U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Highland, and Republican challenger Randy Niemeyer largely fall along party lines when it comes to issues of economy, border security and abortion.
Mrvan, 55, is seeking reelection to serve a third term in Congress. He was born and raised in Hammond, and he married his high school sweetheart, Jane. They have been married 28 years, and they have two daughters.
Mrvan said he’s seeking reelection to be in a position to deliver for Northwest Indiana. As a member of Congress, Mrvan said he’s had the opportunity to bring projects, like the South Shore double tracking, which then creates jobs, to the region. Mrvan said he’d also like to continue to bring in federal dollars to support and improve public safety and fight for reproductive health care access.
In his current term in Congress, Mrvan said he’s proud of being able to secure funding for the Midwest Regional MachH2 hydrogen hub mega-project at the BP Whiting Refinery, which will create about 10,000 construction jobs and 1,500 permanent jobs. Once it is built, Mrvan said the hydrogen hub will improve air and water quality throughout Northwest Indiana and allow the steel mills to use the hydrogen in the blast furnace to create a greener product.
“Those are things that are worth fighting for, and have inspired me to be able to make a difference in our community,” Mrvan said.
Niemeyer, who turned 47 on Oct. 20, and his brother own their family business Niemeyer Milk Transfer Inc. in Cedar Lake, which is a fourth-generation family business that grew from his great-grandfather delivering milk via horseback in tin cans throughout Crown Point to tanker trucks distributing milk throughout the Midwest and Southeast regions of the country, he said.
Niemeyer, who is also a truck driver, said he’s been married to his wife, Madeline, for 22 years, and they have a daughter and a son. Niemeyer said he decided to run for the U.S. House seat because he wants to impact change on inflation and securing the southern border.
Niemeyer is currently the Lake County Republican Party Chairman and a Lake County councilman, and he previously served on the Cedar Lake Town Council. He said he’d use his blue-collar worker background and political experience as a Congressman to create a different approach to addressing financial issues that have “crushed the middle class.”
Economy
To address inflation, Mrvan said he’d support a bill similar to the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Through the act, Medicare was able to renegotiate drug prices, which lowered the cost of various medications.
The act also lowered energy costs through investment in solar power and wind alternatives, Mrvan said. The benefits there, Mrvan said, are job creation and lower energy costs.
“We will continue to look for ways to make sure that we bring our energy costs down and to make sure that we are doing everything we can to lower costs for all individuals going forward,” Mrvan said.
To address inflation, Niemeyer said he’d work to ensure Congress passes a budget with all 12 appropriations bills, which allocate funding to federal government agencies and departments, on time.
In the last nearly 50 years since Congress has established its budgetary process with 12 appropriations bills, it has only passed all its required appropriations measures on deadline four times: 1977, which was the first full fiscal year under the current system, 1989, 1995 and 1997, according to Pew Research.
“You’ve got to stabilize our economy by Congress first telling the money of the American taxpayers how to behave,” Niemeyer said. “I think too many times government views that it’s government money and there’s no such thing as that. There’s only the people’s money, so we have to treat it like that.”
Border security
When looking at securing the border, Niemeyer pointed to Secure the Border Act of 2023 that did not make it to the Senate and the Border Act of 2024 which did not advance either chamber of Congress. The bills show that Congress is at an impasse on the issue, Niemeyer said.
Mrvan said he would support the Border Act of 2024 if he had the opportunity to vote on it. The bill would have increased the number of border patrol agents and asylum judges and increased security in the ports, Mrvan said.
Speaker of the House Rep. Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, called for a bipartisan piece of legislation to address the border, Mrvan said, adding that his colleague Senator James Lankford, R-Oklahoma, worked hard to negotiate the bill.
But, the bill did not move forward after former President Donald Trump called his allies in Congress to stop the bill because if it passed the Biden Administration would receive credit addressing the problem, Mrvan said.
“It is a national security issue that we must know who is coming in and out of our country. It’s extremely disappointing to me that the reason that bill wasn’t called to the floor is because it would pass,” Mrvan said.
Niemeyer said he supports parts of the 2024 bill that increase border patrol and security measures, but he does not support sections that he said codify catch-and-release.
“I think there’s got to be a balance to the process here, and some common sense,” Niemeyer said. “It is a very nuanced issue because there’s so many different sets of circumstances from people around the world that want to emigrate here. But, we have had in the past a system that worked, and I believe we can have a system that works once again.”
Wars abroad
The U.S. has a responsibility to its allies around the world to support security in their nations, Niemeyer said.
