Birth Certificate Issue Aside, Ted Cruz Returns To Regular Business: Defunding Obamacare

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, returns to regular business in his home state on Wednesday, where he will continue his push to defund the 2010 health care law, commonly called Obamacare. Cruz was sidetracked earlier this week after it was reported that he was a dual citizen of America and Canada (where he was born).

Cruz, who many believe will run for president in 2016, said he will renounce his Canadian citizenship. However, he is still silent on the question of a presidential run.

For now, the senator remains focused on delivering a crippling blow to the new federal health law, by pushing for a vote on a continuous resolution that funds the government but not Obamamcare. Republicans have made 40 attempts to do away with parts or all of the law, which Congress passed and the U.S. Supreme Court found constitutional. Cruz will travel to Kerriville, Austin and Waco this week to hear from constituents and explain to them the importance of the fight to defund Obamacare.

“Today, we’re approaching the last, best chance to stop Obamacare, which is hurting the economy and is a disaster for working people and their families,” Cruz said in a Freedom Minute speech on Monday. “Single moms, people struggling to climb the economic ladder, can’t make ends meet working part-time. I’m helping lead the effort to defund Obamacare, and I urge you to join us.”

Cruz’s mission is also supported by his Tea Party colleague Sen. Marco Rubio, who said of the refusal to vote for a temporary funding bill that includes Obamacare: “Our last best chance, to put a brake on this ... disaster is in September when we take up the short-term budget.”

“We should not shut down the government, we should fund the government,” Rubio said. “The only thing we shouldn’t fund as part of that budget is Obamacare. That’s all I’m saying.”

A 2014 continuing resolution would appropriate money to federal agencies to prevent a government shutdown. President Barack Obama has said that the idea of causing a possible government shutdown to prevent millions from getting health insurance coverage is a “bad idea.”