Economy
Nebraskans know how important it is to protect our environment, especially the farmers and ranchers across the Third District whose livelihoods are tied directly to the land they cultivate, the water they use to irrigate, and animals they raise. Across party lines it is clearly understood that there are ways we can address environmental concerns and improve access to the energy we need to fuel our economy. However, the government must not arbitrarily pick winners and losers or create new policy solely for messaging purposes.
Washington, D.C. – Congressmen Adrian Smith (R-NE) and Jim Costa (D-CA) today along with Rodney Davis (R-IL), John Garamendi (D-CA), Dusty Johnson (R-SD), Troy Nehls (R-TX), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), and Mike Thompson (D-CA), led a bipartisan group of colleagues in a letter to Michael A. Khouri, Chair of the Federal Maritime Commission, voicing concern over reports that certain vessel-operating common carriers (VOCCs) are declining to ship U.S. agricultural commodity exports from U.S. ports.
Washington, D.C. – Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE), along with the co-chairs of the House Biofuels Caucus, introduced the Renewable Fuels Infrastructure Investment and Market Expansion Act and the Adopt GREET Act today. These two new pieces of legislation would increase access to biofuels for consumers and require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) fully recognize their environmental benefits.
Washington, DC – Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) took to the floor of the House of Representatives today to speak in opposition of the proposed budget reconciliation ahead of the vote on the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Smith voted against the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
Watch Congressman Smith's floor speech here.
Remarks as prepared for delivery:
Mr. Speaker, I rise to oppose this package
Defeating COVID-19 includes reconnecting unemployed Americans. Before the pandemic, America's economy was thriving. Workers at the bottom of the income ladder were seeing the largest wage gains in recent history. Two principle achievements from the last 25 years - the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and the 1996 Welfare Reform Act - ensured Americans benefitted from hard work.
Nebraska is a biofuels powerhouse - the second and third largest producer of ethanol and corn, respectively, in the country. With 25 active ethanol plants and a capacity of more than 2.5 billion gallons, the importance of biofuels to our state economy cannot be understated. Biodiesel production in Nebraska has seen exponential growth as well. Thanks to innovation and technological developments, biodiesel production has grown from 25 million gallons in 2004 to 2.9 billion gallons in 2019.
Washington, DC — Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) joined his fellow co-Chairs of the Congressional Biofuels Caucus, Representatives Angie Craig (D-MN), Dusty Johnson (R-SD), Cindy Axne (D-IA), Rodney Davis (R-IL), and Mark Pocan (D-WI), in introducing bipartisan legislation to ensure transparency and predictability to the Environmental Protection Agency's small refinery exemption (SRE) process.
Getting Americans back to work has been one of the primary challenges facing our nation since the COVID-19 pandemic began nearly one year ago. While the employment situation varies widely from state to state, ensuring every unemployed American can reconnect with work must be a top priority. In Nebraska we are fortunate to have an unemployment rate of just 3%, making us one of 18 states that have an unemployment rate below 5%. Other states which have had more restrictive lockdowns are seeing much higher rates of unemployment.
Small businesses are staples of our communities and the backbone of rural America. However, small businesses have also taken the hardest hit from COVID's impact and we must continue doing all we can to help them as we continue to fight this disease. In order to hear from small businesses directly while providing the latest in innovative ideas, I will be hosting a series of Small Business & Community Roundtables on November 9, 10, 12, and 13, from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. (CST) / 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. (MST).
In 2016, the last year of the Obama administration, 3,853 federal regulations were issued. While some regulations, such as those explaining how the executive branch will implement new laws or setting how much Medicare pays medical providers each year, are necessary, many merely pile new bureaucracy onto old in an effort to micromanage our nation from Washington.