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21Alive
Liz Brown: what does the 3rd Dist. congressional candidate stand for?

April 22, 2016

By Jeff Neumeyer

In a series of reports profiling the republican 3rd District congressional candidates, we focus on Liz Brown, who says we're too often missing the mark in preparing young people for the workforce.

She pursues a job on Capitol Hill with some experience serving in different levels of government.

Brown spent four years on Fort Wayne city council, and currently is in her first term representing Allen County in the Indiana State Senate.

One of her real passions is education.

She's been a parochial school board member, and is an adjunct professor at the University of Saint Francis.

She scoffs at presidential candidate Bernie Sanders’ proposal of free college tuition for everyone.

But she knows student loan debt is a major problem, saying we need to help prospective students...

Click here to view the full article and watch the interview on the 21Alive website. 

Journal Gazette
Taxpayers deserve an advocate in D.C.

April 21, 2016

April 24 marks Tax Freedom Day, the 114th day into the year that hardworking taxpayers must work in order to afford the nation’s tax bill. You deserve better.

Imagine a government that works for us. Your financial freedom matters. You work hard for your income, and I will work hard to protect it.

Washington, D.C., needs reinventing, and I’m ready to get started on Day One to start making government live within its means. My experience gives me perspective, and my faith and family keep me grounded. If you send me to Washington, I won’t rely on lobbyists and special interests to get me up to speed or to tell me how to vote. In fact, I’m not the choice of the establishment. That means I’m not beholden to them, either. When I’m your congresswoman, I will say “no” to the lobbyists, loopholes and largess that only feed the establishment and grow government.

While representing the people of northeast Indiana, I have always made it a No. 1 priority to be responsive to the concerns of all my constituents. That means always asking first, will this benefit the people here in Indiana and not the interests of big government? I know I am elected to be your public servant, not the other way around.

When I was elected to the Fort Wayne City Council, I was urged to be quiet and spend time observing the other members. The problem with that idea is that an elected official is hired to do a job – not sit back and be silent. I jumped right in on City Council, asking questions and offering solutions. During my time on City Council, I sponsored or proposed $12 million in spending cuts.

In the state Senate, I’m proud of my accomplishments to advance conservative principles. I’ve gotten legislation passed that sends control back to local communities and that brings transparency to government. I’ve championed pro-life legislation that protects unborn children and their mothers.

In Washington, I won’t wait to get started solving our nation’s problems, either. I’m not going to Washington to make a career of it. In fact, I’ve taken a four-term, or eight-year, term-limit pledge. That pledge will keep me focused on results, not my next fundraiser. I’m not going out there to get cozy with lobbyists and special interests or approve more handouts or bailouts, I’m going out there to defend the future you and your family deserve.

We need leaders ready to get started on Day One. I’m ready. I’m asking for your vote on May 3.

Click here to read the column on The Journal Gazette's website.

News Sentinel
Letter To The Editor: Liz Brown Will Fight For All Of Us 

Voters in northeast Indiana face an important choice in the May 3 Republican Primary. If you want a proven friend of the taxpayer, look no further than Liz Brown. Liz will fight for us in Washington, and she will do that within the term limit pledge she has taken. She’s not going to Washington to make a career of it. Liz fought for her constituents when she was on the Fort Wayne City Council and she continues to do so in the Indiana Senate.

She isn’t one to sit idly and vote however her party tells her to; rather, Liz studies issues, listens to constituents and fights for common sense solutions. Just this spring she passed a law giving power back to our local governments, SEA 366. She also got her bill, SB 367, to weed corruption out of government through the Senate. Liz knows the importance of local control and transparent government.

I trust Liz to fight for these same conservative principles when she’s in Congress. She will start working for us on day one. Join me in voting for Liz Brown for Congress.

Darren Vogt

Click here to read the letter on News Sentinel's website.

News Sentinel
Letter To The Editor: Liz Brown will fight for conservative principles

On May 3 we have the opportunity to select a true conservative to replace true conservative Rep. Marlin Stutzman. Liz Brown is my choice.

In the Statehouse I’ve witnessed Liz jump right in and fight for conservative principles desired by her constituents. She listens to her district and is very transparent about where she stands on issues.

I’ve worked closely with Liz on several bills, including a common sense proposal to boost school bus funding in Fort Wayne without raising taxes, which passed the Senate. She’s fought for transparent government and for sending control back to local communities.

