The Daily Signal - INTERVIEW | Meet 3 New GOP Members of Congress

Episode Date: November 17, 2022

It’s been a little more than a week since the 2022 midterm elections. The Republican Party is projected to win a narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, while the final partisan split of the U.S. Senate remains up in the air after the Georgia Senate race advanced to a runoff election, to be held on Dec. 6.  The 118th Congress is set to convene on Jan. 3, and a trio of incoming freshmen—Reps.-elect Laurel Lee, R-Fla.; Josh Brecheen, R-Okla.; and Erin Houchin, R-Ind.—shared with The Daily Signal what they are most hopeful for as they prepare to head to Washington, D.C. Listen to other podcasts from The Daily Signal: https://www.dailysignal.com/podcasts/ Get daily conservative news you can trust from our Morning Bell newsletter: DailySignal.com/morningbellsubscription   Listen to more Heritage podcasts: https://www.heritage.org/podcasts Sign up for The Agenda newsletter — the lowdown on top issues conservatives need to know about each week: https://www.heritage.org/agenda   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the Daily Signal podcast for Thursday, November 17th. I'm Samantha Sherris. It's been a little over a week since the midterm elections, and the Republican Party is projected to take back the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. As the newly elected members prepare for the start of the 118th Congress, which begins on January 3, 2023, three incoming freshmen, Representative-elect Laurel Lee of Florida, Representative of Elk, Erin Houchin of Indiana, and Representative. Representative-elect Josh Burkine of Oklahoma, join the Daily Signal podcast to discuss what issues

they ran on and what they are most hopeful for as they prepare to head to Washington, D.C. We'll get to my conversation with the three new members of Congress right after this. Did you know that under Biden, our military is dangerously weak, so weak that we're not ready of China, Russia, or Iran attacks? We explain why and how to fix it in our 2023 index of U.S. military strength, a comprehensive deep dive on the readiness for our nation to face threats and complete its mission in today's world. Learn more at heritage.org slash military. Joining us today is Congresswoman-elect Laurel Lee of Florida's 15th Congressional District. Thank you so much for joining us. It is my pleasure to be here. Thanks so much for having me.

Of course. Now, first and foremost, can you tell us a little bit about why you decided to run for Congress? Well, certainly. So, you know, most of the first of the first of you. Most recently, I've been serving as Florida's Secretary of State. And serving as a senior part of Governor DeSantis' administration, I really had the opportunity to see firsthand just how critical it was to have strong principled leaders in place in our state during and after the pandemic over and over again. We made policy decisions and did things for Floridians that made an incredible difference related to our economy, keeping our children in schools, supporting businesses.

And so when I saw the opportunity, we had a new congressional district drawn in Florida that really was centered around the place where I had lived and worked and raised my family. So when I saw the opportunity to run for Congress, for me, I just knew it was a very important time to send principled conservative leaders to Washington, D.C. And can you talk a little bit more specifically about what issues that you're passionate about and that you ran on? Absolutely. So most important, the number one issue by far and away to the voters in our district was the economy. They're very concerned about inflation, about the price of gas, the price of groceries.

So that was the thing that most often we heard from voters. So I talked a lot about economic issues during the campaign. And then also for me, I also spent a number of years serving as a federal prosecutor and a judge. So I focused a lot on border security and also community safety and how important it is for us to get down, secure the border, and also ensure that we're supporting the men and women of law enforcement in our community that are keeping us safe. Now, as you're preparing for the next Congress, what are you most hopeful for? Well, I'll tell you, we're off to a really good start in getting to know the other new members. You know, I am very hopeful that the Republicans who are going to be serving together in this next Congress

can bring forward a set of policy ideas that really resonate with the American people. You know, of course, there's a very important oversight responsibility and a very important responsibility for us as conservatives to be basically identifying where the Biden administration is failing the American people. But at the same time, we also need to be presenting a vision of Republican leadership and policy goals and what that looks like for us. So, you know, for me, I think the thing that I'm the most excited about and interested in is being part of communicating that vision to the American people. You talked a little bit about, you know, what issues and policies you ran on. When you're in Congress, what battles do you hope to engage in?

