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March 18, 2016
Greetings,
Our veterans deserve the very best care we can provide. Unfortunately, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) continues to struggle with providing timely health care to many veterans in Texas. In fact, on March 8, 2016, the VA Office of the Inspector General issued 12 reports on VA Health Care Systems in our home state, with seven reports pertaining directly to patient wait times and scheduling mismanagement.
To address this troubling issue, I sent a letter on Thursday with Sen. John Cornyn and Gov. Greg Abbott to VA Secretary Robert McDonald calling on him to make necessary corrective changes.
We owe our veterans the care we have promised them. Mismanagement in the VA is unacceptable, and I will continue fighting to ensure we provide quality care to those who have bravely served our country.
Please keep reading for an update on the latest in the Senate.
Keep Texas Strong,
Ted Cruz
Sen. Cruz Seeks to Restore Regulatory Accountability Through Judicial Review
This week, Sens. Cruz and Cornyn, along with Gov. Abbot, sent a letter to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald urging him to address the improper scheduling practices and extended wait times for veterans seeking healthcare across Texas.
“We remain troubled that the VA continues to fail to provide timely health care to our nation’s veterans, despite receiving enhanced authorities and funding from Congress to hire new employees and address additional problems facing the VA,” Cruz, Cornyn, and Abbott wrote. “Our veterans have fulfilled their solemn duty to the nation, and the VA has an obligation to provide them with timely, high-quality health care.”
Read Sen. Cruz’s full release, including the letter in its entirety, here.
Sen. Cruz: We Should Not Vote on Any Nominee Until the Next President Is Sworn Into Office
On Wednesday, Sen. Cruz issued the following statement in response to President Obama’s announcement of a nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court:
“I proudly stand with my Republican colleagues in our shared belief - our advice and consent - that we should not vote on any nominee until the next president is sworn into office,” Sen. Cruz said. “The People will decide. I commend Mitch McConnell and Chuck Grassley for holding the line and ensuring that We the People get to exercise our authority to decide the direction of the Supreme Court and the Bill of Rights.”
Read the full release here.
Sen. Cruz Seeks to Restore Regulatory Accountability Through Judicial Review
Sen. Cruz on Thursday joined Senate and House leaders in introducing legislation to restore accountability to the regulatory process. The bill, called the “Separation of Powers Restoration Act,” would empower the courts, not agencies, to interpret all questions of law, including both statutes and regulations.
“At a time when runaway executive agencies are more unwieldy than ever, empowered by a lawless president, Congress must act to reassert and restore its appropriate place as a coequal branch of government,” Sen. Cruz said. “It is encouraging to see members in both houses working together to stop unelected bureaucrats, who are wreaking havoc on our nation’s economy as well as the Constitution. This bill reverses the trend of enabling bureaucracy at the expense of Congress and the courts.”
Read Sen. Cruz’s full release here.
A Regional Update from Southeast Texas Regional Director Jessica Hart and East Texas Regional Director Daniel Alders
This week, Sen. Cruz’s Southeast Texas Regional Director Jessica Hart and East Texas Regional Director Daniel Alders witnessed firsthand the devastating loss and damage in Southeast Texas due to the recent flooding along the Sabine River. Heavy rains over the last week across Southeast Texas caused the Sabine River to reach the highest levels since 1884, inundating the communities of Deweyville, Forest Heights, Little Cypress, Orange City, and Pinehurst, closing Interstate 10, and impacting thousands of Texans across Newton and Orange Counties. Alders and Hart received updates on the historic flooding from county officials, local leaders, and volunteers in the area and joined Orange City officials to view parts of the flooded areas. They also visited the Red Cross in the City of Beaumont, which has housed nearly 300 evacuees and demonstrated swift emergency response efforts in the wake of the storm.
Texas City Leaders and College Students Visit Sen. Cruz’s D.C. Office
This week, leaders from the City of Abilene and students and faculty from the University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley visited Sen. Cruz’s office in Washington, D.C.
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