Sen. Cruz Discusses Efforts to Contain Coronavirus Outbreak, Expand Jobs and Opportunity with Irving-Las Colinas Chamber

IRVING, Texas - This week, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) participated in a roundtable lunch with members of the Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce to discuss the coronavirus outbreak as well as the booming Texas economy. Following the roundtable, Sen. Cruz visited with WFAA's Teresa Woodard, before appearing on the Chris Salcedo Show and the Joe Pags Show.

During his sit-down interview with Teresa Woodard, Sen. Cruz discussed his efforts in the Senate to help contain the coronavirus and protect lives. In the coming weeks, Sen. Cruz will hold a hearing to discuss what steps Congress can take to prevent further outbreaks.

"I think we need to take every necessary precaution ... nobody wants to see thousands of lives put at risk. And until we understand what's happening, until we have steps in place to prevent the spread of this virus, our first priority has to be keeping Americans safe.

He continued:

"We've seen repeatedly that the Chinese government is less than candid. They're less than honest, so I have a high degree of skepticism that they're being fully candid with what's happening. Based on what they're telling us, we know it's bad. But, I think there is a very real possibility that it's substantially worse."

Last week, as chairman of the Subcommittee on Aviation and Space, Sen. Cruz held a bipartisan briefing for Commerce Committee members to hear from officials from Department of Transportation (DOT), Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Word Health Organization (WHO) to focus on the role that commercial air travel is playing in both spreading and containing the disease.

On the Joe Pags Show, Sen. Cruz discussed Democrats' radical plan to ban fracking, which would eliminate up to 14 million America jobs:

"Bernie Sanders and AOC - they're calling for banning fracking. Let me tell you what that would do - that would take away up to 14 million jobs in America. A lot of blue-collar jobs. That would take away over a million jobs in Texas. These guys are radical. You want to talk about devastating impact in Texas and on blue-collar jobs across the country. [...] The Democrats are the party of billionaire socialists who want to keep power but they're willing to take away blue-collar jobs. That's wrong."

WATCH: Democrats Have Declared War on America's Blue-Collar Boom

When asked about the pattern of partisanship at the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Chris Salcedo Show, Sen Cruz said Americans want a fair DOJ that enforces the law:

"I am frustrated - as I travel around Texas, as I travel around the country do town halls, meet with people - the frustration I hear over and over again from Texans is, ‘how come there's no accountability? How come people can violate the law with impunity and they don't seem to be held to any standard?' My view - the Justice Department should not be partisan. It should not be - I don't want a Republican Justice Department or a Democratic Justice Department. I want a Justice Department that enforces the law, follows the law and that means that if you violate the criminal laws, you're held to account."

Chris Salcedo also noted that President Trump highlighted Sen. Cruz's education and workforce development bill during his State of the Union:

"I think every child in America deserves access to a quality education - and that should be true regardless of your race, your ethnicity, your wealth, your zip-code. [...] I've introduced legislation that would provide $10 billion a year - $100 billion over 10 years - in federal tax credits, matching tax credits for contributions to scholarship-granting organizations.

"Now this is designed to respect federalism. So the states decide whether to opt in. The states run the programs. But it is designed so that kids in K-12 education, that would be $5 billion a year, $50 billion over 10 years for K-12 education for scholarships - for kids to attend public school, private school, parochial school, religious school - their choice to bring real competition. And then it's another $5 billion a year in tax credits for contributions for scholarships for apprenticeships and vocational training for adults - for people who are out of the workforce and want to get more modern skills. That all together is all about empowering parents, empowering kids, and empowering adults to get the education we need to drive the economy forward and really have a fair shot at the American dream."

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