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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Chair Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Subcommittee Ranking Member Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), and Subcommittee Chair Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) today introduced the Pay Our Coast Guard Act, bicameral, bipartisan legislation that would ensure Coast Guard personnel receive pay and allowances in the event of a government shutdown if the members of the Armed Forces receive pay and allowances. The legislation would ensure that...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today introduced the Secure the Border Act of 2023 in the Senate. This bill passed the House of Representatives as H.R. 2, and it is the most comprehensive border security legislation in decades. The Secure the Border Act will resume construction on the wall, tighten asylum standards, criminalize visa overstays, increase the number of Border Patrol Agents, defund NGOs receiving tax dollars to help...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Ted Cruz (R-Texas) sent a letter to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairwoman Lina Khan seeking answers regarding her plans to regulate artificial intelligence for “disinformation” and “bias.” The letter explains that the FTC’s review of large language models used to train AI, which comes without any explicit statutory congressional authorization, may also infringe on constitutionally-protected speech. The letter comes ahead of...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement today after reports confirmed that President Biden and Biden administration officials are proceeding with a hostage deal with the Iranian regime: “President Biden has established a secret nuclear deal with the Iranian regime that is being kept from Congress and the American people. Today’s news confirms there has already been a side deal including a $6 billion...

WASHINGTON, D.C – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement after the Biden administration announced they have refused the plea deal offered by Khalid Sheikh Muhammed and four other 9/11 defendants. Sen. Cruz sent a letter to the Department of Defense last month urging the Biden administration to pursue the ultimate punishment for the 9/11 masterminds. Sen. Cruz said, “On September 11, 2001,...

AUSTIN, Texas – U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Ted Cruz (R-Texas) wrote an op-ed that appeared in Friday’s edition of the Austin American-Statesman. The article can be read here or below. “This weekend, Texas football teams will begin their seasons with legitimate playoff aspirations. That’s because college sports, like everything else, are bigger in Texas. “Tens of thousands of faithful fans from all walks of life will gather to watch these games, united in their love of their...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Ted Cruz (R-Texas) today released the following statement after the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) issued a final rule suspending a Trump administration rule that would have allowed liquefied natural gas (LNG) to be shipped by rail. “Today, the Biden administration has fired another salvo in its war on American energy by essentially prohibiting the movement of LNG by rail. America is a leader in...

LUBBOCK, Texas – Yesterday, U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and John Boozman (R-Ark.), Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, visited with agricultural leaders from the Lubbock area about what needs to be included in the next Farm Bill. About the visit, Sen. Cruz said, “Sitting down with leaders within the agricultural community in the panhandle provided me with insight about what...

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Yesterday, U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and John Boozman (R-Ark.), Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, met with Coastal Bend area agricultural leaders about what needs to be included in the next Farm Bill. Later in the day, the lawmakers participated in a Panhandle Agriculture Roundtable with community and industry leaders in Amarillo. About the...

HOUSTON, Texas – U.S. Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) sent a letter urging leadership of the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations and Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science to provide robust funding for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston to help address the strategic threats facing our nation from adversaries like China and Russia. The Senators also expressed their opposition to a proposed...

LUBBOCK, Texas – U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) released the following statements on the nomination of John Kazen to fill a judicial vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas in Laredo: Sen. Cruz said, “Judge Kazen was recommended to me and Senator Cornyn though our bipartisan Federal Judicial Evaluation Committee. Based on that assessment, my own review, and Judge Kazen’s experience in private practice and on the bench, I recommended him to...

HARLINGEN, Texas – Yesterday, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, met with South Texas agricultural leaders to discuss priorities for the next Farm Bill.  About the visit, Sen. Cruz said, “I am always glad to be down in Harlingen and meeting with community leaders to hear more about their needs as we prepare for the upcoming Farm Bill. Harlingen is a vibrant city in the heart of the Rio Grande Valley - 30 miles from the...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Ted Cruz (R-Texas) today sent letters to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairwoman Lina Khan and the head of the European Union’s San Francisco office, demanding answers regarding the degree of coordination between the FTC and the EU to enforce the EU’s Digital Services Act (“DSA”) and Digital Markets Act (“DMA”) on U.S. soil. Both foreign laws were written to weaken American tech companies, particularly in Europe. There are no...

LUFKIN, Texas – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) this week met with the twelve young Texans from Harmony Hill Baptist Church who were trapped in Niger during the middle of a coup a few weeks ago. The Texans were successfully evacuated and made it back to Texas on August 3rd. After the meeting, Sen. Cruz said: “It was wonderful meeting with these young Texans and thanking them for their commitment and their courage. While on a mission trip to Niger, trying to help those who are struggling, they...

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) today toured Stephen F. Austin State University’s Ed and Gwen Cole STEM Center and met with community and university leaders. About the tour, Sen. Cruz said: “It was a pleasure to meet with community and university leaders here in Nacogdoches today. It’s wonderful that the STEM Center works with K-12 students to deepen their understanding of math and science, and the labs, planetarium, observation deck are state-of-the-art. I’m excited to see...

LUFKIN, Texas – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) today met with leaders from the Deep East Texas Council of Governments and Economic Development District (DETCOG), a voluntary association of local governments in the 11 county region encompassing all of Angelina, Houston, Nacogdoches, Newton, Polk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Shelby, Trinity and Tyler counties to discuss the inefficiency and inaccessibility of broadband in these communities.    About the visit, Sen. Cruz said: “It was a...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) joined Sens. Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.), John Kennedy (R-La.), and Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) in calling upon the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) to extend the public comment period for the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) financial assurance proposed rule. As written, the rule unnecessarily harms small businesses which produce over one-third of energy developed in the Gulf of Mexico. In addition, the Biden DOI acknowledges that the rule will deter...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today issued the following statement after a report in the Washington Free Beacon revealed that the State Department secretly sought exemptions from U.S. anti-terrorism laws to restart aid into Palestinian-controlled territories: “Today's report again confirms that Joe Biden and Biden administration officials are pathologically obsessed with undermining Israel. They made a day one decision...