The News with Sen. Cruz - February 28, 2014
Nearly nine months ago, President Obama declared the IRS’s illegal targeting of conservative groups “intolerable and inexcusable,” yet now his administration is promulgating a rule change to stifle the free speech for many of those same groups.
Thousands of Americans have spoken out against the proposed change, and I hope the Obama Administration listens.
Please continue to read below to learn more about the latest in the Senate.
All the best,
Ted Cruz
Protecting Americans from IRS Abuses
On Thursday, Sen. Cruz offered two amendments in the Judiciary Committee to safeguard citizens’ free speech against unlawful and unjust targeting and designations by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
“Free speech is not a partisan issue. The IRS has no business meddling with the First Amendment rights of Americans. Rather than further stifling free speech, the IRS and the Department of Justice should provide the American people with all the facts surrounding the IRS’s targeting of certain organizations based on their political activity. We should all agree the IRS should not be used as a tool for partisan warfare.”
Sen. Cruz’s first amendment would have prohibited an IRS employee from intentionally targeting individuals or groups based on political views. It would have made it a crime for an IRS employee to willfully discriminate against groups based solely on the political beliefs or policy statements held, expressed, or published by that organization.
The second amendment would have amended the tax code to use the bipartisan, independent FEC’s definitions to determine whether an organization is engaging in political activity. The IRS should focus on taxation, rather than determining what is political activity.
Democrats on the Judiciary Committee unanimously opposed the amendments, defeating them both.
Speaking on the Unrest in Venezuela
On Wednesday, Sen. Cruz spoke on the Senate floor praising Venezuelan protestors standing for freedom in spite of persecution. He called to re-impose sanctions against Iran, which is exerting a pernicious influence in the country, denounced Cuba’s ongoing efforts to preserve Venezuela’s status-quo, and outlined action the United States should take to support the fight for freedom in Venezuela. Here are some highlights:
“This is the moment to point out that Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro’s abuse of his fellow citizens is intolerable to the United States.”
“If he wants better relations with us, he should start by listening to the demands of his own people. He should lift the cloud of censorship that he is using to isolate Venezuelans from each other and from the rest of the world. And the United States should do all it can to help the people of Venezuela as they choose a different path, a path of freedom and prosperity, that will return this one-time enemy to its traditional role of our partner and friend. It would benefit them, it would benefit us, and it would benefit the world.”
Joining Politico's Playbook Breakfast
On Thursday, Sen. Cruz spoke at the Politico Playbook Breakfast. Here are a few memorable lines:
“The reason the Obamacare issue has such potency is because it’s real…Millions of people are hurting by this, and there is not a trip that I take back to Texas where I don’t run into at least one person, if not several, who say, ‘I lost my health insurance.’”
“House Republicans have passed an awful lot of legislation that’s sitting on Harry Reid’s desk that he won’t let come to a vote.”
“For example, the medical device tax. Again, we voted in the Senate — overwhelming bipartisan majority, there were, if I remember right, nearly 80 Senators who voted to repeal the medical device tax. It is a job-killing tax, it is punitive, and it is making it harder for life-saving technology to be developed. Again, Harry Reid will not allow a vote to come for it.”
In Case You Missed It
- Sen. Cruz speaks at five-year Tea Party Anniversary Event WATCH
- Sen. Cruz speaks with Sean Hannity on Fox News WATCH
- Sen. Cruz speaks to Glenn Beck on the radio LISTEN
Internship Opportunities
Sen. Cruz’s offices across Texas and in Washington, D.C., are looking for interns for the summer. The internship program offers Texas students a unique opportunity to experience the inner workings of Congress. At the end of their session, interns will have had the opportunity to see how a Senate office works and better understand the United States government. Priority is given to students either from Texas or students enrolled in a Texas school who have completed at least their sophomore year of college. This is a highly competitive process -- due to the limited amount of space and resources available, there are usually more qualified applicants than positions available.
Each summer there are two six week sessions as well as full semester internships in both the spring and the fall.
More information is available here. To apply or if you have any questions, please send an email to internships@cruz.senate.gov.
Please note, completed packets for internships in either of the two summer sessions are due Friday, March 7.
