The Daily Signal - New Congresswoman Vows to Advocate for the 'Meat and Potato Issues' Americans Care About

Episode Date: February 4, 2021

Freshman Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, says she is committed to focusing on the “meat and potato issues that affect people's daily lives.” Van Duyne was the first female mayor of Irving, Texas, from 2011-2017. Now, she says, she'll draw on her experience in local government to listen to the needs and concerns of Americans and take action. Van Duyne joins the "Problematic Women" podcast to share her personal journey to political office, why she is so committed to the pro-life movement, and how she intends to push back on the far-left agenda of progressive colleagues.  We also cover these stories: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a new Republican Congresswoman from Georgia, continues to be at the center of controversy. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died as a result of injuries he received during the Capitol riots Jan. 6, lay in honor at the Capitol Rotunda. The Department of Justice drops an affirmative action lawsuit against Yale University. Enjoy the show! 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, February 4th. I'm Kate Trinco. And I'm Virginia Allen. Freshman Congresswoman Beth Van Dyne became involved in politics in her home state of Texas years ago because she wanted to better her community. Now as a member of Congress, Van Dyne says she's committed to continuing to listen to the needs of the American people and pursue real solutions to the issues we face as a nation. Van Dyne joins the podcast to discuss her key. objectives as a new member of Congress. And don't forget, if you're enjoying this podcast, please be sure to leave a review or a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts, and please encourage others to subscribe. Now onto our top news. Representative Marjorie Taylor Green, a new Republican Congresswoman from Georgia, continues to be at the center of controversy. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer

announced on Wednesday that there will be a House vote today to remove Green, who has come under fire for inflammatory statements from her committee positions. Representative Brian Babin, Republican of Texas, proposed that Representative Ilhan Omar, Democrat of Minnesota, be removed from the Foreign Affairs Committee, citing her past controversial statements. Babin tweeted, If the Democrat majority wants to go down this road, they should start by dealing with their own members who have been at this before

and after their election to Congress. Omar retorted in a statement, Republicans will do anything to distract from the fact that they have not only allowed but elevated members of their own caucus who encourage violence. Green, meanwhile, tweeted out an interview she had done with Fox News last August, where she said she was not the Q&on candidate after learning about the group's misinformation. She also tweeted, no matter what GOP leader, Kevin McCarthy, does, it would never be enough. for the hate America Democrats. Capitol police officer Brian Sicknick, who died as a result of injuries he received during the Capitol riots January 6th, lay an honor at the Capitol Rotunda on Wednesday.

Sicknick's remains and an American flag rested in the center of the rotunda as lawmakers came to pay their respects to the fallen officer. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, gave remarks at the Capitol ceremony honoring Sicknick. Schumer had this to say of the fallen officer per CBS News. Talk to his colleagues, and they will tell you that Brian was a kind and humble man with profound inner strength, the quiet rock of his unit. They will tell you that Brian was dependable, never missed a radio call. They will tell you that he took great pride. They will tell you that he took great pride in his job, never more so than when he became a mountain bike officer on the first

responders unit. And they will tell you that Brian wouldn't have liked this attention, and that if he were here, he'd be the first to puncture the somber moment with his sharp sense of humor. Brian was a peacekeeper who loved his dogs and his girlfriend, Sandra, and his family, and the New Jersey Devils. He was caught in the wrong place at the wrong time and on a day when peace was shattered. Sicknick's remains will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky,

had a series of questions for President Joe Biden's Education Secretary nominee Miguel Cardona about transgender students' participation in sports during a hearing Wednesday. In high school sports, students who were born biological males, but now identify as female, have royal women's sports, including in Connecticut where two such students trounce the born female competition in various races.

Here's part of Paul and Cardona's conversation via C-SPAN. What do you think in general about boys running in girls, trackmates like they've been doing in Connecticut? I think that it's critically important to education systems and educators respect the rights of all students, including students who are transgender, and that they are afforded the opportunities that every other student has to participate in extracurricular activity. Does it bother you that like the top 20 percent of boys running in track meets beat all of the girls in the state and that it, you know, would be, you know, completely destroy girls' athletics, the girls are being pushed out. if they don't make the finals in the state meet, they don't get college scholarships, that it's really detrimental to girls' sports. Do you worry about having boys running girls' track meets?

