HispanicBusiness

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, who has been touting his new book "An American Son" to media outlets in and around the state, will be in Panama City on Tuesday for a signing.

"I wanted to pay tribute to my parents," Rubio, R-Fla., said in a telephone interview Thursday morning.

Rubio avoided questions about his status as a potential vice presidential running mate for former Gov. Mitt Romney in the November presidential election. He refused to answer whether the book was a primer to a vice presidential campaign.

"I'm not answering those questions," he said.

In the book, Rubio discusses his family's immigration to the United States from Cuba, his upbringing and his conservative politics. The book already has made its way onto the New York Times best-seller list. Florida's junior senator will be at Books-a-Million on 23rd Street on Tuesday at noon to sign copies of the book.

During recent interviews Rubio has covered the latest immigration debate, health care and the art of compromise.

He said his stance on immigration was different than that of President Barack Obama, who recently granted a stay for young noncitizens who were on the cusp of deportation because they were brought to the United States by their parents.

"I don't support what the administration has done," Rubio said. "But there are hard questions that we need to ask (regarding) immigration."

Rubio went on to say he was not for amnesty.

"Immigration is a very complicated issue," Rubio said. "I don't support amnesty, but we also have to get control of the borders."

Rubio noted that when it comes to dealing with difficult issues, both Democrats and Republicans need to set aside the partisan politics and get down to problem solving. But, there is a line he won't cross.

"We can compromise on ideas, but we can't compromise our values," Rubio said.

Health care reaction

Rubio has not been a supporter of the Affordable Care Act, so when he heard television networks had announced the Supreme Court had struck down the individual mandate, he said it was the right thing.

"It was a bad idea," he said of the Affordable Care Act.

But within minutes, TV reporters corrected the initially inaccurate reporting and announced the court ruled the mandate is constitutional. Both CNN and Fox News incorrectly reported the law had been struck down, before correcting themselves.

Later Thursday, Rubio went onto the U.S. Senate floor and called the Affordable Care Act a "middle-class tax increase" that would damage the economy.

"You're going to see it in a further downturn in our economy, in more slowing in economic growth," he said. "This is going to have a real impact. This is a big deal. People across this country and across Florida have every right and every reason to be worried about the impact that this is going to have on them."