NOTICIAS

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) released the following statement today after Senate Democrats blocked a vote on the FY2017 defense appropriations bill:

“The federal government’s chief responsibility is to keep Americans safe and provide the resources our military needs to do its job, and it’s a shame Senate Democrats are refusing to do either by blocking this bill for the third time this year.   

“In addition to funding our military, this bill would also have made it crystal clear to the administration that dangerous terrorists must remain at the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay. In these last four months of President Obama’s term, we need to do everything possible to stop him from releasing dangerous terrorists to other countries, or bringing them into the U.S. This includes keeping the 18 ‘forever prisoners’, which an independent board has deemed too dangerous to ever release, right where they are.

“Senate Democrats’ obstruction of this defense bill also means we won’t even get a chance to consider my amendments to combat the Zika virus through existing medical research budgets within the Department of Defense and to protect our servicemen and women being deployed to Zika areas. I will continue to do everything possible to support our volunteers in uniform, provide for a strong national defense, and fight Zika in Florida and help those already afflicted by it.  As Democrats’ actions today show, their politically-motivated obstruction remains a major obstacle to protecting Americans.”