Following Hurricane Helene’s catastrophic damage throughout Florida’s gulf coast, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) met with the Florida Farm Bureau as well as local agricultural producers, farmers, and growers to discuss the storm’s impact. Photos are courtesy of...
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Photos: Rubio Visits Barrier Islands Post-Hurricane Helene
Following Hurricane Helene’s catastrophic damage throughout Florida’s Gulf Coast, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) met with local officials and volunteers from the barrier islands to discuss the storm’s impact and current recovery efforts. Photos are courtesy of...
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Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 storm, causing catastrophic damage along Florida’s Gulf Coast. It’s crucial for the federal government to expedite state-requested resources and authorize key policy flexibilities in order for Floridians to make a swift...
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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...
Rubio, Scott Urge FEMA to Expedite Hurricane Reimbursements
Following the impacts of Hurricanes Helene and Debby, some local governments in Florida face looming budget shortfalls that could disrupt disaster recovery efforts. If these local governments receive reimbursements for past hurricanes from the Federal Emergency...
Marco Rubio Uses Senate Platform To Call Attention To Human Trafficking
Marco Rubio Uses Senate Platform To Call Attention To Human Trafficking
By Alex Leary
St. Petersburg Times
November 3, 2011
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/stateroundup/marco-rubio-uses-senate-platform-to-call-attention-to-human-trafficking/1199920
Sen. Marco Rubio’s Floor Speech: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6YqUYoyOlI&feature=youtu.be
WASHINGTON — In Immokalee, a dozen Hispanics spent long days in the fields then were forced to sleep in a rental truck. In Boca Raton, Filipino workers pulled grueling shifts at country clubs then returned home as captives, fed rotten chicken and denied medical attention.
Stories like these from recent years in Florida are chilling examples of human trafficking — an issue officials say is growing but often overlooked.
“It’s a much bigger problem than I think most people are aware of and Florida, unfortunately, plays a role,” said U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.
The state, in fact, is considered one of the hotbeds for human trafficking in the U.S., where each year up to 20,000 people are brought against their will or under false pretenses and forced to work or held captive.
Rubio said he wants to use his Senate platform to call more attention to the issue. The problem is most associated with prostitution, but forced labor is more common in Florida. A year ago in Pinellas County, FBI and local officials found 27 people living in two homes and suspected they were being forced to work at a Country Super Buffet. The case is still under investigation.
“People think slavery is something that happened 150 years ago and to the extent it’s happening, they think it’s happening halfway around the world, which it is,” Rubio said in an interview. “But it’s also happening here.”
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