The 17th Senate District has always been her home. Emily grew up here, Emily went to school here, and Emily owns a business here. She hopes to strive towards creating additional opportunities so the future generation can live, work, and raise a family right in their own backyard.
Taxes
Emily fights to keep taxes low and has worked towards meaningful and effective tax reform in Virginia. In 2018 alone, Emily helped defeat over $770 million in tax increases. The next year, she voted in favor of the most significant tax relief in the passed 15 years and the second largest tax cut in Virginia history. In 2022, Emily worked on the House Appropriations Committee to provide the largest tax relief in Virginia history, providing over $3 billion in tax relief to Virginians. We must continue to stand up for working class Virginians and small businesses as inflation continues and create an environment for their continual success.
Life
As a child of adoption, Emily has worked tirelessly to reform the adoption and foster care system by streamlining the process and making it easier for families to provide children with a loving home. Finding children a loving home and making it easier for families to adopt will always be one of her top priorities.
Agriculture
Agriculture & Forestry is the largest industry in the Commonwealth and has provided generations of families in Southeast Virginia their livelihoods. Emily has worked to create a positive environment for agri-business community by supporting tax relief for farmers and cutting unnecessary regulations that are unrealistic and burdensome on farmers that continually strive to be good stewards of our natural resources. In 2022, Delegate Brewer was elected Vice Chair of the Virginia Rural Caucus and serves on the Rural Virginia Board of Trustees. In her innaugural year in this role, she was able to showcase Southeastern Virginia and highlight their agricultural interests and opportunities at the Governor's Summit for Rural Prosperity in Smithfield, Virginia. As your Senator, Emily will always fight for agricultural interests and priorities and has always been committed to being 'A Friend of The Farm'.
Education
Our children are our future -- and we must champion priorities that offer them the right opportunities to succeed. Emily has voted in favor of initiatives to make vocational, trade, and career & technical education opportunities more accessible across the Commonwealth. In Richmond, she helped pass legislation to provide funding for school resource officers and school safety measures to keep our kids safe. Emily has worked to tackle issues facing the next generation, like freezing tuition rates and lowering the cost of college prepaid plans. In 2022, Delegate Brewer worked on the House Appropriations Committee to raise teacher pay by 10%. In the 2023 General Assembly Session, Emily Co-Sponsored legislation to increase school choice in Virginia by creating Education Savings Accounts. Emily believes strongly that the money should follow the child and that parents must have more say in their childrens education.
Jobs and the Economy
Emily knows that creating a robust economy and prioritizing workforce development iniatives is a key priority to growing opportunities in our region. In addition, she has voted to cut unnecessary red tape and burdensome fees and barriers in professional occupations so that more Virginians can join the workforce without jumping through difficult obstacles. In 2018, Emily received a 100 A+ rating from the Virginia Chamber of Commerce and was named their Freshman Legislator of the Year. She is committed to continually fostering a pro-business economy that focuses on adding good paying jobs to our region.
Broadband Access
During her term in 2018 on the Broadband Advisory Council (BAC), which recommends broadband projects and funding priorities to the General Assembly, she worked to include roughly $18 million in new funding for improving rural broadband access. In 2020, worked with her localities to secure an additional $35 million in broadband funding for areas without internet access. Bringing broadband to rural communities is a vital ingredient to the future success and sustainment of rural Virginia.
The Suffolk News-Herald, July 2022
“Having worked with community leaders over the last several years to work towards this reality, I am incredibly excited for the positive impact this will have for the residents and business owners in each locality,” Brewer noted, “Ensuring our farmers, businesses, students, and families have access to broadband is vital as power is to our homes.”