Marco Rubio CPAC 2015 Speech: Republican Florida Senator Talks Immigration, Potential 2016 Presidential Run at Conservative Convention
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., addressed immigration and his potential presidential run in 2016 Friday at the 2015 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) hosted by the American Conservative Union.
Rubio criticized President Barack Obama's immigration executive actions. He acknowledged the 22 occasions the president said he holds no legal authority to enact such executive actions on immigration. He said, "As far as I can tell in the last four years, the Constitution has not been amended. So I don't know where he suddenly found the Constitutional power to do this. This is not a policy debate, it's a Constitutional debate."
In 2013, Rubio co-sponsored a bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill, known as "S.744 - Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act." S.744 passed the Senate with 68 votes in favor and 32 votes in opposition, but the bill was never picked up for debate in the House of Representatives. Since his vote in favor of S.744, Rubio has walked back from his vote.
At CPAC Friday morning, Rubio said immigration is a serious problem and identified there is no mechanism in place to enforce current immigration laws. He said the current legal immigration system is "too generous." While he recognized there are undocumented immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for a lengthy period of time with no criminal record, Rubio said he has learned a discussion on immigration cannot take place unless it is proven the issue can be controlled.
In regards to the 2016 presidential election, Rubio said he has not made a final decision about running for office, but acknowledged his intention to run is to give back to the country. Rubio did announce he does not want to be involved in politics for the rest of his life.
If he was elected president, Rubio said a healthy economy is important by initiating tax reform, regulatory reform and repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, also referred to as Obamacare. During his first 100 days in office, Rubio also wants to focus on fully utilizing the U.S. energy portfolio and balancing the country's budget. The Republican senator also wants to address higher education and improve the U.S. foreign policy.
Rubio also reaffirmed his stance on several national issues, including his opposition to legal marijuana laws, support for unrestrictive guns laws and "traditional" marriage between a man and woman. When asked about former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Rubio referred to her as "yesterday" and Obama as "failed."
Rubio is not the only potential Republican presidential candidate attending the four-day CPAC conference, which is being held at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. Guests at CPAC include former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Dr. Ben Carson, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and current Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.
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