Last week, Congressman Will Hurd (TX-23) sat down with San Antonio Chamber of Commerce President and CEO, Richard Perez to reflect on his time in office, expectations for the next federal recovery package, and thoughts on reopening the U.S. economy.
During his initial remarks, Congressman Hurd stated, “Our country is hurting, everyone is saddened, everyone is scared.” He acknowledged that a lot of these feelings have been manifested by the killing of George Floyd. Hurd was in Houston early last week, marching in solidarity with George Floyd family. With our country hurting, Hurd acknowledged that every level of government can be doing something to help address these issues our country is facing.
One of the major issues is police community relations. Hurd mentioned that the federal government provides more than $2 billion in federal funding to local police departments. He would like to see federal funds only go to police departments that are following best practices, such as community policing and how they deal with civil rights issues. In addition, he would also like to empower police chiefs to be able to discipline bad police officers and hold them accountable.
Hurd informed business and community leaders that there will be another coronavirus federal aid package, the question is what will be in it. The Senate is already debating what a fifth package will include. He mentioned that there will be some variation of support for state and local communities, the debate is what local and state governments can use the federal aid for.
Digital modernization is a top priority for Congressman Hurd, and he acknowledged that COVID-19 has demonstrated its importance. He wants to help ensure federal dollars are used to modernize state and local digital infrastructure. In addition, he would like to see a national breach and privacy standard. Even after he leaves Congress, he would like to work with local universities and private sector on technology and policy.
The webinar concluded with Congressman Hurd reflecting on his time in Congress. He is proud of the constituent issues he and his staff were able to solve. He said he focused on real problems, and when you do that, this country gets big things done. During his six years in Congress, Hurd had 16 pieces of legislation signed into law and is proud of every one of them.
Hurd wanted to hear from viewers and answered a variety of questions, regarding DACA, FY21 Appropriations cycle, election security, cyber national guard, and infrastructure funding. Given time constraints, Congressman Hurd was unable to answer all questions submitted by viewers. Chamber staff has shared all unanswered questions with the Congressman’s office, and once they are answered, they will be posted on the Chamber’s microsite, sachamberrapidresponse.org.
To watch a recording of the webinar, click here.
The next installment of the Chamber’s highly anticipated Congressional Series will feature Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20) and will take place Tuesday, June 30, 2020 at 2:00pm via WebEx. More information and details are forthcoming.
