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October 14, 2016
Greetings,
This week, I traveled across the Texas Panhandle to tour several agriculture operations crucial to our state and nation’s economy. I visited with dozens of West Texas job creators and industry leaders to learn more about their crops, their businesses, and their concerns. Our state has a dynamic agriculture presence, and at each stop, I witnessed the hard work and true grit that continue to shape the Lone Star State.
From cotton to dairy, corn to livestock, grapes to feed, and every product in between, Texas farmers and ranchers are champions of innovation and efficiency, and we must continue to foster that unique ingenuity by stripping away the regulatory red tape inflicted by unelected bureaucrats in Washington.
I am honored to represent each and every farmer, rancher, business owner, and Texan, and as your United States Senator, I will continue to fight unapologetically every single day for jobs, freedom, and security.
Keep Texas Strong,
Ted Cruz
Sen. Cruz Releases Video Highlighting West Texas Agriculture Tour
Sen. Cruz on Thursday released a video highlighting his West Texas agriculture tour. This week, Cruz traveled across the Texas Panhandle meeting with various agriculture industry leaders and operators to better understand their needs and concerns. Sen. Cruz’s tour included meetings with cotton, wine and grape, dairy, livestock feed, and corn producers.
· Meadow Farms Co-op Gin, Meadow Texas
· Bingham Family Vineyards, Meadow Texas
· Del Rio Dairy, Friona, Texas
· Hi Pro Feeds, Friona, Texas
· Wright Family Farm, Friona, Texas
· Leal’s Mexican Restaurant, Muleshoe, Texas
· Hilmar Cheese Company, Dalhart, Texas
· Gordon Family Farm, Dalhart, Texas
· Cactus Feeders, Cactus, Texas
· Hancock Family Farm, Ropesville, Texas
Watch Sen. Cruz’s video in its entirety here. Read more about Sen. Cruz’s agriculture tour here.
Sen. Cruz Meets with Cotton Farmers in West Texas
On Sunday, Sen. Cruz kicked off a three-day agriculture tour in West Texas. Sen. Cruz visited with cotton farmers at the Dahlen K. Hancock Family Farm in Ropesville, and today, met with cotton industry leaders at the Meadow Farmers Co-Op Gin in Meadow. Cruz toured the cotton farms and spoke with the farmers about solutions that can help Texas agriculture thrive.
“Agriculture has long been a pillar of Texas’ economy and is an integral part of our proud heritage,” Sen. Cruz said. “Texas farmers and ranchers play a crucial role in feeding our state and our nation, and they provide raw materials for thousands of industries across the country and around the world. Unfortunately, the Obama administration has spent eight years limiting choices and imposing costly regulations on Texas’ agriculture industries. We must address the needs of American farmers and tear down regulatory barriers so that hardworking Texans can grow their operations, innovate, and thrive.”
Read the full release online here.
Sen. Cruz: Texas Farmers and Ranchers Support the American People and Economy
On Monday, Sen. Cruz continued his state agriculture tour, meeting with wine and grape, dairy, livestock feed, and maize farmers in West Texas to discuss their unique operations and needs.
Sen. Cruz toured the Bingham Family Vineyards in Meadow and stopped at Leal’s Mexican Restaurant and tortilla factory in Muleshoe for lunch. Cruz also visited the Del Rio Dairy and Hi Pro Feeds mill in Friona and later observed a local maize harvest.
“Texas is blessed with a diverse and dynamic agriculture industry that feeds the American people, provides quality jobs for hardworking Texans, and serves as a strong foundation for our nation’s economy,” Sen. Cruz said. “Each of our state’s farmers and ranchers face unique challenges and opportunities. We should be doing everything in our power to get the federal government out of the way and ensure that each of Texas’ distinct agriculture industries are able to expand and prosper.”
Read the full release online here.
Sen. Cruz: We Must Stand with Texas Producers
Sen. Cruz on Tuesday concluded his West Texas agriculture tour with final stops at Hilmar Cheese Company and a corn harvest in Dalhart, along with a tour of Cactus Feeders in Cactus. Sen. Cruz’s tour included meetings with cotton, wine and grape, dairy, livestock feed, and corn producers.
“Agriculture is a staple of Texas that reaches every corner of the state and offers tremendous opportunities for economic growth,” Sen. Cruz said. “Unfortunately, it’s clear that Texas farms, many of which are small businesses, have felt the ill effects of the Obama administration’s onerous regulations and weak economy. We must stand with Texas producers and continue to work toward solutions that lighten the burden imposed on America’s farmers, enabling them to do what they do best: create jobs, spur economic expansion, and feed the nation.”
Read the full release online here.
Sens. Cruz and Ayotte Lead Letter to Top Pentagon Officials: Obama Administration’s $1.7 Billion Cash Payment to Iran Is Deeply Concerning
Sens. Cruz, Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) and 16 other senators on Wednesday sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Joseph Dunford regarding their recent testimony in a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.
In the letter, the senators raise serious concerns regarding the Obama administration’s failure to notify top United States military officials about its $1.7 billion cash ransom payment to the Islamic Republic of Iran, which is designated by the State Department as a state sponsor of terrorism. Following reports that Iran has funneled this money into its military budget, the senators also note that the payment may further embolden Iran, resulting in our troops and allies confronting more lethal and better-equipped adversaries.
“While we understand that other agencies and departments would be in the lead for such a transaction, we are deeply concerned that President Obama and the rest of the administration did not think it was necessary to even notify the Secretary of Defense or the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff that the United States was about to provide the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism with $1.7 billion in cash,” the letter reads. “It seems clear that the Obama administration’s injection of substantial, liquid financial resources into Iran’s military budget also has significant and obvious implications for America’s national security interests and required military posture in the Middle East.”
Read the letter in its entirety here.
Sen. Cruz, Rep. Ros-Lehtinen Lead Bipartisan Letter to UNESCO Member States: Do Not Rewrite Jerusalem’s History
On Tuesday, Sen. Cruz and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) led a bipartisan, bicameral letter to members of the Executive Board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) urging opposition to an item in UNESCO's provisional agenda, a resolution that would diminish the historic and verified Jewish and Christian ties to the Old City of Jerusalem in an effort to delegitimize Israel. Thirty-nine of Sen. Cruz’s and Rep. Ros-Lehtinen’s colleagues in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives joined them in sending the letter.
“I am proud to lead this bipartisan, bicameral effort with Rep. Ros-Lehtinen. The United Nations’ obsessive hostility towards Israel will be on display yet again this week as UNESCO considers another blatantly biased resolution that unjustly singles out our close ally Israel with false accusations and criticism, and attempts to erase the specific deep-rooted, historical connection of Jews and Christians to Jerusalem, Israel’s eternal capital,” said Sen. Cruz. “For thousands of years, Jerusalem has played a defining, central role in the history and identity of the Jewish people. For Christians, Jerusalem is a seminal spiritual site. This resolution flies in the face of, among other things, science as recent archeological excavations, notably in the City of David, have revealed incontrovertible, physical evidence that reaffirms Jewish and Christian ties to the holy city of Jerusalem. Members of the UNESCO Executive Board should vote against this intentional campaign to deny these historical truths, rewrite the history of Jerusalem, and delegitimize Israel.”
Read the letter in its entirety here.
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