Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) only has one vote to give and he’s not going to give it to a short-term budget plan that funds Obamacare.
When Congress gets back in session at the end of this month, it will once again face a fiscal crisis, as it has yet to pass a budget for 2014. But Rubio isn’t going to play ball with any budget plans that include Obamacare funding.
“Now I only have one vote, but I will tell you two things about that short-term budget,” the Senator said on Friday. “I will not vote for a short-term budget that doesn’t adhere to budget cuts that have already been agreed to and I will not vote for any short-term budget that spends one single cent on Obamacare.”
Rubio was one of the featured speakers at the Defending the American Dream Summit, hosted in Orlando over Labor Day weekend. He argued that the current administration stifles the American dream with its big government legislation, especially Obamacare. The Florida Senator joins the likes of fellow Tea Party favorites Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) in the effort to defund Obamacare.
“Obamacare is not just another law,” Rubio said. “It’s the source of thousands of pages of new regulations.”
He argued that businesses aren’t going to hire more people or give raises due to the uncertainty caused by the law. Instead, he pushed a free market system that encourages innovation and investment.
“But if we replace big government with the policies that make America the best place in the world to innovate and invest, we can restore the American dream,” he said.
Rubio added that he would also not vote to raise the debt limit unless it included a balanced budget amendment. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew warned leaders on both sides of the aisle earlier this week that the federal government would hit the debt limit sometime in October.
“People are afraid to innovate and invest in a country they believe is headed for a debt crisis,” Rubio countered on Friday.
Despite speaking in his home state, Rubio received some negative feedback from the crowd at times during his speech. Members of the audience shouted out, “No amnesty!” at several points. The Senator ignored their shouts, however, and stuck to his talking points.
