Sen. Cruz Addresses Austin Chamber of Commerce and RGV Partnership

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) today addressed members of the Austin Chamber of Commerce and the RGV Partnership, where he discussed the victories achieved for hard-working Texans in the last year and his priorities for 2018.

"I think an enormous amount is getting accomplished,” Sen. Cruz said to the Austin Chamber. “I’m deeply grateful for the substantive policy that is coming forward. To my view, with the new Administration, with Republican majorities in both houses, there were four big priorities coming into 2017: tax reform, regulatory reform, Obamacare, and judges. I think whether we were able to deliver on those priorities would determine whether we had a positive and lasting impact on 28 million Texans and Americans across this country, or whether this was one of the greatest missed opportunities of our lifetime. As we sit here, a year and a half in, I’m deeply gratified by what’s happened.”

Sen. Cruz also highlighted the economic growth achieved as a result of historic tax cuts and regulatory reform.

“On tax reform, we saw in December a historic tax cut that is benefitting small businesses and job creators throughout Texas, all across the country,” Sen. Cruz said. “We’re seeing an economic boom I believe is a direct result of that tax cut. On regulatory reform we’re seeing tremendous improvement from the administration as job killing regulations are being pulled back. What I hear consistently from the Texas business community is a renewed sense of optimism, of enthusiasm, of capital being deployed, of new facilities being opened, of new jobs being created, of wages being raised. I think all of that has unambiguously good for the state of Texas as the economy is booming.” 

Watch Sen. Cruz’s full remarks to Austin Chamber of Commerce here.

Later, Sen. Cruz delivered remarks at the RGV Partnership’s annual ‘RGV to D.C.’ event, where he discussed a number of issues important to Texans, including trade and NAFTA renegotiation.

“NAFTA renegotiation on its face, it could be a good thing or it could be a bad thing,” Sen. Cruz said to the RGV Partnership. “If NAFTA renegotiation is a vehicle for further expanding our access to Mexican markets and to the Canadian markets for increasing international trade, then it’d be a good thing. A good thing for Texas, a good thing for Texas jobs, a good thing for the country. On the other hand, if it is a vehicle for erecting tariffs, for erecting barriers to trade, and for decreasing trade, then I think that’s a bad thing. It’s a bad thing for Texas, and a bad thing for this country.”

Sen. Cruz continued, noting he continues to make the case to the President and the administration on the importance of trade to Texas, and in particular, the Rio Grande Valley.

“I have leaned in hard, emphatically, repeatedly, over and over again in support of expanding trade, in support of opening up even more of the Mexican and Canadian markets,” Sen. Cruz said. “Obviously being right on the border there, the Valley has tremendous economic growth that is coming from trade back and forth across the border. […] I think the single biggest opportunity on NAFTA renegotiation is energy and opening up the Mexican energy markets. As you guys know, there are vast energy reserves - oil and gas reserves - in Mexico. They’re not being adequately developed. Given the legal and political environment, they’re not being developed the way they should. I think the greatest opportunity is to incorporate in NAFTA reforms to open up those resources to develop them. That will generate thousands of high paying jobs in Mexico. That’s good for Mexico, that helps grow their middle class. At the same time, naturally, the place they’ll turn for the expertise on how to develop those resources is Texas. It’s not complicated where they’ll go. That produces thousands of high paying jobs in Texas and in America. That’s a win-win for both countries. So I hope we go down that road, I don’t know but I think it’s important for all of us to continue focusing on the benefits of expanding trade and getting access to foreign markets.”

Watch Sen. Cruz’s full remarks to the RGV Partnership here and below.

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