U.S. Senator Marco Rubio was born in Miami, Florida, one of the four children of Cuban immigrants who came to America in 1956. Both of his parents earned their way to the middle class by working humble jobs - his father as a bartender in hotels and his mother as a maid, cashier, and stock clerk. Thanks to their loving, powerful example, Senator Rubio learned the importance of family and hard work and came to realize that all things are possible in America. He believes in the American Dream because he's living it.
Senator Rubio has spent most of his life in West Miami, and he lives there today with his wife Jeanette and their four children. One of the many reasons he loves living in Florida and representing its people is the diverse backgrounds and stories of those in his community. Some have made it in America, others are just starting out, and many more are mid-pursuit of their own dream. There are homes led by heroic single parents or grandparents, homes with two hard-working parents, and homes with multiple generations living together.
For as far back as he can remember, Senator Rubio's neighbors have helped shape his impression of the American Dream. It wasn't long after he earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Florida in 1993 and a juris doctor from the University of Miami Law School in 1996 that he felt drawn to serve his community in public office.
Senator Rubio started as a City Commissioner for West Miami before being elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2000, and then speaker in November 2006. Before taking this post, he authored 100 Innovative Ideas for Florida's Future, a book based on conversations he had with Floridians at "idearaisers" that he and his colleagues hosted around the state.
As speaker, Senator Rubio helped enact many of the book's ideas and was proud to champion smarter, limited government at the state level. But after seeing the impact of his work in state government, Senator Rubio wanted to take his ideas for conservative reform to where they were needed the most: Washington, D.C.
When he launched his campaign for the U.S. Senate in 2009, the political class predicted that he would lose big to his better-funded and better-known Republican primary opponent. But with a come-from-behind victory, the people of Florida elected Senator Rubio on the promise of bringing conservative ideas to the United States Senate.
Since arriving in the Senate in January 2011, Senator Rubio has fought against the Washington establishment's big government vision, supported replacing ObamaCare with a better health care system, and opposed bloated budgets that increased taxpayer debt at the expense of creating jobs and real prosperity.
Senator Rubio is a member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, where he has advocated modernizing and reforming the federal government's programs to help small businesses thrive in the 21st-century economy. As former Chairman of this Committee, Rubio authored the historic Paycheck Protection Program, which has been a lifeline to millions of small businesses and Americans workers as they battle the economic hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and as Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights, and Global Women's Issue, Senator Rubio continues to fight for human rights and to uphold democracy around the globe.
Senator Rubio is also Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, where he provides oversight over the U.S. government's Intelligence Community and national security apparatus.
Additionally, Senator Rubio is a member of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, which is responsible for allocating funding for the federal government.
One of Senator Rubio's highest priorities is to ensure that he and his staff are available to help Floridians with whatever federal assistance they may need. The Congressional Management Foundation (CMF) recognized Senator Rubio's federal casework team with the 2019 Democracy Award for Excellence in Constituent Services. The team helped nearly 9,000 Floridians with issues ranging from veterans benefits to housing, including 3,700 through mobile office hours - a 428 percent increase from 2018.
At a time when Washington faces unprecedented partisan division and dysfunction, year after year Senator Rubio has been able to achieve real results for Florida and the country. A non-partisan analysis produced by GovTrack ranked Senator Rubio as the second top leader compared to all Senators in 2019. The same analysis found he was the fourth top leader in 2018 and fifth top leader in 2017.
In 2019 alone, Senator Rubio authored nine new laws, including the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019, which marked one of the most consequential changes in America's relationship with the Chinese Communist Party in nearly two decades. Working closely with the Trump Administration, Rubio ensured record federal funding levels for water infrastructure and ecosystem protection projects for the Everglades. He also secured significant funding for timber recovery in Northwest Florida, ensured production of the Coast Guard's new Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) remains in Panama City, and set the stage for Florida's seasonal produce industry to finally begin to receive relief from unfair Mexican dumping.
Senator Rubio wakes up every day driven to make a difference, and he is proud to serve the people of Florida in the Senate. He knows the most important work in America today is happening in people's homes, where parents are raising their children and making sacrifices so they can have greater opportunities than the generation before them. He also understands our laws and government's policies can make it easier - or harder - for your family to pursue and achieve the American Dream, which is why he's committed to recentering them on Americans.