Setting Forth the Congressional Budget for the United States Government for Fiscal Year 2022 and Setting Forth the Appropriate Budgetary Levels for Fiscal Years 2023 Through 2031

Floor Speech

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Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, I call up my amendment No. 3097 and ask that it be reported by number.

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Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, we witnessed about a month ago historic and unprecedented protests in Cuba as the people took to the streets. One of the things that has been untold and I think now is a greater realization is that one of the reasons that is now possible is because Cubans had a limited access to the internet, which allowed them to then go on social media, communicate with each other and communicate with the world. As a result, they were able also to share with the world the true brutality of that regime by posting videos of what was happening. It was the first time that people had ever seen it.

What this amendment does is it creates a reserve fund within the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to help ensure that we are doing all we can to provide internet access that is unfettered, uncontrolled by the regime in Cuba, which actually cuts off that access, as it did in the middle of these protests--by the way, using Chinese technology.

So this would allow us to pursue how we can provide unfettered internet access to the people of Cuba. It is something that I understand has broad support in this Chamber, even in the administration, and I hope we can pass this.

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