Cruz News: June 30, 2018

June 30, 2018

Greetings,

On Thursday, I voted to move the Farm Bill to conference. Agriculture and farming are vital to the fabric of our nation, and are an enduring legacy of the great state of Texas. Resources like crop insurance provide farmers with an economic safety net for their efforts to feed and supply their fellow Americans, in good times and bad, and ensure food security for our nation. Furthermore, we achieved some long-needed reforms, including taking steps towards restoring programs for cotton producers, by reducing the impact of amendments designed to benefit other regions and commodities at the expense of others. I was proud to introduce an amendment with Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and John Kennedy (R-LA) to strengthen work requirements for SNAP. Expanding food stamps all too often traps millions of Americans in long-term dependency. Unfortunately, this amendment was defeated on Thursday, but every family should have the help and the incentive to reach self-sufficiency and prosperity. It is my hope that the House will rightly insist on strengthening work requirements in the final legislation.

Following a number of strong Supreme Court decisions, including the decision upholding President Trump’s vetting procedures and travel restrictions for entry into the United States from nations where terrorism continues to pose a serious threat, Justice Kennedy announced his retirement from the bench. I appeared on several Texas radio shows and ‘Fox & Friends’ to discuss the historic opportunity before President Trump, and the Senate. There are a number of excellent conservative, constitutionalist choices to fill the vacancy, and Senator Mike Lee(R-Utah), U.S. Solicitor General Noel Francisco, or Fifth Circuit appellate judge Jim Ho would make excellent Supreme Court Justices. We have an opportunity to have a profound impact on the Court, and it is my hope the Senate will confirm a principled constitutionalist to the Supreme Court who will defend the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

There are two things we can and should do this year on immigration. Number one, we need to secure the border. By using the reconciliation process, Congress can fund a wall and finally deliver on our promise to secure the border and protect our communities. Number two, Congress needs to come together and pass legislation to keep illegal immigrant families together at the southern border while still enforcing immigration law. All of us have been horrified at the images we’ve seen of families being separated, and we can all agree that children belong with their moms and dads. I remain hopeful that both my Republican and Democratic colleagues can join together to keep families intact and end the crisis on the border, while ensuring that our immigration laws are enforced and our nation is secure. 

I am incredibly grateful that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) approved the State Action Plan that will allocate more than $5 billion in Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds. This funding is critical in aiding Texas’ long term recovery, following Harvey’s unprecedented damage to our Gulf Coast communities. While we continue to rebuild, we must also take all steps necessary to prepare for the hurricane season ahead. For those seeking information or assistance during the recovery and rebuilding process, please do not hesitate to contact my office or use the federal and state resources listed here. For those seeking preparedness information and resources, please refer to the federal and state resources listed here.

Please read below for an update from this last week.

Keep Texas Strong,

Ted Cruz

Sen. Cruz toured immigrant detention facilities for children in South Texas with Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). Read more...

Sen. Cruz issued a statement of support in response to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) decision to approve the State Action Plan that will allocate more than $5 billion in Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds to help Texas communities continue to recover from Hurricane Harvey. Read more...

Sens. Cruz, Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), David Perdue (R-Ga.), Tim Kaine (D-VA.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and Mike Lee (R-Utah) this week introduced a bipartisan resolution reaffirming the commitment of the United States in holding Daniel Ortega’s regime accountable for acts of violence against the Nicaraguan people. Read more...

Sen. Cruz  praised the Supreme Court’s decision upholding President Trump’s September proclamation setting forth vetting procedures and travel restrictions for entry into the United States from nations where terrorism continues to pose a serious threat. Read more...

Sens. Cruz and John Cornyn (R-Texas) sent a letter to President Trump in support of Governor Abbott’s request for a federal disaster declaration after extreme flooding ravaged South Texas last week. Read more...

Sen. Cruz, member of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, participated in a hearing with Principal Deputy Director Dr. Howard Spivak of the National Institute of Justice to learn about whether the Survivors’ Bill of Rights had a meaningful impact on the manner in which rape kits are retained and processed. Read more...

Sen. Cruz appeared on Fox News’ ‘The Daily Briefing with Dana Perino’ following Justice Kennedy’s retirement from the Supreme Court. Read more...

Sens. Cruz and Mike Lee (R-Utah) introduced an amendment to the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, which would remove state SNAP waivers, strengthen work requirements, and eliminate the treatment of able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) as a separate population from other work-capable adults. Read more...

Sens. Cruz and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) on Wednesday delivered remarks at a legislative briefing on their bipartisan Visa Transparency Anti-Trafficking Act, which seeks to prevent human trafficking by bringing more openness to the nonimmigrant visa system. Read more...

Sen. Cruz appeared on KTRH’s ‘The Michael Berry Show,’ on Wednesday following the announcement of Justice Kennedy’s retirement from the Supreme Court. Read more...

Sen. Cruz delivered remarks on the Senate floor regarding his and Sens. Mike Lee’s (R-Utah) and John Kennedy’s (R-La.) amendment to remove state SNAP waivers, strengthen work requirements, and eliminate the treatment of able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) as a separate population from other work-capable adults. Read more...

Sen. Cruz issued a statement upon casting a vote in support of the Senate’s 2019 Farm Bill. Read more...

The full press releases may be viewed here.