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The Blast: Milestone for Ted Cruz the Bipartisan [1]

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Date: 2024-05 

As U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz’s reelection contest ramps up, the junior senator from Texas is celebrating Congress’ passage of the FAA Reauthorization Act as his 100th “legislative accomplishment.”



“This bill, the FAA bill, it so happened, it is the 100th bill I have authored and passed into law,” Cruz said in an interview on KXAN’s State of Texas last week.



Cruz’s team isn’t simply counting the bills that became law that listed the senator as the primary author. They’re counting the bills, amendments and legislative language that became law, as well as resolutions approved by the Senate — any “win” that clearly has the senator’s fingerprints.



That includes things like the Federal Aviation Administration reauth, Cruz and Democratic U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar’s bill to streamline the presidential permit process for international bridges, and Cruz and Democratic U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s bill allowing cadets in military families to be parents. Challenging the perception that Cruz has only recently started working as a bipartisan lawmaker, some items from the 100 wins date back to Cruz’s first years in Congress, when he picked up his image as a scorched-earth, Dr. Seuss-loving conservative. He was on the Armed Services Committee in his first term, which is responsible for negotiating the annual National Defense Authorization Act.



“Sen. Cruz has been committed since his first day in office to advancing the interests of Texans,” Cruz spokesperson Macarena Martinez said in a statement to The Blast. “In his two terms thus far, he has secured 100 legislative accomplishments, most recently passage of the FAA Reauthorization Act. He’s worked through his leadership position on the Commerce Committee, as well as prominently the Committees on Armed Services, Foreign Relations and Judiciary.”



Another aide noted it’s easier to talk about Cruz as the guy who fights President Joe Biden’s policies than it is to talk about his mundane bipartisan and meat-and-potatoes legislating.



Cruz’s messaging focus on his bipartisan history comes as Cruz gears up for the general election challenge from U.S. Rep. Colin Allred of Dallas. Allred, a moderate Democrat who has split with Biden at times and flipped his district in 2018, has less touching up of his resume to do for a general election audience.



Cruz’s latest initiative, announced just today, is a bill with U.S. Sen. Katie Britt, R-Alabama, that would make states ineligible to receive Medicaid funding if they ban IVF. The IVF Protection Act is a response to bipartisan concerns after the Alabama Supreme Court effectively banned the procedure in Britt’s home state this year.



After the announcement, Allred’s campaign docked Cruz for "attempting to cover up his record" on “reproductive freedoms.”



“Let’s be clear, Ted Cruz’s long-standing support for an extreme ban on abortion which is now threatening IVF is why we are here,” Allred said in a statement. “Cruz brags about his long record of working to take away reproductive freedom, including supporting extreme personhood legislation and opposing exceptions for rape, incest and unviable pregnancies.”

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[1] Url: https://mailchi.mp/texastribune/the-blast-milestone-for-ted-cruz-the-bipartisan

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