TED CRUZ’S RECORD SINCE COMING TO THE SENATE

Texas notes:

• Since the Senator’s swearing in about 6 months ago, and with only 4 weeks of recess back in the state, he’s attended more than 50 events in 20 Texas towns.

• Local GOP events in Austin, Corpus Christi, Houston, and Tyler were sold out and groups experienced some of the most robust fundraising events in their history.

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In the Senate:

• Received appointment to key committees including Armed Services, Judiciary, and Commerce.

• Traveled to Israel twice, once in December, once in January, as well as Afghanistan.

• Led opposition to former-Sen. Chuck Hagel to be Secretary of Defense. Highlighted key controversial statements, and revealed a key irregularity in the former Senator’s financial disclosure: Hagel had stipulated that six of seven companies that had paid him had not done so with funds from foreign sources; but for the seventh, he could not so stipulate. Cruz rightly called for further disclosure, as the Senate could not make its assessment without knowing the source of such foreign income, leading to a delay of vote and the lowest confirmation vote for a Secretary of Defense ever.

• Opposed Hurricane Sandy disaster relief bill, because it was loaded with unrelated pork-barrel spending and waste.

• Wrote public letter to gun company CEOs and banks facing harassment from Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel, inviting those companies to relocate to Texas.

• Voted against former-Sen. John Kerry becoming Secretary of State.

• Fulfilled key campaign pledge, filed first bill to repeal every word of Obamacare.

• In Senate Judiciary Committee, debated the Assault Weapons Ban.

• Voted against the Violence Against Women Act because it overstepped federal authority.

• Opposed Jack Lew’s nomination to be Treasury Secretary.

• Voted no on efforts to end the spending sequester to trim 2.4% from federal spending.

• Extracted concession from Attorney General Eric Holder that Constitution prevented Obama Administration from using drones to kill U.S. citizens on American soil if they didn’t represent an imminent threat.

• Participated in Rand Paul’s historic filibuster on the Senate floor on drone policy.

• Proposed amendment to March’s Continuing Resolution to defund Obamacare. Despite initial criticism, every Republican in the Senate voted for it.

• Eulogized former-British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on the Senate floor.

• Released a report critiquing the Obama Administration’s expansive view of executive authority which has been rejected unanimously by the Supreme Court nine times.

• Questioned Sen. Feinstein (D-CA) on the constitutionality of proposed Assault Weapons Ban.

• Inaugurated weekly Freedom Minute segment, 1-minute radio editorials available for rebroadcast.

• As part of the budget debate, filed numerous amendments, including:

Prohibiting drone killings of U.S. citizens on U.S. soil without imminent threat

Eliminating corporate welfare

Scholarships for school choice

Limiting federal ownership of state lands

Transferring foreign aid from Egypt to U.S. missile defense

Creating a private right of action to challenge costly federal regulations

Prohibiting millionaires from receiving welfare

Restoring labor regulation to the states

“Bloomberg Big Gulp Amendment” prohibiting federal regulation of food and beverage size and quantity

•  With Sens. Mike Lee and Rand Paul, led the fight that defeated the President’s initiative to reduce the Second Amendment freedoms of law-abiding citizens. Their decision to require a 60-vote threshold on the Motion to Proceed was the critical step that activated the grassroots and identified wavering Republicans and red state Democrats, leading to the compromise Manchin-Toomey proposal’s defeat. Cruz’s counter proposal, to increase prosecutions of felons and fugitives seeking to buy guns, got the most bipartisan votes of any proposal in the gun debate.

• Paid respects in West, Texas following tragic fertilizer plant explosion.

• Strongly opposed bill to enact Internet sales taxes across state lines.

• Spoke to the NRA annual convention in Houston, TX.

• With a handful of other Senators, blocked the Senate from proceeding on the budget unless Democratic leadership would guarantee not to use the reconciliation process to raise the debt ceiling with a 50-vote threshold, rather than the normal 60-vote threshold. This is a crucial mechanism to force long overdue spending reforms. The debate has now gone on for almost three months.

• Called on the President to “tell the truth” on Benghazi, the IRS scandals, and Obamacare.

• Following the Kermit Gosnell verdict, joined Sen. Mike Lee to propose investigation into the practices of abortion clinics performing late-term abortions.

• Led the fight against the Gang of Eight immigration bill in the U.S. Senate. Critiqued the bill’s flawed approach – amnesty first, border security second – and argued citizenship should not be offered to those who came to the U.S. illegally. Highlighted the Obamacare amnesty tax, which makes illegal immigrants cheaper to hire than citizens and legal immigrants. Counter-proposed a real border security plan, and to expand the legal immigration system with expanded citizenship and a five-fold increase in H-1B visas for high-tech workers.

• On the Senate floor, highlighted the false choice available to the people of Iran as they headed into elections with candidates handpicked by the nation’s Supreme Leader.

• In committee, passed amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act to protect the religious liberty of U.S. service men and women. Also proposed to strengthen missile defense and to favor closing foreign military bases ahead of domestic bases.

• Proposed to change the federal Motor Voter law to allow states to confirm the identity of people registering to vote.

• Voted no on the Farm Bill which didn’t make needed reforms to agriculture policy and was loaded up with unrelated food stamp spending.

• In the wake of IRS scandals, advocated for abolishing the IRS and replacing the tax code with a much simpler and fairer system.

• On the Senate floor, opposed arming Syrian rebels, and called for securing that nation’s chemical weapon stockpile.

• Applauded Supreme Court decision effectively ending Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, as an outdated, intrusive law.

• Put a hold on all State Department nominees until the Obama Administration nominated an Inspector General to oversee and audit that agency.

• Led the Senate fight, with Sens. Mike Lee and Marco Rubio, to defund Obamacare when Congress passes the next Continuing Resolution to pay for federal programs. Called on the grassroots to rise up to force Congress to defund this disaster.

Thanks to Jon McClellan, a Conservative political activist living in liberal Austin, for providing the list of Senator Ted Cruz’s accomplishments and activities.