Well, you know, many of those things that I have had the opportunity to work on in my professional life, you know, continue to be very important to me. And, you know, as Secretary of State, I worked a great deal on elections. And, you know, I'm very proud of where we are today in Florida. You know, today we're a national leader. That wasn't always the case for our state. We had to work very hard to develop the right elections code, to invest in our infrastructure, and to really bolster our cybersecurity defenses. So, you know, we're now at a place where Florida does elections right.

They're very secure with a high level of integrity. That's something that I think is an important background that I bring. And also, you know, my background as a judge and as a prosecutor, I think bears on, you know, a number of things that are important issues in Congress. So I look forward to hopefully adding those perspectives to the team. And just one final question for you. What should Republicans investigate if they are to take back the house? Well, I think first and foremost would be the failure to secure the southern border. I think that is just an incredibly dangerous issue.

It's not just about people coming across. An open border brings with it human trafficking, fentanyl, things that are so damaging to our communities. So I would start there, the investigation of the failure to secure the southern border. I also think that the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan is an important subject for us to be looking at. And really, the third thing I would say is I'm very concerned that our Department of Justice upholds the honor and a commitment that it makes to the American people. And for me, I want to know more about why parents of school children who are, concerned about their education seem to be being targeted by our Department of Justice. So those are three things that come to my mind that I'd like to see us get to work on. Well, Congresswoman-elect

Laurel Lee, thank you so much for joining us today. We really appreciate it. Well, thank you for having me. It's been a pleasure. Joining us today is Congressman-elect Josh Burkine. He is Oklahoma's Second Congressional District, and he is with us here in studio. Thank you so much for joining us. Thanks so. I appreciate it. Of course. Now, let's just start with some issues that you ran on. Can you tell us a little bit about that? Oddly enough, we focused heavily on spending because prayerfully, I just knew, and this is before we started seeing inflation numbers that were hitting us that are, you know, the tip of the iceberg that point to the underlying problem of runaway federal spending for generations. But I just felt so impressed

prayerfully when I made the decision to run to just talk about what you hear all too often left out of the conversation, really in the last decade, is this mountain of debt. So people know about 30 now tripped over into 31 trillion this last week. Most people don't realize that if you put that against every man, woman, and child, that means every baby. If you put that against every baby right now who opens their eyes and takes in their first breath of air, they owe $90,000 just to pay off their share of that public debt. But that's just the tip of the iceberg.

What's underneath the water that no one is talking about is the Medicare insolvency that hits us in about five years that the actuaries are talking about. The Social Security insolvency that hits us in about 11 years. And when you take the $35 trillion unfunded liability in Medicare and the $11 trillion or $20 trillion almost unfunded liability in Social Security, and then the 20 different trust programs that we've stolen money out of with an IOU over the last four. years and what we owe federal employees and veterans for pensions were north of $120 trillion. Some total liabilities as a nation. And you heard no one talking about when I say that.

You had the heritage, or not the heritage, I apologize, the Heartland Institute that came out in June and repeated what the United States Treasury report said. The United States Treasury report said this. It says we're north of $120 trillion of what I just kind of recounted to you. And they said if you put that against all assets in America, it's $8. 80% of all wealth in America down to pieces of furniture. I'm quoting exactly from the report down to pieces of furniture, 80% of all wealth in America to get flushed with the house again.

And so we are in an economic nosedive with every person in America, every household in my state spending $7,000 more than they did last year because of devaluation of the dollar, which is the symptom, but the root cause is the spending that we, nobody wants to face it. It's easier to just put your head in the sand and talk about other issues that make the news. If we do not tackle our debt, we are going to sell our kids into generational debt that they cannot pull themselves out of. And we're trading our liberty for dependency.

