Economy
There are no shortage of challenges facing Americans right now with our country reaching the highest level of inflation in three decades, a lack of workers to fill job openings nationwide, record illegal entry and smuggling at our southern border, and a supply chain unable to keep up with the demands of manufacturers and consumers. Despite facing these crises every day, we still have much to be thankful for as Americans.
Washington, DC – Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) spoke on the floor of the House of Representatives opposing Democrats' $1.7 trillion partisan social spending package, the Build Back Better Act. The bill passed the House 220-213 on a party line vote.
It's alarming to see half-built, new farm equipment sitting idle, car dealerships vacant, and store shelves empty, but this is the harsh reality behind President Biden's current supply chain crisis. Across the country we are seeing bottlenecks and cargo backups at ports and terminals, as well as an abundance of workforce shortages causing massive delays throughout our supply chain. It is critical we take action now to address the stalemates preventing American products from both being produced and reaching consumers before matters worsen.
Washington, D.C. –Today, Congressmen Adrian Smith (R-NE), Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), and Rodney Davis (R-IL), Co-Chairs of the House Biofuels Caucus, sent a letter urging President Biden to uphold campaign promises he made regarding the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).
Recent reports indicate the Biden Administration is taking steps to weaken Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) which would reduce the demand for biofuels, an action President Biden strongly condemned under the Trump Administration.
Since President Biden took office inflation has increased every single month. At a time when our nation is trying to rebuild and recover in response to COVID-19, the Biden Administration and Congressional Democrats don't seem to mind that the price of everyday goods and services are on the rise while Nebraskan's paychecks are worth less. These things do not just happen. Inflation reaching a thirteen-year high is a direct result of poor leadership by Democrats, and the ripple effect is only going to get worse.
Washington, D.C. – President Biden's crippling tax hikes on America's middle class and Main Street will reverse the gains from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, according to key witnesses at a Ways and Means Republican Meeting this week. Representatives Adrian Smith (R-NE), Ranking Republican on the Select Revenue Subcommittee, and Republican Leader of the Ways and Means Committee, Kevin Brady (R-TX) hosted the meeting.
Ways and Means Republicans were joined by witnesses former Senator Phil Gramm (R-TX) and Larry Kudlow, former Director of the National Economic Council.
Pre-COVID, the United States had a robust and booming economy, both in terms of economic growth and in terms of economic opportunity available to Americans in the workforce. This success was directly attributable to two of the biggest accomplishments to come out of the Ways and Means Committee in the past 25 years - welfare reform and comprehensive tax reform.
Our national and global economy rely on the efficacy of supply chains. Supply chains are found in every industry, sector, and market, and include all actors involved in creating and bringing a product from start to finish. Farmers and ranchers, manufacturing facilities, retail, and the transportation in between, are all critical to the success of this multi-pronged system. Over the course of the last year we have seen just how much we as consumers have taken for granted supply chains and the logistics behind them.
Many parts of the economy in our great state of Nebraska are thriving. However, the new slate of tax increase proposals coming from the Biden Administration will undermine the success of Nebraska, and states like it, by removing capital from family farms and small businesses at a time when we need to be encouraging economic growth.