The News with Sen. Cruz - May 30, 2014
During recess I traveled overseas to visit with our allies in Israel, Ukraine, Poland, and Estonia, and I was struck by their strength and determination. The countless stories of the real danger our friends face was a grave reminder of the blessings of liberty and the need for the U.S. to be a clear voice for freedom in the interest of national security.
Please keep reading for a further update on the Senate.
All the best,
Ted Cruz
Speaking with Sean Hannity about Trip to Israel and Ukraine
On Wednesday, Sen. Cruz discussed his trip to Israel and Ukraine with talk radio host and Fox News personality Sean Hannity. Read highlights below. Listen to the full interview here.
“[Visiting allies] is a critically important part of serving in the Senate, and particularly as I serve on the Armed Services Committee, to understand the national security threats that face our country. And there’s no substitute for having the opportunity to sit down first hand and meet with heads of state and defense ministers and foreign leaders and to see challenges that they’re confronting on the ground, and in particular how those impact US national security issues. And the reason for this particular trip, obviously, Israel, with the growing threat of Iranian nuclear weapons capability, is right on the front lines facing a threat to its national security and to ours; Ukraine with direct threat of Russian military aggression and the act of war that Putin is already carrying out seizing sovereign Ukrainian territory; and then Poland and Estonia, who are allies with the United States who feel next on the front line, as they see aggression in Ukraine, they worry Putin’s ambitions don’t end with Crimea, but that they extend further.”
Bipartisan Support for Sen. Cruz's NDAA Amendments
Last week, Sen. Cruz participated in the Senate Armed Services Committee’s consideration of the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). He introduced two amendments that were adopted by the committee.
“I am encouraged by the bipartisan support of my colleagues for two of the amendments I introduced that will rightly pay respect to brave Texans and Americans and strengthen our international alliances," Sen. Cruz said. “One of the greatest duties we have in the Senate is to provide for the common defense, and I am honored to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in cosponsoring a number of vital reforms that will better serve our armed forces.”
Sen. Cruz sponsored the following amendments that were adopted by the committee:
- Extend Purple Heart Eligibility – supported by Sen. Cornyn, to expand Purple Heart eligibility to include members of the armed forces who have been killed or wounded in an attack inspired or motivated by a foreign terrorist organization. There will be a retroactive review to September 11, 2001, and the Secretary of Defense will also specifically conduct a review of the 2009 Fort Hood attack, applying the same criteria to civilian employees in order to determine eligibility for the Secretary of Defense Medal for the Defense of Freedom.
- Invite Taiwan to RIMPAC – to invite Taiwan as well as China to join the humanitarian relief elements of the 2014 Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC), the world’s largest multinational maritime warfare exercise hosted by the United States Navy’s Pacific Fleet.
Questioning FBI Director Over IRS Targeting Scandal
Last week, Sen. Cruz asked FBI Director James Comey several questions about the Obama Administration’s failure to fully investigate the IRS targeting scandal.
Specifically, Sen. Cruz asked:
- To date how many victims, or alleged victims, of improper targeting have been interviewed by the FBI? More or less than 10 victims?
- Can you tell this committee, to date, how many White House employees the FBI has interviewed for this investigation?
- The Attorney General appointed to lead this investigation a major Obama donor who has given President Obama and Democrats over $6,000. Do you see any actual or apparent conflict of interest in that?
- Do you think it would have been appropriate to trust John Mitchell to investigate Richard Nixon?
- Four days after Attorney General Eric Holder told the committee that this was a vigorous investigation, the President of the United States went on national television and told the American people, categorically, there was not a smidgen of corruption... [these statements] are facially inconsistent.. which of those statements was true and which was false?
None of these questions were fully answered, which Democratic Judiciary Chairman Sen. Pat Leahy said was “appropriate.”
Opposing David Barron’s Nomination
Last week, Sen. Cruz spoke on the Senate floor in opposition to the nomination of David Barron to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
“Anyone who cares about property rights should be dismayed by this nomination and should vote against it if you don't want to see overly aggressive jurisprudence that allows the government to take your private property,” Sen. Cruz said. “Anyone concerned about free speech should be concerned about this nomination... Anyone that cares about local control and federalism and the ability of local school boards and legislatures to make policy decisions should be concerned... Anyone concerned about liberty and the rule of law should be deeply concerned about a judicial nominee who embraces courts as a tool of power and the President disregarding the law. I urge my colleagues to oppose this nomination.”
David Barron praised the Kelo v. City of New London case, which allows a city government to confiscate the property of a private citizen and use for purposes of “economic development.” He has argued that courts have primacy over state legislatures, and he believes that the Court should be used as a platform to reinvent the meaning of the Constitution. For example, he wrote in the Fordham Law Review, “Any justice who has anything like a substantive constitutional vision should also be expected to have some such conception of the proper vertical allocation of powers and one that will promote rather than undermine that vision.”
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