{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.cruz.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/sen-cruz-applauds-passage-of-pact-act", "Sen. Cruz Applauds Passage of PACT Act", "2022-08-02", "2022", "2022-08", "Republican", "Senate", "TX", "Ted Cruz", "C001098", "www.cruz.senate.gov", "cruz", "https://www.cruz.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) released the following statement after voting to pass the PACT Act and help our nation\u2019s veterans:\n\n\u201cI\u2019m proud to support the PACT Act and all our nation\u2019s veterans. While I ultimately supported the bill, because we need to take care of our veterans who have sacrificed so much to keep us safe, I\u2019m disappointed that we couldn\u2019t come together to fix the Democrat-created budget gimmick that will allow Congress to subsequently spend another $400 billion in pork, on top of and completely unrelated to the laudable funding in this bill for veterans harmed by burn pits. Now it\u2019s up to Republicans to clean up this mess by lowering the discretionary cap \u2014 so that we protect every penny of veterans funding but prevent unrelated pork \u2014 when Republicans retake the majority. Having the back of our nation\u2019s veterans doesn\u2019t just mean making sure those who served get the care they rightly deserve. It also means stopping the Democrats\u2019 irresponsible spending spree and curbing inflation and price increases that hurt all Americans, including our veterans.\u201d\n\nThroughout his career, Sen. Cruz has advocated for veterans:\n\n\u00b7 He fought to fund disability payments for veterans after Harry Reid and Obama shut down the government.\n\n\u00b7 He fought on behalf of the religious liberty of veterans to prohibit the sale or transfer of the Mount Soledad veterans\u2019 memorial.\n\n\u00b7 He fought to defund Obamacare and use the funds to restore cuts to military pensions.\n\n\u00b7 He fought on behalf of veterans following reports of mismanagement and misconduct at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).\n\n\u00b7 He lobbied to give the Purple Heart to victims of the terrorist attack at Fort Hood.\n\n\u00b7 He successfully added a provision to the Military Construction and Veterans\u2019 Affairs Appropriations bill requiring the VA Secretary to provide Congress with a plan to address the long wait times for veterans seeking health care at the South Texas Veterans Health Care System. The final bill, with the amendment included, passed the Senate unanimously.\n\n\u00b7 He lobbied the Department of Veterans Affairs to address the long wait times for veterans seeking health care in San Antonio and to address the improper scheduling practices and extended wait times for veterans seeking health care across the entire State of Texas.\n\n\u00b7 He toured Texas with Concerned Veterans For America, reaffirming his commitment to bringing accountability to the VA, and expanding veterans\u2019 choices.\n\n\u00b7 He introduced the VA AID Act to streamline VA claims processing and ensure the appropriate benefits are sent to eligible low-income, senior veterans in a timely manner.\n\n\u00b7 He introduced the VA Information Technology Restructuring Act to modernize the VA IT infrastructure in a manner that will better equip it to ensure our veterans receive the utmost quality health care.\n\n\u00b7 He co-introduced the Veterans\u2019 Health Care Integrity Act, which would ensure the VA complies with its own veteran health care appointment scheduling policies by making annual certification a statutory requirement.\n\n\u00b7 He cosponsored the Military Widow\u2019s Tax Elimination Act to ensure that military spouses receive full Department of Defense (DOD) and VA survivor benefits.\n\n\u00b7 He co-introduced with U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) a bipartisan resolution designating April 18, 2019 as \u201cMilitary Retiree Appreciation Day\u201d to commemorate the life-long service of military retirees.\n\n\u00b7 He co-introduced a bill to rename the U.S. Postal Office in Mission, Texas as the \u201cMission Veterans Post Office Building.\u201d\n\n\u00b7 He introduced the Veterans, Employees, and Taxpayers (VET) Protection Act, which would ensure union activity does not undermine the service and care of our veterans and is not subsidized by taxpayers.\n\n\u00b7 He lobbied the VA to improve Texas VA medical centers.\n\n\u00b7 He lobbied President Biden against raiding veteran programs to deal with the U.S.-Mexico border crisis.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T02:59:24Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.cruz.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/sen-cruz-applauds-passage-of-pact-act"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.492033014073968, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}