Times of pandemic and other crises have shown us who some of our elected officials really are, both good and bad. Elected officials have acted in ways that raised questions and left many of us scratching our heads. For instance, the dictatorial mandates from a county judge that gets reversed four days after implementation because of a mandate from the governor that wipes out the judge’s order. It has been said before and it needs to be said again: Elections have consequences. We must rededicate ourselves to electing good, qualified individuals to be those we choose to legislate on our behalf.

Congress will return to Washington at some point, whenever Speaker Pelosi decrees, but the U.S. Senate is already back in Washington. Senator Ted Cruz has outlined some priorities for going forward, which include:

• We need to re-open our economy and get Americans back to work. The unemployment rate has soared to 14.7 percent – with nearly 20 percent of the American workforce out of a job. There are reasonable steps we can and must take now, including increasing the production of personal protective equipment (PPE) to making testing more widely available, to begin safely re-opening the economy. These steps will also get people back on the road, which will help our struggling energy producers and the hundreds of thousands of blue-collar workers whose livelihoods hang in the balance. I’m glad to see that here in Texas, we’re working to take those steps.
• We need to push pause on spending and not allow Speaker Pelosi to hijack discussions going forward. We cannot simply spend our way out of these crises or give into Democrats' unreasonable demands, like handing a blank check to fiscally irresponsible states. We should instead focus on fixing any issues in the existing assistance programs and work to deliver on four key health priorities.
• We need to cut taxes and lift regulations to help grow the economy out of this crisis. Every regulation that has been waived during these crises should remain waived. We should also eliminate both the employer and employee side of the payroll tax for the rest of the year, which will put more money into Americans' pockets.

Congressman Kevin Brady appeared on Fox Business Channel last week, and in a wide-ranging interview, he highlighted what he sees as some of the pitfalls in the recent legislation, some of which probably came about too quickly and hastily for the sake of “doing something” in a hurry:

• "Right now, the federal unemployment benefit that came out of CARES, as we now know, was too generous in some regions and some states in the sense it paid more to not work than to come back to work. We’re already seeing businesses struggling to bring their workers back as states reopen – if we don’t solve that problem, it will lead to an extended recession and certainly slow down our recovery.”
• “I think there is a way to actually incentivize people to return to work, to accept those job offers from their former employers. Democrats want to expand and extend those benefits; we think those unemployment benefits could be turned into a ‘return to work’ bonus, where when an unemployed worker gets that job offer, they are allowed to keep up to two weeks of their unemployment. That’d be $1,200 to help them return to that workforce, help get that business get back up on its feet, to help this U.S. economy recover."
• Congressman Brady also made this broader important point, and something we need to keep in mind as we reach out to our representatives once they eventually return to work: "We also know that it is unhealthy for workers to stay unemployed for a long time—for themselves, their family, and for the economy, as well.”

Various stimulus proposals Include the Democrats floating the idea of paying every American $2,000 per month. Before this continues and gains traction, it is important to make sure your representatives know where you stand on spending. In a separate interview, this time on Brian Kilmeade’s radio show, Congressman Brady pointed out what the Democrats are actually doing with their so-called proposals:

• “I think Democrats in the House are going to go it alone. My prediction is this will be a pure messaging bill, they know it will never live a day in the Senate. I think that’s the wrong way to go." And he pointed out what the Republican path forward looks like:
• "House Republicans are working with the White House to put in place the same policies that launched the same Trump economic boom: which is to keep taxes low, incentivize business to invest, make work pay.”

Times of crisis mean leaders must act quickly and thoughtfully, without making the problems worse. This is why it is important to stand for your principles and make sure your elected officials from local to state to federal know where you stand on issues, and we must elect those committed to doing the right things. This is a point worth making because officials at every level can really have an impact, good or bad, that will result from their decisions. Texas Railroad Commissioner Christi Craddick, told The Texan:

• “My focus is and has been on jobs and the strength of Texas producers. The Railroad Commission continues to provide operators regulatory certainty in uncertain times. We have done this by reducing regulatory burdens, extending deadlines, and having an open door, albeit digitally, to work with operators to resolve the challenges they are facing.“

The 87th Texas Legislature will begin next January; those representatives are on the ballot this November. But many are already at work on the makeup of the next session. State Representative Jim Murphy announced recently:

• "During this interim I am serving as co-chair of the State Budget and Taxation Task Force. Our task force had a conference call earlier this month where we discussed our priorities for the work we’ll be conducting over the next few months. A major focus of our work will be how the state can tackle the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, but we will also work to continue expanding the Texas economy and ensure the state can provide the services you need while keeping taxes low.“

Again, spending is going to be a huge issue for every governing body for years to come as a result of what has happened this year. Make sure your elected officials hear from you about spending priorities, and make sure their wish list items take a backseat to minimal government at the least expense to all of us, the taxpayer. 

Contact Legislative Chair Jennifer Knesek at CatholicConservative12@gmail.com if you are passionate about something and would like to see it in these reports.