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January 29, 2016
Greetings,
This week, students, parents, and educators across the country celebrated National School Choice Week. School choice continues to be the civil rights issue of our time. Each and every child has the right to access a quality education. Not only does school choice give low-income children the same choices and opportunities that children from wealthy families have always had, it also improves the public schools, making them stronger and more effective.
I will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that every child has access to an excellent education, regardless of race, ethnicity, or zip code.
Please keep reading for an update on the latest in the Senate.
Keep Texas Strong,
Ted Cruz
Sen. Cruz Celebrates National School Choice Week
“Parents should be able to choose the schools that best meet the educational needs of their children. It’s time to unlock the gates of liberty and unleash the potential of every child to become the next chapter in the nation’s history of exceptionalism,” Sen. Cruz said.
Watch Sen. Cruz’s video praising school choice here.
Sen. Cruz Applauds Gov. Abbott for Prohibiting Texas Investments in Iran
Sen. Cruz last week commended Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for his continued leadership to prohibit state agencies in Texas from investing taxpayer dollars in Iran. Gov. Abbott’s bold action followed the Obama Administration’s lifting of economic sanctions on Iran.
“This Iran Nuclear Deal is catastrophic. It is the single greatest national security threat facing America,” Sen. Cruz said last year, while leading the fight in Congress to halt the deal.
Read more about Gov. Abbott’s leadership in Texas on this issue here. Sen. Cruz to Secretary Johnson: DHS Policy Restricting Use of Social Media for Investigative Purposes Is Exceedingly Dangerous
Last week, Sen. Cruz sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson, condemning the department’s negligent blindness to publicly available information on social media and demanding specific information on DHS documents that show U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) was actively preventing dedicated USCIS personnel from conducting immigration fraud and national security investigations.
“In light of the terrorism in San Bernardino on December 2, it appears that DHS’s policy of willful blindness toward the reality and danger of radical Islam in the United States contributed to the death of 14 Americans here at home,” Sen. Cruz wrote. “Indeed, rather than being an aberration, this policy seems to be all too consistent with other policies of DHS and USCIS, which restrict fraud and terrorism investigators from fulfilling their missions and (arguably) enable fraudulent and dangerous people to enter and remain in the United States.”
Read Sen. Cruz’s full letter here.
Sen. Cruz and Rep. Duncan Op-Ed in The Greenville News: “Open Door for Refugees Endangers Americans”
On Sunday, Sen. Cruz and Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) penned a joint op-ed for The Greenville News, underscoring the dangers of the Obama administration’s refugee program and inadequate vetting process that have already resulted in tragedy on our homeland. Sen. Cruz and Rep. Duncan also touted the State Refugee Security Act of 2015 and the Terrorist Refugee Infiltration Prevention Act of 2015, legislation introduced by Sen. Cruz that empowers states to opt out of the national refugee program and implements a moratorium on refugees from high-risk countries.
“The United States can and should remain the world’s most generous and compassionate nation. But our self-preservation dictates that we know who we are allowing into our country -- and that we keep ISIS terrorists out. Our children’s safety tomorrow depends on our ability to secure America today,” Sen. Cruz and Rep. Duncan wrote.
Read the Cruz-Duncan op-ed in its entirety here.
A Regional Update from Sen. Cruz’s Austin Office
Today, Sen. Cruz’s staff in Austin participated in the National School Choice Week rally at the Texas State Capitol, supporting the right of every single child in America to receive an excellent education. Advocates, educators, and families from across the state, including Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, Austin, and Waco, attended the rally to highlight the need for increased education opportunities in Texas. Public, private, parochial, online, and home schooling were all well represented.
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