Senator and former presidential candidate Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) will be honored by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) with the Innovation Policy Ninja Award, a nod to his work in advancing policies that encourage technological innovation.
Rubio will receive the award at the April 20 Digital Patriots Dinner in Washington, D.C. The CTA will also honor Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Texas) as 2016 Digital Patriots.
“In his nearly six years of public service in the U.S. Senate, Sen. Rubio has influenced and supported key innovation issues before they became mainstream," said CTA CEO Gary Shapiro in a statement. “He is a fierce advocate of new advances in technology – promoting the benefits of ridesharing and underscoring the importance of permissionless innovation for everything from driverless cars to wireless innovations. We thank Senator Rubio for supporting and advancing the momentum the technology industry provides to the U.S. economy."
Rubio’s push to encourage crowd-funding for technology start-ups and his national strategy on technology policy were mentioned by CTA as reasons they’re giving him the award.
Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) accepted the award in 2013.
At the dinner, the CTA will also unveil the results of its Innovation Scorecard, which recognizes states that champion innovation-friendly policies.
