Sen. Braun makes brief Greencastle stop

During a stop at the Tenzer Hub for Entrepreneurship Wednesday afternoon, Sen. Mike Braun chats with Gail Smith and Chris Johnston.

Banner Graphic/BRAND SELVIA

A little more than a year since his last visit to Greencastle, U.S. Sen. Mike Braun (R-Jasper) made another stop in town Wednesday afternoon.

The focus this time was more on local establishments.

The senator was given a tour of both the Tenzer Hub for Entrepreneurship and BreadWorks by dignitaries representing Greencastle and DePauw University. He also checked out the rooftop dining space above Bridges Craft Pizza & Wine Bar.

Sen. Mike Braun speaks during a Wednesday luncheon in Greencastle.

Banner Graphic/BRAND SELVIA

Following a tour of the BreadWorks space, Braun sat down to a brief discussion about current events in Washington. One of those is the controversy around eliminating the filibuster in the United States Senate.

In brief comments to the Banner Graphic, Braun explained the filibuster as a procedure allowing one or more senators to extend debate and delay votes on legislation. Sixty out of the body’s 100 senators are required to close debate. However, invoking the “nuclear option” by a simple majority (50 votes) could eliminate this.

Technically controlled by Democrats with Vice President Kamala Harris being the tiebreaker, the Senate itself is split 50-50 between them and Republicans. Braun advocated keeping the filibuster intact to curb agendas from, “the progressive side of the ledger.”

“They (Senate Democrats) have got the ability to change the rules that can override it (the filibuster),” Braun said. “Then it’s a question of whether they’ll do it for just one piece of legislation.”

Braun currently serves on five Senate committees: the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry; the Senate Budget Committee; the Senate Appropriations Committee; the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee; and the Senate Special Committee on Aging.

“Health care’s still a big issue; climate is a big issue that’s growing in importance as more conservatives are weighing in on that,” Braun said. “I want to be engaged in the conversation so we don’t have crazy legislation that comes down the pipe.”

Congress will be on a state work period through next week.