©Kim Christensen
Lee College Economic Alliance event in Pasadena 2017
Lee College Economic Alliance event in Pasadena 2017 (Photos by ©Kim Christensen)
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) has a list of main concerns that capture his attention as he goes about the business of representing Texans and their interests in Washington. At the top of that list are four priorities.
Sen. Cruz's first priority is fundamental tax reform, which he believes Congress can and will pass.
"The advice I have given the president on tax reform is basically two words: bold and simple," Sen. Cruz said. "I think there is power to bold simplicity. Ideally, I'd like to see a simple flat tax where everyone fills out our taxes on a postcard."
Sen. Cruz also recommends abolishing the Internal Revenue Service.
"Politically, it is almost as hard to pass a small, piddling tax bill as it is to pass a major tax cut that unleashes the engines of economic growth," Sen. Cruz said, speaking to delegates attending the Economic Alliance Houston Port Region's annual Gulf Coast Industry Forum held recently in Pasadena, Texas. "If we're going to do it, we ought to go big or go home."
Sen. Cruz's second priority, he said, is repealing the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).
"In every single small business roundtable I have done in the last five years in the state of Texas, at least half of the small business owners list Obamacare as the single biggest obstacle in their business," Sen. Cruz said. "It is driving up their costs, costing millions of people jobs and forcing them into part-time work."
In terms of impact on health insurance, Sen. Cruz said millions of people have lost their health insurance and doctors and have seen premiums skyrocket. The key to repeal, he added, is "focusing like a laser on lowering premiums."
"If we can focus and actually deliver on lowering premiums [so] health insurance is more affordable for families who are struggling, that will be a big, big deal," he said.
Regulatory reform is third on Sen. Cruz's "to-do" list.
"In Texas, we understand that if you create an environment of low taxes and limited regulation and unleash the private sector, the result is incredible jobs and economic growth," he said, adding Texans possess "a common sense" that is fundamental to the direction he believes the country needs to go.
"Texans want more jobs, higher-paying jobs and better opportunities for our kids, our grandkids and the next generation," he noted. "Texans get that that's not going to come magically from the government."
The fourth "big, big priority" for the president, the administration and Congress, Sen. Cruz said, is nominating and confirming strong constitutionalists to the Supreme Court and the federal courts.
"If you value the Constitution, the Bill of Rights [and] the basic liberties that are protected for each and every American, the courts are at the central role between either protecting those rights or undermining those rights," Sen. Cruz said.
Delivering on these priorities, he explained, could result in the "most productive Congress" in decades and would have particular impact on Texas by allowing the energy industry to lead the way in creating millions of new jobs.
These jobs would, in turn, lead to new jobs in manufacturing and petrochemicals, he said, "as we compete and beat our competitors on the world stage, not based on low-cost labor but based on abundant, low-cost energy that Texans know how to discover and develop."
"That's what the opportunity is -- for jobs and economic growth," he said. "If we end up fighting amongst ourselves in a circular firing squad and can't deliver, this would be one of the most heartbreaking missed opportunities in modern times.
"The message is very, very simple. Let's do what we promised we would do. If we do that, it will have an enormous impact on our country."
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