I’ve seen Liz do more for the pro-life movement in two years than I’ve seen most do in an entire career in government. When elected to Congress, Liz will take the same values of limited government and adherence to the Constitution with her, and I know she will work tirelessly to repeal Obamacare, lower taxes and reduce the size of government.

We need someone who is not just going to vote the right way but someone who will fight for our values. She’s ready to question the purpose and scope of unnecessary government agencies by asking the tough questions that need asking. Liz is ready to get started on day one

-Martin Carbaugh

Click here to read the letter on News Sentinel's website.

News Sentinel
Letter To The Editor: Liz Brown Has The Experience

Liz Brown has my full support for Congress. I have known Liz and her family for years, and I can confidently say she has the best range of experience for the job.

I watched her approach education issues passionately while on the St. Jude School Board, the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend School Board and the National Catholic Education Association School Board. I saw her grow as a community advocate as she fought reckless spending while on the Fort Wayne City Council.

Now in the State Senate I have witnessed her take one courageous stand after another as she fought for legislation that shrinks government, increases transparency and protects human life. She has not only introduced meaningful legislation, but has gotten meaningful legislation passed into law.

Liz has a broad skillset that will serve us well in Congress. She offers a strong voice, unmatched by the other candidates in the race. She has shown time and time again that she’s not afraid to state her position on issues and take a stand. Liz Brown is exactly the type of leader we need to send to Washington.

-Matt Momper

Click here to read the letter on News Sentinel's website.

Journal Gazette
Liz Brown: Congress needs fiscal restraint

February 23, 2016

While raising our seven kids, we often joked about how things were cheaper by the dozen. But a dozen doesn’t correlate to savings in the case of the national debt. America’s debt just hit $19 trillion. That’s “19” with a whopping 12 zeroes behind it. It’s hard to comprehend that level of insanity.

How did $19 trillion in debt become the new normal? 

Moderate, big-spending Republicans put us on this path with excessive spending in the ’00s and a constant willingness to up the debt limit. President Barack Obama and Washington liberals simply made things worse. For nearly eight years, Obama has seen the American people as a bottomless ATM. Obama took office with $10.6 trillion in debt, but he will leave office with $20 trillion in debt. 

The $4.1 trillion budget Obama just proposed would add to the debt in a big way. According to the White House’s own analysts, his budget would add nearly $10 trillion to the debt.

Hopefully, Congress will block much of Obama’s budget. But we’ve still seen a variety of his liberal policies funded over the years, from green energy and climate spending, to the bloated $800 billion “stimulus” package. Of course Obamacare has accrued its own enormous costs as well; this year subsidies ring in at nearly $39 billion and they will increase to $112 billion in just five years.

Investor’s Business Daily recently reported on the four fastest-growing spending areas under Obama. Medicaid spending increased 91 percent, food stamps and other nutrition initiatives are up 78 percent, Social Security spending has risen 61 percent and student aid spending has more than doubled at 55 percent. As spending increases, so does government dependency.

So what’s the solution to this spending problem? 

We need leaders in Washington who are willing to say, “Enough is enough.” I am running for Congress because I’m willing to fight the spending spree that D.C. politicians are on with our money.

I will oppose the liberal policies that are running up our national debt. I will stand up to Washington special interests that continue to demand funding for their pet projects. There’s a reason I’m not the choice of Washington insiders.

I signed the Coalition to Reduce Spending’s “Reject the Debt” pledge. The pledge stipulates that I will not vote for any spending without offsets elsewhere in the budget and will vote only for budgets with a path to balance. This is a common-sense approach.

We’ve balanced our budget here in Indiana. We boast a robust economy, a AAA bond rating and have more than $2 billion in reserve. As your congresswoman, I will take Indiana’s model of fiscal conservatism to Washington and fight for all taxpayers.

Nineteen trillion in debt is no legacy to leave our children and grandchildren. We can correct the spending path we’re on before it’s too late. We can balance our budget, draw down the debt and give future generations an America with strong fiscal health. I humbly ask for your support for Congress so I can get to work fighting for you. 

Click here to read the column on Journal Gazette's website.

The New Haven Bulletin
43 Years and 58 Million Deaths

January 20, 2016

After 43 years, it could be easy to lose hope. But we’re not. After 58 million deaths, we might want to give up. But we won’t.

