in it, but they’re going to hire 80,000 new IRS agents, they’re going to create this climate accord to go around harassing people about how much oil and gas-based products they’re using. They’ll give the federal government control over universal Pre-K in America. 

“If the federal government takes over universal Pre-K, it’s going to decide who can teach your kids, who they have to hire, and what they’re allowed to teach. And already in the House version of it, they’re telling religious-based schools they can’t teach religion, even if it’s a Catholic or a faith-based Pre-K program, [they] can’t teach religion. It’s craziness, and there’s no way I’m going to support something like that. I don’t think you will see a single Republican support it, and you’ve seen a lot of Democrats that have real anxiety about it.”

On whether the Build Back Better’ legislation will pass in the Senate: 

“I don’t know. Obviously, this comes down to we’re a fifty-fifty Senate. So, as long as one Democrat is against it, it’s not going to pass. But, obviously, that could change. But the broader question here is how can people support something [like this]? I don’t care what you label it. This is the codification of socialism. 

“Look, I’m not against government involvement, okay? I wrote and I passed [the Paycheck Protection Program]. It was my law, PPP, that saved millions of small businesses in Florida and around the country. But there has to be limits to this, and [Build Back Better]is limitless. [The Democrats] are going for the most radical ideas of the last 20 years. They’re throwing it all out there in one bill, and it would do tremendous damage to the country.

“And, by the way, it [would] really hurt us more on inflation. Everything is already costing more. What I’m now paying – everyone is now paying – [is] twenty five [or] thirty percent more than we did just eight or nine months ago. This would make that even worse.”

On who bears the blame for the rise in inflation across the United States: 

“The pandemic had a role to play, but I think part of the role as well is the fact that, yes, we have a limited supply. One of the reasons why is because we don’t make enough things in America. If we had more factories and we made more things in America – and if not in America, we made it in the Dominican Republic, Central America, or Jamaica, or even Haiti if that country can turn the corner – it would be closer to us. So, we do have some supply chain issues that have been made worse by the policies of the last 20 or 30 years, but we decided America didn’t even have factories anymore. 

“Part of [the problem] is we’ve now pumped billions – trillions – of federal dollars into the economy. So you’ve got limited goods and more money out there chasing the limited goods – it’s going to increase prices. And then labor costs are up, you’re going to pay people more to work than you used to and people are having trouble holding on to work. All of that is contributing to it, all of that has been made worse by the policies of this administration.”

On the efficacy of vaccines and vaccine mandates:

“I’m pro-vaccine and anti-mandate. I think everyone should be vaccinated. I’m vaccinated, my family is vaccinated. I encourage everyone to get vaccinated, but I don’t think you should be fired for disagreeing with me.

“I don’t understand how, in a free country, we can have the federal government telling businesses and individuals that work for them, ‘You either get vaccinated or you’re going to be out of a job.’ 

“A year and a half ago, and rightfully so, the nurses, doctors, and first responders, they were the heroes on the frontline in the fight against COVID. A year later, three, four,  five, six percent of them don’t want to get vaccinated – we’re now going to fire them and they’re evil.

“I do not believe that unvaccinated Americans are evil, or dangerous, or anything else. At the end of the day, it’s their choice. People have a right to make that choice. If we live in a country where the federal government can force you to put something in your body that you don’t want to, then things have really changed for the worse in this country. 

“So, I’m pro-vaccine. I once again encourage everyone to get vaccinated. It’s not dangerous, it won’t hurt you, and it’s safe and effective. However, if you disagree with me, I don’t believe that you should be fired, stigmatized, or run out of town.” 

On Florida’s lawsuit suing the Biden Administration over vaccine mandates: 

“I think they’re going to win in court. And I think the Biden Administration [knows] that. I think the Biden Administration knows that this is unconstitutional, but what they’re banking on is that companies will go ahead and do it anyways on their own out of fear of being pursued by OSHA and the federal government. 

“Listen, I’m not just against the vaccine- you know, who also used to be against the vaccine mandate? Joe Biden, when he was running for president. He said he would never support a vaccine mandate, and then he changed his mind, and now it’s become aggressive and ridiculous.”

On President Biden signing Rubio’s Secure Equipment Act into law: 

“I’m very proud of the fact that I’ve passed numerous bills over the last five years here in the Senate. In fact, I was ranked the most effective legislator by Vanderbilt [University] and [the University of] Virginia. Even in a Democratic Congress, with a Democratic president, with whom I disagree with on a lot of things, we continue to get things done.

“What this bill does is it allows us to strip out of military installations, government installations, and prevent them from being put in there equipment made in China. I think it’s crazy for a U.S. military installation or government building to have in it routers and cameras that are made in China. 

“One of the challenges we have now is American companies are buying these Chinese routers and they’re white labelling them – they take the label off, they puttheir own label on it. But all of the vulnerabilities and backdoors are still there. China won’t even need to have a spy agency – if they’ve got cameras and routers all over this country, especially in our government buildings, they don’t even need spies. They’re already in the building’ electronically. So this is something that needed to happen, and I’m glad that it’s now law, and hopefully it’ll be pursued quickly.”

On his decision to place a hold on President Biden’s nominee, Nicholas Burns, to serve as ambassador to China:

“First of all, I believe he’s not a bad guy. I think he’s a diplomat who is trained in the conventional ways of a failed bipartisan orthodoxy that didn’t ever view China as a real threat. They thought once China got rich and prosperous, that China would become more like us. That’s not what we need right now.

“What we need right now is someone who clearly understands…that China is not just a competitor and they’re not just going to be like us one day. They are a potential adversary, and they are a geo-political threat to the United States militarily, economically, technologically, commercially, militarily, all across the board. So we need someone stronger in that position. I just don’t believe he’s the right choice. 

On his decision to place a hold on President Biden’s nominee, Julissa Reynoso Pantaleón, to serve as ambassador to Spain:

“I also put a hold on [President Biden’s] nominee to Spain, who is a full blown, all out Castro sympathizer. Someone like that who identifies and defends the Castro regime in Cuba shouldn’t be anywhere in the State Department, much less [in] an ambassador post in a country like Spain – which, by the way, its government has not been the most cooperative on U.S. policies toward Venezuela and Cuba.” 

On the November 15th protest in Cuba and how the Biden Administration could help:

“First of all, I think the 15th of November was a tremendous success because it revealed who this regime truly is. They use soldiers and angry mobs to go after intellectuals and artists, not the most violent people in the world… young Cubans who just want change and a better future. In so doing, and in everything they did, [the regime has] shown the world who they are. 

“So really, the purpose of that march was to reveal to the world and to make it harder than ever for the defenders of this regime to continue to do so. At the same time as I think in doing what they did, they gave new energy to this movement inside of Cuba. We’ll see more and more of this. 

“What’s happening in Cuba is a young generation of Cubans do not want to be the latest generation to once again waste their lives in a country that has no prospects for improving, and the only way you can turn your life around is to leave the country. They don’t want to be a part of that. They want to be able to speak their mind and express themselves artistically but also politically, but that’s not allowed in Cuba.

“I think it’s just one more step in the right direction for the movement inside of Cuba, which is organic, driven by young Cubans, not controlled by any one abroad. It won’t be easy and it’ll be a long, hard road ahead, but I’m inspired by what they did.”