Marco Rubio presidential campaign, 2016

Marco Rubio suspended his presidential campaign on March 15, 2016.^[1]

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Former presidential candidate Marco Rubio

Political offices: Current U.S. Senator (2011-Present) FL House of Representatives (2000-2009)

Rubio on the issues:

Taxes • Banking policy • Government regulations • International trade • Budgets • Agricultural subsidies • Federal assistance programs • Foreign affairs • Federalism • Natural resources • Healthcare • Immigration • Education • Abortion • Gay rights • Civil liberties

Republican candidate:

Donald Trump

Ballotpedia's presidential election coverage 2028 • 2024 • 2020 • 2016

See also: Marco Rubio

Marco Rubio was a Republican candidate for the office of President of the United States in 2016.

On April 13, 2015, Rubio announced his presidential run on a conference call with donors. He referred to himself as "uniquely qualified" for the nomination. The call came hours before a scheduled campaign rally in Miami.^[2]

Rubio suspended his presidential campaign on March 15, 2016, after coming in second to Donald Trump in the Florida Republican primary.^[3] He told his supporters in Miami, Florida, that "after tonight, it is clear that while we are on the right side, this year, we will not be on the winning side."^[4]

Rubio is a Republican member of the U.S. Senate from the state of Florida. He was first elected in 2010. Rubio was a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 2000 to 2008.

Previously, in May 2014, when ABC reporter Jonathan Karl asked Rubio if he thought he was ready to be president, Rubio said, “I do … but I think that’s true for multiple other people that would want to run … I mean, I’ll be 43 this month, but the other thing that perhaps people don’t realize, I’ve served now in public office for the better part of 14 years. Most importantly, I think a president has to have a clear vision of where the country needs to go and clear ideas about how to get it there and I think we’re very blessed in our party to have a number of people that fit that criteria."^[5] Sixteen senators have been elected to the presidency, including President Barack Obama.^[6]

In 2016 candidate rankings, Crowdpac ranked Rubio as a 6.2C (C being conservative) on a scale ranging from 10L to 10C, making him the second most conservative Republican presidential candidate remaining in the race.^[7] In 2016, Rubio received a grade of a "A-/92" from the Leadership Project for America PAC.^[8]

On the issues[edit]

Quick facts about Rubio
Birthday: May 28, 1971
Birthplace: Miami, Florida
Alma maters: University of Florida University of Miami School of Law
Career: U.S. Senator, Florida (5 years) Florida House of Representatives (8 years) West Miami City Commission (2 years)
Spouse: Jeanette Dousdebes Rubio
Children: Daniella, Dominic, Amanda and Anthony
Religion: Roman Catholic

Public policy in the 2016 election
Budgets and Taxes Education Common Core Student debt Energy Clean Power Plan Fracking Environment Climate change Healthcare Medicaid and Medicare Obamacare Redistricting Voting Rights Act Voter ID
Hover over the words for information about the issue and links to related articles.

Economic and fiscal[edit]

Taxes[edit]

See also: Marco Rubio presidential campaign, 2016/Taxes

• Marco Rubio unveiled a transportation plan November 5, 2015, that called for an 80 percent cut in the 18.4 cents-per-gallon gas tax that pays for most federal transportation projects. He also promised to veto any gas tax if elected president, in a post on his campaign website. Rubio said the federal transportation program would be replaced by devolving the system to the states, which take the lead on financing transportation projects. He also would repeal the Davis-Bacon Act that requires workers to be paid prevailing wages on projects funded with federal dollars.^[9]

• On November 3, 2015, Rubio responded to a report from the Tax Foundation, a think tank that advocates for lower taxes, that found his tax plan would “decrease government revenues by $6 trillion over 10 years.” Rubio said, "The argument about the debt, which is the question that he's raising, you cannot simply solve that through a tax plan alone. It has to be a combination of things. You have to have the spending discipline on the mandatory spending programs and you need to sustain significant economic growth. The tax plan is part of the economic growth part of that equation...in conjunction with that, we must deal with the mandatory spending programs. Medicare and Social Security must be reformed for future beneficiaries, people like me, who are 25 years away from retirement. You have to do both. And it's that combination of sustained growth and fiscal discipline that will bring the national debt to a responsible level as a percentage of the overall size of our economy. But without the growth you can't get there. You can't get there from cuts alone. But you need the growth component. And that's what the tax plan is designed to do."^[10]

• Rubio argued for the elimination of capital gains taxes in an interview with CNBC’s John Harwood in August 2015. “First of all, capital gains and dividends is investment. My father had a job as a bartender at a hotel. And the reason why he had a job as a bartender is because someone with money invested in that hotel. That’s why he had a salary, and that’s why he had tips. … Anything you tax, you’re gonna get less of. That’s why we tax cigarettes, because we don’t want people to smoke. We want more investment. Why would we tax it?”^[11][12]

• Rubio introduced his tax overhaul plan on March 4, 2015 as a Senate bill. It was cosponsored with U.S. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah). The proposal would reduce the number of brackets from seven to three: 15%, 25%, and 35% and eliminate all exemptions and deductions, except for a charitable contribution deduction and a reformed home mortgage interest deduction. Instead, taxpayers would receive a personal tax credit that phases out for higher-income Americans. The plan would cuts corporate tax rates for all businesses to no higher than 25%, and end federal taxation of business investment by allowing for immediate expensing. Rubio also proposed shifting to a territorial tax system, ending the double-taxation of profits earned abroad for both businesses and individuals. The plan would also eliminate the double-taxation on saving and investment income and would provide a transition period during which the nation would move to a 0% tax rate on dividends and capital gains. Rubio would also eliminate the estate tax. The plan would provide a new child tax credit of up to $2,500, which phases out for wealthier Americans and would offer a limited 25% non-refundable tax credit to any business that offers between four and twelve weeks of paid leave to workers with qualifying family or medical issues, such as, a newborn child in need of care, an elderly parent with declining health, a personal health crisis, or a spouse’s deployment.^{[13] [14] [15]}

Banking policy[edit]

See also: Marco Rubio presidential campaign, 2016/Banking policy

• At the fourth Republican primary debate on November 10, 2015, Marco Rubio discussed why he opposed the Dodd-Frank Act. He said, "Do you know why these banks are so big? The government made them big. The government made them big by adding thousands and thousands of pages of regulations. So the big banks, they have an army of lawyers, they have an army of compliance officers. They can deal with all these things. The small banks...they can't deal with all these regulations. They can't deal with all -- they cannot hire the fanciest law firm in Washington or the best lobbying firm to deal with all these regulations. And so the result is, the big banks get bigger, the small banks struggle to lend or even exist, and the result is what you have today. And in Dodd-Frank, you have actually codified too big to fail. We have actually created a category of systemically important institutions, and these banks go around bragging about it. You know what they say to people with a wink and a nod? We are so big, we are so important that if we get in trouble, the government has to bail us out. This is an outrage. We need to repeal Dodd-Frank as soon as possible."^[16]

• In November 2011, Rubio co-sponsored S 1866 - American Growth, Recovery, Empowerment, and Entrepreneurship Act, which was intended to grant "a five-year exemption from Section 404(b) of Sarbanes-Oxley for the first five years of a company going public, or for those below $250 million in total gross revenue."^[17][18]

• Rubio co-sponsored S 202 - Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2011 in October 2011, which sought a full audit of the Federal Reserve.^[19]

• According to The Florida Times-Union in July 2010, Rubio supported cancelling the Troubled Asset Relief Program, which was essential to bailing out large banks following the 2008 financial crisis.^[20]

Government regulations[edit]

See also: Marco Rubio presidential campaign, 2016/Government regulations

• Marco Rubio said November 4, 2015, that the program established by the Obama administration to shield from deportation undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children, known as DACA, must end whether Congress has passed immigration reform or not. "DACA is going to end and the ideal way for it to end is that it's replaced by a reform system that creates an alternative," Rubio said while in Manchester, N.H. "But if it doesn't, it will end. It cannot be the permanent policy of the United States." Before his comments, critics of Rubio had argued that his position on DACA was unclear.^[21]