In 1973, activist judges on the Supreme Court made abortions legal up to the moment of birth and for any reason at all. This ruling changed the heart and soul of our country.

Two hundred years prior, our founders proclaimed our right to life in the Declaration of Independence. But that right was erased for the unborn by an activist Supreme Court. Abortion on demand was popularized. Abortion clinics popped up in communities across the nation. Pregnant women were told they were carrying only a blob of tissue.

Instead of simply accepting murder on demand, pro-life groups have risen up to fight this atrocity. These diverse coalitions unite over the simple truth: innocent, human life is precious and it deserves protection.

We have fought tirelessly for 43 years and we have much to show for it. Abortions peaked at a record high of 1.6 million deaths in 1990 but the rate continues to steadily fall. Here in Indiana, abortions have declined for six straight years and the current rate is less than half of its all time high.

Local pregnancy resource centers, like A Hope Center and Women’s Care Center, are providing life-changing support to mothers. Pro-life advocates care for women before, during and after pregnancy. According to estimates, 300,000 mothers chose life for their babies in 2015 because of these care centers.

Thanks to scientific advancements like 3-D ultrasounds and quality pro-life education, young people are engaged on this issue like no other generation. The National Democratic Party’s Chairwoman recently called young women complacent on abortion. What she fails to realize is that the young aren’t complacent. They are the ones leading marches, organizing petitions and exposing the abortion industry’s horrific practices.

We are forcing the media and the public to acknowledge the dirty practices of the abortion industry. Last summer, an undercover group started releasing video of high-level Planned Parenthood staff admitting they harvest and sell aborted baby body parts.

Legally, we’re making great strides. In 2015, state legislatures passed more than 50 pro-life laws. Included in that number were at least five in Indiana, including one I wrote that gives mothers the option to bury their babies and brings us one step closer to ending abortion. This year I introduced additional pro-life bills in the Indiana Senate, including one to prevent a Planned Parenthood-type harvesting and trafficking scandal in Indiana.

On the federal level, our elected officials are showing willingness to take up legislation that protects life and defunds the abortion industry. National Right to Life counts 10 roll call votes in the current House of Representatives and the pro-life side prevailed each time. The Senate recently mustered the votes to get a bill defunding America’s largest abortion business, Planned Parenthood, to President Obama’s desk. Predictably, Obama vetoed it, showing we must elect a pro-life president this year for the sake of the babies.

While these victories advance our cause and are giving more babies birthdays, much work remains. We must double-down on our efforts to protect life and end abortion.

I am running for Congress because I am ready to take my pro-life passion to Washington. We cannot lose ground in Congress. Our pro-life congressman, Marlin Stutzman, must be replaced by an advocate willing to stand and fight for the babies. I will be that advocate. We cannot and will not wait another 43 years and 58 million deaths before we end abortion.

Click here to read the column on The New Haven Bulletin's website.

Journal Gazette
Liz Brown: In spite of law, partial birth abortion continues

November 27, 2015

Twelve years ago, the partial birth abortion ban became law. Yet, here we are 12 years later and Planned Parenthood abortion doctors seem to cavalierly ignore that law.

In October, the Center for Medical Progress released an undercover video of Planned Parenthood abortion doctor Anna Dermish explaining how she regularly alters abortion procedures to harvest intact organs. As if this revelation isn’t alarming enough, Dermish goes on to explain that using an ultrasound during the abortion lets her position the child so that his feet come out first, allowing her to preserve the body’s more valuable organs. This “breech presentation” perfectly describes a partial birth abortion.

But Dermish isn’t some rogue abortion doctor; she is not the only one seemingly breaking the laws. Planned Parenthood’s senior director of medical services, Deborah Nucatola, appears in the first Center for Medical Progress video released in July. She too brags about using ultrasound in order to determine where to put the forceps during an abortion so she doesn’t crush the baby parts that the tissue buyer wants to buy.

Nucatola goes on to say this about the partial birth abortion ban: “The Federal Abortion Ban is a law, and laws are up to interpretation. So there are some people who interpret it as intent. So if I say on day one I do not intend to do this, what ultimately happens doesn’t matter. Because I didn’t intend to do this on day one so I’m complying with the law.”

