Press Coverage of Sen. Cruz’s Statewide ‘Texas Defends America’ Tour

HOUSTON, Texas – Following the Senate’s final passage of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2019, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) launched a statewide ‘Texas Defends America’ tour of Texas military bases in San Antonio, Houston, San Angelo, Abilene, and Killeen. Sen. Cruz secured over 30 provisions that were included in the bill, directly benefitting Texas and America’s national security interests at home and abroad. 

Several news outlets covered Sen. Cruz’s ‘Texas Defends America’ tour. Selected news coverage is below:

KABB: (VIDEO) Sen. Cruz Tours Lackland Air Force Base
“Happening today Lackland Air Force Base is gearing up for a visit from a U.S. Senator. Ted Cruz will get a tour of the base as part of the statewide ‘Texas Defends America’ tour. This morning, Cruz will receive a briefing on training operations and visit with Airmen. This follows the final passage of the John McCain National Defense Authorization Act for 2019. Tomorrow, Sen. Cruz will head to Houston to visit the Coast Guard Air Station.” 

Spectrum News: (VIDEO) Sen. Cruz Tours Coast Guard Air Station, Lackland Air Force Base
“Senator Ted Cruz is heading to Houston to visit the Coast Guard Air Station. There, he'll get an update on preparations for this year's hurricane season. Yesterday, he toured Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. This is part of Cruz’s statewide ‘Texas Defends America’ tour. He’s visiting military bases throughout the state to tout the National Defense Authorization Act, which provides funding for Texas military installations. ‘It remains essential that we have the physical infrastructure and equipment to ensure that our young Airmen, and our Soldiers, and Sailors, and Marines, and Coast Guardsmen all receive the training, receive the support that’s needed to keep this country safe,’ Sen. Cruz said.”

KRIV: (VIDEO) Sen. Cruz Tours Coast Guard Air Station
“Texas Senator Ted Cruz is in Houston visiting the Coast Guard Air Station. It’s part of his ‘Texas Defends America’ tour. It comes after the Senate passed the John McCain National Defense Authorization Act. The bill will provide more than $150 million in military construction funds for Texas.”

San Angelo Standard-Times: Ted Cruz Talks Veteran Issues in San Angelo
“U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz spoke to a crowd of hundreds about issues concerning veterans at a town hall Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2018, in San Angelo. ‘Dealing with the VA, dealing with the federal government, is a maddening experience for many people,’ Cruz said before taking questions from Dan Caldwell, executive director for Concerned Veterans for America, which hosted the event at The Heights Church. ‘I think [that] the most potent tool for improving the quality of care and the speed of care in the VA system, is empowering veterans … to have the ability to go elsewhere,’ he said. Cruz said he supports giving veterans the option of receiving care from medical staff outside the VA system, and the recently passed VA Mission Act should expand that ability. Cruz also said he supports legislation that would limit the amount of time VA employees could spend on union-related activity. ‘VA employees spend over a million hours each year on union organizing … rather than caring for veterans,’ Cruz said. ‘That is an enormous amount of time. That should not be on the official dime.’ Cruz also spoke about increasing government accountability by championing an audit of the Pentagon and increasing scrutiny of VA employees.”

Dallas Morning News: Texas Sen. Ted Cruz tells veterans that 'having the power to choose' can help fix their health care issues
“When U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz asked a room of Texas veterans Wednesday if the quality of their health care had improved in the past year and a half, only a handful agreed. ‘I asked that question the day before yesterday and about half the hands went up,’ he said. ‘So it varies quite a bit geographically. But that can be frustrating if you're in a community where that's not the sense of the vets dealing with the VA.’ The Republican senator was addressing a crowd of around 200 former service members and their families in San Angelo, where one of the audience members mentioned the lack of ‘real, competent’ doctors at the local Veterans Affairs clinic. […] Cruz's stop was one of several he has planned throughout the week as part of his ‘Texas Defends America’ tour of state military bases. On Tuesday, he started off at a Coast Guard Air Station in Houston, where he was updated on preparations for the 2018 hurricane season. Earlier Wednesday, he met with service members at San Angelo's Goodfellow Air Force Base. Over the past five years, Cruz said his office has helped nearly 4,500 Texas veterans navigate the ‘frustrating leviathan’’ of federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. He told the San Angelo veterans that a lot of their health care issues could be fixed if they were given more choice in where to take their business, rather than hoping the government can solve things for them.”

Abilene Reporter-News: Sen. Ted Cruz to tour Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene
“Sen. Ted Cruz is touring Dyess Air Force Base today as part of his statewide ‘Texas Defends America’ tour. Dyess Air Force Base was listed as one of five bases on the tour on his Facebook page. The senator will receive an update on operations, the B-1 bomber force, C-130J airlift operations and preparations for the B-21 ‘Raider’ the newest long-range strike bomber expected to be housed at Dyess. Cruz was in San Angelo Wednesday to tour Goodfellow Air Force Base and speak at an event hosted by Concerned Veterans for America. Other bases on the tour are Lackland in San Antonio, Coast Guard Air Station Houston and Fort Hood in Killeen.”