• In 2013, Rubio was supportive of a push to audit the Federal Reserve and its handling of mortgage loans.^[22]

• In May 2013, Rubio introduced the "Regulation Costs to Small Business Act," which sought to require "the Small Business Administration (SBA) to conduct an annual study determining the total cost of federal regulations specifically to small businesses," and the “Regulation Costs to America Act,” which sought to require that "the Government Accountability Office (GAO)...conduct an annual study determining the total cost of all federal regulations."^[23]

• Rubio co-sponsored S.299 - the “Regulations from the Executive In Need of Scrutiny Act of 2011," also known as the REINS Act, which proposed requiring that "Congress must affirmatively approve every new major rule (economic impact of $100 million or more, increase costs or prices for consumers or has an adverse effect on the economy) proposed by the Executive Branch before it can be enforced."^[24][25]

International trade[edit]

See also: Marco Rubio presidential campaign, 2016/International trade

• In October 2015, Marco Rubio said he was “generally very much in favor free trade.” He added, “I explain to people all the time, the United States cannot get locked out of 95 percent of the world’s consumers.”^[26]

• In November 2015, Breitbart reported that, although Marco Rubio expressed his support for President Obama’s Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal multiple times, his position seemed to be changing. According to Breitbart, "[A]fter the Wall Street Journal listed Rubio as supporting the pact, a new paragraph suddenly appeared at the end of the piece stating that 'Mr. Rubio’s spokesman said that although he backed the bill granting Mr. Obama fast-track trade authority this summer, he has not decided whether to support TPP legislation.'" Rubio said he had "very positive" feelings about the trade deal, but he did not say whether he would vote in favor of the deal.^[27]

• On June 24, 2015, by a vote of 60-38, the Senate approved trade promotion authority (TPA) as part of HR 2146 - Defending Public Safety Employees' Retirement Act. Rubio was one of two Republicans who did not vote on the bill.^[28]

• On May 22, 2015, the Senate passed HR 1314, which was used as a legislative vehicle for trade legislation with the titles "Trade Act of 2015" and the "Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015," by a vote of 62-37. The bill proposed giving the president trade promotion authority (TPA). The bill also included a statement of trade priorities and provisions for trade adjustment assistance. Rubio voted with 47 other Republican senators to approve the bill.^[29][30]

• In an April 29, 2015, op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, Rubio argued that the United States and Japan should form a strong alliance and work with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to finalize the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal. He wrote, "The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), discussed between President Obama and Prime Minister Abe this week, will further our strategic goals in Asia and increase prosperity at home. It will advance economic liberty and unleash free-market forces in the world’s most dynamic region. It will create the opportunity for emerging economies to become the next 'tigers' of Asia and enhance linkages between nations in the Western Hemisphere and East Asia. ...Concluding TPP will require the passage of Trade Promotion Authority by the Congress. Our foreign trading partners like Japan need to have confidence that American presidents can deliver on free trade. Once we pass Trade Promotion Authority we can finish negotiating a pact that will help build a network of Pacific economies based on competition, the rule of law and free markets."^[31]

Budgets[edit]

See also: Marco Rubio presidential campaign, 2016/Budgets

• On December 22, 2015, Marco Rubio defended his decision to be absent from the December 18, 2015, vote on the omnibus budget bill. He said that “we are going to win this election, so the American people are no longer subjected to these kind of votes where the outcome is already predetermined, and at the end of the day, it’s an issue there was no transparency on.” Rubio continued, “I was doing something, and that is running for president so we don’t have to keep doing this in the future. I want to win this race so that we have a president that doesn’t force us to take the garbage that was in that omnibus that was passed last week.”^[32]

• According to the National Taxpayers Union Foundation, the policy proposals Rubio offered at the first Republican debate on August 6, 2015, would lead to an estimated savings of $68.1 billion over five years, more than any other candidate.^[33]

• According to his official website in 2015, Rubio "believes that we must immediately freeze non-defense, non-veterans spending at 2008 spending levels. He also believes that we need to cut the budgets of the White House and Congress by ten percent and has co-sponsored legislation that would require all savings from Congressional budgets to be used for deficit or debt reduction."^[34]

• Rubio did not support the 2013 Paul Ryan budget. He said, "It raises it by $60 billion, the spending, but it pays it over ten years. Well, you know how that works. Over the next couple years they’ll forget it, and they will keep borrowing more. The fundamental problem that we have here is that we have a government that continues to spend more money than it takes in."^[35]

Agricultural subsidies[edit]

See also: Marco Rubio presidential campaign, 2016/Agricultural subsidies and 2016 presidential candidates on rural policy

• In 2013, Marco Rubio voted against the S.954 - the Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2013, which, “amends the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, repeals direct payments to farmers, and amends crop insurance programs.”^[36][37]

• In 2013, Rubio voted for S.Amdt.953 to S.954 - the Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2013, which sought “To limit the amount of premium subsidy provided by the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation on behalf of any person or legal entity with an average adjusted gross income in excess of $750,000, with a delayed application of the limitation until completion of a study on the effects of the limitation.”^[38]

• In 2012, Rubio voted for S.Amdt.2393 to S.Amdt.2392, which was a “Vote to table an amendment to S Amdt 2392 to S Amdt 2391 to S 3240 that reduces the amount of sugar subsidies for the 2012-2014 crop years, and repeals all sugar subsidies in the 2015 crop year.”^[39]

Federal assistance programs[edit]

See also: Marco Rubio presidential campaign, 2016/Federal assistance programs

• In June 2014, Marco Rubio proposed gradually raising the retirement age for younger workers and keeping the retirement age "the same for workers over the age of 55," according to CNN.^[40]

• In May 2014, Rubio expressed support for Rep. Paul Ryan’s "push to transition Medicare into a 'premium-support' plan, where seniors would be given a voucher to buy insurance on the private market," according to The Washington Times. Rubio said, “I propose we transition to a premium-support system, which would give seniors a generous but fixed amount of money with which to purchase health insurance from either Medicare or a private provider. The choice would be theirs to make.”^[41]

• In 2012, Rubio voted for S.Amdt.2174 to S.3240, which proposed limiting "categorical eligibility for the supplemental nutrition assistance program to those who receive cash assistance."^[42]

• In August 2011, Rubio spoke about the failure of government policies intended to address poverty. He said, "These programs actually weakened us as a people. You see, almost forever, it was institutions in society that assumed the role of taking care of one another. If someone was sick in your family, you took care of them. If a neighbor met misfortune, you took care of them. You saved for your retirement and your future because you had to. We took these things upon ourselves in our communities, our families, and our homes, and our churches and our synagogues. But all that changed when the government began to assume those responsibilities."^[43]

Labor and employment[edit]

See also: Marco Rubio presidential campaign, 2016/Labor and employment

• At the fourth Republican primary debate on November 10, 2015, Marco Rubio said he opposed raising the minimum wage. He said, "The problem is that today people are not successful working as hard as ever because the economy is not providing jobs that pay enough. If I thought that raising the minimum wage was the best way to help people increase their pay, I would be all for it, but it isn't. In the 20th century, it's a disaster. If you raise the minimum wage, you're going to make people more expensive than a machine. And that means all this automation that's replacing jobs and people right now is only going to be accelerated. Here's the best way to raise wages. Make America the best place in the world to start a business or expand an existing business, tax reform and regulatory reform, bring our debt under control, fully utilize our energy resources so we can reinvigorate manufacturing, repeal and replace Obamacare, and make higher education faster and easier to access, especially vocational training. For the life of me, I don't know why we have stigmatized vocational education. Welders make more money than philosophers. We need more welders and less philosophers."^[44]

• In September 2015, Rubio introduced his paid leave platform which "would give businesses a 25 percent tax credit for providing at least four weeks of paid family leave. It would be limited to 12 weeks of leave and $4,000 per employee.”^[45]

