Sen. Cruz: ‘It’s Been a Fantastic Year Fighting for 28 Million Texans’

HOUSTON, Texas – From fighting to confirm constitutionalist judges and holding Big Tech accountable, to ensuring Texas remains a pillar of America’s defense and reaffirming Texas as America’s leader in space exploration, to strengthening America’s leadership on the world stage, Sen. Cruz has fought each day for the men and women of the Lone Star State.

“It is a great honor to represent 28 million Texans and to fight for the constitutional rights of all Americans in the U.S. Senate,” said Sen. Cruz. “As we reflect on 2019, we are grateful for the booming economy, the freedoms we have as Americans, and the opportunities that another year brings. I remain committed to fighting for Texans in 2020 and look forward to the new year.”

Sen. Cruz’s 2019 Highlights

Fighting for Constitutionalist Judges

• Confirmed 105 judges, including 12 judges for Texas. 

Holding Big Tech Accountable

• Held a Constitution Subcommittee hearing holding Facebook and Twitter accountable for their censorship policies.
• Held a Constitution Subcommittee hearing holding Google accountable for its anti-conservative bias and cooperation with the communist Chinese government.
• Wrote a letter to Facebook demanding that it stop censoring pro-life advocacy group Live Action’s posts that were rated ‘false’ in a supposedly neutral ‘fact-check’ conducted by two prominent pro-abortion activists. Facebook responded by dropping the restrictions.

Protecting Religious Liberty

• Introduced the Preserve Charities and Houses of Worship Act, to repeal a mandate requiring charities, churches, and traditionally tax-exempt organizations to pay federal taxes on employee fringe benefits. This provision was included in legislation signed into law by President Trump. 
• Wrote a letter to Yale denouncing Yale Law School’s decision prohibiting students who work for organizations that advocate for traditional Christian values from receiving financial assistance that is available to students who work for many other types of organizations. 

Defending the Second Amendment

• Introduced the Protecting Communities and Preserving the Second Amendment Act of 2019, also known as “Grassley-Cruz,” a bill to preserve law-abiding citizens’ Second Amendment rights while putting in place requirements to ensure relevant agencies and institutions accurately submit records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) in order to prevent criminals from obtaining firearms. 

Making Healthcare and Retirement Affordable

• Introduced the Retirement Freedom Act, which empowers senior citizens and create more options and opportunities for healthcare by allowing senior citizens the choice to opt-out of Medicare Part A and utilize other healthcare options without being forced to lose their Social Security benefits. Sen. Cruz included the Retirement Freedom Act in President Trump’s October 2019 Executive Order on Medicare.
• Introduced the Personalized Care Act, legislation to make Americans’ healthcare more portable, accessible, and tailored to meet their unique needs by dramatically expanding Health Savings Accounts – a pre-tax savings tool millions of American use to cover the costs of their healthcare.  

Strengthening K-12 Education and Workforce Development

• Introduced the Education Freedom Scholarships Act, which would expand elementary, secondary, and vocational education opportunities for students by providing a federal tax credit to encourage individuals and businesses to donate to non-profit scholarship funds. 

Securing the Border

• Wrote multiple letters to ensure the federal government reimbursed Texas border communities providing care for illegal immigrants.
• Introduced the EL CHAPO Act, which would reserve any amounts forfeited to the U.S. government as a result of the criminal prosecution of ‘El Chapo’ (formally named Joaquin Archivaldo Guzman Lorea) and other drug lords for border security assets and the completion of the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. 

Advancing U.S. National Security

• Introduced the Hong Kong Policy Reevaluation Act directing the State Department to report on China’s encroachment on Hong Kong’s autonomy. This bill was wrapped into another bill that passed Congress and was signed into law by President Trump. 
• Was one of the first U.S. senators to visit Hong Kong since the protests began, on a weeklong Indo-Pacific tour.
• Succeeded in getting Chinese entities involved in China’s surveillance of religious minorities in Xinjiang added to the BIS Entities List.
• Secured Senate passage of a resolution acknowledging the Armenian genocide. 
• Successfully pushed the Trump administration to prevent Iran from raising revenue, especially from oil sales. 
• Blocked the completion of the Russian-German Nord Stream 2 pipeline to protect European energy independence. 
• Secured Senate passage of a resolution calling on the Trump administration to ensure that Sudan does not receive premature relief from measures aimed at countering terrorism.

Standing Up for Israel and Against Anti-Semitism

• Successfully secured Senate passage of a resolution that condemned all forms of anti-Semitism. 
• Fought for U.S. recognition of the Golan Heights as Israeli territory, leading the Trump administration to issue the recognition.

Strengthening Our National Defense

• Secured 13 measures into the final FY2020 NDAA, including a range of amendments directly relevant to Texas military communities and our military families.
• Secured a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act to enhance congressional oversight of the B-1B fleet and that requires the United States Air Force to brief Congress on a plan to increase readiness on the aircraft. The long-term health of health of the B-1B will help maintain Dyess Air Force Base as a premier installation in our nation’s defense.
• Secured a provision in the NDAA directing the Department of the Army and the Marine Corps to jointly develop a plan to sustain the Rough Terrain Container Handler fleets. This provision will support both the work occurring at Red River and Texas companies.

Standing Up for Our Veterans

• Helped lead a resolution recognizing the service of our veterans and establishing a ‘Military Retiree Appreciation Day,’ which was passed by the Senate.
• Eliminated the ‘tax’ on spouses of service members who have died due to service-related causes.

Fighting for Texas Energy

• Worked to secure approval of four liquefied natural gas (LNG) export projects in Texas, which will bring billions of dollars in investments to the state and create tens of thousands of good-paying jobs in Texas. 

Reinforcing America’s Lead in Space

• Successfully worked to create a Space Force so that the United States has the resources to address challenges in space as space increasingly becomes a domain of military competition.
• Worked to secure Commerce Committee passage of the NASA Authorization Act of 2019, which would provide NASA a clear direction to advance our nation’s space initiatives and assert the United States’ leadership in the final frontier.
• Introduced and worked to secure passage of the Space Frontier Act in the Senate Commerce Committee. The Space Frontier Act would support the continued development of a robust commercial space sector and extend America’s leadership in space by maximizing our utilization and operation of the International Space Station.

Leading in the Race to 5G

• Introduced the E-FRONTIER Act, bipartisan legislation to prevent the nationalization of commercial 5G networks. The bill has passed out of the Senate Commerce Committee. 

 

###