KTXS: (VIDEO) Sen. Cruz Visits Big Country, Tours Dyess and Meets with Abilene Chamber of Commerce
“Senator Ted Cruz is making two stops in the Big Country this afternoon. He just finished touring Dyess Air Force Base. The visit part of his tour of Texas military bases, which are getting $150 million in construction funds as part of the National Defense Authorization Act. Cruz got an update on B-1 bomber and C-130J operations at Dyess. He also found out about the latest on preparations for the B-21 stealth bomber. Dyess was selected as one of three bases to house the B-21, the Air Force expected to make its final decision next year on that. And while he was at Dyess the senator also talked about improving military bases in Texas. […] Senator Cruz talked about the importance of improving those bases. He says that after touring Dyess today he noticed that some of the dorms were unlivable. Cruz says he is hoping to fix that. ‘Two hundred dormitories that should be housing Airmen that are not usable because the infrastructures is degraded,’ Sen. Cruz said. ‘That's not right.’ Cruz says those dorms were built in the 1950s and says that those men and women serving this country should have a decent place to live. Cruz secured over 30 provisions adopted into the National Defense Authorization Act, the NDAA for 2019 where Texas military bases are getting a $150 million in construction funds. […] ‘Really returning to rebuilding our military,’ Sen. Cruz said. ‘We’ve gone through a lot a years of sequestration. Of really starving our military from the funds needed to support our troops. We've seen our troop size decrease.’ […] Before his visit to Dyess, Sen. Cruz stopped by the Abilene Chamber of Commerce.”

KTAB: (VIDEO) Sen. Cruz Tours Dyess Air Force Base
“Back here in Abilene, United States Senator Ted Cruz continued his tour of Texas Air Force bases today by making that stop here in the Key City. Senator Cruz took a tour of Dyess Air Force Base. It's one of the stops on his ‘Defending America’ tour. While visiting with Airmen and leaders of the base, Senator Cruz talked about his desire for Dyess and that is for the base to be the next home of the new B-21 bombers. ‘I was very pleased a couple of months ago that Dyess was named as one of the bases where they’re hoping to base B-21s,’ Sen. Cruz said. ‘I can tell you, I’m actively engaged in advocating for Dyess. I'd like to see the B-21s start out here. I’d like to see a very substantial fleet of B-21s here at Dyess.’”

KIDY: Sen. Ted Cruz visits Abilene, tours Dyess AFB
“This is part of Cruz’s statewide tour ‘Texas Defends America’. During his one-day trip, he met with city leaders and Dyess Air Force Base officials. ‘I love it here in West Texas. West Texas is… we value freedom,’ U.S. Senator Ted Cruz said. ‘I've said before, the ethos of our state, especially West Texas, is give me a horse, and a gun and an open plain and we can conquer the world.’ During his tour of Abilene, Cruz toured Dyess where senior leaders updated him on the base's operations. ‘I'd like to see the B-21s start out here, I'd like to see a very substantial fleet of B-21s here at Dyess,’ Senator Cruz said. ‘I think Dyess combines a lot of terrific assets including: wide-open air space, including great flying weather 350 days out of the year, including a community that supports the men and women of the military.’”

Killeen Daily Herald: Sen. Ted Cruz visits Fort Hood
“Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, visited Fort Hood to receive an update on operations and training on the installation and units deployed around the world, on Friday. Cruz, who is up for re-election this November, is on a statewide tour of military installations. Speaking to reporters outside the gates, Cruz said he spent the day meeting with senior Fort Hood leaders and meeting with soldiers. ‘Fort Hood is one of the great resources that Texas has in terms of our military capability,’ Cruz said. ‘There is no state in the union like Texas, in terms of the support that the state of Texas gives for the men and women of active duty military and our veterans.’ Cruz said he helped secure more than 30 provisions that were included in the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act of 2019, including $150 million in military construction funds for Texas installations alone. ‘One of the most important (provisions) was focusing on updating and modernizing M1 Abrams tanks, Bradleys and Strykers,’ Cruz said. ‘Another element I worked closely with Fort Hood on was to modernize the motor pools.’ […] Cruz also spoke about veterans and veterans’ health care issues. Texas is home to more than 1.7 million U.S. military veterans. ‘I started the day having the wonderful opportunity to present a brand-new home to a wounded warrior,’ Cruz said. ‘That was a wonderful way to start the day, thanking a veteran, thanking him for his service, his sacrifice, thanking his wife and thanking his two boys.’ Cruz participated in the ceremony hosted by ‘Helping a Hero’ to honor U.S. Army Sgt. James ‘Shane’ Ray, U.S. Army and his family, by presenting them with the home. Ray was wounded in combat and lost a leg.”

KAUZ: (VIDEO) Sen. Cruz Wraps up Statewide ‘Texas Defends America’ Tour in Central Texas
“Senator Ted Cruz was in central Texas this weekend wrapping up a statewide ‘Texas Defends America’ tour. The tour of the Texas military bases comes after the Senate’s final passage of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act. The NDAA bill includes numerous military necessities, including over $150 million in construction funds for the state of Texas. ‘A lot of this trip was focusing on some of the infrastructure needs, some of the needs to improve and modernize - whether it is barracks or motor pools, that was a lot of the discussion was looking at physical infrastructure,’ Sen. Cruz said. And Senator Cruz secured over 30 provisions benefitting Texas that were successfully adopted into the bill. The senator also made several other stops this week including - Lackland Air Force Base, the Coast Guard Air Station, Goodfellow Air Force and Dyess Air Force Base.”

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