• Rubio wrote an op-ed in the Miami Herald on September 9, 2015, promoting his plan to reduce poverty in the United States. He recommended “a spending-neutral Flex Fund” of federal aid for each state “to design and fund anti-poverty programs on a more localized level.” Rubio also emphasized the importance of skills training, certifications and degree equivalents rather than traditional college degrees to enable working parents to increase their earning potential.^[46]

Foreign affairs[edit]

See also: Marco Rubio presidential campaign, 2016/Foreign affairs

Iran nuclear deal[edit]

See also: 2016 presidential candidates on the Iran nuclear deal

• Marco Rubio issued a joint letter with Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) on August 19, 2015, calling for Secretary of State John Kerry to make public letters he sent to the French, British, German and Chinese governments about the snapback provisions of the Iran nuclear deal. “These letters appear to reassure these foreign governments that their companies may not be impacted if sanctions are re-imposed in response to Iranian violations of the agreement. While Administration officials have claimed that this is not the case, we think it is important for the American public to be able to read your assurances to foreign governments for themselves as their elected representatives review this deal in the coming weeks,” the senators wrote.^[47]

• On July 24, 2015, Rubio insisted the next president does not have to honor the Iran nuclear deal even if Congress approves it. “This is a deal with the Obama administration. It is not a treaty. It is not binding on the next president. And I anticipate that the next president of the United States may very well – and if it’s me, I will – reimpose the American sanctions that are in the law right now,” Rubio said.^[48]

• On July 21, 2015, Rubio released a statement criticizing President Obama for not prioritizing the release of international journalist Jason Rezaian and other detainees in Iran during negotiations with the country. Rubio said, “It is unacceptable that the Obama Administration missed an opportunity to make the freedom of Jason, as well as Amir Hekmati and Saeed Abedini, and obtaining information about missing Floridian Robert Levinson, a priority in its negotiations with Iran. Jason should not be behind bars for his profession as a journalist, and he should be released unconditionally.”‎^[49]

• On July 15, 2015, Rubio remarked on Obama and the final Iran deal, calling it "an exhibit in his presidential library." He continued, "Look at the press coverage of this issue: Some of it’s been glowing as some sort of historic deal — it’s ridiculous. A third-rate autocracy has now been given equality with a world power, with the United States of America. They are now a nuclear threshold country on a deal signed with the United States and other global powers. That’s why they’re cheering in the streets [of] Tehran; that’s why they’re celebrating. You don’t see any celebrations in America. You don’t see any celebrations in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv, because they know this is a one-sided deal."^[50]

• On April 2, 2015, Rubio released the following statement on the Iran nuclear deal: "I look forward to hearing from administration officials what specific terms Iran has agreed to as part of what was supposed to be a comprehensive framework agreement, but the initial details appear to be very troubling. Through more than a decade of efforts to resolve international concerns about Iran’s nuclear program, this regime has consistently lied about its ambitions and hidden the true nature of its efforts from the world. Among other issues, allowing Iran to retain thousands of centrifuges, keeping facilities such as Fordow open and not limiting Iran’s ballistic missile program indicate to me that this deal is a colossal mistake. This attempt to spin diplomatic failure as a success is just the latest example of this administration’s farcical approach to Iran. Under this President’s watch, Iran has expanded its influence in the Middle East, sowing instability throughout the region. Iran’s support for terrorism has continued unabated without a serious response from the United States. The regime’s repression of the Iranian people and its detentions of American citizens continue. And now Tehran is gaining international acceptance of its nuclear ambitions and will receive significant sanctions relief without making serious concessions. I intend to work with my colleagues to continue to ensure that any final agreement, if reached, is reviewed by Congress and that additional sanctions continue to be imposed on Iran until it completely gives up its nuclear ambitions and the regime changes its destructive behavior. Our message to Iran should be clear: until the regime chooses a different path, the United States will continue to isolate Iran and impose pressure. Today’s announcement takes us in the opposite direction, and I fear it will have devastating consequences for nuclear non-proliferation, the security of our allies and partners, and for U.S. interests in the region."^[51]

Military preparedness and budget[edit]

• On November 8, 2015, Marco Rubio argued that cutting defense spending is “unsustainable, dangerous and reckless.” He said, “We need to get back to funding our defenses because it is the most important thing the federal government does. ...Defense spending is not the reason why we have a debt. It’s not the driver of our national debt. Our national debt, especially long-term, is driven by mandatory spending programs that need to be reformed.” Rubio also commented on Vladimir Putin saying, “He’s a gangster, but he’s a rational, cost-benefit analysis guy. He makes decisions based on geopolitical realities, and in the case of Europe, the benefits of what he’s doing in Europe outweigh the costs that Russia now is bearing militarily as a result.”^[52]

• As a member of the 114th Congress, Rubio serves on the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.^[53]

• During the 2014 budget debate, Rubio said in his floor speech, “Especially during this dangerous time when our enemies would be emboldened to see us abandon our allies around the world, I cannot support a budget that would make the world less safe place because the U.S. defense capabilities and our ability to influence events around the world are diminished."^[54]

National security[edit]

• After it was reported on January 11, 2016, that Marco Rubio would miss a closed-door Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on North Korea to attend a fundraiser in Miami, Rubio’s campaign postponed the fundraiser to avoid the scheduling conflict. Rubio's Senate spokesman said the senator also would get a separate briefing on January 12, 2016, as a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, as well as attending the State of the Union, vote on auditing the Federal Reserve and meet with the King of Jordan about the refugee crisis in Syria. ^[55] Rubio's move comes after he has been criticized by other GOP presidential candidates for missing votes.^[56]

• After reports surfaced that North Korea “claimed to have conducted the successful test of a hydrogen bomb” on January 5, 2016, Marco Rubio criticized President Obama for his inaction, which he linked to Hillary Clinton. He said, "I have been warning throughout this campaign that North Korea is run by a lunatic who has been expanding his nuclear arsenal while President Obama has stood idly by. If this test is confirmed, it will be just the latest example of the failed Obama-Clinton foreign policy. Our enemies around the world are taking advantage of Obama's weakness. We need new leadership that will stand up to people like Kim Jong-un and ensure our country has the capabilities necessary to keep America safe."^[57]

• While speaking at the American Legion in New Hampshire on January 4, 2016, Rubio criticized his “isolationist” rivals for endangering the U.S. He said, “On the other side of this election is the party of Reagan, the party of strong national defense and moral clarity, yet we have Republican candidates who propose that rulers like Assad and Putin should be partners of the United States, and who have voted with Barack Obama and Harry Reid rather than with our men and women in uniform. We have isolationist candidates who are apparently more passionate about weakening our military and intelligence capabilities than about destroying our enemies. They talk tough, yet they would strip us of the ability to keep our people safe."^[58]

• Rubio positioned his national security platform as an alternative to “outdated political establishment” policies during a speech to factory workers at Granite State Manufacturing in Manchester, N.H. on November 5, 2015. “The nature of warfare is always changing and the leaders of the past are almost always blind to these changes," Rubio said. He added that Hillary Clinton would “write the sequel to President Obama's disastrous foreign policy."^[59]

International relations

• Marco Rubio released a statement on February 10, 2016, in support of increased sanctions against North Korea. “Passage of the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act of 2016 is a first step toward applying more pressure to North Korea and those who do business with this corrupt regime. I was pleased to work with Senator Cory Gardner to specifically target the industries that North Korea uses to earn hard currency and to strengthen the bill’s provisions related to raising awareness of the plight of the North Korean people and funding activities to promote their human rights,” Rubio said.^[60]

• At the eighth Republican presidential primary debate on February 6, 2016, Rubio discussed how he would respond to North Korea: "Here's the broader point, as well, and then I think it touches on what Donald just mentioned. Barack Obama views America as this arrogant global power that needed to be cut down to size. OK? This is a president that views this country as a country that's been too powerful in the world and we create problems around the world. For example, it's one of the reasons why he had betrayed Israel, because he believes that if we create separation from Israel, it will help our relations in the Islamic world. The same is happening in the Asia-Pacific region with accommodations to North Korea. North Korean should be back on that list of terrorist nations, as an example. And Donald's absolutely right. China does have a lot of influence over North Korea and he should be leveraging our relationship with the Chinese to ensure that North Korea no longer has access to the resources that have allowed them -- a country that has no economy to develop long range missiles already capable of reaching the west coast of the United States potentially."^[61]

