Ted Speaks – At KTRH

You won’t hear about it in the mainstream media, but Texas Sen. Ted Cruz not only passed a new FAA reauthorization bill. It was also the 100th bill of his career.

“It was passed by an overwhelming majority, there were only 4 ‘no’ votes out of a hundred senators,” Cruz said, “So we built a broad consensus, and this bill is going to make a real difference for jobs in Texas, and my #1 priority in the Senate is jobs.
The FAA reauthorization bill will bring Texas:

• Historic funding of $4 billion per year for airport infrastructure projects that will strengthen the capacity and safety of airports across Texas and the nation.
• Five additional exemptions to the statutory “perimeter rule,” allowing new round-trip flights to and from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) from locations previously excluded from direct flights. This will provide a direct flight from San Antonio to DCA, providing a more convenient travel experience for members of the military traveling from Joint Base San Antonio, business travelers and tourists.
• Order the FAA to hire the maximum number of air traffic controllers. The Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facilities for the Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston areas have been understaffed in recent years, contributing to flight delays and tower closures.
• Establishment of an advanced aviation technology center for aviation technologies such as electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft such as air taxis. This center would test these technologies and oversee the development and related activities of test lanes and other flight demonstration areas. Importantly, the Center would also work to facilitate partnerships between industry, academia and relevant government agencies to further unlock innovative aviation technologies.
• An adjustment to the bill’s Airport Improvement Program discretionary funding structures that would boost McKinney National Airport’s efforts to become the third primary commercial airport in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. Although the terminal expansion will be primarily funded locally, the bill expands McKinney National’s eligibility for up to $20 million in federal funding.
• The reforms aimed to better integrate commercial space activities into the National Airspace System to help launch providers navigate complex airspace, a boost for Texas’ thriving commercial space industry.
• Provisions that could benefit Texas universities seeking to develop aviation-related education and workforce development programs, such as Texas Women’s University and Angelo State University.
• Reforms to the FAA’s state block grant program to level the playing field – putting Texas on equal footing with non-block grant states.
• Funding that will enhance the operational capabilities of the FAA’s UAS Test Range, managed by Texas A&M and located in Corpus Christi, Texas.
• A measure to respond to recent devastating wildfires in Texas by directing the FAA to develop a plan to better integrate the use of unmanned aircraft systems to help fight wildfires.
• A provision that will streamline approvals to allow more drone operations for offshore oil and gas installations in international waters.

“This is critically important to the state of Texas,” Sen. Cruz told KTRH. “This bill directs the FAA to hire significantly more air traffic controllers, which will help with safety and reduce delays.”

And there are no delays for the November race. As has been noted here, Democrats have targeted Senator Cruz as their number one priority, outside of the White House. But it turns out that the left-wing elites who fund radical anti-Israel protests also fund Democrats.

“These left-wing billionaires who are funding these anti-American and anti-Israel protests gave Colin Allred $80,000 for his campaign,” Cruz noted. “If he doesn’t support what these radicals are demanding, then he should give that money back. And of course he doesn’t do that.

Senator Cruz also released a new book: “Unwoke – How to Defeat Cultural Marxism in America.”