The News with Sen. Cruz - May 21, 2013

Greetings,

Yesterday, a massive tornado devastated part of Oklahoma. Tragically, lives were lost, hundreds were injured, and still many more are left homeless. I'd ask that you join me in keeping the victims in your thoughts and prayers. If you'd like to help those who have been affected, please click here to find out what you can do.

Last week, we learned more disturbing details about IRS targeting conservative, Tea Party, pro-Constitution, and pro-Israel groups for additional scrutiny and audits. This is the latest in a series of power grabs by the Obama Administration that further erode the public trust in government. We must ensure those responsible are held accountable, simplify and shorten our tax code, and dramatically reduce the IRS's scope of power in our lives so this kind of political intimidation never happens again.

In addition, the Senate Judiciary Committee considered more amendments to the immigration reform bill and Philadelphia abortionist Dr. Kermit Gosnell was convicted and sentenced. I hope you'll keep reading to find out more and then share the news on Facebook and Twitter.

All the best,

Ted Cruz

CORRUPTION AT THE IRS, HOLD PRESIDENT OBAMA ACCOUNTABLE

Sen. Cruz joins press conference about IRS targeting Tea Party

Over the last week, Americans have been presented with a stunning array of facts regarding the truth about the Benghazi attack, IRS targeting scandal, the monitoring of the Associated Press, and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius soliciting donations from organizations she regulates to implement Obamacare. These revelations raise troubling issues about the Obama Administration's use of federal and oversight agencies. In reaction to these revelations, Sen. Cruz wrote an op-ed with a simple suggestion for the Obama Administration: just tell the truth. Read Sen. Cruz's op-ed here.

PREVENTING ANOTHER KERMIT GOSNELL

Last week, Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnell was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole for performing gruesome late-term abortions and murder. To prevent another clinic like Gosnell's from operating in our society, Sen. Cruz spoke on the Senate floor in support of Sen. Mike Lee's (R-UT) resolution to investigate abortion practices in the United States. Sen. Cruz also called attention to a facility in Houston that is allegedly performing late-term abortions and voiced his support of the current state and local investigations into the matter. You can watch Sen. Cruz's floor speech here.

STRENGTHEN BORDER SECURITY AND IMPROVE LEGAL IMMIGRATION

Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee continued the mark-up process of the Gang of Eight's immigration reform legislation. One week after offering an amendment to strengthen border security by dramatically increasing the number of border patrol agents, infrastructure and technology, Sen. Cruz presented an amendment to improve the legal immigration system by increasing high-skilled temporary worker visas.

Sen. Cruz's amendment would encourage economic growth and job creation by allowing more workers in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math. Under current law, many high-tech graduates are forced to return to their home countries where they launch new businesses that compete with American companies.

Sen. Cruz’s amendment would allow graduates of American universities the opportunity to start new businesses and create economic growth in the United States.

Sen. Cruz's amendment would:

• Immediately increase the H-1B cap by 500 percent from 65,000 to 325,000
• Help retain the high-skilled workers that are trained in the U.S. by allowing "dual intent."
• Create block grants for states to promote STEM education in their public schools by raising H-1B fees.

FREEDOM MINUTE

In his most recent "Freedom Minute" segment, Sen. Cruz stressed the importance of ensuring that any immigration legislation passed by Congress secures our border and supports legal immigration. Listen to it here and then share it with your friends.