Marco Rubio voted against legislation that would make it easier for Americans to register to vote and cast their ballots, crack down on political corruption, and stop voter suppression efforts in states like Florida by restoring sections of the bipartisan Voting Rights Act. Florida Democratic Party Executive Director Marcus L. Dixon released the following statement on Rubio’s vote:
“Marco Rubio had a simple choice today: defend Floridians’ sacred right to vote easily and safely, or double down on attacks on voting rights that have created chaos in our elections, divided our country, and kept people from making their voices heard in elections.
Too weak to stand up to his party and do the right thing, Marco Rubio voted against legislation to strengthen our democracy. Rubio voted against a plan to end partisan gerrymandering, against a plan to shine a light on dark money in our elections, and against a plan to strengthen election security.
As a career politician, Marco Rubio chose to make it harder for Floridians to participate in critical elections to serve his own political interests. If Floridians can’t count on Marco Rubio to stand up and defend the fundamental right to vote that makes our democracy an example for others across the world, we’ll exercise our right to vote in November and fire him from his job.”
The Freedom To Vote Act that Rubio voted down today would make it easier for millions of Floridians to vote. Millions of Floridians who are potentially eligible to vote but are not registered would have the opportunity to register up to and on Election Day. The bill would also prevent eligible voters from being moved to an inactive voter list as over 300,000 Florida voters have recently.
One Year After President Biden’s Inauguration, Florida’s Economy is Booming
Today marks the one-year anniversary of President Biden’s inauguration, and thanks to the Biden Administration’s efforts, Florida’s economy has experienced dramatic improvement over the past year.
Despite constant opposition and obstruction from Florida Republicans, including Senator Rubio and Governor DeSantis, the Biden Administration has gotten hundreds of thousands of Floridians back to work, passed laws to create jobs and rebuild our crumbling infrastructure, and bolstered the state’s COVID response, increasing the number of vaccinated adults by roughly 75%. These results are consistent with what we are seeing across the country – the year since President Biden took office has resulted in the greatest year of job creation and the sharpest single-year drop in unemployment in American history.
Together, President Biden’s American Rescue Plan and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law represent a once-in-a-generation investment in working families that will rebuild Florida’s physical infrastructure and transform the state’s economy so that it works for everyone. Experts estimate that the Biden Administration’s policies have created 467,700 new jobs in Florida alone over the past year.
“In just one year and with very little Republican support, the Biden Administration has already created a record-setting number of jobs to put Floridians back to work and get our economy up and running again,” said Florida Democratic Party spokesperson Travis Reuther. “There’s no doubt that we are going to see Republicans take credit for these results while continuing to try to get in the way of the progress we are making. But the fact remains that President Biden and Florida Democrats are the only party that is actually willing and able to invest in working families.”
Read more about President Biden and Vice President Harris’ historic economic accomplishments over the past year:
- Direct Economic Relief: To keep working families on their feet during the pandemic, the American Rescue Plan provided more than 11 million Floridians with a total of $26.5 billion in economic stimulus checks, while also reducing health insurance costs, pausing federal student loans, and halting evictions.
- Child Poverty: The expanded Child Tax Credits in the American Rescue Plan directly benefitted more than 3.6 million children in Florida, with an average monthly payment for each family of $429 – for a total of $5.7 billion in direct relief to working families in the state.
- Jobs: President Biden’s first year in office was the greatest year of job creation in American history, with more than 467,700 jobs created in Florida and more than 6 million jobs nationwide. Experts predict that the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will create and sustain 981,500 good, union jobs in Florida over the next ten years.
- Wages: In Florida, workers have seen their wages increase by an average of $0.71 per hour, while unemployment claims are down 86% under President Biden.
- Infrastructure: In Florida alone, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will repair more than 412 miles of road and 90 bridges that desperately need it, which will dramatically reduce the commute times and exorbitant out-of-pocket auto repair costs that Floridians currently face.
- Clean Energy and Climate: The American Rescue Plan and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will provide significant investments to cut air pollution, make homes and businesses more energy efficient, and modernize the electrical grid in Florida. Experts estimate that these investments will create more than 200,000 jobs in the state.
- State and Local Support: The American Rescue Plan provided state and local governments in Florida with $15.9 billion relief, along with $7 billion for Florida schools – funding that goes directly towards keeping schools open and ensuring that our state and local governments have the resources they need to continue to help working families.
