Indiana’s new Senator stopped in to the Greater Elkhart Chamber Tuesday. The trip was part of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s ‘Freshman Forums’ events.
Braun also made stops in South Bend and Granger.
In Elkhart, when asked about the partial government shutdown, Braun spoke of the ‘No Budget, No Pay’ bill he introduced and lamented his new colleague’s inability to pass a budget before a shutdown.
“Even though I believe in a smaller federal government, you have to make those hard decisions, it should never end up being like this.”
That belief in a smaller government also featured in the answer to a question from Ernie Rivas about workforce development.
“The Feds don’t have the know-how, they don’t have the dollars. It’s a false hope to think that they’re going to fix it.”
Rivas wasn’t satisfied by that answer. He said he thinks the federal government could help identify people through other programs that might need help to find a job and train for it. “I feel that the solutions are there,” Rivas said.
Braun said the solutions often lie with local or state governments.