![Photo of Sen. Ted Cruz [R-TX]](/data/photos/412573-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our 2016 Report Card for Cruz.
Sponsorship Analysis
Our unique analysis of the bills Cruz has sponsored and cosponsored provides insight into his position in the Senate.
Each dot in the chart below is a member of the Senate. The dots are positioned horizontally according to our progressive—conservative ideology score and vertically according to our leadership score (leaders toward the top). Cruz is shown as a purple triangle. (analysis methodology)
Committee Membership
Ted Cruz sits on the following committees:
-
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
-
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
-
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 5 bills that were enacted:
- 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 about one third or more 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 (30%) Immigration (20%) Government Operations and Politics (16%) Health (9%) Crime and Law Enforcement (8%) Science, Technology, Communications (7%) Taxation (7%) Finance and Financial Sector (4%)
Recent Bills
Some of Cruz’s most recently sponsored bills include...
- S. 1394: A bill to apply the medical certification standards of the Federal Aviation Administration ...
- S. 1404: A bill to amend the Natural Gas Act to provide for expanded natural ...
- S. 1187: A bill to designate the area between the intersections of International Drive, Northwest ...
- S. 1060: PLO Accountability Act of 2017
- S. 972: Nicaraguan Investment Conditionality Act (NICA) of 2017
- S. 939: EL CHAPO Act
- S. 789: Public Water Supply Invasive Species Compliance Act of 2017
Voting Record
Key Votes
| Cruz’s Vote | Vote Description |
|---|---|
| Nay |
H.R. 5325: Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2017
Sep 28, 2016. Bill Passed 72/26.
|
| Not Voting |
S. 2012: Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2015
Apr 20, 2016. Bill Passed 85/12.
This week, the Senate began debate on the first major energy legislation to be considered since 2007. Introduced by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), the bill -- S. 2012, the Energy Policy Modernization Act -- received an unlikely overwhelming bipartisan vote when it passed out of ... |
| 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 Jun 2017, Cruz missed 210 of 1,312 roll call votes, which is 16.0%. This is much worse than the median of 1.4% 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:
- Congress-Legislators, a community project collecting election information
- The House and Senate websites, for committee membership and voting records
- GPO Member Guide for the photo
- GPO.gov/FDSys, for sponsored bills