You know, I recognize and appreciate the concerns and the frustrations that are expressed. As Commissioner of Education, have had conversations with families who have felt the way you just described it, and families of students who are transgender. So I understand that this is a challenge. I look forward to working with you and others to... Do you think it's fair to have boys running in the girls' track, mate? I think it's appropriate for... I think it's the legal responsibility of schools

to provide opportunities for students to participate in activities, and this includes students who are transgender. The Department of Justice has dropped an affirmative action lawsuit against Yale University, which was originally filed under the Trump administration. Last October, then- Attorney General William Barr, of the reason for the lawsuit that Yale rejects scores of Asian American and white applicants each year based on their race. The Yale lawsuit came shortly after another affirmative action

lawsuit against Harvard, in which lower courts ruled that Harvard is not guilty of discrimination in its admissions process. A spokesperson for the Department of Justice explained the decision to drop the Yale suit in a statement saying, the department has dismissed its lawsuit in light of all available facts, circumstances, and legal developments, including the November 2020 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, rejecting a challenge to Harvard University's consideration of race in its admissions practices. Attorney Edward Blum, president of Students for Fair Admissions, said Wednesday that his organization plans to file a new lawsuit against Yale in the coming days. Now stay tuned for my conversation with freshman representatives.

Senator Beth Van Dyne of Texas as we talk about why she chose to run for Congress and how she plans to advocate for conservative values on Capitol Hill. We're all guilty of it, spending too much time watching silly videos on the internet. But it's 2021. Maybe it's time for a change. At the Heritage Foundation YouTube channel, you'll find videos that both entertain and educate, including virtual events featuring the biggest names. names in American politics, original explainers and documentaries, and heritage experts diving

deep on topics like election integrity, China, and other threats to our democracy. All brought to you by the nation's most broadly supported Public Policy Research Institute. Start watching now at heritage.org slash YouTube. And don't forget to subscribe and share. I am so pleased to be joined by Representative Beth Van Gogh. Dine of Texas. Congresswoman, welcome to the show. Thank you so much. I am very pleased to be here. It's been an interesting month. So glad to be here today. Yeah, well, we're very, very glad to have you. It has been a very interesting month, a very interesting beginning to your start in Congress.

Congratulations. We're so excited to see that you are forging ahead. It's just wonderful to see leaders like yourself take on these positions in Congress. If you could, just talk a little bit about how you originally got interested and involved in policy and politics and then ultimately why you decided to run for Congress in 2020. That's kind of funny. You know, I got involved in policy, well, in politics, just by getting involved in my community. So, you know, I grew up in an Air Force family. You know, I was born in upstate New York, moved around. I went to Cornell undergrad, came down to Texas, got married, had kids. And when my first daughter was born, her first year, she had nine surgeries.

And we used to go to the park that was in the neighborhood, and she'd always have to cover her eye. And I asked if there's any way that we could get shade. And before I knew it, I was the chairman of our parks department. And, you know, the chairman of the parks committee. And I got a bunch of the moms together. And we ended up raising several hundred thousand dollars. and building a park. And that's just kind of how it started.

We just taking one piece at a time. And then a few years after that, we had a zoning case that was going to affect our neighborhood in our community. And I got involved speaking with our council representative at the time. And he was not exactly what I would call professional or sensitive to what some of our issues were. So when the time came for him to be reelected,

I was going to support anybody who was interested in running but couldn't find it. So with a two and a five-year-old in tow, I threw my name on the ballot and I talked to five people and I asked those five people for their support and they give me five more people. I talked to those five people and I asked for five more people. And even though I got spent eight to one on one election, Irving, Texas is one of that, what, 90-second largest city in the country? We've got seven fortune 500 companies and most diverse zip code. the country, but I was on the city council there for six years and then decided that I was going to

spend more time with my kids, but I was talked into running for mayor a year later and became the only female mayor that Irving has ever had and worked on a ton of issues, became very involved in the U.S. conference of mayors. And then when President Trump won, I was asked to join his administration and I worked for Secretary Ben Carson for two and a half years on issues affecting housing and sustainability and making sure that people were breaking through poverty and generational wealth and the ways of being able to achieve the American dream. So that's kind of what's brought me here today. So neat. I love that it really actually all started with your kids that you saw, oh, we need shade in our parks because of, you know, that's the need of my daughter.

