The 17th District has always been home. Emily grew up here, Emily went to school here, and Emily has owned businesses here. We need to make sure we are preserving the principles and values we hold so dear to keep them in tact for future generations.
Taxes
Emily fights to keep taxes low and has worked towards meaningful and effective tax reform in the Commonwealth. 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 past 15 years and the second largest tax cut in Virginia history. We cannot ignore how burdensome, excessive taxation has injured the small business climate. 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.
Life
As a child of adoption and a staunch pro-life advocate, Emily has made encouraging adoption over abortion her mission. She fought tirelessly to add language in the state budget that prohibits taxpayer funding for abortions. As a Delegate and as a member of the Commission on Youth, 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.
Agriculture
Agriculture has always been the staple of our region. In Richmond, Emily has worked to create the best possible environment for agri-business by supporting tax relief for farmers, cutting unnecessary regulations that are harming small farms and working to increase opportunities for agri-tourism. In 2022, Delegate Brewer was appointed Vice Chairwoman of the Virginia Rural Caucus. As your Senator, Emily will fight to improve rural roads and bridges so that all farmers can be successful.
Education
Our children are our future. As your Delegate, Emily voted in favor of initiatives to make vocational, trade, and career and technical education opportunities more available across the Commonwealth and to focus on workforce development in our schools. In Richmond, she helped pass legislation to allow school resource officers and increase funding for school safety to keep our kids safe. As a founding member of the VA Future Caucus, 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%.
Jobs and the Economy
Emily will continue to work to reign in government overreach by cutting unnecessary red tape and getting government out of the way. In 2018 Emily received a 100 A+ rating with the Virginia Chamber of Commerce and was named their Freshman Legislator of the Year. She's helped block legislation that added overreaching regulations that would have harmed Virginia's top job creators.
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 access to broadband in rural areas. In 2020, she helped ensure an additional $35 million for broadband initiatives in our Commonwealth.
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.”
Accessibility
One of the reasons Emily decided to run for Delegate is because, all too often, politicians hide away in an ivory tower. Emily has an office in Smithfield for appointments with constituents to hear their ideas and work to fix their issues. Emily believes in a government of the people and will work hard to represent the people not special interests, lobbyists, or party agendas.