Cruz is the junior senator from Texas and is a Republican. He has served since Jan 3, 2013. Cruz is next up for reelection in 2018.
![Photo of Sen. Ted Cruz [R-TX]](/data/photos/412573-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our 2017 Report Card for Cruz.
Ideology–Leadership Chart
Cruz is shown as a purple triangle ▲ in our ideology-leadership chart below. Each dot is a member of the Senate positioned according to our liberal–conservative ideology score (left to right) and our leadership score (leaders are toward the top).
The chart is based on the bills Cruz has sponsored and cosponsored. See full analysis methodology.
Ratings from Advocacy Organizations
Committee Membership
Ted Cruz sits on the following committees:
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Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
- Chair, Subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveness
- Member, Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security
- Member, Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet
- Member, Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, Insurance, and Data Security
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Senate Committee on the Judiciary
- Chair, Subcommittee on the Constitution
- Member, Subcommittee on Border Security and Immigration
- Member, Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism
- Joint Economic Committee
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Senate Committee on Armed Services
- Member, Subcommittee on Airland
- Member, Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities
- Member, Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
- Senate Committee on Rules and Administration
Enacted Legislation
Cruz was the primary sponsor of 6 bills that were enacted:
- S. 1892: A bill to provide tax relief related to Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria.
- S. 442: National Aeronautics and Space Administration Transition Authorization Act of 2017
- S.J.Res. 23: A joint resolution disapproving the rule submitted by the Department of Labor relating to drug testing of unemployment compensation applicants.
- S. 1297 (114th): U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act
- S. 2195 (113th): A bill to deny admission to the United States to any representative to the United Nations who has been found to have been engaged in espionage activities ...
- S. 1594 (113th): A bill to designate the United States courthouse located at 101 East Pecan Street in Sherman, Texas, as the Paul Brown United States Courthouse.
We consider a bill enacted if one of the following is true: a) it is enacted itself, b) it has a companion bill in the other chamber (as identified by Congress) which was enacted, or c) if at least about half of its provisions were incorporated into bills that were enacted (as determined by an automated text analysis, applicable beginning with bills in the 110th Congress).
Bills Sponsored
Issue Areas
Cruz sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:
International Affairs (33%) Immigration (17%) Government Operations and Politics (14%) Taxation (12%) Health (8%) Science, Technology, Communications (7%) Education (4%) Crime and Law Enforcement (4%)
Recent Bills
Some of Cruz’s most recently sponsored bills include...
- S. 3560: Retirement Freedom Act
- S. 3526: Equal Treatment of Public Servants Act of 2018
- S. 3506: School Security Enhancement Act
- S.Res. 650: A resolution recognizing the 1-year anniversary of Hurricane Harvey.
- S. 3370: A bill to designate the area between the intersections of 3rd Street, Southwest ...
- S. 3317: Protect Charities and Houses of Worship Act
- S. 3277: Space Frontier Act of 2018
Voting Record
Key Votes
| Cruz’s Vote | Vote Description |
|---|---|
| Yea |
H.R. 1892: Further Extension of Continuing Appropriations Act, 2018; Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2018, the SUSTAIN Care Act of 2018; Family First Prevention Services Act.; Honoring Hometown ...
Feb 9, 2018. Motion Agreed to 71/28.
This bill became the vehicle for passage of funding for the federal government through March 23, 2018, to avert a government shutdown that would have occurred on February 9, 2018 had this bill not been enacted. The bill was introduced as the Honoring Hometown Heroes ... |
| Yea |
H.J.Res. 43: Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the final rule submitted by Secretary of Health and Human Services relating ...
Mar 30, 2017. Joint Resolution Passed 51/50.
Joe Biden never got the opportunity to break a single 50-50 Senate tie in eight years as vice president. Mike Pence has already broken two. One from last month has since become law: a measure allowing states to withhold federal Planned Parenthood funding. (The other ... |
| Nay |
H.R. 5325: Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2017
Sep 28, 2016. Bill Passed 72/26.
The Continuing Appropriations and Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017, and Zika Response and Preparedness Act (H.R. 5325) is an appropriations bill which extended funding at the previous year's levels up to December 9, 2016 (10 weeks). After this, a continuing ... |
| Nay |
H.R. 22: Developing a Reliable and Innovative Vision for the Economy Act
Dec 3, 2015. Conference Report Agreed to 83/16.
H.R 22, formerly the Hire More Heroes Act, has become the Senate’s vehicle for passage of the Developing a Reliable and Innovative Vision for the Economy Act or DRIVE Act (S. 1647). The DRIVE Act is a major bipartisan transportation bill that would authorize funding ... |
| Nay |
H.R. 22: Developing a Reliable and Innovative Vision for the Economy Act
Jul 30, 2015. Bill Passed 65/34.
This vote turned H.R 22, originally the Hire More Heroes Act, into the Senate’s vehicle for passage of the Developing a Reliable and Innovative Vision for the Economy Act or DRIVE Act (S. 1647), a major bipartisan transportation bill, and the Export-Import Bank Reform and ... |
| Nay |
S. 1177: Every Child Achieves Act of 2015
Jul 16, 2015. Bill Passed 81/17.
The Every Child Achieves Act is a bipartisan educational policy reform bill that would expand state responsibility over schools, provide grants to charter schools, and reduce the federal test-based accountability system of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). The bill was referred to the ... |
| Yea |
H.R. 5771 (113th): Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014
Dec 16, 2014. Bill Passed 76/16.
|
| Nay |
H.R. 3979 (113th): Carl Levin and Howard P. “Buck” McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015
Dec 12, 2014. Motion Agreed to 89/11.
This bill became, most recently, the vehicle for the passage of the defense authorization (spending) bill for fiscal year 2015. The bill was originally introduced by Rep. Lou Barletta as the Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act. It was passed by the House in ... |
| Nay |
H.J.Res. 124 (113th): Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2015
Sep 18, 2014. Joint Resolution Passed 78/22.
|
| Nay |
H.R. 4302 (113th): Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014
Mar 31, 2014. Bill Passed 64/35.
Section 212 of this bill pushed back the deadline to implement the ICD-10 code set to October 1, 2015. The Cutting Costly Codes Act of 2013, which would prevent ICD-10 from being implemented at all without further Congressional approval, has been introduced in House and ... |
| Nay |
H.R. 3304 (113th): National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014
Dec 19, 2013. Motion Agreed to 84/15.
|
Missed Votes
From Jan 2013 to Oct 2018, Cruz missed 238 of 1,723 roll call votes, which is 13.8%. This is much worse than the median of 1.5% among the lifetime records of senators currently serving. The chart below reports missed votes over time.
Primary Sources
The information on this page is originally sourced from a variety of materials, including:
- @unitedstates/congress-legislators, a community project gathering congressional information
- The House and Senate websites, for committee membership and voting records
- GPO Member Guide for the photo
- GovInfo.gov, for sponsored bills