• During an interview on CBS' Face the Nation' on January 17, 2016, Rubio discussed the four Americans who were released by the Iranian government hours before the nuclear deal was implemented. He said, “These people that were being held were hostages. None of them had violated any real laws. And in fact some of them weren’t even charged. One of them was a reporter. The other one was a pastor. They’d done nothing. The people America’s releasing – they were convicted in a court law after due process of violate sanctions. The president has pardoned them in exchange for a release of hostages which had done nothing wrong and it proves once again now that nations and enemies of America around the world know there’s a price for Americans. … If you take an American hostage, Barack Obama will cut a deal with you, whether it’s Bergdahl, what he did with the Castro brothers, and now what he’s done with Iran.”^[62]

• During the sixth Republican presidential primary debate, on January 14, 2016, Rubio talked about the U.S. relationship with China: “We are all frustrated with what China is doing. I think we need to be very careful with tariffs, and here's why. China doesn't pay the tariff, the buyer pays the tariff. If you send a tie or a shirt made in China into the United States and an American goes to buy it at the store and there's a tariff on it, it gets passed on in the price to price to the consumer. So I think the better approach, the best thing we can do to protect ourselves against China economically is to make our economy stronger, which means reversing course from all the damage Barack Obama is doing to this economy. It begins with tax reform. Let's not have the most expensive business tax rate in the world. Let's allow companies to immediately expense. It continues with regulatory reform. Regulations in this country are out of control, especially the [Environmental Protection Agency], the EPA, and all of the rules they continue to impose on our economy and hurting us. How about Obamacare, a certified job killer? It needs to be repealed and replaced. And we need to bring our debt under control, make our economy stronger. That is the way to deal with China at the end of the day.”^[63]

ISIS and terrorism

• During the sixth Republican presidential primary debate, on January 14, 2016, Marco Rubio talked about defeating ISIS: “When I'm president of the United States, we are going to win this war on ISIS. The most powerful intelligence agency in the world is going to tell us where we are, the most powerful military in the world is going to destroy them. And if we capture any of them alive, they are getting a one-way ticket to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and we are going to find out everything they know.”^[64]

• At the fifth GOP primary debate on December 15, 2015, Rubio talked about defeating ISIS: “Well, let me begin by saying that we have to understand who ISIS is. ISIS is a radical Sunni group. They cannot just be defeated through air strikes. Air strikes are a key component of defeating them, but they must be defeated on the ground by a ground force. And that ground force must be primarily made up of Sunni Arabs themselves, Sunni Arabs that reject them ideologically and confront them militarily. We will have to embed additional American special operators alongside them to help them with training, to help them conduct special missions, and to help improve the air strikes. The air strikes are important, but we need to have an air force capable of it. And because of the budget cuts we are facing in this country, we are going to be left with the oldest and the smallest Air Force we have ever had. We have to reverse those cuts, in addition to the cuts to our Navy and in addition to the cuts to our Army, as well. And beyond that, I would say we must win the information war against ISIS. Every war we have ever been involved in has had a propaganda informational aspect to it. ISIS is winning the propaganda war. They are recruiting people, including Americans, to join them, with the promise that they are joining this great apocalyptic movement that is going to defeat the West. We have to show what life is really like in ISIS territory, and we have to show them why ISIS is not invincible, by going out and conducting these attacks and publicizing them to those who they recruit.”^[65]

• Rubio said at a town hall in Iowa on November 23, 2015, that the U.S. should film and broadcast its military efforts against ISIS. “I want the world to see how these ISIS leaders cry like babies when they're captured. I want the world to see how these ISIS leaders, once captured, begin to sing like canaries if they survive.” He continued, “We should be carrying out attacks against (ISIS) leadership nodes, videotaping the whole thing, and putting it up on YouTube so the world can see these people are not invincible."^[66]

• In an interview on Fox News on November 22, 2015, Rubio said the “only way” to defeat the Islamic State would be to use a ground force “made up primarily of Arab Sunnis.” He added, “There will have to be American operators embedded alongside them. Special operators are combat troops. This is not a return to Iraq. We're not talking about 100,000 people or 50,000 armed soldiers. But we are talking about a significant force with special operators and others with specific missions that will have to be embedded alongside that Sunni Arab coalition that this president and the United States must put together if we are to defeat ISIS on the ground.”^[67]

• Rubio wrote an op-ed for Politico Magazine on November 19, 2015, explaining the strategy he would use to defeat the Islamic State. Under his proposal, the U.S. would “strengthen the Visa Waiver Program’s security screening to ensure individuals coming to our country are not a threat,” “rescind limitations on overseas intelligence collection and restore the intelligence gathering authorities Congress drastically limited this year,” and “reverse defense sequestration.” Rubio added, “Early in 2011, when a strain of isolationism seemed to be taking root in the Republican Party, I began to warn of the dangers of failing to lead on the growing challenge in Syria and Iraq. I predicted much of what has happened today. I have repeatedly laid out what must be done to defeat ISIL and have spoken of the need for American strength even when it wasn't popular.”^[68]

Syrian refugees[edit]

• Rubio expressed support for the House-passed American Safe Act to restrict Syrian refugees from entering the U.S. on November 22, 2015, calling it “an appropriate response.” He said, “My argument is that we can’t allow anyone in this country that we can’t vet. And I believe that the vast majority of refugees that are trying to come here are people that we will not be able to vet. … Does common sense still apply? Of course, it does. A 5-year-old orphan, a 90-year-old widow, a well-known Chaldean priest, these are obviously common-sense applications that you can clearly vet them just by common sense. But what about someone who doesn’t fit that profile? There is no reliable database that we can rely on.”^[69]
• On November 15, 2015, Rubio criticized President Barack Obama’s plan to allow 10,000 Syrian refugees into the United States after the terrorist attacks in Paris. Rubio said, "We won’t be able to take more refugees. It’s not that we don’t want to — it’s that we can’t. Because there’s no way to background check someone that’s coming from Syria. You can’t pick up the phone and call Syria."^[70]

Domestic[edit]

Federalism[edit]

See also: Marco Rubio presidential campaign, 2016/Federalism

Legislative[edit]

• Marco Rubio joined seven other U.S. senators in a letter, dated December 11, 2015, to the chair of the Federal Communications Commission to request that states be permitted to block municipal broadband service providers.^[71]

• In 2015, conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt began asking Republican candidates on his show if they would be willing to use the Senate "nuclear option" in order to get rid of the filibuster and repeal Obamacare. Marco Rubio is one of a few candidates who was in favor of keeping the filibuster. His office said, "Senator Rubio is open to discussing all options to repeal Obamacare, but believes that the filibuster has been an important tool in stopping Democrats’ efforts to expand government."^[72]

Judiciary[edit]

• Marco Rubio said on February 15, 2016, that Justice Scalia's death had “refocused” the presidential race. He continued, “It's like, hold on a second, this is not just about having somebody interesting there, about making a point or sending a message. This election is about electing someone who's going to replace Scalia with someone, and I think it kind of brought a little bit of seriousness and gravity to the decision before us."^[73]

• Appearing on CBS News' Face the Nation on February 14, 2016, Rubio said that the Senate would not move forward on any nominee President Barack Obama put forward. When asked if he would accept such a moratorium if he were president, Rubio said he "would understand" it. In the interview, Rubio also described what qualities he thought a Supreme Court justice should have: "Does the justice – does this person that we're nominating have a consistent and proven record of interpreting the Constitution as initially meant? What did the society that wrote those words mean those words -- what did those words mean to that society at the time in which those words were written in the Constitution? ... I'm looking for people that are going to look at the Constitution and apply it and interpret it based on the original meaning of the words in that document."^[74]

