TX-15: Monica De La Cruz (R)

REPLACING:

Vicente Gonzalez, Jr. (D) [i]

WORK HISTORY:

State Farm Insurance Cos. (Insurance Agent); New York Life Insurance Co. (Insurance Agent); DLC Insurance (Owner / President / Insurance Agent); JSM De La Cruz Holdings (Owner / President); Cartoon Network Latin America; Turner Entertainment Networks (Intern)[ii]

EDUCATION:

Diploma, James Pace Early College High School; BBA, University of Texas at San Antonio; Attended, National Autonomous University of Mexico; Attended (Fellowship Program), Bryn Mawr College[iii] [iv]

CAMPAIGNED ON:

Border Security & Immigration; Energy; Education; Healthcare; Welfare; Constitutional Values; Military & Homeland Security; Agriculture; Spending & National Debt[v]

ON THE ISSUES

REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS:

De La Cruz believes life begins at conception and would support abortion only when the life of the mother is threatened.[vi] [vii] She opposes federal funding for Planned Parenthood and other “abortion providers.” De La Cruz supported the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act and has been endorsed by Texas Right to Life.[viii] [ix]

ECONOMY, JOBS & TAXES:

De La Cruz supports an amendment to the US Constitution that would require Congress to balance the budget. She has called for cutting “deficit spending,” which she blames for rising inflation, and opposed the “unfunded” bipartisan infrastructure bill signed by President Biden in 2021.[x] [xi] She would also support a program to incentivize federal workers to save taxpayer dollars by rewarding those who identify waste, fraud, and abuse.[xii] She advocates for eliminating regulations on farmers and ranchers and fixing the supply chain crisis to allow more US agricultural products to be exported.[xiii] De La Cruz supports a flat income tax and has been endorsed by the National Federation of Independent Business.[xiv] [xv]

HEALTHCARE & SOCIAL SAFETY NET:

De La Cruz opposes “government takeover” of the US healthcare system and wants to empower individuals “to control their healthcare to best fit their needs.”[xvi] In Congress, she will work to implement market policies to drive healthcare costs down and would support legislation to create tax incentives for individuals who want to start their own medical savings accounts.[xvii] [xviii] De La Cruz argues the government should stop “incentivizing able bodied adults not to work” and has called for “universal and enforceable” work requirements for welfare.[xix] She has said she would make sure those currently paying into Social Security are “guaranteed their promised benefits,” but has called for privatizing Social Security and allowing workers the “option” of participating in the program or investing in their own privately-funded retirement accounts.[xx] Notably, De La Cruz has been criticized for taking federal COVID-19 relief funds only to then disparage legislation that would expand those programs as the pandemic continued.[xxi]

IMMIGRATION & BORDER SECURITY:

De La Cruz believes border security is a national security issue and wants to apply an “extreme vetting process” for all those wishing to come to the US from countries with a known history of terrorism.[xxii] She believes we should “only allow those with certain needed highly technical skill sets or who have a direct blood family connection to or is the legal spouse of a US Citizen” to enter the country until the borders are secure.[xxiii] She has called for sanctuary cities to be “defunded” and strongly disagrees with abolishing ICE.[xxiv] De La Cruz supported the Trump administration’s “Remain-in-Mexico” policy and will fight to end “catch and release,” finish building the border wall, hire more immigration judges, and pass E-Verify.[xxv] She has also called for American ranchers and farmers to be reimbursed “for confirmed damages” to their goods and property from “illegal immigrant traffic.”[xxvi] De La Cruz has been endorsed by the National Border Patrol Council.[xxvii]

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY:

De La Cruz supports mandatory minimum sentencing for violent crimes.[xxviii] She opposes legalizing marijuana and has pledged to fight efforts to defund the police.[xxix] [xxx]

GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS & ELECTION SECURITY:

De La Cruz has pledged to support term limits for members of Congress.[xxxi] She strongly disagrees with abolishing the Electoral College.[xxxii] De La Cruz is a 2020 election denier and, notably, called her own electoral defeat into question after losing her congressional race, claiming widespread voter fraud.[xxxiii]

EDUCATION:

De La Cruz supports school choice and giving parents more options in their children’s education. She will work to reduce bureaucracy and instill greater accountability at the US Department of Education and oppose efforts to teach “anti-American propaganda” like Critical Race Theory.[xxxiv]

CLIMATE CHANGE, ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT:

De La Cruz opposes “radical socialist” Green New Deal policies and has called for an end to regulations that increase the cost of energy. She wants to expand employment opportunities in the fossil fuel sector and invest in domestic sources of energy so that the US can be “energy independent once again.” De La Cruz also supports “safe and efficient” use of nuclear energy and reducing pollution through technology.[xxxv]

BIG TECH & DATA PRIVACY:

While running for Congress in 2020, De La Cruz said she was “disgusted” with Big Tech and social media companies for their alleged “censorship of the conservative voice.”[xxxvi] In the days after the January 6^th insurrection, she called on Congress to defend freedom of speech after Twitter suspended the accounts of several conservatives accused of spreading disinformation, imploring the House and Senate to save the First Amendment from “Tech Tyranny.”[xxxvii]

GUN SAFETY:

De La Cruz supports Second Amendment rights and has been endorsed by the NRA, which gave her an “AQ” rating in 2022.[xxxviii] [xxxix] She has said gun control does not work and does not believe there are any restrictions on gun ownership needed to protect public safety.[xl] [xli]

FOREIGN POLICY:

De La Cruz has called on the US to stand up to China and support our allies.[xlii] She supports reducing foreign aid, especially for nations that “do not support the freedoms/values of the United States.”[xliii] She has accused the Biden administration of provoking Russia.[xliv]