Nucatola’s defense would never stand up in an objective court of law. But Nucatola works in the abortion industry, and for far too long abortion officials have gotten a free pass from the media, prosecutors, the courts and lawmakers.

But this free pass is slowly disappearing, thanks to the efforts of so many who work tirelessly to expose the abortion industry. At the state level, legislators are standing up to the abortion industry and passing laws that protect women and the unborn.

Last session in the Indiana Senate, well before the Planned Parenthood videos were released, I was pleased that my bill on dignified disposal of aborted fetal remains was passed into law. My bill addresses the crass disregard that the abortion industry has for its victims and it brings us closer to ending abortion altogether.

Much work remains, as the Planned Parenthood videos clearly show. We need to ensure that the abortion industry is not doubly profiting off of women by charging them for an abortion and selling the baby’s organs. We need assurances that abortion providers aren’t skirting consent laws, as Indiana’s notorious abortion doctor, Ulrich Klopfer, was doing. And knowing that abortion doctors are willing to alter procedures to secure intact baby organs, we must make sure that this is not happening in Indiana. (See the Center for Medical Progress website for more examples of abortion altering.)

Let’s not forget what is at stake here. Babies, whose hearts start beating only weeks after fertilization, are being targeted. They aren’t only being targeted for termination. But they are being targeted for their livers, their kidneys and their hearts; they are reduced to body parts for sale to the highest bidder.

We, as a humane and compassionate society, must have the heart and the courage, to say “enough is enough.” We will no longer stand idle as abortion doctors thwart laws meant to protect the weakest among us. We will call for solutions that protect both mothers and babies targeted by a greedy abortion industry and we will impose the harshest penalties on these abortion doctors when they break these laws. And we will seek an end to abortion, as we reach out to all women in crisis, so that every baby’s heart keeps beating, God-willing, for all the years of her natural life.

Republican Liz Brown represents Indiana Senate District 15 and is a candidate for Indiana's 3rd District seat.

Click to read the column on the Journal Gazette website.

News-Sentinel
Liz Brown: It’s time to end funding for Planned Parenthood

September 28, 2015

What will it take for Congress to act?

Planned Parenthood uses abortion to end the lives of more than 300,000 children annually. That’s like wiping out the population of Allen County every year. Bold investigators, like Lila Rose, have shown us that Planned Parenthood turns a blind eye to sex trafficking and race-selective abortion. We’ve known about these atrocities, yet Congress has refused to take meaningful action.

Starting in July, we have been learning about another angle of Planned Parenthood’s abortion business. The Center for Medical Progress videos, now numbering in the double digits, have shown us senior Planned Parenthood officials negotiating the sale and harvest of aborted baby body parts. They have officials on tape explaining how they alter abortion procedures to get intact organs.

A former employee gave an eyewitness account of a late-term aborted baby lying on the table, his heart still beating. How are these atrocities happening in a civilized nation? It’s time that Congress finally ends our tax dollars from going to such a sinister organization.

Each year, Planned Parenthood rakes in more than half a billion dollars in government funding. Congress must pass a spending bill by Wednesday. Congress has a true opportunity to defund the abortion giant. I want to see Congress send President Obama a bill that defunds Planned Parenthood and redirects the funds to abortion-free health organizations for women.

Congress can put the ball in Obama’s court. Let him explain to us why Planned Parenthood deserves our tax dollars and why he believes women need Planned Parenthood. The truth is, women don’t need Planned Parenthood. The half a billion dollars that Planned Parenthood receives is better spent on health providers that truly help women.

Planned Parenthood wants you to believe that it is the only option for women, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Indiana has 19 federally qualified health centers that run 108 locations, which assist low-income Hoosier women throughout the state. These providers, along with rural health centers and other Medicaid providers, already receive government funding and are ready to help underserved women seeking abortion-free care.

Planned Parenthood’s business model is built around abortion and sexual health. Federally qualified health centers, by comparison, focus on comprehensive health care. For example, if you need a mammogram, don’t bother to call Planned Parenthood. None of Planned Parenthood’s 665 facilities even do mammograms. When Planned Parenthood loses taxpayer funding, women will still receive health care.

Earlier this month, a woman named Gianna Jessen testified before a U.S. House committee. She shared how 38 years ago, her biological mother entered a Planned Parenthood and tried to end her life at 71/2 months by a late-term abortion. Jessen miraculously survived. She asked the committee, “If abortion is about women’s rights, then what were mine?”