• During the Republican presidential debate on February 13, 2016, Rubio said the next Supreme Court justice should employ an originalist interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. He said, "I do not believe the president should appoint someone. And it's not unprecedented. In fact, it has been over 80 years since a lame duck president has appointed a Supreme Court justice. And it remind [sic] us of this, how important this election is. Someone on this stage will get to choose the balance of the Supreme Court, and it will begin by filling this vacancy that's there now. And we need to put people on the bench that understand that the Constitution is not a living and breathing document. It is to be interpreted as originally meant."^[75]

• Rubio also released the following statement on February 13, 2016: "Today, our nation has suffered a deep loss. Justice Scalia was one of the most consequential Americans in our history and a brilliant legal mind who served with only one objective: to interpret and defend the Constitution as written. One of the greatest honors in my life was to attend oral arguments during Town of Greece v. Galloway and see Justice Scalia eloquently defend religious freedom. I will hold that memory forever. The next president must nominate a justice who will continue Justice Scalia's unwavering belief in the founding principles that we hold dear. Jeanette and I mourn the loss of Justice Scalia, and our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Maureen and his family."^[76]

• On December 13, 2015, Marco Rubio argued that the Constitution does not give “the federal government the power to regulate marriage.” He said, “I don't believe any case law is settled law. Any future Supreme Court can change it. And ultimately, I will appoint Supreme Court justices that will interpret the Constitution as originally constructed,"^[77]

• President Obama nominated Mary Barzee Flores for the judgeship of United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida in February 2015. Such posts are confirmed by the senators of the state, and as of August 2015, Rubio had not given his vote of approval. On August 25, 2015, members of the Why Courts Matter coalition held a demonstration in front of Rubio’s Orlando, Florida, office to protest Rubio’s six-month delay in confirming Barzee Flores to the federal judgeship. Staffers from Rubio's office told the protestors that Rubio was waiting for the Senate Committee to finish investigating the nominees.^[78][79]

• In July 2015, Rubio called for Supreme Court justices to interpret the Constitution rather than write law. He said, "We apparently have five justices on the Supreme Court today that have forgotten the proper role of the Supreme Court. They view themselves as Super Legislators - basically the supervisors of the republic. They invent rights, they, they find and are basically writing law. The job of the Supreme Court is not to create law, it’s to interpret the Constitution as originally constructed and applied. The next president of the United States must nominate Supreme Court justices that believe in the original intent of the Constitution and apply that. We need more Scalias and less Sotomayors."^[80]

• In January 2011, Rubio pledged "to support well-qualified judicial nominees who will interpret the laws of our land, not establish new policy from the bench as the Supreme Court did in Roe v. Wade 38 years ago."^[81]

Government accountability[edit]

• In June 2012, Marco Rubio called for Attorney General Eric Holder to resign because of "the Justice Department’s handling of Operation 'Fast and Furious,'" according to the Washington Post. He said, "This was a major mistake made by the Justice Department and the folks who administered this program and I think one of the roles of Congress is to have oversight over decisions such as this. If you refuse to provide information to allow Congress to play that role, it really undermines the principles of our republic and the separation of powers and the role that Congress plays.”^[82]

First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution[edit]

See also: 2016 presidential candidates on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act

• In August 2013, Rubio "filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court regarding Town of Greece v. Galloway," in support of the town’s right to open town board meetings with prayer.^[83]

Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA)[edit]

• On March 13, 2015, NPR's Steve Inskeep asked Marco Rubio about Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Rubio responded, "I don't believe you can discriminate against people. So I don't believe it's right for a florist to say, I'm not going to provide you flowers because you're gay. I think there's a difference between not providing services to a person because of their identity, who they are or who they love, and saying, I'm not going to participate in an event, a same-sex wedding, because that violates my religious beliefs. There's a distinction between those two things. So, certainly, you can't not — it's immoral and wrong to say, I'm not going to allow someone who's gay or lesbian to use my restaurant, stay in my hotel, or provide photography service to them because they're gay. The difference here is, we're not talking about discriminating against a person because of who they are, we're talking about someone who's saying — what I'm talking about, anyway, is someone who's saying, I just don't want to participate as a vendor for an event, a specific event that violates the tenets of my faith."^[84]

Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution[edit]

• On January 17, 2016, Rubio said he had bought a gun before Christmas to defend his family. “I’m a strong supporter of the Second Amendment. I have a right to protect my family if someone were to come after us, In fact, if ISIS were to visit us, or our communities, at any moment, the last line of defense between ISIS and my family is the ability that I have to protect my family from them, or from a criminal, or anyone else who seeks to do us harm. Millions of Americans feel that way,” Rubio said.^[85]

• During the sixth Republican presidential primary debate, on January 14, 2016, Rubio discussed President Obama and the Second Amendment: “Look, the Second Amendment is not an option. It is not a suggestion. It is a constitutional right of every American to be able to protect themselves and their families. I am convinced that if this president could confiscate every gun in America, he would. I am convinced that this president, if he could get rid of the Second Amendment, he would. I am convinced because I see how he works with his attorney general, not to defend the Second Amendment, but to figure out ways to undermine it. I have seen him appoint people to our courts not to defend the Second Amendment, but to figure out ways to undermine it. Here's my second problem. None of these instances that the president points to as the reason why he's doing these things would have been preventive. You know why? Because criminals don't buy their guns from a gun show. They don't buy their guns from a collector. And they don't buy their guns from a gun store. They get -- they steal them. They get them on the black market. And let me tell you, ISIS and terrorists do not get their guns from a gun show.”^[86]

• After President Obama discussed his executive actions to prevent gun violence, Rubio said January 5, 2016, that his plan is "part of a broader narrative. And that is that this president is obsessed with undermining the Constitution in general, but the Second Amendment in particular."^[87]

• Rubio wrote an op-ed in The Sioux City Journal on December 18, 2015, to criticize Democratic calls for stricter gun control laws. “Since our nation’s founding, all 44 of our presidents have sworn to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States. Most have understood that this means the entire Constitution, not just the parts they like. But today, President Obama believes a key provision of our Constitution – the Second Amendment – does not apply to him. He believes the relevance of the right to bear arms has somehow changed since our founding, and that it is no longer his duty to uphold or defend it. This is not only a violation of his oath; it also represents a dangerous lack of judgment. If the relevance of the right to bear arms has changed in recent years, it has become more important rather than less,” Rubio wrote.^[88]

Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

• Commenting on whether Apple should design a program to crack the encrypted iPhone of one of the San Bernardino, Calif., shooters, Marco Rubio said at a campaign stop on February 17, 2016, that “being a good corporate citizen is important.” In a televised town hall later that night he said, "If we passed a law that required Apple and these companies to create a backdoor, one, criminals could figure that out and use it against you. And number two, there's already encrypted software that already exists, not only now but in the future created in other countries. We would not be able to stop that, so there would still be encryption capabilities — they just wouldn't be American encryption capabilities."^[89]

• At the fifth GOP primary debate on December 15, 2015, Rubio talked about his opposition to the USA Freedom Act: “Here's the world we live in. This is a radical jihadist group that is increasingly sophisticated in its ability, for example, to radicalize American citizens, in its inability to exploit loopholes in our legal immigration system, in its ability to capture and hold territory in the Middle East, as I outlined earlier, in multiple countries. This is not just the most capable, it is the most sophisticated terror threat we have ever faced. We are now at a time when we need more tools, not less tools. And that took we lost, the metadata program, was a valuable tool that we no longer have at our disposal. ... There is nothing that we are allowed to do under this bill that we could not do before. This bill did, however, take away a valuable tool that allowed the National Security Agency and other law - and other intelligence agencies to quickly and rapidly access phone records and match them up with other phone records to see who terrorists have been calling. Because I promise you, the next time there is attack on - an attack on this country, the first thing people are going to want to know is, why didn't we know about it and why didn't we stop it? And the answer better not be because we didn't have access to records or information that would have allowed us to identify these killers before they attacked.”^[90]

