July 20, 2026Methodology v2.2 · Data: BLS, 20102025
Political Grades
government — just the stats

CongressTexas

Ted Cruz

U.S. Senator, Texas · Republican · in office since Jan. 3, 2025

Ted Cruz
U.S. Senator · Texas · Republican · in the Senate since Jan. 2013
Overall grade · among senators
No. 12 of 91
+0.22σ · 65% of the grade measured
How this grade is built
35%Bills they move (LES)+0.56
30%Texas: trend + condition (17% condition, 13.5y served)−0.34
25%Alignment (promises vs. votes)reserved
10%Attendancereserved
Texas outcomes over their Senate service
CategoryLatestScore vs. peers
Education scale score269.424−1.18σ
Air quality AQI4324−0.45σ
Water quality % of community systems5.025+0.45σ
Unemployment %4.225−1.08σ
Health coverage % of adults 18-6419.124−0.16σ
Tax burden % of personal income424+0.57σ
Energy cost cents/kWh14.924−0.46σ
Cost of living index, US=10097.124+0.17σ
Crime deaths per 100,0005.924+0.13σ
Teen births per 1,000 females 15-1918.524+0.33σ
Wellbeing mean days of past 305.124−1.93σ
Obesity % of adults35.624+1.25σ
Early literacy % of 4th graders42.924+1.03σ
Gun deaths deaths per 100,000 (age-adjusted)13.924−0.43σ
Food-aid access index (higher = easier access)0.623−0.15σ
Jobless-benefit access % of unemployed receiving UI22.724−0.45σ
Their own recordValue
Legislative effectiveness LES · chamber avg = 1.0
2.26
Missed votes8.8%
Ideology 0 = left · 1 = right (GovTrack)0.94
Promises keptIn human review

A senator’s constituency is the whole state, so they are scored on the same verified state outcomes as the governor — ranked against other senators — alongside their own legislative record. Influence is shared with 99 colleagues and the governor; the score shows relative movement, not sole credit. Methodology v2.2

What Cruz voted to fund

These pies aggregate the largest verified spending items — appropriations and mandatory outlays — in the bills Cruz cast a recorded vote on, sliced by category, every dollar quoted from the bill text. Authorizations, guarantee ceilings and pay-fors are excluded, exactly as on the bill pages. This shows what the bills contained, by Cruz’s own votes — not a claim that Cruz wrote the spending or that it did or didn’t work. Click any slice to read the cited line-items.

Voted to fund — every dollar, cited

veterans$6.9B

  • Mandatory appropriation to the Medical Facilities account for the 31 FY2023 major medical facility leasesDepartment of Veterans Affairs (Medical Facilities account)$1,880,000,000
    S. 3373 — read the cited text →
  • Mandatory appropriation to enter into enhanced-use leases of VA property (FY2022)Department of Veterans Affairs$922,000,000
    S. 3373 — read the cited text →
  • Mandatory appropriation to the Medical Facilities account for major medical facility leases (FY2031)Department of Veterans Affairs (Medical Facilities account)$650,000,000
    S. 3373 — read the cited text →
  • Mandatory appropriation to the Medical Facilities account for major medical facility leases (FY2030)Department of Veterans Affairs (Medical Facilities account)$620,000,000
    S. 3373 — read the cited text →
  • Mandatory appropriation to the Medical Facilities account for major medical facility leases (FY2029)Department of Veterans Affairs (Medical Facilities account)$610,000,000
    S. 3373 — read the cited text →
  • Mandatory appropriation to the Medical Facilities account for major medical facility leases (FY2028)Department of Veterans Affairs (Medical Facilities account)$600,000,000
    S. 3373 — read the cited text →
  • Initial mandatory appropriation seeding the Cost of War Toxic Exposures Fund (FY2022)Cost of War Toxic Exposures Fund$500,000,000
    S. 3373 — read the cited text →
  • Mandatory appropriation to the Medical Facilities account for major medical facility leases (FY2027)Department of Veterans Affairs (Medical Facilities account)$450,000,000
    S. 3373 — read the cited text →
  • Mandatory appropriation to the Medical Facilities account for major medical facility leases (FY2026)Department of Veterans Affairs (Medical Facilities account)$400,000,000
    S. 3373 — read the cited text →
  • Mandatory appropriation to the Medical Facilities account for major medical facility leases (FY2025)Department of Veterans Affairs (Medical Facilities account)$200,000,000
    S. 3373 — read the cited text →
  • Mandatory appropriation to the Medical Facilities account for major medical facility leases (FY2024)Department of Veterans Affairs (Medical Facilities account)$100,000,000
    S. 3373 — read the cited text →

health$676.0M

Voted against — every dollar, cited

community & regional development$412.7B

income security$301.3B

transportation$202.9B

education$162.6B

veterans$154.5B

energy$128.0B

commerce & housing credit$127.8B

other$127.3B

health$104.2B

broadband$83.1B

water$40.2B

science$40.0B

defense$31.2B

agriculture$22.3B

environment$2.6B

Federal spending during Cruz’s current term

Total U.S. federal outlays for each fiscal year of Cruz’s current term. This is the whole federal budget — mostly Social Security, Medicare, defense, interest on the debt, and prior commitments — not money Cruz personally directed. A president proposes and Congress appropriates; no single official controls it.

FY25
$7.01T−$1.77T deficit

Source: OMB Historical Tables, Table 1.1 (Summary of Receipts, Outlays, and Surpluses or Deficits: 1789-present) · figures. Nominal dollars, by fiscal year (Oct–Sep).

How Cruz is graded

A senator’s constituency is the whole state, so Cruz is graded on the same verified state outcomes as the governor — measured as the change on their watch versus the other 49 states, capped because influence is shared with 99 colleagues, the governor and a world economy — blended with what they personally control: how effectively they move legislation and how they vote. Every part decomposes on the card above, and the “measured” figure says how much of the grade is real versus still reserved.

Legislative Effectiveness Scores come from the Center for Effective Lawmaking, which benchmarks each chamber’s average to 1.0. Voting statistics come from GovTrack. The Honesty ledger — promises matched against this member’s votes — publishes only with an evidence trail and two agreeing human reviews.