Now, you just talked about a couple of different issues. Going into January, going into the next Congress, what is your top priority? Spending reduction. I would I my hope is to reform Congress I didn't run for it we talked about reforming Congress and to take my one vote and to utilize it and leverage it as I had a conversation with my wife a couple of nights ago about you know a family that I love and to be away from she's saying to me do not squander the time that God has handed us here don't go up there and and just be another number make sure that we're impactful so the time that we're taking away from our kids has a as a as a as a meaning and so to be able to have the the ability is one member. I was mentored by Tom Coburn. I spent six years on United States Senator Tom Coburn staff many years ago for all of us that loved him, adored him, and when he was talking about, you know, seven trillion dollars of unfunded liabilities. And now what I just recounted, we're in trouble. We're in an economic nosedive. And if people don't get serious about this,

it's only because they're putting their own self-interest ahead of national interest. People grasping for the ring of power, trading their conscience for a political calculation of how can they get the next chairmanship. We have to have people to draw the line and stand and say, I'm putting my country before myself. What are you most hopeful for as you prepare for the next Congress? I'm hopeful that our nation will awake. I believe, as a Bible believing Christian, that as John Adams said, we have no government armed with power, capable of continuing with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. And he goes on to say, he says, average, which means extreme greed. Think about why we continue to spend like we do. Averous ambition, think about politicians.

Averous ambition and revenge will break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for immoral religious people. I am hopeful that our culture will come alive with virtue, which means moral excellence, a return of biblical truth in our nation that made us great for hundreds of years, and we have become wise in our own eyes and foolish because we're throwing away what made us great. And so a return of biblical virtue, constitutional adherence, I believe we can restore this nation to its greatness. What, in your opinion, should Republicans investigate if they do take back the House?

Oh, I think, I mean, my plan is to get with the government accountability office, the GAO. They issue report after report after report of wasteful, duplicative programming. I think we've got to take it serious. Get with the investigative general offices of every agency. there's so much we're overspending by a trillion dollars a year of a 3.5 trillion pre-COVID intake and an outflow of 4.5 trillion. There's so much we can investigate. There's so much.

There's so much out there that we're spending because Congress is outside of its bounds, doing with the states by the Constitution of the 18 enumerated powers. They're in excess of what they're to be confined of in their sandbox. And we're doing everything outside in the territory that's in breach of the 10th, Amendment and outside of the 18 numeralated powers. And we need to pull it back and say, is this really constitutional or is this something for the states? Well, Congressman elect Josh Burkine, thank you so much for joining me today of Oklahoma's second congressional district. Thank you. God bless y'all. Appreciate it. Joining us today is Congresswoman elect Erin Houchin of

Indiana's 9th Congressional District. Thank you so much for joining us. Thanks for having me, Sam. Of course. Now let's just dive right in. Tell us a little bit about the issues that you ran on. Sure. As I was traveling the district at southeastern Indiana, and I heard most about food, fuel, and fertilizer. The economics, Biden's economy is really hurting families. And that's what I heard most about on the campaign trail. People are concerned about the border too and fentanyl coming into our communities. And then finally, education and just parents wanting to be back in charge of what their kids are learning. Now, as you prepare for the next Congress, what is your top priority? Well, we have to reduce spending, so I'm going to be looking for every and all way we can cut back on spending. We can't keep spending like this and then expect the economy to recover.

So looking for pro-growth policies, cutting spending, trying to get the economy back on track for Americans. And what are you most hopeful for? Oh, my goodness, I'm hopeful that we can get some actual governing. conservative policies done. I think that as leaders, Republicans are right on these issues. Conservatives are right on these issues. Americans agree with us on most of these policies, and they want to see us take some action. So I'm hopeful that our incoming class will be a strong voice for these conservative governing policies. You just brought up action. What battles do you hope to engage in as a congresswoman? Well, the oversight.

of these, I would refer to it as the true swamp is the unelected bureaucrats that are making decisions on behalf of Americans and they've never been elected to do so. So I'm very eager to restore the power to the people in their elected representatives by cutting the bureaucracy and really making a difference in that what we would consider the fourth branch of government. And just one final question for you. what should Republicans investigate, should they take the House back? Well, I think that we have to investigate any and all spending that we've had. We have had tons of waste, fraud, and abuse in every agency spending trillions of dollars without any oversight. So if we're going to investigate, I would start with making sure that whatever we're spending is not wasteful, fraudulent, abusive,

and then going after those folks who have taken those actions that have hurt our economy. Well, thank you so much for joining us, Congresswoman Erin Houchin of Indiana's 9th Congressional District. Thanks so much. Thank you. And that'll do it for today's episode. Thank you for listening to my interviews with three new members of Congress. If you haven't gotten a chance, be sure to subscribe to the Daily Signal wherever you get your podcast and help us reach even more listeners by leaving a five-star rating and review.

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