• On December 2, 2015, Rubio co-sponsored the Liberty Through Strength Act II to make permanent certain provisions of the Patriot Act and Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. “This bill will not fix the misguided and flawed USA Freedom Act that went into effect on December 1, nor will it reverse the dangerous, unilateral disarmament of portions of our intelligence collection apparatus undertaken by President Obama and his administration. However, passage of this bill will ensure that key tools used by the intelligence community and law enforcement to defend our cities and towns are permanently reauthorized and that the metadata already collected is not discarded until it no longer has any intelligence value,” said Rubio in a statement.^[91]

USA FREEDOM Act of 2015
On June 2, 2015, the Senate passed HR 2048 - the Uniting and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and Ensuring Effective Discipline Over Monitoring Act of 2015 or the USA FREEDOM Act of 2015 by a vote of 67-32. The legislation revised HR 3199 - the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 by terminating the bulk collection of metadata under Sec. 215 of the act, requiring increased reporting from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and requiring the use of "a specific selection term as the basis for national security letters that request information from wire or electronic communication service providers, financial institutions, or consumer reporting agencies." Rubio voted with 29 Republicans, one Democrat and one independent against the legislation. It became law on June 2, 2015.^[92][93]

Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution[edit]

• In an op-ed in USA Today on January 6, 2016, Marco Rubio wrote that he would “promote a convention of states to amend the Constitution and restore limited government.” Rubio continued, “This method of amending our Constitution has become necessary today because of Washington’s refusal to place restrictions on itself. The amendment process must be approached with caution, which is why I believe the agenda should be limited to ideas that reduce the size and scope of the federal government, such as imposing term limits on Congress and the Supreme Court and forcing fiscal responsibility through a balanced budget requirement. Limiting the agenda will prevent the convention from being overtaken by special interests.”^[94]

• In June 2010, Marco Rubio defended Arizona’s immigration law, S.B. 1070, saying, “Arizona has a 10th Amendment right to provide for the security of its residents.”^[95]

Territories[edit]

• On September 4, 2015, Marco Rubio published an op-ed on Medium stating his opposition to allowing Puerto Rico to reorganize its debts under Chapter 9 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Rubio proposed improving the Puerto Rican economy by increasing tax credits for low-income workers and families with children.^[96]

Crime and justice[edit]

• In 2008, Marco Rubio voted for a bill that "Requires life sentences for second or subsequent offenses of lewd or lascivious molestation against victim less than 12 years of age."^[97]

Natural resources[edit]

See also: Marco Rubio presidential campaign, 2016/Natural resources

Environmental Protection Agency[edit]

• Marco Rubio introduced a joint resolution on September 17, 2015, disapproving of the Environmental Protection Agency’s expansion of federal authority over American lands and waterways. “Hardworking Americans have had enough of Washington bureaucrats telling them how to use their land. The EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers are irresponsible to go forward with this job-killing rule despite the serious concerns raised by farmers, ranchers, manufacturers and small business owners across the country,” said Rubio.^[98]

Energy production[edit]

• Marco Rubio wrote an op-ed in the National Review on September 1, 2015, explaining his energy production platform. Rubio said he would lift the ban on crude-oil exports, stop the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Clean Power Plan” and empower local and state governments to regulate energy production.^[99]

• In 2013, Rubio co-sponsored S.1324 - the National Energy Tax Repeal Act, which proposed prohibiting "the head of a federal agency from promulgating any regulation relating to power sector carbon pollution standards or any substantially similar regulation on or after June 25, 2013, unless that regulation is explicitly authorized by an Act of Congress."^[100]

Keystone XL Pipeline[edit]

• Marco Rubio co-sponsored S.1 - Keystone XL Pipeline Approval Act. It passed the Senate on January 29, 2015.^[101]

• Rubio co-sponsored S.2280, which would have immediately authorized the continuation of the Keystone XL pipeline. The bill failed 59-41 on November 18, 2014.^[102]

• Rubio voted for S.Amdt. 494: "To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund to promote investment and job growth in United States manufacturing, oil and gas production, and refining sectors through the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline." It passed by a vote of 62 - 37 on March 22, 2013.^[103]

• Rubio voted for S.Amdt. 1537 to S. 1813, which would have approved the Keystone XL pipeline project. It failed by a vote of 56-42 on March 8, 2012.^[104]

Climate change[edit]

• At the twelfth Republican debate on March 10, 2016, Rubio discussed his stance on climate change legislation, saying, “If we pass -- if you took the gift list of all of these groups that are asking us to pass these laws and did every single one of them, there would be no change in our environment. Sea level would still rise. All these other things that are happening would continue to go on for a lot of different reasons. One, because America is not a planet. It's a country. And number two, because these other countries like India and China are more than making up in carbon emissions for whatever we could possibly cut.”^[105]

• In an open letter dated January 21, 2016, 15 Florida mayors called on Marco Rubio to acknowledge climate change and its impact on agriculture and coastal flooding in the state.^[106]

• During the September 2015 GOP debate, Marco Rubio said he would not support environmental regulations regarding climate change that hindered business development. “The bottom line is, I am not in favor of any policies that make America a harder place for people to live, or to work, or to raise their families,” Rubio said.^[107]

• In May 2014, Marco Rubio said, “I do not believe that human activity is causing these dramatic changes to our climate the way these scientists are portraying it. I do not believe that the laws that they propose we pass will do anything about it, except it will destroy our economy. Our climate is always changing. And what they have chosen to do is take a handful of decades of research and say that this is now evidence of a longer-term trend that's directly and almost solely attributable to manmade activities."^[108]

Carbon emissions[edit]

• In August 2015, Marco Rubio criticized the Obama administration’s plan to reduce power plant carbon emissions. Explaining his position, Rubio said, “Tomorrow there will be a new carbon rule issued by the EPA. And here’s the practical impact of that new carbon rule: It will make utilities, it will make the cost of electricity higher for millions of Americans. So if there is some billionaire somewhere who is a pro-environmental cap and trade person, yeah, they can probably afford for their electric bill to go up a couple hundred dollars. But if you’re a single mom in Tampa, Florida, and your electric bill goes up by $30 a month, that is catastrophic. And that’s what these policies will do. And they will do nothing to address the underlying issues that they’re talking about.”^[109]

Cap and trade[edit]

• During the seventh Republican presidential primary debate on January 28, 2016, Marco Rubio said he opposed cap-and-trade: “But I have never supported cap- and-trade and I never thought it was a good idea. And I was clear about that at the time. And I do not believe it's a good idea now. I do not believe that we have to destroy our economy in order to protect our environment. And especially what these programs are asking us to pass that will do nothing to help the environment, but will be devastating for our economy. When I am president of the United States of America, there will never be any cap-and-trade in the United States.”^[110]

• In June 2014, Rubio signed onto a letter urging President Barack Obama to withdraw the EPA cap-and-trade rule.^[111]

• Rubio co-sponsored S.482 - the Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011, which proposed prohibiting "the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from implementing cap-and-trade regulations."^[112][113]

• According to the Tampa Bay Times, "As the leader of the Florida House in 2008, Rubio presided over a unanimous vote in favor of directing the state Department of Environmental Protection to develop ground rules for companies to limit their carbon emissions."^[114]

Healthcare[edit]

See also: Marco Rubio presidential campaign, 2016/Healthcare

• While discussing healthcare for disabled individuals on January 27, 2016, Marco Rubio recounted his grandfather’s struggle with polio. He said, “Imagine being disabled, at the turn of a century, in a developing country like Cuba and having to raise seven girls, which is what he had to do. It was hard. He struggled most of his life to do that.” Rubio said high-risk pools should be established by the state to help those with chronic and serious conditions who could not otherwise obtain health insurance. He noted, however, that he believed some in the U.S. were “cheating the system.”^[115]

• Rubio voted in favor of a Senate bill to repeal large portions of the Affordable Care Act on December 3, 2015.^[116]

