Cruz News: December 16, 2018

December 16, 2018

Greetings,

This week, the House of Representatives passed two of my bipartisan bills addressing the national security interests of the United States. The NICA Act imposes targeted sanctions and establishes conditions for U.S. approval of international loans to the Government of Nicaragua, ensuring the Ortega regime will be held accountable for its systemic corruption, human rights violations, and assault on democratic order. I had the pleasure of participating in a Facebook Live discussion with Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) where we urged President Trump to sign our bill into law, and talked about our shared hope for a free Nicaragua.

I am also pleased the House passed my bipartisan bill to impose sanctions on Iran-backed groups such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis for their use of civilians as human shields. For years, the international community has failed to hold these groups accountable. By passing this bill, the United States is sending a message that it will not turn a blind eye to terrorist war crimes, that those who use civilians as human shields are the ones responsible for endangering civilians, and that they will be held accountable.

In the weeks after Hurricane Harvey made landfall, Congress passed the Cruz-Cornyn-Rubio bill, which among other items, eliminated the tax penalty for hurricane survivors who wanted to withdraw from retirement accounts to pay for the costs of repairs from storm damages. Retirement account withdrawals must be made by December 31, 2018 – a deadline that is quickly approaching. If you are still in the process of rebuilding and recovering from the ravages of Harvey, I strongly urge you to contact your tax advisor or for more information go to the IRS website at irs.gov. I am encouraged by the progress we have seen in the Texas communities affected by Hurricane Harvey, and will continue working each day to ensure Texas rebuilds stronger than before.

Please read below for an update from this last week.

Keep Texas Strong,

Ted Cruz

Sen. Cruz and Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) introduced the SuperPAC Elimination Act, which expands and protects free speech in elections by allowing unlimited individual contributions to candidates with immediate disclosure, effectively eliminating SuperPACs. Read more...

Sen. Cruz and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) were joined by Sens. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), as well as Reps. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) and Albio Sires (D-N.J.) in applauding the final passage of H.R. 1918, the Nicaraguan Investment and Conditionality Act (NICA), which will soon be signed into law by President Trump. Read more...

Sen. Cruz, member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, participated in a hearing entitled, ‘Oversight of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.’ Read more...

Sen. Cruz issued a statement in response to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ proposal to rein in federal overreach by replacing the Obama administration’s 2015 definition of “waters of the United States” with a clear definition and by creating a cost-effective approach to distinguishing federally protected waterways from state protected waterways. Read more...

Sen. Cruz issued a statement upon casting a vote in support of the final 2018 Farm Bill. Read more...

Sens. Cruz, Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-Wisc.), Thomas Suozzi (D-N.Y.), Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), and Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) applauded the House’s passage of the Sanctioning the Use of Civilians as Defenseless Shields Act (H.R. 3342) to impose sanctions on Hezbollah and Hamas for their use of civilians as human shields. Read more...

Sen. Cruz, member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, questioned administration officials on the threats of China’s non-traditional espionage against the United States. Read more...

Sen. Cruz and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) on Thursday sat down in a Facebook Live discussion to talk about the ongoing crisis in Nicaragua and their efforts to shine a light on the human rights abuses by the Ortega regime. Read more...

Sen. Cruz, member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wisc.), member of the House Armed Services Committee, on Thursday introduced the Blocking Iranian Illicit Finance Act. Read more...

Sens. Cruz and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) issued statements praising the bipartisan deal to combat sexual harassment in Congress. Read more...

The full press releases may be viewed here.