Good Evening, 

In Texas, we believe in the merits of hard work. As the Ranking Member on the Senate Commerce Committee, I have been a vocal advocate for student athletes who have earned enormous sums of money for their career accomplishments in college athletics and should be entitled to the fruits of their labor. This week, I hosted a roundtable discussion on name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights in collegiate athletics alongside several of my Senate colleagues, legendary football coach Nick Saban, Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne, ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips, NIL superstars Haley and Hanna Cavinder, NIL attorney Darren Heitner, and The Collective Association President Russell White. At the roundtable, we discussed the need for a system that addresses more than just football and basketball, while also protecting competition and smaller schools as the landscape of college sports evolves. I am proud to be leading the fight to garner support for a bipartisan legislation that will benefit everyone in college sports.

“More and more, there is agreement that Congress needs to act to ensure that we have a level playing field and real competition so that college sports can continue to thrive in the decades going forward. This roundtable is designed to be a discussion with numerous stakeholders, who are engaged in the process, to get perspectives on what is needed and what is not. Right now, we have the brave new world of NIL, and college athletes are earning very significant sums of money. I for one, think that's a good thing. I think it is good that young men and young women have worked incredibly hard to develop fantastic skills that in turn can generate enormous economic activity. They should be entitled to enjoy the fruits of their labor, but we also need a system where we have real competition and fair competition, not just one or two monster schools, … but real competition throughout the league to make for good games.”

As your Senator, I have the privilege to fight for your freedom every single day. This week, my staff and I welcomed almost two-hundred Texans to Capitol Hill for Texas Tuesday. I am always grateful to hear the stories that families, students, business owners, and community leaders share about their experiences and needs across the Lone Star State.

Texas has been on the front lines of Joe Biden’s disastrous border crisis. FBI Director Christopher Wray’s chilling congressional testimony warning of potential terrorist threats has driven home the point that this administration’s policies have exposed Americans to significant danger. 

“The terror threat to this country is enormous. It is greater than it has been at any time since September 11th. … Border Patrol agents are actively looking for Hamas, Hezbollah, and Palestinian Jihad terrorists coming across. They have called for terrorists to carry out acts like October 7th, [where] 1,200 people were murdered in Israel. And [they are calling for] the same sort of mass murder here in the United States. Joe Biden and every congressional Democrat are complicit. They refuse to do anything to stop it.”

Joe Biden, Chuck Schumer, and every other congressional Democrat is willing to look the other way when it comes to the pain and suffering Texans are enduring on the frontlines of the Biden Border Crisis. For them, political power is more important than the communities that are being destroyed and families being impacted by their calamitous immigration policies.  

“Eric Adams, the very liberal Democrat Mayor of New York, has said illegal immigration is destroying New York City. Now New York, in that time period, had roughly 110,000 illegal immigrants. I don't disagree with him, but if 110,000 are destroying New York City what the hell do you think 10.4 million are doing to Texas and the rest of the southern border. This is a deliberate, cynical plan. And the sad thing about Biden, Chuck Schumer, and all the congressional Democrats is they are willing to avert their eyes and look the other way at the people who are dying, the women and children who are being sexually assaulted, and the drug overdoses. … If people have to suffer that's a price they're willing to pay.”

If we are going to turn our country around we need to re-instate the integrity of our democracy. I have to say, as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, it was astonishing to hear Democrats claim they are “protecting democracy” by attempting to remove President Trump from ballots in a hearing this week. Democrats are not interested in election integrity, they only care about power. This is an intentional attack on our democratic system. 

“The reality is a majority of Americans support legislation that protects election integrity, that protects the right to vote. And yet today, Democrats are not interested in election integrity, they are interested in power – power by any means necessary. And so, the Democrats’ focus is on controlling elections and controlling the outcome. There's an irony. Today Democrats love to beat their chest and say they are defending democracy. And yet, all across the country, we see Democrat courts and Democrat officials who have been trying to throw Donald Trump off the ballot, because nothing protects democracy like preventing the voters from voting for your opponents.”

I am glad that the House of Representatives is putting forth legislation to address the grip TikTok disproportionately holds over free speech and public discourse in the United States. It is deeply concerning that the Chinese Communist government exercises such significant influence over America and in particular the information our children are influenced by.

“I'm glad the House is acting. I am deeply concerned about TikTok. … Number one, I'm concerned about Chinese surveillance and espionage. TikTok is controlled by the Chinese Communist government, [and] it has 170 million users in the United States. It gives the Chinese government the ability to monitor what they're saying, their physical location using GPS, and potentially what they're searching for. All of that is concerning. We also know that China has used it to target journalists. A second set of concerns is the propaganda that the Chinese government pushes on TikTok and pushes in particular onto our kids. I think it is deeply, deeply harmful.”

Rest assured, I will continue to be a fierce defender of our democracy. God Bless! 

Keep Texas Strong, 

MORE FROM SEN. CRUZ:

READ: EXCLUSIVE: Ted Cruz Says The Government Watchdogs Are Going Woke
ICYMI: Ted Cruz: 'Clock running' on Congress' NCAA legislation
READ: Senate GOP bills target sanctuary cities after Laken Riley's death
ICYMI: Ted Cruz Slams Biden Justice Department’s Collusion With Southern Poverty Law Center

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