I mean, that's what kind of got you brought into the community. So whenever there was community issues, you know, mine were the first phones that rang. And I think when you get involved in that and you are a public servant, people respected it, they identify it. And you're the first to be called busy people or there ones who get called when things need to happen. So it has been a privilege. It's been an honor to do it. Well, when you think about the America that you do want your kids to inherit, how does that affect the issues or the policies that you choose to support or advocate for? what we've really done is we've looked at what you know my kids are both in college now but when they graduate I want them to be able to get a job I want them to be able to buy a home and be in my community and it's

things like are they healthy you know what are the health care issues and and I have I have way too much experience on that side you know dealing with a daughter again who had nine surgeries making sure that it's affordable making sure that it's high quality making sure that people have access and I think it's those meat and potato issues that people want you to work on in government and in Congress. You know, transportation. When you get in your car, are you going to be stuck in traffic? You know, when you go to fly places that you need to fly in a reasonable amount of time and be treated respectfully. Job opportunities is one, opening up our economy and making sure that people have access to schools and that the kids, we're not losing an entire generation, you know, that are home and not being able to get together socially,

which is so important. So I think what's really just looking at the meat of the issues that affect people's daily lives. And having come from the local, you know, the local government, you don't really realize how much of every day is regulated and making sure that you still have an ability to have those individual freedoms and impersonal responsibilities that all of us, I think, at times, take for granted. And so, yeah, my kids were at the heart of it. Every single vote I take, you know, it's not just me looking in the mirror, but it's also, you know, what are they going to think at the end of the day and how is this going to look? So there's a lot of thought that goes into it, but I just want to make sure that we're leaving

a better place for them. They're not going to be having so much debt over their heads that they don't get to experience a lot of the joys and successes that we have. Well, and I think that that is so critical to have that perspective coming from the local level. As you've talked about, you served on the Irving City Council as a representative, then you served as mayor of Irving, that's a really big deal to understand how at the local level those policies really do influence our day-to-day lives. I think that's something that the nation has

experienced during COVID-19 is realizing, wow, my local leaders have a really huge impact, maybe a lot larger than I realized on my day-to-day, on how I've lived my life. So how is that perspective really influencing now the way that you want to lead in constant? You know, I am anxious to be able to get together, you know, a mayor's caucus on, you know, people who have worked at the local level because a lot of these issues, we force to be political and we force to be partisan, but they don't need to be. And I guess maybe I'm spoiled because as mayor, I didn't have a deer on over next to my name. And what I did find is the people that you're working with today that you are fighting with on an issue, tomorrow, they may be

your deciding vote. So it's to concentrate more on. on the policies and less on the party and more on the people and less on the politics. And that's what I have always focused and, you know, get up and wipe yourself off because you're going to have another fight tomorrow. But I always told people they need to vote in local elections and think carefully about who you're voting for and make sure that you're engaged in the process. Because, you know, when I was mayor, my cell phone number was pretty much available to anybody. They knew where I shopped. They knew where I worked. They knew where my kids went to school. And those were conversations that you had to have. You're very

accountable, you know, to your community. And I think as Congress members, sometimes we might lose that. You know, you come up to D.C. and you get lost up here. But it's being back in the district as much as possible. And I'm really excited. I just got put on transportation and infrastructure and small business. And while we were home last week, unexpectedly, we were supposed to be in in Congress, but unexpectedly that majority canceled last week. So we found ourselves in the district and we worked together on getting a transportation roundtable set up in meeting with the stakeholders that are in the district before I ever even had a committee meeting. What's important to you? What do we need to work on? And I guess having had those relationships for over 20 years is really

beneficial. It's all about the relationships. And the same thing with small business. You know, we contact the chambers that I've been engaged in an in a part of for the better part of 20 years. And we said, what are the small businesses that we should reach out to? And some of my knew, some of them I didn't. But it's all about the relationships and building. And I think at a local level, you realize that because you live right there. And sometimes we tend to forget about that the farther up in government we go. So, so critical. Those relationships, that does determine and everything on so many levels. Now, I know one issue that you are personally really, really passionate about is the pro-life issue.

Just last Friday, we had the March for Life. And you sent out a tweet just talking about how this is a deeply personal issue for you. Why is life something that you're so passionate about? You know, I grew up in a medical family. My dad is an OBGYN. My mom was a nurse before she went to law school. and you grow up with those types of images around you. But when I was married, I lost my first child.

And it was one of the more difficult things that you could let through. And you realize how impactful that is on your life moving forward. And we get into these conversations where sometimes it just doesn't seem like that's a value. And you never know how much that's going to affect you, how powerful that can be when you've lost a child. Sometimes it won't hitch it to years later. And I don't think it's something that we can ever discuss lightly. So it's very, it is very personal to me. And I can look into other mom's faces, you know, who've had children and never gotten to hold and tell them, you know, it is a powerful issue. I mean, you think about how much of a miracle being able to give birth is. And I think it's

