(Alexandria, VA) – Today, National Taxpayers Union Foundation (NTUF) released an analysis of 2016 Presidential Candidate and Senator Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) legislative agendas, finding he supported a reduction in federal spending by an average of $169.4 billion a year during his time in Congress.
Cruz’s average tallies $10 billion more in spending cuts than his Republican colleagues. For every dollar of new spending, Cruz’s agenda would cut $8.47 billion in spending.
“Senator Cruz supported significant spending reductions like repeal of the Affordable Care Act and abolishing the IRS and income tax in favor of a sales tax,” said NTUF Director of Research Demian Brady. “Combined with very minimal spending increases, these make for a legislative slate big on savings.”
NTUF’s BillTally project analyzes the cost impact of legislation sponsored by Senator Cruz during the first session of the 113th Congress. Read the complete study on the NTUF website.
Highlights from NTUF’s analysis:
- Senator Cruz supported legislation that would, on net, reduce federal spending by an average of $169.4 billion per year. He supported $8.47 billion in spending cuts for every dollar of new spending.
- Senator Cruz’s legislative agenda would have reduced spending by about $10 billion more than the average Republican Senator’s.
- The Senator has called for a full repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which would reduce federal spending by about $63.9 billion per year.
- Cruz was a supporter of S. 122 in the 113th Congress, legislation that would have repealed the federal income tax, replaced it with a national sales tax, and abolished the IRS. Doing so would save $96.9 billion over five years.
- The most expensive legislation that Senator Cruz supported would have created a special task force in the Department of Justice to prosecute convicted felons who attempt to buy firearms, at a cost of $10 million per year. Followed by a bill offering a $5 million reward for information on the 2012 attacks at the U.S. embassy in Benghazi.
Brady concluded, “NTUF’s data continues to provide a clear picture of the fiscal history of Members of Congress, helping to enlighten on the costs of the policies politicians support.”
Other NTUF analyses found Senator Bernie Sanders proposed an average of over $1 trillion in annual spending during his Senate tenure, while Hillary Clinton proposed $226 billion in new spending. On the GOP side, Senator Marco Rubio offered $330 billion in cuts, and Senator Rand Paul a $484 billion average spending reduction.
National Taxpayers Union Foundation (NTUF) is the research and education arm of National Taxpayers Union, “The Voice of America’s Taxpayers.” For more information visit ntu.org/foundation.