An Indiana senator sat down with a local chamber group to talk policy, the federal response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and constant party conflicts within Congress.
U.S. Sen. Mike Braun was the featured guest at Aspire Economic Development and Chamber Alliance’s annual Legislation Matters luncheon Thursday at Valle Vista Golf Club and Conference Center in Greenwood. Braun, who is nearly two years into his first term in the U.S. Senate, mostly discussed the government’s response to the pandemic, which has infected more than 5 million across the country, including about 80,000 Hoosiers to date.
Another round of relief
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Braun talked about the next round of pandemic relief funding, which has stalled in Congress for the past couple months. The federal government needs to spend less money this time, he said.
“Whatever we do from here forward needs to be a whole lot less than $3.3 trillion,” Braun said.
The Senate GOP recently released a new proposal for coronavirus relief, which is a “skinny” version of the $1 trillion measure introduced last month. This would include key elements such as liability protection, $105 billion for schools and a second round of Paycheck Protection Program loans. It would also include an extension of the enhanced federal unemployment benefit, but at a reduced level of $300 a week. The benefit, which lapsed at the end of July, was set in the $2.2 trillion CARES Act passed in March at a flat rate of $600 a week.
There is also $10 billion in funding for the United States Postal Service attached to the additional relief funding that is being considered.
Braun called the political state of Congress the “Hatfield’s and McCoy’s,” because it has become impossible to reach agreements quickly. He said how quickly the initial CARES Act funding came out in March is probably as good as it will get as far as pushing out legislation in a timely manner.
“Both parties shrug off trillions of dollars in deficits. … it’s not out of a rainy-day fund. It’s not out of an emergency fund. It’s out of our kids’ and our grandkids’ pockets because we’re borrowing every penny,” Braun said. “Many of my fellow conservatives, we lose that fiscal integrity when it’s for things we want … You won’t get anything done, but you keep spending money like a drunken sailor.”
Congress and the Senate received criticism for going into its regularly scheduled August recess without reaching an agreement on relief funding. But Braun said staying in Washington this month would not have helped the lawmakers come to an agreement faster. The Senate is set to return after Labor Day.
“Thinking that if we had been there, we would have worked something out, that’s just not true. We were better off going back into our home districts, listening to the people we need to be accountable to,” Braun said.
He’s wary of Congress coming to an agreement on the funding anytime soon, he said.
“In two or three weeks, if we can’t come together, we might have nothing,” Braun said.
He was particularly critical of the increased federal unemployment benefits that ran out in July. He does not think people need those benefits, he said. He’s heard from several Hoosier business owners that those benefits are the reason they cannot go back to business as usual, he said.
“That’s the biggest thing that’s impeding them from getting back to the way things were before, when you’re competing with a government that pays 68% of wage earners to make more by not working,” Braun said.
Watching the federal government pass meaningful legislation is like “watching paint dry,” he said.
“Do not look to the government for salvation in life,” Braun said.
Not about state mandates
Braun also criticized strict government mandates during the pandemic, including Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb’s statewide mask requirement that took effect last month.
“I believe it’s individual responsibility, but I wasn’t against advising that you wear masks,” Braun said. “That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t lead or put guidelines out there, but there’s a big difference between that and mandating.”
And he took a jab at Indiana for not correctly defining “essential” and “non-essential” businesses when the stay-at-home order took effect in March. Local businesses should have been able to determine if they could remain open while following proper guidelines, instead of being forced to shut down for months, he said.
“All of downtown Jasper had to shut down their businesses and, ironically, every one of them could have paid attention to the rules. It wasn’t elbow to elbow with traffic anyway. They suffered because someone didn’t put good thought into what essential and non-essential should be,” Braun said.
Police reform disagreements
In addition to talking about the pandemic, Braun addressed police reform issues that have come to light of late. On June 8, Senate Democrats unveiled a bill that focused on banning federal police from the use of chokeholds, lowering legal standards to pursue criminal and civil penalties for police misconduct and prohibiting no-knock warrants in drug-related cases.
The Republicans drafted a separate proposal, which used incentives, federal reporting requirements and training to diminish the use of chokeholds, other dangerous restraints and no-knock warrants. It also boosted the use of police body cameras.
The Democrats said the measure was not enough, and blocked debate from happening on the legislation in June in the Senate. Braun blamed his party for letting that happen.
“I accuse our party of being slow-footed and dimwitted and outmaneuvered constantly by the Democrats,” he said. “That’s their cup of tea.”
He said the Republicans’ bill was a “beautiful solution” for both sides.
“Nobody read the bill. The intention was to find a better spot than (where) we were,” Braun said. “Police reform isn’t going to happen because the Democrats gambled, and they’re not going to look at it reasonably.”
All for term limits
Braun is known for being one of the few Senators to back term limits in Congress, and he told the members of Aspire Thursday that he will not go back on his word. He vowed not to serve more than two terms in the Senate, and he’s still debating whether he’s even going to run for a second term, he said.
It would take a crisis to get Congress to approve term limits though, he said.
“No one there is going to vote for it because it would be voting against the things they like, things they’ve nestled in with,” Braun said.