something that we need to cherish. It's something that we need to respect. And it's something that we need to respect. and it's something that we need to prioritize. And I have no problem at all, you know, talking to others from the other side of the aisle who may disagree and keeping it professional, but also being very passionate. Yeah, that's so important to have those conversations across the aisle. So you've mentioned some of the policies that you're really passionate about, interested in pursuing in your time in Congress, but if you would just share a little bit about what is at the top of your agenda list for these next two years. You know, it changes. We are reacting to what's happening in our communities. And, you know, one of the things that we're going to be looking at is voter integrity moving forward and

working with community leaders on ways of making sure that we are instilling in people that they have a trust in their vote, that one vote counts, that their voice counts. We're also looking at opening up the economy. And we've just seen the last 10 months, and when it's done, you know, people's savings, people's businesses, you know, folks that had put everything into a small business and have had it shuttered through no fault of their own. We need to make sure that we're getting people employed in, giving people job opportunities. We're working on health care and in ways of making sure that people can afford it, but that it's personalized. It's not one size if it's all government solutions and also national security. I mean, obviously we are looking at threats from China, from Iran,

from North Korea. And we need to make sure that we are focused on in keeping us safe for the next generation. Because if we tackle all these budget issues and yet we find ourselves the losing end of a cyber war, we didn't even know that we were engaged in, that will be detrimental moving forward. So there's a lot of things that we need to make sure

that we are prioritizing. But it's really meat and potato issues that most people don't find sexy, you know, building a new road. It's not something that you're going to go, yeah, I did that, but it is so critical to people's lives. So those are the things, you know, that we've talked about that I've heard straight from my community's mouth that's important to them. And those are the issues that I need to champion and advocate for a woman here. Absolutely. I love that you say that, I think it is those meat and potato issues because we get so focused on, you know, kind of these few, but really it's those common, everyday things.

like infrastructure that affect our everyday lives. And you, congratulations to you on just being appointed to the Infrastructure Committee. That's a topic that's so important, but I don't think it gets quite the attention it deserves. Could you just talk a little bit about your role on that committee, what you all do, and how you're excited to really push a positive agenda there? Well, you're kind of catching me off guard because I haven't been to a committee meeting yet. So our first committee meeting will actually be on Thursday, and we'll find it more. But, you know, my background is in transportation, obviously, as a mayor.

It's the fourth largest metroplex in the country. Dallas, Fort Worth, DFW Airport is the number one economy driver in the state. And that's right in all the district. Highways, roadways, water infrastructure, it's one of the fastest growing areas in the country. We need to make sure that we're preparing, you know, for that increase in population for the future. And, you know, again, water is going to be really important, making sure that we need. got access to transportation is a meat of a data issue. But it also figured out how we're going to pay for it. You know, we can come up with all these wonderful ideas, but if we can't figure out how we're

going to actually pay for them, you know, they're going to remain on the, they're going to remain just as part of a book and part of a plan. And so many of the highways that I remember discussing going to one of the openings when I was mayor, opening of a bridge. And it had been on the plans literally for 35 years. Because I couldn't find out how to, how to, how to, how to, you know, how to pay for it, and then having to work with all the local officers to make sure that they had access to some of the property. So these things take time. Relationships are important, but you know you're doing a good job when you're not getting phone calls, right? When people can turn their water on in the morning to take a shower and it's clean water and it works.

When they get to work without incident, you're doing your job when you're not getting calls. But it's my job to get out and talk to people. And that's what we've been trying to do in the district is having those kind of conversations, creating as many events that people feel comfortable attending, as many events, you know, even virtually that we can to make sure that we're listening. Often, you know, elected officials, politicians speak all the time and they just don't listen enough. And I think that's been one of my focuses is making sure that we're giving people opportunity and having as many events as we can. We're hearing what's important in them. Their concerns, their priorities, and that is really what we're focused on.

I know that one of the issues you focused on while working at the state level in Texas was a legal immigration. And you recently tweeted that you were really glad to see that a federal judge did block President Biden's 100-day deportation ban. Why is immigration such an important issue to you? You know, again, living in the fourth largest metroplex in the country, I have seen the damage that happens in our streets, in our neighborhoods, in our schools, through drug cartels, through gangs, through sex trafficking and human trafficking, these are things that affect everyday Americans, and we can act like they don't exist, because it's politically expedient to say we're going to do one thing. But if you look at the actual incidents of people who've been victims, of unsensitive,

irresponsible border patrol, it's bad. And as mayor, one of the things that I had done on city council and as mares, we had worked very closely with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. And people who were committing crimes in our city that were caught, that were found not to be in the country illegally, we worked with ICE and had them deported. And as a result, we took a lot of flack. Politically, people came after us,

and they called us all sorts of labels. But what we did notice was almost immediately, our primary inner city dropped, it plummeted. We had the, for nine years, we had the lowest primary in our city's history. We became the fifth safest city in the country. And far from people not wanting to live there because of the labels that people like New York Times and CNN were throwing at us, we found out we had the largest economic growth period in our city's history and more population growth than we'd ever seen before.

