Sen. Ted Cruz delivered an impassioned speech Saturday before conservatives at the Iowa Freedom Summit that called on lawmakers to pass bold reforms like abolishing the Internal Revenue Service and stripping the Environmental Protection Agency of much of its authority.

The Texas firebrand also pressed his fellow conservatives to "repeal every word of Obamacare" and to steel the southern border against illegal immigration.

"This country was built on incredible opportunities that if you're a single mom waiting tables, you can do anything," he said. "There's been no country in the history of the world that has let so many millions come and seek the unlimited dreams of their potential."

Invoking the image of an evangelical minister, Cruz peppered the crowd with conservative wisdom and occasional humor at the Left's expense.

"There are 110,000 employees at the IRS. We need to padlock that building and put every one of those 110,000 on our southern border," Cruz said, although he admitted he meant it "somewhat tongue-in-cheek."

Cruz suggested "sending the locusts of the EPA back to Washington" as part of the regulatory reforms lawmakers should undertake.

"The thing about folks from the EPA is that, unlike locusts, you can't use pesticides against them," he joked.

Cruz has resisted commenting on speculation that he is preparing to enter the presidential race, but his speech Saturday bore the hallmarks of a campaign harbinger.

He praised Iowans on the "unique" role they play in selecting the nation's president as citizens of the state where primaries begin every four years before sharing an emotional story from his childhood.

Throughout the address, he urged the country to seek a Republican nominee who is capable of "reigniting the extraordinary miracle of America."

The typically outspoken conservative shared a message of party unity at the Des Moines event, telling a sold-out audience the eventual GOP candidate should be able to bring together evangelicals and libertarians alike.

Cruz also hammered the president for his reluctance to engage violent extremism in what became one of the summit's most popular White House criticisms.

"You cannot fight and win a war on radical Islamic terrorism if you're unwilling to utter the words 'radical Islamic terrorism," he said.