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WASHINGTON, DC - US Sen. Ted Cruz says the focus on Israel is no excuse for the State Department not making a decision to approve permits four new international bridges on the Texas-Mexico border.

Cruz, with bipartisan support from the South Texas congressional delegation, has been trying to speed up the process for approving the go-ahead on the bridges for the past two years. His efforts include letters to Secretary of State Blinken.

The new bridges would be in Brownsville, Eagle Pass, and two in Laredo. The one in Brownsville would be called the Flor de Mayo. It would be built at the intersection of Military Highway and FM 3248. It would be strictly for passenger vehicles and pedestrians.

Asked whether the State Department could use the situation in Israel as an excuse for a decision on the bridges, Cruz said:

\u201cI don't think they could. Number one, the people in charge of these permits are not the people who are dealing with Israel and the war in Israel. That is a different part of the State Department and it literally takes one person making a 30 second decision two and a half years into this.

\u201cThey've had plenty of time to make the decision and they could make it on an elevator ride between the first and fifth floors.\u201d

Here is the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service\u2019s exclusive interview with Sen. Cruz:

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