People want to live in safe communities. They want to live where they feel comfortable that their kids can go to school and focus on getting an education and come home. And that's what we need to, you know, think about what we're doing. And the idea that we're just going to announce we're not going to be enforcing our laws, I think is opening up a pathway that's very dangerous in the future. And while I want to work with a new administration, I've been very vocal on that. I'm also not going to shy away from being critical of policies that they have that are dangerous for our future. you have been very vocal about wanting to work across party line, wanting to work with President Joe Biden.

You actually sent a letter to the president on inauguration day saying, you know, let's work together where we can. And we've heard President Biden talk a lot about unity and bring that message of unity to the American people. But when it comes to action, it feels like there's there's a disconnection there. And for example, you know, we have this $1.9 trillion COVID spending bill that the president has put forth that really has not gained support from Republicans. What are your thoughts on the spending bill? Well, I think talk is cheap and saying that you want to work and then not allow people even have a voice at the table is not unifying and it's definitely not working across the aisle. You know, when the Keystone pipeline came down, you know, canceling that. I live in Texas, and you think about all the energy jobs that are created from that,

and immediately the destruction that that's going to have on our economy, on people's lives, the $1.9 trillion, yes, we need to have a package to help the small businesses and other folks around the country that have been damaged by no fault of their own. But that needs to be targeted to those people who need it the most. It needs to be temporary. These are not long-term plans that we're putting forward, because hopefully once this vaccine is out to more people, we're going to start to see a short term on this.

But it also needs to be timely. And you think about how many months that we've already lost just fighting politics, sticking things in a bill that have nothing to do with helping those folks at home, those small businesses, those working families that need it. I think people can take advantage of a situation. That's what I've seen. I really want to work with this administration.

I want to work with people across, you know, across the aisle, but we need to all be at the same table. You had 10 senators who went over to the White House and tried to work on a bill, and not one dime was changed from the plan. So you had the voice that, hey, we want to work, but you know what, we're not going to compromise at all. And that, to me, is not working in good faith. And I hope I'm optimistic that as we move down the road, that we will have opportunities to partner, but I have not seen it yet. Now, certainly hope the same that there will be those areas of partnership that will see that increasingly and that those words of unity will turn into action. You have been vocal about the fact that, you know, you're not going to shy away from pushing back against those really radical far left agenda items, things put forward by members of the squad and so forth.

Talk a little bit about that, just how, you know, you are going to really hold your ground. as a conservative woman in Congress. You know, I was the only woman that was on the city council when I was mayor. You have to have a loud voice. Nobody pushes you to run for these things. You know, all of us fought to be able to get here. And as a result, we have to be accountable. We have to be responsible.

We need to be strong. We need to be that voice in Congress for the hundreds of thousands of people that we represent. And if you're not willing to do that, you're in the wrong job. But you also have to realize that, no, no matter what you do, you're going to be criticized, right? We live in a very polarized society right now. 50% of people believe in one thing and 50% believe in something else. So any decision that you make, half of your populace is going to be very critical of that. But understand why you're doing it, who you're doing it for, make sure that you are always

professional in the way that you conduct yourself, but also very clear. And, you know, I was on the losing end of a number of votes. I understand. But at the end of the day, I can defend every one of the votes that I've taken. And I think I need to do that moving forward. We are not always going to be on the same side. Even our parties have disagreements. But let's be respectful to one another. Let's support one another and make sure that we're doing what's best for, you know, our district and for our country. And I think that's what people expect. And that's what I'm here to perform. Congresswoman, thank you for your time today. Thank you for your leadership. You are really setting such an amazing example for so many individuals across the country, just how to lead well and how to lead from a place of really holding your principles, your morals, your values. So thank you so much for your time today. We so appreciate it. Absolutely. I appreciate it. And anytime you guys want me on, just let me know. Thank you so much. And that'll do it for today's episode. Thanks for listening to The Daily Signal podcast. You can find the Daily Signal podcast on Google Play, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and IHeartRadio.

Please be sure to leave us their review and a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and encourage others to subscribe. Thanks again for listening and we'll be back with you all tomorrow. The Daily Signal podcast is brought to you by more than half a million members of the Heritage Foundation. It is executive produced by Kate Tray. Trinco and Rachel Del Judas, sound designed by Lauren Evans, Mark Geinney, and John Pop. For more information, visitdailysignal.com.