Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), a leader in the fight to defund Obamacare, spoke on the Senate floor today about the deal brokered by the Washington establishment to protect the status quo.

The deal, which locks in Obamacare’s implementation and doesn’t address the government’s spending problem, does nothing to help the American people, Cruz warned.

Here’s an excerpt from his speech:

Mr. President, it is sad that today the United States Senate is telling people all across this country who are struggling, who are trying to provide for their kids and who are getting notifications in the mail “your health care has been dropped.”

Now, maybe you have an elderly parent and that health care policy is providing for that [person] and your family. Maybe you have children facing debilitating diseases, and yet you get a notification in the mail saying, your health care has been dropped because of Obamacare.

Mr. President, it is sad that the U.S. Senate says we will do nothing to answer your plight. We created your plight, but we will do nothing. Mr. President, it is sad that when you have James Hoffa, the president of the Teamsters, saying that Obamacare is destroying the health care of millions of working men and women in this country and the families that depend upon them, that the U.S. Senate says we’re closed for business, the Washington Establishment has exempted itself, so the problems, the suffering of working Americans is not the concern of the Washington Establishment.

That is sad, but at the same time, I am optimistic. I am inspired by the millions of Americans who have risen up. And if the American people continue to rise up, I am confident that in time the U.S. Senate will follow the lead of the House of Representatives and listen to the American people. That is our job. That is our responsibility.

This is a terrible deal today. It is a terrible deal for the American people. But, at the same time … if the American people continue to rise up, we’re going to turn this around. We’re going to restore jobs, we’re going to restore economic growth, we’re going to restore the ability of people struggling to climb the ladder and achieve the American dream, and we’re going to stop the number-one job killer in this country that is Obamacare.