Cruz News: March 4, 2018

March 4, 2018

Greetings,

This week, I participated in two positive and productive meetings to fix the broken RINs system at the White House with President Trump and my colleagues in the Senate, along with representatives from the unions, ethanol and refining industries, and motor fuel retailers. Why is this issue so important to Texas? Because our state is home to nearly 100,000 refinery workers - the backbone of our state’s economy and our national security. I remain committed to ensuring that the federal government’s efforts to pick winners and losers in the energy sector don’t bankrupt our oil and gas refineries, and am gratified that President Trump is leaning in hard to push for a win-win solution that benefits both Texas and Iowa farmers by giving them the ability to sell more corn, but also protects the jobs of blue-collar refinery workers in Texas and across our nation.  

The Lone Star State is a leader in space exploration, with the Johnson Space Center in Houston and other commercial space partners across the state. As chairman of the Subcommittee on Space, Science and Competiveness, I joined with Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), the ranking member of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation in sending letters to the Administration, where we expressed our concerns with the President’s FY 2019 Budget Request for NASA. The Budget Request contains a proposal to end direct U.S. Government funding for the International Space Station (ISS) by 2025. The ISS is a marvel of engineering, and critically important to our nation’s space program. For over 17 years, it has provided the U.S. with continuous access to low Earth orbit, which has been critical to the success of NASA, our commercial partners, scientific research, and human space exploration. And we believe the future of the ISS should be determined by the emergence of a viable and proven commercial alternative, and the needs of our national space program.

My Senate office continues to work to ensure swift and effective service to Texans and Texas communities in need of federal assistance following the devastation of Hurricane Harvey. If you need additional information or assistance during the recovery and rebuilding process, please do not hesitate to contact my office or utilize the federal and state resources listed here.

Please read below for an update from this last week.

Keep Texas Strong,

Ted Cruz

Sens. Cruz and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) issued a statement on Thursday after the meeting at the White House with Senators and stakeholders. Read more…

Sen. Cruz on Tuesday issued a statement after the meeting at the White House regarding the broken RINs system. Read more...

Last week, Sen. Cruz participated in a town hall at Philadelphia Energy Solutions, the largest refinery on the East Coast, which recently filed bankruptcy as a result of skyrocketing RINs costs associated with the federal Renewable Fuel Standard. There, he discussed his priorities for a win-win solution that will allow corn farmers to sell even more corn and protecting the thousands of jobs that are critical to the energy industry – from Texas to Pennsylvania. Read more…

Last week, Sens. Cruz and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), sent letters to Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney and Acting NASA Administrator Robert Lightfoot Jr., where they expressed their concerns with the President’s FY 2019 Budget Request for NASA, which proposes ending direct U.S. Government funding for the International Space Station (ISS) by 2025. Read more…

Sen. Cruz appeared on WOAI’s ‘The Joe Pags Show,’ where he discussed his legislative efforts to defend the Second Amendment rights of law abiding citizens and prevent violent criminals from obtaining weapons. Read more…

Voice of America (VOA) on Sunday highlighted the provisions included in the bipartisan Cambodia Accountability and Return on Investment Act of 2018 (CARI), which was introduced by Sens. Cruz, Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Dick Durbin (D- Ill.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.). Read more…

The full press releases may be viewed here.