Defiant Cruz rails against U.S. fiscal deal, but won't delay it

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A defiant Senator Ted Cruz railed against a bipartisan U.S. Senate deal to lift the federal debt limit and reopen the government on Wednesday, but said he would not try to block or delay its passage.

Cruz, a conservative Texas Republican, said he would vote against the measure because it provides no relief to Americans from what he calls the harmful effects of "Obamacare" health insurance reforms. However, he said that at this point there was nothing to gain from taking procedural measures to delay it.