Jackie Walorski

In 2004, Walorski ran for a seat in the Indiana House of Representatives after incumbent Republican State Representative Richard Mangus decided to retire. She ran for Indiana's 21st District, a district which represented the suburban area between South Bend and Elkhart. Walorski defeated Democrat Carl H. Kaser 64%–36%.[9] In 2006, she won a second term with 53% of the vote.[10] In 2008, she won a third term unopposed.[11]

During her tenure in the Indiana House, Walorski was a sponsor of Indiana's Voter ID law, requiring voters to present Government issued identification during in person voting.[4] The Voter ID law led to many lawsuits and was brought before the Supreme Court, where the law was upheld in Crawford v. Marion County Election Board, and is cited as helping the expansion of Voter ID laws in other states.[12]

Walorski has been criticized for missing a committee vote and the opportunity for stopping the Daylight Saving Time bill from passing out of committee, even though that bill died on the House floor.[13][14] After a different bill passed introducing DST, she authored and introduced a bill to rescind DST, a measure that ended up dying.[14]

Walorski authored legislation combating identity theft, including in 2006 when she sponsored a bill requiring companies to notify customers who are Indiana residents, of any security breaches that could cause identity theft, identity deception or fraud, and making it a Class C felony and imposing a $50,000 fine on anyone who has the identities of over 100 persons.[15] With Walorski saying that "Identity theft is the most rapidly growing crime in the United States. We need to find a solution to this problem before it gets any bigger in Indiana."[16]

• Republican Study Committee[17]

Walorski became active in the caucus and was appointed as Assistant Floor Leader. She served on the Family, Children, & Human Affairs and the Public Policy committees.[18]

2010

On January 31, 2009, Walorski formally announced her bid to challenge incumbent Democratic U.S. Congressman Joe Donnelly in Indiana's 2nd congressional district. Walorski won the Republican primary on May 4, 2010[19] with 61% of the votes,[20] defeating opponents Martin Dolan, Jack Jordan, and Tony Zirkle.[21] She was defeated, 48%–47% on November 2, 2010 by Donnelly.[22]

2012

On March 22, 2011, Walorski announced that she would run for Indiana's 2nd Congressional District again. Over the Indiana legislature's 2011-2013 legislative session, the predominantly Republican Indiana House and Senate redrew Indiana's congressional districts. After redistricting, the newly drawn 2nd district included all Elkhart County, Walorski's home county, and the demographics of the new district included more registered Republican voters.[23] Had the district existed under these lines in 2008, Barack Obama would have won it by just 0.3 percentage point, 49.6 percent to John McCain's 49.3 percent.[24] In contrast, he won the old 2nd with 54 percent of the vote.[25]

Incumbent Democratic Congressman Donnelly decided not to seek re-election, opting instead to run for the U.S. Senate.[26] Walorski ran against Libertarian candidate Joe Ruiz of Mishawaka[27] and Democratic candidate Brendan Mullen of Granger, an Iraq War veteran.

On May 8, 2012, Walorski easily won the primary election with 73% of the vote, winning all 10 counties in the 2nd District.[28]

Walorski defeated Mullen 49%–48%,[29] likely helped by Mitt Romney carrying her district with 56 percent of the vote.[30] She took office on January 3, 2013. At the same time, Donnelly was elected to the Senate.[31]

Walorski has received endorsements from the National Federation of Small Business and the U.S. and Indiana Chambers of Commerce.

Committee assignments

• Committee on Armed Services
  • Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces
  • Subcommittee on Military Personnel
• Committee on the Budget
• Committee on Veterans' Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Health
  • Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
• Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis[32]

Caucus memberships

• Veterinary Medicine Caucus[33]
• U.S.-Japan Caucus[34]

On May 25, 2018, Walorski introduced legislation to double the death gratuity paid to the families of service members killed on active duty. The legislation would increase the current death gratuity of $100,000 to $200,000. Under the bill, at least 60% of the benefit would be paid to the surviving spouse. Service members could choose how the remaining 40 percent would be disbursed. The bill would also cap death benefits for members of Congress at $74,000. This would result in a payment of about $100,000 less than what would be paid under the current system.[35]

Walorski voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.[36]

Walorski has advocated privatizing Social Security. In March 2010 she said, "I think the one thing we have to do is the thing that Bush actually tried to do a couple years ago, which is privatize Social Security and allow people to invest in their own retirement."[37]

Walorski voted in favor of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.[38]

In 2018, Walorski said she opposed the Trump tariffs on goods imported from American allies. She said that such duties threaten American businesses and workers. These include a 25-percent tariff on steel and a 10-percent tariff on aluminum. Walorski also asked that system for granting exclusions for certain kinds of products be accelerated.[39]

In 2015, Walorski rejected the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, a bill banning Late termination of pregnancy, an abortion procedure given beyond 20 weeks into a pregnancy.[40] In 2013, Walorski had said she would support a ban on late-term abortions.[41]

In October 2017, Walorski asked the Indiana State Department of Health to deny an application to open an abortion clinic in South Bend. Walorski said the clinic would undermine efforts to reduce the number of abortions in the area.[42]

Walorski was given a "D" rating in 2016 from marijuana legalization advocacy group NORML for her voting history regarding cannabis-related causes.[43]

Walorski has a 63 percent rating from Heritage Action for America based on her conservative voting record.[44]

Walorski supported President Donald Trump's 2017 executive order to impose a temporary ban on entry to the U.S. to citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries. She believes that it "will allow our national security officials to examine the vetting process and strengthen safeguards to prevent terrorists from entering our homeland."[45]

In December 2020, Walorski was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives who signed an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Joe Biden prevailed[46] over incumbent Donald Trump. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of the election held by another state.[47][48][49]

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement that called signing the amicus brief an act of "election subversion." Additionally, Pelosi reprimanded Walorski and the other House members who supported the lawsuit: "The 126 Republican Members that signed onto this lawsuit brought dishonor to the House. Instead of upholding their oath to support and defend the Constitution, they chose to subvert the Constitution and undermine public trust in our sacred democratic institutions."[50][51] New Jersey Representative Bill Pascrell, citing section three of the 14th Amendment, called for Pelosi to not seat Walorski and the other Republicans who signed the brief supporting the suit. Pascrell argued that "the text of the 14th Amendment expressly forbids Members of Congress from engaging in rebellion against the United States. Trying to overturn a democratic election and install a dictator seems like a pretty clear example of that."[52]