JEFFERSONVILLE — U.S. Sen. Todd Young addressed his legislative priorities, including competitiveness in the global economy, at a talk presented by One Southern Indiana.
Young spoke Monday at a “Fireside Chat” in conversation with 1si President and CEO Lance Allison at America Place at River Ridge Commerce Center in Jeffersonville, sharing his thoughts on issues ranging from workforce development to deregulation.
The Republican senator said affordability is among his priorities for the upcoming legislative session.
“I think there’s some opportunity for some real bipartisan work on health care affordability, child care [and] housing,” Young said.
He said his office seeks to “look over the horizon” with issues such as national and economic security. This includes domestic production of semiconductors, the focus of Young’s bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act that was signed into law in 2022.
Young said he is also prioritizing shipbuilding in the U.S., emphasizing that there are ”almost no ships” being built in the country. Critical minerals and emerging biotechnology are also “points of emphasis.
“In addition to my affordability work, I’m focused on making sure that the United States is not dependent on our primary adversary, China, for key inputs to its economy from semiconductors to ships to critical minerals,” he said.
The senator said there needs to be “targeted investments.”
“We need to be very careful in this area in this era of scarce resources, where we’re trillions of dollars in debt, that we’re not targeting all kinds of things under the banner of competitiveness to create jobs that maybe shouldn’t be here — they could be located overseas,” he said.
“Do we need to make T-shirts and textiles the way we did a generation ago? I’d argue probably not. Those aren’t the highest-paying jobs. It’s not the highest value added to labor, so let’s be strategic. Let’s do semiconductors, not socks, and let’s do make those targeted investments.”
Young is also calling for “regulatory optimization,” or increased deregulation.
“Regulations are hidden taxes,” he said. “We need a regulated economy in a lot of areas. Of course, we all want clean air, clean water, safe workplaces, but on an ongoing basis, we need to be looking at regulations that are no longer serving their stated purpose. This administration has been great on this. I think it was one of the signature but unheralded achievements of the first Trump term, and we’re in the process of resuming this.”
He also said the country needs a “smart tax policy” that incentivizes growth. This includes “one that strikes a balance between, on one hand, growth and competitiveness, but on the other hand, you need to bring in enough revenue so that you have a stabilized debt.”
Workforce also plays a key role in the country’s competitiveness, Young said.
“We need to have an educated people starting at pre-K all the way to graduate programs and your adult education programs, and to the extent that you have highly productive, highly proficient 21st Century economy capable workers, you’re going to be competitive,” he said.
Young said child care affordability is also a labor market issue, noting that child care often costs more than housing costs for families.
He noted the growth in Southern Indiana, particularly with developments such as River Ridge.
“When I campaigned in 2010… there were things going on in River Ridge, but it was kind of a field of dreams,” Young said. “Now it’s a field that people are playing on. It’s getting some activity. There’s a signup sheet.”
He said there are “really big opportunities that can be landed right here in River Ridge.”
Young also discussed the role of the federal government in supporting regional economies.
“It’s got to be regional,” he said. “We’ve not always done a good job in Washington in realizing that economic development policies need to be crafted around regional labor markets, but we’re starting to. We’re starting to change that and invest in solutions from kind of a regional labor market perspective.”
He described Indiana as a “couple of generations ahead of the rest of the country,” with Ivy Tech as a statewide community college. The senator also acknowledged Southern Indiana’s role within the larger Louisville metropolitan area.
“I know this area, being adjacent to the state of Kentucky, you’ve done a good job stepping outside of your own state and going across these artificial lines — political lines — and recognizing that’s part of the labor market too,” Young said.
He called for leaving it “up to locals to solve local problems and deal with local nuances that Washington could never understand.” He also noted that communities should start “asking more of their local and state authorities” rather than relying on the federal government.
“When we’re tens of trillions of dollars in the hole, I’m increasingly saying, listen, we may not have more money for you next year,” Young said. “It may not be adjusting for inflation. You need to start advocating in Indianapolis or locally because if you haven’t checked, we’ve got a structural deficit to deal with, and we’re running out of time.”
Health care was also brought up at Monday’s talk. Young said there is “way too much consolidation” on the provider and insurer levels. He also discussed the challenges facing rural areas.
“Our states need to step up and make sure, A, everyone’s covered, and B, it’s done at a lower cost,” he said.
In an interview with the News and Tribune after the talk, Young also discussed his thoughts on Trump’s tariff policies. He said there needs to be “a lot more certainty around tariff rates and our ultimate endgame.”
“I think so many of my Hoosier constituents understood that our tariff initiatives were intended to right the wrongs of China, which has flooded our markets with underpriced goods and stolen our intellectual property and engaged in all kinds of economic malfeasance,” Young said.
“But instead they’re finding that we’re focused on other countries, and that’s complicating access to key inputs for our manufacturers and key foreign markets for our farmers. I think it’s fair for many of my constituents to ask what the endgame is, and they’ve been asking me. I hope we can get more clarity on that in coming weeks.”
Young also shared his thoughts on Trump’s approach to immigration policy.
“The American people understood that President Biden’s policy of open borders was irresponsible and dangerous to our national security,” he said. “President Trump has commendably been able to secure the border within just a few months of him coming into office, and now we’re at a point where people are expecting the president to articulate in more detail which specific populations of undocumented persons we are targeting for prioritization as we look to Congress to provide the resources for continued implementation of his border policies.”
“In terms of legal immigration, I hear from farmers, employers and even a number of rank-and-file Hoosiers that they think there are opportunities for improvement of our guest worker and legal immigration policies.”
In reaction to the Indiana legislature’s special session on redistricting, Young said it is “up to the state legislators and the governor,” and he will “respect whatever decisions they make.”
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