U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, Texas
Putting people back to work is U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz’s No. 1 priority in fighting the dual crises of pandemic and economic downturn, he said during a virtual event hosted by the United Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce on Aug. 31.
“Whether it’s tourism, energy, restaurants, hotels, or schools, we’ve got to get people back to work,” Cruz said.
He voiced doubt that a new stimulus package will be approved by Congress before the Nov. 3 general election. A $3 trillion bill approved by the House of Representatives is not expected to make it through the Senate, which introduced its own $1 trillion bill.
“We are in a very different space than we were in March and April and May,” Cruz said. “When these crises started, we had enormous bipartisan support, the biggest of which was the CARES Act. It passed 96-0 in the senate. I voted for it, and Bernie (Sanders) voted for it. That’s a lot of ideological diversity.”
More money is not the answer, he continued.
“I worry about the degree of cash we are shoving out of Washington, whether it’s borrowed or printed,” he said. “Both of those approaches (the House and Senate bills) are focusing on the wrong issues. I think the absolute priority is getting people back to work.”
Cruz touted his own legislative efforts to do just that. He recently introduced what he calls the Recovery Act, which focuses on small businesses in danger of closing permanently due to the pandemic.
“The Recovery Act reduces regulations and taxes,” he said. “It makes it easier for small businesses to stay open and hire their employees back.”
A main component of his bill, as well as of those in the House and Senate, is liability protection.
“If you reopen and somebody gets sick, employee or customer, you are going to get sued,” he said. “It’s an inevitable tidal wave of ligation.”
Although he’s not optimistic any of the bills will pass this year, he did voice hope in the upcoming Texas legislative session.
Cruz’s virtual visit to Corpus Christi was just one of many appearances at chamber events held across the state over the past six months. This is the second time he has been part of a Corpus Christi chamber virtual event since the pandemic began.
