newsletter

  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...

  June 24, 2018 Greetings, Americans have been rightly horrified by the images and videos coming from our southern border, where tearful children are being pulled away from their mothers and fathers. No one wants to see children taken away from their parents. On Tuesday, I introduced the Protect Kids and Parents Act to end the separation of immigrant families, double the number of immigration judges, and expedite the asylum claim process. On Friday, Sen. Cornyn and I toured...

  June 17, 2018 Greetings, This weekend, we celebrate the men who strengthen us, guide our steps, and encourage us to reach high. My father, Rafael, has always been my hero. He’s larger than life, having fled the brutal, oppressive dictatorship in Cuba to the land of the free, the United States. My father instilled in me a deep love for liberty. Nine years ago, I became a father myself and experienced firsthand the depth of a father’s love. My daughters, Caroline and Catherine,...

  June 10, 2018 Greetings, This week, I had the opportunity to address the ‘Road to Majority’ conference hosted by the Faith and Freedom Coalition. There, I highlighted a number of the victories Republicans have achieved in the last year, including enacting historic tax cuts, repealing Obamacare’s individual mandate, and securing strong, constitutionalist judges on the bench. The Supreme Court took an important stand for religious liberty in a wide 7-2 decision...

  June 3, 2018 Greetings, On Thursday, I joined President Trump to meet with the families and students of Santa Fe High School. In the face of unspeakable evil, the Santa Fe community is standing strong, and continues to demonstrate tremendous resolve. This week, the Department of Education announced $1 million in federal funds for the Santa Fe Independent School District through a Project School Emergency Response to Violence (Project SERV) grant. I applaud Secretary...

  May 27, 2018 Greetings, This week in Washington, I had the opportunity to work with my colleagues on the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) to complete the markup process for the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act(NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2019, which includes over 30 amendments I led. This NDAA provides another significant increase for our troops’ take-home pay, to properly compensate the brave men and women who serve in our military, and establishes policies...

  May 20, 2018 Greetings, Heidi and I join Texans across the state in mourning the lives taken in the shooting at Santa Fe High School. On Friday, I visited with family members and victims, received a briefing from local law enforcement officials, and attended a powerful prayer vigil with the Santa Fe community. We continue to lift the victims and their families, and first responders in our prayers. We need to be doing everything humanly possible to stop tragedies like this from ever...

  May 13, 2018 Greetings, Today, we celebrate the women who make us who we are. My Mom, Eleanor, is a woman of tremendous compassion and strength. She overcame enormous obstacles in her life with courage, and was the first in her family to go to college. Heidi is brilliant and beautiful. She’s the love of my life, and an incredible mother to our daughters Caroline and Catherine. To the moms of the world, happy Mother’s Day. We thank you for your steadfast love and...

  April 29, 2018 Greetings, This week, I discussed my priorities for NAFTA modernization with Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo and a number of Texans both in my D.C. office and in West Texas. I met with members of the Texas Association of Businesses, The Plains Cotton Cooperative, and the El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in my Washington, D.C. office, before traveling to Andrews and Seminole, Texas. Texans across the state are watching NAFTA renegotiations...

  April 22, 2018 Greetings, This week, America lost former First Lady Barbara Bush. She was as much a public servant as her husband and children: traveling the world as advisor and ambassador, campaigning for adult literacy programs at home and, of course, making George Senior eat his broccoli. An eternal First Lady in the heart of every Texan, Mrs. Bush approached her public role with a class and grace seldom matched in our nation’s capital. This weekend, countless mourners will...

  April 15, 2018 Greetings, On Tuesday, I questioned Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a joint Senate hearing on whether Facebook considers itself a neutral public forum and the pervasive pattern of bias and political censorship demonstrated by it and other social media platforms. In radio interviews with KTSA’s Michael Berry and WOAI’s Joe Pags, I discussed the unprecedented power and influence social media has in our political discourse, and the legal...

  April 8, 2018 Greetings, This Wednesday marked the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It was a heartbreaking moment in our Nation’s history. But death could not conquer his vital message of peace and love. As an extraordinary champion for freedom and equality, Dr. King fought tirelessly for America to fully embrace her founding promise — to ensure life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for those who had so long been denied them. May we...

  March 24, 2018 Greetings, The entire Lone Star State joins both Austin and Schertz in breathing a little easier, now that the Austin, Round Rock, and Schertz Police Departments, Texas DPS, FBI, ATF, and other law enforcement agencies have identified the Austin bomber. We continue to pray for the families and the victims and remain ever grateful for local, state, and federal officials and their dedicated efforts to ensure the safety and security of our communities.This week, I was...

  March 18, 2018 Greetings, Last year, we rolled back burdensome regulations and passed historic tax cuts for middle class families all across the country. In Texas, we’re seeing opportunities expanding, wages rising, and unemployment at an all-time low. Though we’ve gotten the economy working again for the American people, there are troubling reports that both Democrats and Republicans in Congress are considering including an Internet sales tax in the upcoming omnibus spending...

  March 11, 2018 Greetings, On Tuesday, I was proud to join my colleague Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) in reintroducing the Protecting Communities and Preserving the Second Amendment Act. We continue to witness horrific shootings across the country, including in Sutherland Springs, Texas, and Parkland, Florida. This bill seeks to prevent similar tragedies from happening in the future by significantly increasing funding for school safety, creating a federal task force to prosecute the...

  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...

  February 25, 2018 Greetings, On Wednesday, I participated in a town hall with employees from Pennsylvania Energy Solutions (PES) and other refineries along the East Coast. There, I heard the stories of generations of Americans whose jobs and livelihoods are threatened by a broken government regulatory system. Why was I in Pennsylvania, you may ask? Because PES filed for bankruptcy a few weeks ago as a result of skyrocketing costs associated with the federal Renewable Fuels Standard. The...

  February 18, 2018 Greetings, This week, I delivered remarks on the Senate floor, where I urged my colleagues to stand with the working men and women of America, oppose amnesty, respect the rule of law, and to vote against misguided immigration proposals. On Friday, I visited the RGV with Vice President Mike Pence, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, and other local and Border Patrol officials to tour the U.S.-Mexico border. There, we met with local...

  February 11, 2018 Greetings, Hurricane relief and military funding are critical measures for Texas and the entire country. They were the key victories in the Senate budget agreement this week, but were unfortunately held hostage to legislation that busts the non-defense budget cap by over $130 billion and irresponsibly suspends the debt limit to allow for unfettered spending for another year. This is wrong, cynical, and a bad deal for the American taxpayer. Instead, we should have the...