Rubio Renews Work on Several Bills Introduced in Last Congress

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) today reintroduced 15 bills he previously authored during the last Congress.

The bills cover a wide range of issues, including stopping an ObamaCare bailout of insurance companies, boosting job creation and workers' take-home pay, promoting educational opportunities, modernizing the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), reforming the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) inspections process, protecting seniors, upholding the Second Amendment, preventing and responding to terrorist attacks, and improving hurricane forecasting.

"In this new Congress, I will continue pursuing solutions that will make a positive difference in the lives of Floridians and all Americans," said Rubio. "By reintroducing this legislation today, we're moving forward with our work to stop a taxpayer-funded bailout of health insurance companies under ObamaCare, keep guns out of terrorists' hands while protecting the constitutional rights of law-abiding gun owners, improve hurricane forecasting, modernize the VA, and reform the disastrous HUD inspections process that has jeopardized countless lives in Florida and across the country.

"Now that Republicans control the Senate, House and White House, it is my hope that we can pass these - and many other - meaningful, commonsense solutions to the problems facing our country," Rubio added.

Today, Rubio reintroduced the following legislation:

The ObamaCare Taxpayer Bailout Prevention Act - Ensures taxpayers are not forced to bail out health insurance companies under ObamaCare.

The Educational Opportunities Act - Amends the IRS code to allow taxpayers to receive a tax credit for charitable contributions to a scholarship granting organization.

The Terrorism Survivors Student Loan Deferment Act - Allows survivors of terrorist attacks to receive automatic deferments of their federal student loan payments.

The Firearms Manufacturers and Dealers Protection Act - Prohibits funds to federal agencies carrying out Operation Choke Point, an agenda by the Obama Administration targeting companies such as gun manufacturers without due process.

Rewarding Achievement and Incentivizing Successful Employees (RAISE) Act - Amends the National Labor Relations Act to allow employers to give merit-based compensation increases to individual employees, even if those increases are not part of a collective bargaining agreement. If enacted, the RAISE Act would essentially make wages set in union contracts a minimum floor, while giving employers the flexibility to reward diligent employees for their hard work.

The Second Amendment Enforcement Act - Restores Second Amendment rights in the District of Columbia.

The VA Accountability First and Appeals Modernization Act - Increases flexibility to remove VA employees for poor performance or misconduct. The bill would also reform the department's broken disability benefits appeals process, which is a top priority for VA leaders and many veterans' service organizations.

The Terror Intelligence Improvement Act - Makes it harder for suspected terrorists to purchase firearms and easier for law enforcement agencies to go after suspected terrorists, while safeguarding law-abiding citizens' Second Amendment and due process rights.

The Preventing Crimes Against Veterans Act - Cracks down on non-governmental organizations that scam veterans into paying fees under the fraudulent guise of expediting services at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

The Seniors' Tax Simplification Act - Directs the IRS to make a simple tax form for seniors. Seniors can use this new form even if their income includes: social security benefits, qualified retirement plans, annuities, interest and dividends, or capital gains.

The Let Seniors Work Act - Amends the Social Security Act to eliminate the payroll tax for seniors, and remove the limitation on the amount of outside income which a beneficiary may earn (earnings test) without incurring a reduction in retirement benefits.

Preventing Electronic ID Theft at IRS Bill - Directs the IRS to implement security measures, including the use of security questions, in the electronic tax return filing process to prevent tax refund fraud from being perpetrated through electronic identity theft.

The Small Business Relief from Disease Induced Economic Hardship Act - Ensures the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has the authority to make disaster loans available to communities negatively impacted by health-related travel advisories issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), including the Zika advisories that affected Miami-Dade County.

The HUD Inspection Process and Enforcement Reform Act - Improves the federal housing inspections process and hold slumlords accountable for misusing taxpayer dollars and endangering the health and safety of residents. The legislation stems from his year-long work investigating Global Ministries Foundation (GMF).

The Hurricane Forecast Improvement Act - Directs the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to improve tracking and intensity forecasts of hurricanes in order to reduce the loss of life, injury, and damage to the economy.

Read this original document at: http://www.rubio.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=CA484C23-F614-4AE4-B5ED-BE1444B17425