• At a campaign event in New Hampshire on October 16, 2015, Rubio criticized pharmaceutical companies of “pure profiteering.” According to The Wall Street Journal, Rubio argued that high drug prices are the result of government regulations and the companies’ attempt “to offset declining consumer demand as their products lose market share to newer rival treatments.” Rubio said, “You ask yourself, how is this possible? There are less prescriptions being written for that drug and yet you’re making more money on it than you ever have. The answer is they’re raising the prices dramatically, and the reason they’re raising the price dramatically is because they can. … The market will bear it. It’s just pure profiteering.”^[117]

• Rubio wrote an op-ed in Politico on August 17, 2015, detailing how to improve healthcare in the United States. After repealing the Affordable Care Act, Rubio’s plan would “create an advanceable, refundable tax credit that all Americans can use to purchase health insurance,” reform insurance regulations, and transition Medicare to a premium support system.^[118]

Immigration[edit]

See also: Marco Rubio presidential campaign, 2016/Immigration

• At the eighth Republican presidential primary debate on February 6, 2016, Marco Rubio discussed his position on immigration: Here's the bottom line. We can't get that legislation passed. The American people will not support doing anything about people that are in this country illegally until the law is enforced first, and you prove it to them. This has been abundantly clear. Every effort over the last ten years to do those comprehensively has failed. And it has failed because the American people have zero trust that the federal government will enforce our laws. And that's why since then, I have said repeatedly, if you are serious about immigration reform, then the key that unlocks the door to being able to do that is not just to pass a law that says it is going to enforce the law, but to actually do it. To hire the 20,000 new border agents, to finish the fencing and walls, to put in place mandatory e-verify, to put in place an entry-exit tracking system to prevent visa overstays. And once that is in place and that's working, I believe the American people will support a very reasonable, but responsible approach to people that have been here a long time, who are not dangerous criminals, who pay taxes and pay fines for what they did. But until then, none of that is going to be possible.^[119]

• During the seventh Republican presidential primary debate on January 28, 2016, Rubio talked about his position on immigration: “I do not support amnesty...What I've always said is that this issue does need to be solved. They've been talking about this issue for 30 years, and nothing ever happens. And, I'm going to tell you exactly how we're going to deal with it when I am president. Number one, we're going to keep ISIS out of America. If we don't know who you are, or why you're coming, you will not get into the United States. Number two, we're going to enforce our immigration laws. I am the son and grandson of immigrants. And I know that securing our borders is not anti-immigrant and we will do it. We'll hire 20,000 new border agents instead of 20,000 new IRS agents. We will finish the 700 miles of fencing and walls our nation needs. We'll have mandatory E-verify, a mandatory entry/exit tracking system and until all of that is in place and all of that is working and we can prove to the people of this country that illegal immigration is under control, nothing else is going to happen. We are not going to round up and deport 12 million people, but we're not going to hand out citizenship cards, either. There will be a process. We will see what the American people are willing to support. But it will not be unconstitutional executive orders like the ones Barack Obama has forced on us.”^[120]

• On January 12, 2016, Rubio introduced “The Cuban Immigrant Work Opportunity Act of 2016.‎” The legislation proposes terminating “the automatic eligibility for federal public assistance for Cuban nationals under the Refugee Resettlement Program, while maintaining it for those that have been persecuted that are in need of resettlement assistance,” according to the senator’s website. In a statement, Rubio said, ‎“It is outrageous whenever the American people’s generosity is exploited. It is particularly outrageous when individuals who claim to be fleeing repression in Cuba are welcomed and allowed to ‎collect federal assistance based on their plight, only to return often to the very place they claimed to be fleeing. The weaknesses in our current law not only allow the flow of American tax dollars into the Castro regime’s coffers, it also undermines the legitimate cause of those Cubans who are truly fleeing repression and political persecution. This is a first step to eliminate the loopholes and financial incentives that have been exploited for too long, while protecting U.S. taxpayers and preserving the original intent of the Cuban Adjustment Act and Refugee Resettlement Program, which is to afford refuge to Cubans truly fleeing persecution. … The need to help those fleeing repression in Cuba has not changed given that, since the Obama Administration announced its counterproductive policy of normalization with Castro’s dictatorship, political arrests and repression have increased. ‘The Cuban Immigrant Work Opportunity Act’ will ensure that we continue assisting those fleeing political persecution in Cuba while working toward ending any abuse of American generosity. This is a strong first step, and I hope Congress will pass it this year.”^{[121] [122]}

• During an anti-poverty forum on January 9, 2016, Rubio was heckled several times by immigration protesters. “Rubio does not represent the Hispanic community. He wants to deport our families,” one said as he was escorted out. Others held signs saying, “Rubio wants to deport me!" Rubio was the only candidate appearing at the forum interrupted by protesters.^[123]

Education[edit]

See also: Marco Rubio presidential campaign, 2016/Education

• During a CNN town hall on February 17, 2016, Marco Rubio said that although he believed systemic racism existed, he was “not sure that there's a political solution” to it. He emphasized, instead, disparities in educational opportunities. He said, “One reason you see educational and academic underperformance, not just in the African-American community, but in the Hispanic community, is because a disproportionate number of our children are growing up in broken homes in dangerous neighborhoods, living in substandard housing and forced by the government to attend a failing school. They're going to struggle to succeed unless something breaks that cycle."^[124]

• On January 21, 2016, Rubio criticized Jeb Bush for not joining the Republican fight against the Common Core. He told reporters, “On the issue of Common Core, while we were off and many conservatives around the country were fighting against the Obama agenda, Jeb was nowhere to be found. In fact, he spent most of his time traveling the country trying to push Common Core onto our local school districts and across the country. And in some instances even criticized the conservative movement on some of these things.”^[125]

• The U.S. Senate approved the conference report for S. 1177 - Student Success Act on December 9, 2015. Rubio missed the vote on the bill, which overhauled the No Child Left Behind Act . President Obama signed the bill into law on December 10, 2015.^[126][127]

• In an op-ed for the National Review on October 1, 2015, Rubio wrote that students at technical schools, online colleges, and other alternative institutions should have the same access to federal financial aid as traditional colleges.^[128]

• Rubio wrote an op-ed in The Des Moines Register on September 13, 2015, to promote his higher education platform. He recommended reforming the accreditation system “to welcome low-cost, innovative higher education providers,” requiring schools to inform students how much they are expected to earn with a given degree prior to offering loans, increasing financial aid programs for working students, developing alternatives to student loans and correlating loan repayment with each graduate’s income.^[129]

Abortion[edit]

See also: Marco Rubio presidential campaign, 2016/Abortion

• On September 30, 2015, Marco Rubio stated he supports emergency contraception in cases of rape and incest. “[W]e have treatments available early on after an incident that can prevent that fertilization from happening. And that’s why I support the morning-after pill being available over the counter and I certainly support them being made available immediately for rape victims,” Rubio said.^[130][131]

• In September 2015, Rubio said he was comfortable with medical researchers using fetal tissue from a miscarriage or other non-elective end to a pregnancy.^[132]

• Rubio stated in an interview on September 21, 2015, that he thought Planned Parenthood created an environment that incentivized abortions. “Now what you've done is created an industry, now what you've done is created an incentive for people to be pushed into abortions so that those tissues can be harvested and sold for a profit,” said Rubio. When asked if that statement might be a stretch, he answered, “No, absolutely. If you got to these centers, young women are provided very few options, in many places they're not told anything about, for example, adoption services that may be available to them. The idea that, in essence, you come in and it's already pre-determined, this is what place [sic] this place does. It provides abortions, and we are going to channel you in this direction.”^[133]

