Senator Braun’s Weekly Update

Senator Braun was on the road this week in Indiana on his yearly tour to visit all 92 counties in Indiana to listen to Hoosiers about his work for them in the Senate.

The first-term senator met with IndyStar to talk about everything from downtown protests to the 2020 presidential race and the coronavirus pandemic.

In response to an incident involving armed men during a Black Lives Matter protest in downtown Indianapolis last week, Braun tweeted Wednesday that BLM has been “radicalized.”

Video of the incident shows two men with handguns standing in front of a pickup truck during a protest march organized by Indy10 Black Lives Matter. It also shows the truck driver trying to drive around the men before turning around and driving away.

Braun told IndyStar he’s a defender of the Second Amendment and supports peaceful protests, but that he believes the incident crossed a line. 

“When it comes to the Second Amendment, self-defense of yourself or your property, anybody should have the right to do that,” he said, adding self-defense didn’t appear to be at play in the video. 

In his tweet on the incident, Braun also asked when Democratic mayors will “restore law & order to our great cities.” Asked what his message is for Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett, a Democrat, Braun said, “Fix the stuff yourself.”

“The number of businesses that are probably going to exit downtowns across the country when you’ve put so much time and investment in it, I think it’s going to be significant,” he said. “And I think whoever’s running the show is responsible.”

Being in the United States Senate together, Braun discussed his experience with Harris. He also mentioned that he believes a Biden-Harris ticket will be even further left than an Obama-Biden administration. Braun also discussed how he believes the governing philosophies of the Democratic and Republican tickets for president are so drastic.

Additionally, the Indiana senator gave his thoughts on the hot-button that is mail-in voting and where negotiations stand on the proposed stimulus bill.

Senator Mike Braun (R-IN) spearheaded an effort to end Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax breaks for abortions “under the guise of healthcare.” Congressman Warren Davidson (R-OH) gathered support from House Republicans in the lower chamber.

With the support of 101 co-signers in both chambers of Congress, Sen. Braun wrote to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin requesting that the IRS stop deeming abortions as healthcare with respect to tax deductions:

“The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) should not consider abortions (except for when the mother’s life is physically endangered) to be medical care. Similarly, the IRS should not treat premiums for health insurance that covers such abortions as medical care, unless in compliance with the law’s separate accounting requirements for coverage of non-medical care,” Sen. Braun writes. “In all but the most extreme circumstances, abortion is an elective procedure that has nothing to do with ‘the prevention or alleviation of a physical or mental defect or illness.’”

The longstanding IRS statute mandates that deductions must “be confined strictly to expenses incurred primarily for prevention or alleviation of a physical or mental defect or illness.” The GOP lawmakers argue that this current language should not allow for abortion to be deemed medical care, except for in rare cases that the mother’s life is threatened. As the lawmakers point out, the IRS’s policy allowing deductions for abortions is inconsistent with court rulings that allow for unborn children to be the subject of healthcare. 

Sen. Mike Braun isn’t happy that Congress left town without reaching a deal on the next COVID-19 relief bill as the nation continues its struggle to contain the virus. He’s even more concerned that Republicans are going to repeat a 2018 election mistake by failing to take on the nation’s soaring health care costs, including sticker shock over wildly uneven coronavirus testing and treatment prices hospitals and insurance companies are charging patients. 

The Indiana Republican laments that the Hoosier State has the highest hospital costs in the nation. He said he’s spending his August recess listening to one COVID-19 price-gouging horror story after another – both in Indiana and across the nation.

U.S. Senator Mike Braun told local restaurant owners that he feels their pain and is hoping that any new government relief for the COVID-19 health crisis will fix some of the shortcomings of the previous programs.

Braun, a Republican from Jasper, met with three local restaurant owners Wednesday to hear their concerns related to the pandemic. A successful businessman, he introduced his thoughts by saying that he and his brother had owned a restaurant in downtown Indianapolis several decades ago and “understands the dynamics” of putting in long hours for very tight profit margins.

The local restauranteurs included Lori Hardy of Ole Rooste; Mike Brock of Mancino’s; and Derek Jones of Jonesy’s, who hosted the meeting. The Fayette County Chamber of Commerce invited its restaurant members to the meeting.

Senator Mike Braun stopped in Batesville on Tuesday as part of his yearly tour to visit all 92 counties in Indiana to listen to Hoosiers about his work for them in the Senate.

“I served on a school board for 10 years in my hometown, and I believe educating our kids is an essential business,” Senator Braun said. “I’d like to thank Batesville Community School Corporation and Superintendent Paul Ketcham for discussing their plan, with Senator Leising and me, to reopen to students and how important it is for kids to get back to school safely this fall.”

Senator Braun sat down with Superintendent Paul Ketcham and Senator Jean Leising to discuss BCSC’s plan to safely reopen to students and how important it is for kids to get back to school safely this fall.

“I just want to take a moment to thank Senator Braun for visiting Batesville, IN today and taking some time to speak with us about our reopening plan and how important it is for us locally to get our kids back to school safely,” BCSC Superintendent Paul Ketcham said.

Senator Mike Braun held an informal roundtable meeting with community leaders at Decatur County Memorial Hospital (DCMH) on Wednesday. According to DCMH CEO Rex McKinney, the hospital was very pleased to be able to host the community conversation. Both McKinney and Sen. Braun spoke about important issues with the hospital and D.C., respectively, before opening the floor for others to ask questions.

Braun was asked his perspective on helping to bring rural broadband to Decatur County. Braun stated that relying on the federal government for financing is not the right approach.  He continued to say he feels this should be more of a localized funding focus from the private sector. 

Another question posed to Braun was if he supported funding schools 100%, though they may have to institute virtual learning this year.  Braun responded by stating that he feels the majority of Americans want children back in school and he does not support 100% funding of a school if they chose to go virtual.  

For Coronavirus Assistance, please visit braun.senate.gov/coroanvirus-assistance.

To subscribe to this newsletter and see other updates from Senator Braun, visit his official website. 

To unsubscribe from Senator Braun’s Weekly Update, click below or contact press@braun.senate.gov.