Ukraine was “wrongfully invaded” by Russia, Niemeyer said, who added that he does not believe Russian President Vladimir Putin is a friend of the United States.
“We need to have policies in place that support our allies without it being an endless checkbook. The right kind of support to get to the point where we can end the conflict and see our allies prevail, that’s what we want. We don’t want an endless flow of money or weapons going anywhere,” Niemeyer said.
But when asked about the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, Niemeyer said Israel is the United States’ “strongest ally in the world” and that the U.S. should support Israel “in any way we can” so it wins. The Palestinians living in Gaza have been used as pawns by Hamas, Niemeyer said.
“It’s an extremely heartbreaking situation to watch so many innocent people put in harm’s way by people that are supposed to be there to help them and protect them. Eradicating Hamas will help the Palestinian people be able to choose their own destiny,” Niemeyer said.
Amid Russia’s war in Ukraine, Mrvan said Congress should give Ukraine support and weaponry to help it protect its Democracy. Amid this war, Putin is testing the world on what territory he could take over, Mrvan said.
“(American support) ultimately allows Ukrainian people to be able to protect democracy so that we don’t have to have our men and women who are in the armed services in Ukraine to be able to stop that. Or, if it escalates such as in Poland, what we’re doing is a preventative measure to make sure that our national security and democracy, throughout the world, is absolutely protected by supporting Ukraine in this effort,” Mrvan said.
Amid the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, Mravn said he supported legislation to support Israel, including funding for the Iron Dome missile defense system. But, Mrvan said he wants to see a plan for peace.
“We will continue to be able to support a pivotal ally,” Mrvan said. “I want to make sure that there is a limit to the civilian casualties on any side going forward. Ultimately, it is important for us to have support for Israel, but we must have a pathway to peace within the Middle East.”
Abortion
The U.S. Supreme Court ended federal abortion protections by overturning Roe v. Wade in June 2022. Since then, states have passed laws to either protect access to or ban abortions. Indiana became the first state to pass a near-total abortion ban following the decision.
Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, Mrvan said he has supported codifying Roe v. Wade, which for nearly 50 years secured the right to have an abortion, into law. In Indiana, womens’ reproductive rights were stripped away, Mrvan said.
“I believe that the most productive thing we can do for women’s health and for their reproductive rights is to allow them to make their decision,” Mrvan said.
Niemeyer said the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case, which overturned Roe v. Wade, “was not ruling on abortion as much as it was the constitutionality,” though the ruling found that the U.S. Constitution does not protect the right to an abortion.
The Indiana GOP’s 2022 platform advocated the overturning of Roe v. Wade, “where Indiana will be in a position to fully implement our longstanding values on life.”
Niemeyer said he would not support a federal ban or protection on abortion because he believes both scenarios would have a difficult “constitutional test.” When asked multiple abortion questions, Niemeyer consistently pointed to the Constitution as the answer.
“In both cases, you have to refer to the constitution, and the case law that’s currently prevailing in the land says it’s the state’s right to legislate,” Niemeyer said.
Niemeyer said he does not support Indiana’s near-total ban on abortion “as it is written due to the multitude of unique circumstances which can arise during pregnancy.”
Looking ahead
Both Niemeyer and Mrvan said they would accept the results of the election.
Niemeyer said Northwest Indiana is made up of middle class, blue collar workers. In the last 90 years, the area has seen the industrialization and deindustrialization of industry, Niemeyer said, adding that it was the result of bad trade deals.
“We put ourselves at a consistent disadvantage. In order to protect and expand the blue collar working base here, the middle class here in this district, we have got to get focused on putting ourselves in a position to win in global trade,” Niemeyer said.
If reelected, Mrvan said he would continue to support and protect the Northwest Indiana steel industry. In March, Mrvan introduced the House bill titled Stop Mexico’s Steel Surge Act, which will impose duties on steel imported to the U.S. from Mexico for a period of time to ensure more steel is melted and poured in the U.S.
Mrvan, vice chairman of the Congressional Steel Caucus, said he introduced the bill because foreign countries, like China, have been going through Mexico to circumvent trade policies.
The steel industry is cyclical in nature, Mrvan said, but he’s worked on legislation, testimonies before the United States International Trade Commission and letters to the administration to ensure steel is made in the U.S.
“To protect the steel industry and to be able to protect our steel workers is extremely important to me,” Mrvan said. “Our steel workers, and the steel industry, is the backbone of Northwest Indiana.”
