Carol Andrews, Joyce Badon, Mary Baker, Linda Bason, Harley Moeller, Megan Moeller, Virginia Naylor, Anna Bellows, Lila Bonner…
These names echoed down the released list of Kerr County Flood victims.
July 4th, 2025, torrent floods devastated the local communities of Kerrville, Texas. Over 137 lives were tragically lost, the youngest victim only being only one year old. In the photo above, the victim’s family and friends mourn collectively through prayer.
Mukherjee, a sophomore from Austin, moved by this tragedy advocated for the passing of a National Natural Disaster Tax Credit.
The National Natural Disaster Tax Credit would allow small businesses to rebuild as quickly as possible, addressing the gaps that insurance would fail to fill. The federal government would give businesses impacted by natural disasters tax credits, giving businesses an economic opportunity to regain their footing.
Passionately speaking for the cause, Mukherjee expresses her concern for communities impacted by natural disasters, “At the end of the day, our communities are so built on economies. It was so important for businesses to reopen as soon as possible for the community to heal. Seeing the shock and collective grief that the community of Texas experienced just made me think that we need to make sure we’re prepared for things like that.”
Mukherjee also shared impactful statistics that showed the extent to which Texas relies on small businesses economically.
“50 percent of our private workforce is employed by small businesses”
Mukherjee’s emphasis on small businesses isn’t just an understanding of data, it is informed by real experiences through working with the Austin Chamber of Commerce. Mukherjee currently is employed as an intern for the Austin Chamber of Commerce, which allows for collaboration with small businesses. During an interview, Mukherjee expressed her passion for this organization, “I’ve seen firsthand how small businesses are at the center of our economy, and sharing inspiring conversations with these businesses has made me realize the extent to which the Kerrville community occurred when businesses couldn’t operate.”
“I’m really interested in how economies are built by communities,” Mukherjee expressed.
Mukherjee also explored how her relationship with Youth and Government helped her foster authenticity in policy design.
“What I love about YAG is that this is the one place where I don’t feel pressured to perform for points because I’ve noticed that a lot of the evaluation and the kind of criteria that you look at is not really about how loud you talk, how feisty you are, its an emphasis on solvency, what your impact is for the community, what’s actually good.”
Mukherjee found that her personal philosophy had direct alignment with the event that she participated in.
“I realized that wow, this is a unique competition because you’re not trying to make me fight, you’re trying to make me have honest, real good conversation. And I feel that’s so important to instill that in young people.”
Teeming with potential and success, Mukherjee, a sophomore from the Greater Austin area, successfully passed legislation for the bill of National Natural Disaster Tax Credit.
Mukherjee aspires to pursue economics in her future, and expressed her gratitude for being in a program that fostered genuine engagement and interaction with policy. With passion in her voice, Mukherjee ended the interview with one last statement,
“I see myself in the future working with small businesses to create something tangible, I know that I want to work on the ground with people to make our economy stronger.”
Works Cited
Kumar, Atirikta. “Texas IDs the 119 People Killed in Kerr County Floods.” The Texas Tribune, 8 Aug. 2025, www.texastribune.org/2025/08/08/texas-hill-country-floods-victims-names/.
“MSN.” Msn.com, 2026, www.msn.com/en-us/public-safety-and-emergencies/natural-disasters/hundreds-gather-at-kerrville-stadium-vigil-to-pray-for-flood-victims/vi-AA1Ir5Lq. Accessed 27 Feb. 2026.