Republicans also discuss federal funding for the F-35 program and privatization of NASA
DALLAS — Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) knows he’s in a race against time, with only a limited number of hours and days until the end of the year.
So he said he is working hard to pass a bill in the House of Representatives that would protect victims from intimate deepfake nude images posted without their permission. The bill has already passed the US Senate.
Sen. Cruz said he has repeatedly asked House leadership to respond within the next week.
“If they put it to a vote, it will pass. It will pass overwhelmingly. And the reason they will do it is because it is good policy and it addresses a very real problem.” Sen. Cruz made the argument on Inside Texas Politics.
Known as the “Take It Down Act” and inspired by Aledo’s teenage victims, this bipartisan bill would protect victims of both real and deepfake non-consensual intimate images (NCII). It will be protected.
The bill would not only make it a felony to post such images, but also force tech companies to remove the content.
“You have a legal right to remove trash,” the Republican told us.
Sen. Cruz says even if it doesn’t pass this year, it will pass next year.
And with Republicans now controlling the U.S. Senate 53-47, Cruz is set to become the next chairman of the powerful Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, saying he will continue to focus on job creation. .
On the topic of jobs, the senator said he will continue to support Lockheed Martin’s production of the F-35, which is built in Fort Worth. The plant is one of the largest employers in North Texas.
Tech titan Elon Musk, who heads the Trump administration’s new Department of Government Efficiency, recently called for cutting off federal funding for the F-35 and redirecting that money to supporting next-generation technologies like drones. he suggested.
Sen. Cruz has said he thinks Musk is on to something in terms of investing in next-generation technology, but the F-35 remains an advantage for the United States.
“There are a lot of advanced weapons that we need to invest in, but I think the F-35 gives us an advantage against any adversary around the world,” the Republican said.
Senator Cruz also does not believe NASA, or any part of it, will be privatized anytime soon for many of the same reasons, including jobs and national security.
Republicans say it’s a mistake to see NASA and commercial space as competing with each other.
Cruise says he’s a big supporter of commercial space because it’s the only way to get the billions of dollars needed to return to the moon and Mars. But that doesn’t change the important role NASA plays in space exploration, he says.
“I think NASA is very important to national security. It’s extremely important to the country. Johnson Space Center in Houston is very important and it’s a very important employer in the state of Texas,” he said. spoke.
