Executive Session

Floor Speech

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Mr. BRAUN. Mr. President, I am a Main Street entrepreneur. I have spent my career building a little business into a large one over many years in my hometown. My wife, as well, has operated a home accessory and gift store on Main Street, literally. I am elated to see the American economy starting to get off to a smart restart.

I addressed, in a couple of floor speeches before we left in March, the question of how to reopen our economy. I believe businesses are disciplined and ready to pay attention to the rules--the new normal--to make sure their employees and their customers stay safe. Business owners will follow the rules. It is in their own best interests to do so. They have much to lose from a new spike in the coronavirus. Businesses are always more adept, more agile than government, and I am heartened to see the innovative approaches many businesses are taking across our country to address this challenge.

The virus does not affect all populations, industries, and areas of our country in the same way. So, naturally, the reopening in Indianapolis will be different from that on Main Street in Jasper, IN.

We should remember that although this presents challenges, a one- size-fits-all is rarely the best policy course of action, and decisions that affect citizens are best made by the level of government closest to them--mayors, town councils, and State governments. We cannot use the blanket approach the government took in shutting down the economy to reopen it. Instead, we need to provide the tools to empower local leaders and businesses who know their communities best to reopen safely so that our country can function again.

I believe that through the perseverance and innovation that American business has always exhibited, we can get our economy back on the path to recent heights without yielding back any territory to the virus.

Vote on Anderson Nomination

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