Editor’s note: Incumbent Trey Hollingsworth (R-Indiana) is one of three candidates for U.S. House of Representatives, District 9, which represents Johnson County, Bloomington and much of southern Indiana. See Where They Stand interviews with Libertarian Tonya Millis and Democrat Andy Ruff as well, and be sure to visit dailyjournal.net for videos of these interviews. This Q&A includes answers by Hollingsworth in his own words.
Why are you seeking re-election?
The biggest and most important thing I can do is serve Hoosiers and try to build better futures for them every single day. That’s what I’ve sought to do for them for the last four years, and it’s what I expect to do in the next two years. Ultimately, this is about getting better outcomes for Americans, getting better outcomes for Hoosiers, and I want to make sure we continue to do that.
What qualifications make you a good fit for this office?
Good news is, I’ve been doing this for the last four years. Ultimately, it’s about making sure I’m listening every day, making sure I’m carrying Hoosier values up to Washington. Too many Americans feel like Washington isn’t working for them, and my job is to make sure I change that right here in Indiana.
What would be your top three priorities if elected?
Easy, No. 1: We’ve got to fight back against the coronavirus, continue the development of a vaccine, continue the development of antivirals, continue to ensure our senior citizens and other vulnerable populations are as safe as they can be during this challenging time.
No. 2: Making sure we rebuild the world’s greatest economy. In February, our unemployment rate in the mid-3s, and wage growth was in the upper 2%. I want to make sure we get back there, so that every American feels like they have control over their financial future.
And then No. 3: Continuing to secure our communities. I don’t want to see the rioting, the looting, the vandalism that’s going on across the river in Louisville spread into the Hoosier state. I want to make sure we continue to support our police, we continue to support our military, we continue to support our first responders, so that we will be a country and nation under laws.
What are the biggest issues facing Indiana and the country today?
Making sure that we push back against the coronavirus. Making sure we get unemployment down. Making sure we support our military against aggression that they see around the world. Ensuring that we secure our elections so that the democratic process continues to be important here in the country.
What are your thoughts on the federal government response to the coronavirus pandemic?
I think the federal government has taken unprecedented steps with regard to COVID-19, whether that is with the enormous undertaking of developing a vaccine that would normally take 10 to 15 years … in 10 to 15 months. Secondarily, to make sure we got PPE and other equipment out to as many places, as many senior (care) facilities (and) as many schools as possible. That was a huge undertaking. In addition to that, making sure we’re supporting Hoosier livelihoods by special unemployment insurance and PPP that went to many of our small businesses.
How would you address the economic impact caused by the pandemic?
The recovery has been more rapid than any economist projected. It’s been unbelievable to see how fast businesses were able to move and change their models to be able to keep their employees and serve their customers. We’ve dropped unemployment from the mid-teens to 7.8% already.
All these things are good indicators, but we’ve still got work to do … Unemployment is still too high. I want to make sure we continue to support those industries that are the most distressed, so that they can help bring that employment back. We’ve lost 20 million jobs between February and June, and we’ve clawed back 10.5 million. That 9.5 million gap, that exists in restaurants, it exists in hospitality, it exists in travel. We need to be more focused on what we do next so we can recover those industries.
Do you think systemic racism exists? If so, what steps should be taken to address it?
The reality of this country is that not in every place have we lived up to the great ideals we believe. Ultimately, no matter what your skin color is, where you’re from, no matter what your background is, we want you to have the freedom and opportunity to ensure that you can contribute your talents to this country, to ensure that you get the outcomes you want. There is an unequal distribution of opportunity right now, and I want to make sure we do everything we can to equalize opportunity and freedom.
That does not mean we should be looting. That does not mean we should destroy personal property. It doesn’t mean we should engage in violence against our police officers, our first responders. The ability for everyone in the country to have their American dream, that’s what we should be grasping for, and we’re not quite there yet.
I continue to work in Congress to make sure we live up to our greatest ideals by investing in education, ensuring everyone has access to financial services, ensuring that companies see the value in greater diversity in their workforce and their boardrooms.
What would you do to address rising health care costs?
I don’t think we’re going to get lower health care costs until we engender more competition in the space and provide patients with more information and choice. Right now, you walk into the hospital and ask for the price of a procedure, they’re not going to be able to tell you up front. They’ll say, “It all depends on a lot of factors, what insurance you have, how we list you, how we bill you.” The reality is, until you know what that pricing is, and until you can compare that pricing between different venues, you’re not an informed consumer.
The answer of rationing care by virtue of a governmental health care system isn’t going to lower costs; it isn’t going to help patients get the care they need. But I am a huge believer that we have to protect those with pre-existing conditions. More than two out of five Americans have pre-existing conditions. We have to make sure we protect that while removing much of the government control of health care (and) inserting more of that competition.
What is something you think Congress should do better?
There’s a litany of things we can change about Congress that would get us to better outcomes. I’m the House’s bigger proponent of term limits — people can’t be there forever.
Two, if you have ever been a member of Congress, you can never be a lobbyist, that’s what my bill says.
Third, we have got to do budgeting in a real and meaningful way as opposed to what we’re doing right now. Too much of what we do right now is resolutions saying, “Whatever we spent last year, we’re going to spend exactly the same this year on exactly the same things.” We’re still building tanks for a tank war that’s not going to happen … I think it’s an absurd way to budget. We’ve got to make sure we reflect today’s priorities, not yesterday’s.
And lastly … just talk more. I want to see more things done in a bipartisan fashion. What good was it when Nancy Pelosi kept everyone around to vote on a $2.2 trillion package that went nowhere? Isn’t a $515 billion package that actually passes the House, actually passes the Senate, actually is signed by the president better than grandstanding? Of course it is, because it’s results.
The Hollingsworth File
Name: Trey Hollingsworth
Party: Republican
Residence: Jeffersonville
Family: Wife, Kelly; one son
Education: Bachelor’s degree from Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania; MBA from Georgetown University
Work: Founded HCP, which renovates industrial business sites
Political experience: Member of U.S. House of Representatives, District 9 since 2016