• During an interview on September 18, 2015, with Fox News' Sean Hannity, Rubio discussed defunding Planned Parenthood and the possibility of a government shutdown. He said, "Obviously, the House, the Senate should have laid the groundwork for this debate so that people understand that we’re not just debating an organization here, that some people might think is a nice organization or whatever. We’re organization — we’re debating their practices. And here’s the truth…the people who are threatening a shutdown [are] Barack Obama and his allies in the Senate. What they’re arguing is, if the federal budget does not fully fund Planned Parenthood, I will veto the budget, and hence, shut down the government. That should be the message. Instead, it’s always the reverse, the Republicans are going to shut down the government. No, we’re not. We are in support of funding the government fully, just not giving any more money to this one organization that was just caught on video dismembering unborn children, or in one case, a child that had already been born alive, as Carly did very well last night outlining and describing the video. So, I don’t understand why we accept this argument that we’re the ones shutting it down. They’re the ones shutting it down. It would be a Democratic filibuster and a presidential veto that would shut down the government, and it would be for the purpose of supporting one organization."^[134]

Gay rights[edit]

See also: Marco Rubio presidential campaign, 2016/Gay rights

• While campaigning in New Hampshire on February 8, 2016, Marco Rubio was confronted by a New Hampshire man over his position on gay rights. "Why do you want to put me back in the closet?" the voter, who is married to another man, asked. Rubio responded, “I don’t. You can live any way you want. I just believe marriage is between one man and one woman." The voter then suggested Rubio did not believe gay people mattered. “No, I just believe marriage is between one man and one woman. I think that’s what the law should be. And if you disagree you should have the law changed by a legislature," Rubio said in reply.^[135]

• On December 13, 2015, Marco Rubio argued that the Constitution does not give “the federal government the power to regulate marriage.” He said, “I don't believe any case law is settled law. Any future Supreme Court can change it. And ultimately, I will appoint Supreme Court justices that will interpret the Constitution as originally constructed,"^[136]

• Breitbart reported November 27, 2015, that Rubio faced push back from evangelical Christians over his views on gay marriage and whether he believes sexual preference is a choice or biologically determined. According to Breitbart, “Many ministers are reportedly {sic} skeptical of Rubio because they’re unsure whether Rubio’s views are in line with the teachings of the Bible when it comes to the issue of gay marriage. Some Iowa pastors say they want ‘to know Rubio’s authentic feelings about gay rights.’” The pastors are also concerned with Rubio’s ties to billionaire Paul Singer, “a major donor to Rubio’s presidential campaign and the founder of a super-PAC whose purpose is to help make the Republican Party pro-gay marriage.”^[137]

• On June 26, 2015, following the ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, Marco Rubio stated that "the question of same sex marriage is a question of the definition of an institution, not the dignity of a human being." Nevertheless, Rubio said, "While I disagree with this decision, we live in a republic and must abide by the law. As we look ahead, it must be a priority of the next president to nominate judges and justices committed to applying the Constitution as written and originally understood."^[138]

Civil Liberties[edit]

See also: Marco Rubio presidential campaign, 2016/Civil liberties

• When asked about his stance on legalizing marijuana at a campaign event in South Carolina, Marco Rubio said he does not favor legalization and added “When you legalize something, it’s sending a message that it’s not that harmful.”^[139]

• Although Rubio has co-sponsored a Senate bill to ban online gambling, he hinted to the Las Vegas Review-Journal editorial board that he would consider an exception for online poker, the paper reported October 24, 2015. "On the issue of Internet poker, the only difference between the poker games and the others is that it involves an element of skill associated with and compared with just a slot machine online. So that's the one area that distinguishes it a little bit,” Rubio said.^[140]

Urban policy[edit]

• During an interview on January 18, 2016, Marco Rubio said he was unable to comment on the water crisis in Flint, Michigan because he had not been briefed on the situation. He said, "That's not an issue that right now we've been focused on for me to give you a deeply detailed answer on what the right approach should be, other than to tell you that in general I believe the federal government's role in some of these things [is] largely limited unless it involves a federal jurisdictional issue. So I'd love to give you a better answer on it. It's just not an issue we've been quite frankly fully briefed or apprised of in terms of the role the governor has played and the state has played in Michigan on these sorts of issues."^[141]

• On his 2016 presidential campaign website, Rubio listed the reforms he would enact to improve infrastructure and systems of transportation funding: in the U.S.^[142]
  • Reduce the federal gas tax rate by 80 percent and veto any increase.^[142]
  • Give control of the highways to the states and encourage public-private partnerships.^[142]
  • Repeal the Davis-Bacon Act, which requires laborers and contractors on federal projects be paid local prevailing wages.^[142]
  • Phase out and eventually eliminate the Mass Transit Account.^[142]

• In August 2015, Rubio praised City Year, a national service program serving poor urban communities throughout the U.S. “I think [City Year] is one of the [programs] I’ve tried to highlight as one that does a very good job in our country," Rubio said.^[143]

• In April 2015, Rubio said that the bailout of the auto industry in Detroit was not "the right way to handle it." He said that "it was a problematic approach that the federal government took to doing it. But at the end of the day our industry has to be globally competitive. One of the things that makes them globally competitive ... is having a workforce that can do the work and also having tax policies, regulatory policies that ensures that America continues to be a place where all industries thrive including the auto industry."^[144]

• In his 2006 book, 100 Innovative Ideas for Florida's Future, Rubio encouraged the development of tax-free zones in the poorest cities in the U.S. He wrote, "Fostering growth in downtrodden regions requires a bold, dramatic, and innovative approach to economic development and urban revitalization. The Legislature should institute a pilot program that creates a tax-free zone in the most economically depressed areas of our state. Florida must resolve to break down the economic obstacles that exist in many urban centers today with the same vigilance and zeal used to assail racial and gender barriers over the past forty years."^[145]

• Rubio also addressed the issue of affordable housing in 100 Innovative Ideas for Florida's Future in 2006. He recommended that developers be encouraged to construct affordable housing in Florida through incentives, writing, "The 2006 Legislature encouraged the provision of affordable housing for essential service personnel, extending housing assistance to those with extremely low incomes, and providing other financial and regulatory incentives to encourage affordable housing. The legislation included density bonus incentives for land donations for affordable housing purposes. Florida should increase incentives for developers to not only provide the land for affordable housing, but also construct the housing units themselves.^[146]

Rural policy[edit]

• Marco Rubio said in January 2016 that he believed the federal government controlled too much land, particularly in the West. "The state of Nevada is an example — it’s almost entirely owned by the federal government. And it goes well beyond the legitimate need of land ownership for defense purposes, for example," Rubio said.^[147]

• On his 2016 presidential campaign website, Rubio listed several ways he would work to enable farmers to succeed. He said he would "repeal burdensome regulations" like the Environmental Protection Agency's "Clean Water Rule" and the "excessive application" of the Endangered Species Act. Rubio also said he would repeal the death tax and cap-and-trade programs. He added that he supported Trade Promotion Authority and would "push for timely completion of trade agreements to boost exports for American farmers and ranchers."^[148]

• In November 2015, Rubio said he supported the Renewable Fuel Standard until its planned expiration in 2022. He explained, "I think it would be unfair to simply yank it away from people that have made investments based on its existence. So my argument is we should allow it to continue until it expires and hopefully by then the industry will be able to sustain itself.”^[149]

• In January 2014, Rubio said childhood education programs like Head Start should be localized to account for the needs of each individual community. He said, "I'm not saying we should dismantle the efforts, I'm saying that these efforts need to be reformed and I believe the best way to reform them is to turn the money and the influence over to the state and local level where I think you'll find the kinds of innovations that allow us to confront an issue that is complex, and quite frankly diverse. For example, rural poverty looks different than urban poverty. And there are different approaches to it."^[150]

• In 2013, Rubio voted against S 954 - Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2013, which sought to repeal direct payments to farmers and amend food assistance benefits and crop insurance programs.^[151] He voted in favor of an amendment to this bill, however, that would have limited the amount of subsidies given to farmers or farming organizations with an average adjusted gross income in excess of $750,000.^[152]

Recent news[edit]

This section links to a Google news search for the term Marco + Rubio + 2016

See also[edit]

• Marco Rubio
• Presidential election, 2016

Footnotes[edit]

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