Sen. Cruz: End-of-Year, $1.4 Trillion Spending Monstrosity Is Lobbyists’ Christmas Present
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) issued the following statement after voting against the $1.4 trillion end-of-year spending package:
"With a $23 trillion national debt, this 2,313-page spending package that Congressional leaders unveiled just days ago represents everything Americans hate about Washington. Though there are several good provisions included in the final bills that I was proud to fight for, including a well-deserved pay raise for our men and women in uniform and additional support for our Armed Forces and veterans, this $1.4 trillion spending monstrosity plunges our nation even further into debt - haphazardly spending taxpayer dollars on the priorities of lobbyists and Democrats at the expense of the priorities of the American people, from funding Planned Parenthood, sanctuary cities, and Obamacare, to raising the tobacco purchasing age to 21.
"This ridiculous, rushed, end-of-year spending process, year after year, is an example of government of the lobbyists, by the lobbyists, and for the lobbyists. Instead of funding liberal Democrat's priorities and running up bills we cannot pay, we should be fighting for the common-sense priorities of the American people, like providing families with more education opportunities and freedom, securing our border, and reducing the burden of federal taxes and regulations on workers, families, and local job creators. These are the priorities I will continue to fight for in the Senate."
As Sen. Cruz explained, the spending package includes:
• An extension of the Ex-Im Bank, corporate welfare that Sen. Cruz has long worked to end.
• A provision to raise the tobacco purchasing age to 21, which means our 18-year-old men and women in uniform can be sent to the front lines, but they cannot have a smoke.
• Extensions of corporate subsidies for renewable energy by extending tax credits for biodiesel, wind, and solar.
• Funding for the Center of Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health to conduct studies and research on gun control, which threatens the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens.
Meanwhile, the package fails to:
• Defund Planned Parenthood, a common-sense conservative priority Sen. Cruz has championed.
• End Obamacare, which Sen. Cruz has long fought to achieve.
• Expand College 529 Savings Plans and education freedom, which would help families cover the costs of educational expenses for their children.
• Stop sanctuary cities and enforce our immigration laws.
• Fully fund the wall, which is critical to securing the border and ensuring the safety of communities in Texas and across the country.
Watch Sen. Cruz's video describing the problems with the bill here.
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