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...
Every year, the Congressional Management Foundation (CMF) recognizes Members of Congress for their non-legislative achievements in operations, communications, and constituent services. U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) was awarded the 2024 Democracy Award for...
El senador estadounidense Marco Rubio (R-FL) emitió el siguiente comunicado sobre la toma de posesión del presidente panameño José Mulino: “A principios de este año, tras un proceso electoral pacífico y democrático, el pueblo de Panamá eligió al Presidente José...
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) issued the following statement regarding the inauguration of Panamanian President José Mulino: “Earlier this year, following a peaceful and democratic electoral process, the people of Panama elected President José Mulino as their new...
Each year, the U.S. Department of State releases to Congress its International Religious Freedom Report. This report highlights the status of religious freedom in countries worldwide. U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) issued the following statement regarding the release...
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...
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Rick Scott (R-FL), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Mike Braun (R-IN), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Bill Hagerty (R-TN) introduced the No PLA Loopholes Act, a bill to close a loophole in existing law in order to limit joint military operations and exercises between the United States and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Specifically, the No PLA Loopholes Act would strike the blanket exception, provided by Section 1201 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2000, that has allowed joint military operations and exercises with the PLA for humanitarian and disaster relief. The bill would further amend Section 1201 by specifying that all logistical operations and exercises with the PLA should be prohibited, as opposed to just those that are considered “advanced.”
Rubio is the Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and a senior member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
“It is past time we limit our military’s interactions with the PLA,” Rubio said. “Any cooperation provides an opening for the PLA to gain insight into how we operate. This is incredibly dangerous, as the CCP uses all available information and technology to further their own interests and undermine our nation. My bill would ensure that U.S. law reflects this threat and mitigates Beijing’s ability to exploit this loophole.”
“The genocidal regime in Communist China has a clear track record of undermining the United States and could easily use joint training exercises to gather intelligence to use against us,” Scott said. “Communist China is not our friend or partner, it is our enemy and must be treated as such. This common sense bill puts our national security interests first and I urge all my colleagues to support the No PLA Loopholes Act.”
“It boggles the mind that the United States is still providing military training to the People’s Liberation Army,” Hawley said. “It is time to put an end to this arrangement and focus on maintaining our own ability to deter Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific.”
“China is the greatest geopolitical threat facing America for the coming decades,” Cruz said. “The Chinese Communist Party takes a whole of government approach to advancing its national security and compromising ours, including through pervasive espionage. The United States should absolutely not be cooperating with the People’s Liberation Army in joint projects or missions of any sort.“
“The Chinese Communist Party and China’s military are seeking to gain every advantage that they can over the United States and our allies, so it is critical to do everything we can to safeguard our military, our intel, and our technology from these threats,” Hagerty said. “I strongly support closing remaining loopholes in longstanding restrictions under U.S. law to the U.S. military’s operations and exercises with China’s military forces.”
Washington, D.C. — Los senadores estadounidenses Marco Rubio (R-FL), Rick Scott (R-FL), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Mike Braun (R-IN), Ted Cruz (R-TX) y Bill Hagerty (R-TN) presentaron un proyecto de ley para cerrar un vacío en la ley existente con el fin de limitar las operaciones y ejercicios militares conjuntos entre EE.UU. y el brazo armado del Partido Comunista Chino, el Ejército Popular de Liberación (EPL). Específicamente, la legislación eliminaría la excepción general, prevista en la Sección 1201 de la Ley de Autorización de Defensa Nacional (NDAA, por sus siglas en inglés) para el año fiscal 2000, que ha permitido operaciones y ejercicios militares conjuntos con el EPL para ayuda humanitaria y en casos de desastre. El proyecto de ley enmendará aún más la Sección 1201 al especificar que todas las operaciones y ejercicios logísticos con el EPL deben prohibirse, a diferencia de solo aquellos que se consideran “avanzados”.
Rubio es vicepresidente del Comité Selecto de Inteligencia en el Senado y miembro del Comité de Relaciones Exteriores en el Senado de EE.UU.
“Ya es hora que limitemos las interacciones de nuestro ejército con el EPL”, Rubio dijo. “Cualquier cooperación brinda una oportunidad para que el EPL obtenga información sobre cómo operamos. Esto es increíblemente peligroso, ya que el Partido Comunista Chino utiliza toda la información y tecnología disponible para promover sus propios intereses y socavar a nuestro país. Mi proyecto de ley garantizaría que la ley estadounidense refleje esta amenaza y mitigue la capacidad de Pekín para explotar este vacío en la ley”.
“El régimen genocida de la China comunista tiene un claro historial de sabotear a los Estados Unidos y fácilmente podría usar ejercicios de entrenamiento conjuntos para obtener información de inteligencia y usarla en contra de nosotros”, Scott dijo. “La China comunista no es nuestro amigo o socio, es nuestro enemigo y debe ser tratado como tal. Este proyecto de ley de sentido común antepone nuestros intereses de seguridad nacional e insto a todos mis colegas a que apoyen la Ley No PLA Loopholes Act.”