Sen. Mike Braun Thinks Congress Is Too Far Apart To Pass More Coronavirus Relief

Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) says a vaccine for coronavirus is coming.  But he is less certain about another round of pandemic relief funding.

In a visit to Muncie today Tuesday, the Republican, who sits on the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions, said there’s never really been a cure for a virus.  But he thanked President Donald Trump for rolling back what he calls “bureaucratic approach” so work on a vaccine could be accelerated

“This has ginned up more entrepreneurial effort than anything I’ve seen vis-a-vis the government," Braun said. "Had it been a more bureaucratic approach, we’d be still stumbling around trying to decide whether the CDC or the FDA was going to be in charge of the vaccine.”

Braun likened the current Congress to the “Hatfields and McCoys,” two historical feuding clans.  He said there’s too much of a divide between the Senate Republicans-authored HEALS Act and the House-approved HEROES Act.

“I think the executive order that Trump put out there could be what we end up with," Braun said.  "Because it addressed some of the main parts of what we were trying to hash out, where we were so far apart.”

Braun said Congress is slow and executive orders are quick.  He said he hopes no lawmakers or others take Trump’s recent orders to court to stop them.