Ted grew up in Texas. His father, Rafael, fled Cuba after being tortured and imprisoned and came to Texas with just $100 sewn into his underwear. Rafael got a job washing dishes making 50 cents an hour and learned English. He worked hard and attended the University of Texas at Austin, earning a degree in mathematics. He later started a small business in the oil and gas industry. Today, Rafael is a pastor in Dallas.
As a member of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on The Constitution, Sen. Cruz is dedicated to upholding the rule of law and preserving the Constitution. He has been a fierce defender of the First and Second Amendments, and has long fought against Democrats’ attempts to limit Texans’ freedoms protected under the Constitution, especially freedoms of speech and religious liberty. Sen. Cruz continues to lead on key issues to preserve the independence of the Supreme Court, confirm principled constitutionalists to fill judicial vacancies, and protect the integrity of our elections and the voting rights of all Texans and Americans.
Sen. Cruz believes school choice is the civil rights issue of the 21st century, and has been a leading advocate for school choice in the Senate. In December of 2017, Sen. Cruz introduced the Student Opportunity Amendment to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was signed into law. The amendment expands 529 College Savings Plans to include K-12 elementary and secondary school tuition for public, private, and religious schools. Throughout the pandemic, he has urged his colleagues to focus on solutions that will help get Texans back to work and Texas students safely back into the classrooms for in-person learning.
Sen. Cruz has long fought to encourage and maintain an all-of-the-above approach that fueled the American energy renaissance we were experiencing before the pandemic, including the thousands of blue collar jobs that depend on a thriving energy industry. He has long fought to protect Texas’ oil and energy sector and will continue to fight back against the Biden administration and Big Businesses out to destroy the American energy industry and the millions of blue-collar jobs across Texas and the nation with it.
Sen. Cruz believes that our broken immigration system needs to be fixed by Congress and has long called to secure the Texas-Mexico border. He has introduced legislation to build the wall on the southern border, support CBP and ICE agents working to protect Texas’ communities, keep immigrant families together, and handle asylum cases promptly so that we can end the tragic crisis on the border.
Sen. Cruz is a strong advocate for pro-growth policies and has introduced legislation to eliminate job-killing regulations and cut through bureaucratic red tape so Texas’ small business owners can create more job opportunities for hardworking Texans. He has consistently voted against raising the debt ceiling by insisting any debt ceiling increase be accompanied by structural reforms, such as a balanced budget amendment to restore fiscal sanity and stop Washington bureaucrats from recklessly spending Texans’ and American taxpayers’ hard-earned money.
The goal of United States foreign policy and military policy is to protect the national security of America and Americans. As a former member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and a current member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Cruz has worked throughout his career to counter the geopolitical threats posed by Russia and China, boost our Israeli allies, counter our enemies in the Iranian regime, advance human rights globally and especially in the Western Hemisphere, ensure that Texas’ military bases and communities receive the resources they need, and ensure the safety, security, and freedoms of Americans are protected at home and abroad.
Sen. Cruz works to ensure Texas communities have what they need to prepare, recover, and rebuild when severe weather hits. If you need information or assistance when dealing with severe weather, please do not hesitate to contact our office or utilize the federal and state resources listed below.
Important Tips to Know Before a Disaster Strikes
Tax reform is a powerful lever for spurring economic expansion and American global competitiveness. That’s why Sen. Cruz has proposed common-sense legislation, including measures to abolish the IRS, implement a simple flat tax, and clean up some of the most complex and burdensome sections of the tax code. Sen. Cruz believes Texans know how to spend their hard-earned dollars better than the government and has long fought to keep taxes low so people can decide how to spend their own money.
Sen. Cruz has long championed America’s veterans as he believes it is important to honor and respect their valiant service and sacrifices made to our country. Sen. Cruz has fought to ensure that meaningful reform is occurring at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and he remains dedicated to his commitment to bringing accountability to the VA and expanding veteran’s health care choices.
Since Sen. Cruz took office, he has been a leading voice for repealing Obamacare. In fact, the first piece of legislation he filed, co-sponsored by 32 Republicans, was to fully repeal Obamacare.
Before the law went into effect in January 2014, Sen. Cruz led the effort to halt its implementation and defund Obamacare, filibustering it on the floor for an historic 21 hours.
Obamacare is causing millions to lose their jobs, be forced into part-time work, lose their doctors and health insurance, and pay skyrocketing premiums. This law isn’t working. Instead, Congress should repeal Obamacare and make meaningful reforms to expand Health Savings Accounts, allow individuals to purchase insurance across state lines, and make health care more personal, portable, and affordable.
Since Obamacare’s implementation, Sen. Cruz has opposed the law’s unconstitutional mandates. He authored an amicus brief supporting Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties against the contraception mandate that forced individuals to either violate their conscience or pay crippling fines. In the summer of 2014, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of religious liberty and upheld the right of small business owners to operate in accordance with their beliefs.
Sen. Cruz continues to work with local, state, and federal officials to ensure Texans from Rockport to Beaumont have the resources they need to recover and rebuild from the devastating winds and floods of Hurricane Harvey.
A key component to recovery is the Cruz-Cornyn-Rubio tax relief bill, which provides significant tax relief for those who were directly affected by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. By providing additional tax deductions and waived penalties for withdrawals from tax-advantaged accounts, Texas storm survivors are to keep more of their money as they rebuild. There are also tax credits available for the hundreds of small businesses that kept paying their employees, even if those employees were unable to come to work or the business was shut down, during the storms. Additionally, by lifting the usual limits on charitable giving, this bill allows more people nationwide to help Texans impacted by Harvey.
Led by our Hurricane Harvey recovery working group, Sen. Cruz continues to work to ensure swift and effective service to Texans and Texas communities in need of federal assistance following the storm. If you need additional information or assistance during the recovery and rebuilding process, please do not hesitate to contact our office or utilize the federal and state resources listed here.
Sen. Cruz serves on the Armed Service Committee, working to provide the quality care our veterans deserve and have been promised. He has advocated for responsible spending that prioritizes our troops above other military expenditures while scrutinizing every program, like the superfluous algae fuel program, before considering cutting the job or benefits of a single soldier.
In the 2014 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Sen. Cruz sponsored a provision to expand Purple Heart eligibility to members of the armed forces who have been killed or wounded in an attack inspired or motivated by a foreign terrorist organization, as was tragically the case in the September 11th attacks and the 2009 Fort Hood shooting.
The 2013 NDAA passed by the Senate includes provisions from Sen. Cruz that protect soldiers against discrimination based on their faith; prioritize domestic bases to serve soldiers, veterans and their families; and support the State Department’s Rewards for Justice program which aims to identify and apprehend the terrorists who attacked the diplomatic facilities in Benghazi.