An Indiana congressman is generating national media attention after making comments suggesting that he would be willing to put American lives in danger in order to reopen the economy sooner.
Ninth District Rep. Trey Hollingsworth made the comments during an interview on 93.1 WIBC’s with Tony Katz on Tuesday. During the interview, Hollingsworth said there is no “zero harm” choice, and that politicians will have to tell citizens they are making the best decision for the most Americans possible.
He continued by addressing the economic climate.
“But certainly the social scientists are telling us about the economic disaster that is going on,” Hollingsworth said to WIBC. “Our GDP is supposed to be down 20% alone this quarter. It is policymakers’ decision to put on our big boy and big girl pants and say it is the lesser of these two evils. It is not zero evil, but it is the lesser of these two evils and we intend to move forward that direction. That is our responsibility and to abdicate that is to insult the Americans that voted us into office.”
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The Republican’s district spans much of central and southern Indiana, representing Brown, Clark, Floyd, Harrison, Jackson, Johnson, Lawrence, Monroe, Orange, and Washington counties, as well as areas of Crawford, Morgan, and Scott.
In a follow-up interview Thursday with the Daily Journal, Hollingsworth said he feels that his stance is an accurate representation of how many constituents feel inside and out of his district.
“I talk with hundreds of Hoosiers a day, and what I continue to hear from them is that sheltering in place forever is not a sustainable strategy,” he said. “It was a strategy meant to buy time, it was a strategy meant to flatten the curve, but it’s not a strategy that we can sit at home and wait for coronavirus to pass.”
He said that he is continuing to discuss his ideas with fellow congressmen.
“We have a delegation-wide conference call, and we continue to talk about this,” Hollingsworth said. “I continue to push forward the idea that we’re going to eventually be faced with a trade-off, and we need to start helping the American people tell us what they think the acceptable trade-off is.
“I’m starting to build a coalition of people to start talking about how we do this, what do we need to set up in terms of risk assessment, what do we set up in terms of testing, how close are we to anti-virals?”
Sixth District Congressman Rep. Greg Pence, R-Ind. and Gov. Eric Holcomb did not align with Hollingsworth’s initial statements.
During his daily COVID-19 press conference Wednesday, Holcomb was asked what he thought about Hollingsworth’s comments.
Holcomb said “it’s not an either or decision,” making it clear that he doesn’t intend to send workers back before it is safe to do so. He said that when the economy opens back up, it will be a “rolling reopen” coordinated with surrounding states.
A statement regarding reopening the economy released by the office of Sixth District Rep. Greg Pence on Wednesday emphasized that health concerns would be ahead of the economy.
“The safety and health of Hoosiers comes first,” the Pence statement said. “We’re hearing a lot from constituents on both sides of the issue of opening our economy back up, and it continues to be at the top of my priority list as we monitor the situation in Congress.
“I think Gov. Holcomb is doing a good job. My priority lies first in the health of the Sixth District, and then ensuring Americans get the economic support and relief they need during this pandemic.”
On Thursday, the Indiana State Department of Health reported that they have recorded 9,542 positive COVID-19 cases, including 477 deaths, on 51,115 tested Hoosiers. Holcomb suggested the economy may start to open back up in early May during his press briefing that day. He said the decision will be data-driven, and a concrete date has not been set.
