Economy

Small businesses are staples of our communities and the backbone of rural America. However, small businesses have also taken the hardest hit from COVID's impact and we must continue doing all we can to help them as we continue to fight this disease.

In 2016, the last year of the Obama administration, 3,853 federal regulations were issued. While some regulations, such as those explaining how the executive branch will implement new laws or setting how much Medicare pays medical providers each year, are necessary, many merely pile new bureaucracy onto old in an effort to micromanage our nation from Washington.

In a typical year, the six months from the start of spring to the start of fall fly by: we celebrate summer breaks, family vacations, weddings, and graduations; crops are planted and grown, and harvest begins. These last six months could not have felt more different. Almost every portion of our lives was somehow impacted by the coronavirus and our efforts to fight it.

The COVID-19 pandemic cast the United States into uncharted territory. Americans were asked to take unprecedented steps in order to slow down the spread of the virus. I have supported bipartisan efforts Congress and President Trump have enacted to fight this virus and provide economic relief. However, I continue to have serious concerns about the costs associated with these bills.

Across our nation, 2020 has been a year of upheaval. Since March, our lives have been drastically different as we have stayed home, worked remotely, and avoided gathering in large groups to help protect the health and safety of our most vulnerable populations. We have taken extraordinary steps in our personal, professional, and social lives in order to slow the spread of COVID-19.

While the COVID-19 pandemic continues its destructive pace, the devastating effects on the economy have come into clearer view. No business, small or large, is immune from the effects of the virus and the measures we are taking to counter it.