Bureaucrats in Washington pay lip service to the “right to life” as a foundational principle, but for the nearly 900 babies aborted each day at Planned Parenthood, this is not enough. It’s time for Congress to take a stand. It’s time for “we the people” to take a stand, and force Congress to remove funding from America’s largest abortion provider. The time to defund Planned Parenthood is now.

Liz Brown is Indiana senator, District 15 and candidate for Indiana’s 3rd Congressional District.

Click here to read the column on the News-Sentinel website.

Journal Gazette
Hundreds join local rally

July 29, 2015
Hundreds of people rallied Tuesday at the Allen County Courthouse Green, where speakers called for Congress to yank public funding from Planned Parenthood and investigate the nonprofit health care organization.

The demonstration was among dozens of “Women Betrayed” rallies organized across the nation to protest videotaped remarks of Planned Parenthood officials talking about providing aborted fetal organs to medical researchers.

Dr. Christina Francis, a local ob-gyn, accused Planned Parenthood of breaking federal laws restricting abortions and of performing abortions “in order to profit from the sale of human organs. That’s right, I said human – the unborn children who are having their organs parceled out are human beings, and this is undisputed.”

Francis said women who obtain abortions through Planned Parenthood are told their unborn babies are “nothing more than tissue that can be discarded.”

Amanda Banks, vice president of Allen County Right to Life and the wife of state Sen. Jim Banks, R-Columbia City, noted that Indiana’s government no longer funds Planned Parenthood, and she called for other states and the federal government to stop giving the group $500 million a year in public money.

“We owe it to the babies who have lost their lives and the women who have been used to goose their profits,” she said.

Although federal funds cannot generally be used for abortions, GOP senators unveiled a bill Tuesday evening cutting federal aid to Planned Parenthood and directing that money instead to “other eligible entities to provide women’s health care services.” Aides said an initial vote was likely early next week.

At Tuesday’s rally, state Sen. Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne, said Planned Parenthood is “ruthless, dispassionate, deceitful and distrustful and now even mercenary. They are people who only care about the bottom line.”

She also said, “Providing an abortion, cutting up a baby in order to preserve its organs for research, is not giving women access to health care.”

Click here to read the rest of the story on the Journal Gazette website.

Press Release
Liz Brown Seeks to Represent Indiana’s Third Congressional District

May 27, 2015
FORT WAYNE, IND. – Today, Liz Brown announced she is seeking to represent Indiana’s Third Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Brown, who represents Indiana State Senate District 15, announced her run in front of family, friends and supporters at Connolly’s Do It Best in Fort Wayne.

Brown has a long history of public service, having served in volunteer roles and on the Fort Wayne City Council. She and her husband of 32 years, Steve, raised their seven children in Fort Wayne. Brown is a registered Civil and Domestic Mediator with her own mediation business.

The following excerpt is from Brown’s announcement, as prepared for delivery:

“I entered into public service after years of volunteer work, because I knew that at a local level and then at the state level, that we could lay a better foundation, a stronger foundation, so that our children and grandchildren could continue the self-made successes of our grandparents. I have applied my strong voice, a deep faith, and an immutable conviction to finding local and state level solutions. But today we are at a juncture in our government in Washington, D.C. where we need people, more than ever, who are not afraid to speak out in order to affirm that our constitutional democratic principles and our faith are not broken or wavering. Now is the time to reshape our economy and reaffirm our role as a leader on the global stage. I want to be your voice in Washington, and so I hope you will join me in that journey, as I am declaring, this day, that I am officially a candidate for the House of Representatives, for the Third Congressional District seat in Indiana.”

The primary election is May 3, 2016. Indiana’s Third Congressional District covers Northeast Indiana from the Michigan and Ohio borders as far south as Jay County and as far west as Kosciusko County.

Liz Brown, a Republican, seeks to represent Indiana’s Third Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Brown currently serves Indiana Senate District 15 in the state legislature and is a former member of the Fort Wayne City Council. She has a long history of community involvement including roles with Boys and Girls Clubs, Cub Scouts, Parkview Hospital Ethics Committee, Notre Dame Club of Fort Wayne and various school boards. As a registered Civil and Domestic Mediator with her own mediation business, Liz maintains a number of associations in the legal field. Liz and her husband of 32 years, Steve, have seven children.