Health Care

While we have successfully enacted major legislation this year to protect our borders, cut taxes for families, and restore faith in government this year, opportunities abound for further progress to improve the lives of Nebraska families.  Nowhere is that more clear than in the House Ways and Means Committee, where I serve. We continue to make progress across the issue areas within the committee’s jurisdiction, with key developments involving trade, health, and tax.

On October 15, despite the ongoing federal government shutdown, the Medicare open enrollment window began. This important annual opportunity allows seniors to select their Medicare coverage, including Medicare Part D prescription drug plans, for 2026.

It is now nearly one month since the House passed its clean continuing resolution to keep open the federal government. On September 19, House Republicans did our job. We passed legislation which would have prevented—and still could immediately end—the shutdown. This funding bill has received bipartisan support in the Senate.

Each day hardworking parents, farmers, ranchers, linesmen, teachers, and laborers across the country get out of bed and do what it takes to provide for their families and pay their bills. This week, as Americans continued to go to work, unfortunately ideological, partisan demands from Senate Democrats again obstructed commonsense legislation to keep the federal government open. As a result, funding for the government lapsed, initiating a shutdown.

Federal spending and our growing national debt are serious challenges which must be addressed for the long-term fiscal health of our nation. By enacting our tax cut and family security package (H.R. 1) in July, Republicans took significant strides to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse in federal programs such as Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The appropriations process provides another important opportunity to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent responsibly.

Access to healthcare is a major challenge for patients and providers alike in rural communities across America, including in small cities and villages across Nebraska’s Third District. Families face long driving distances when they need care most, and a lack of patient density impedes the finances of providers striving to serve expansive areas. Doing all we can to promote economic growth, attract and support healthcare professionals to live and work in our state, and encourage healthy lifestyles are essential components of advancing solutions for Nebraskans.

This week, pro-life Americans marked the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v Jackson 2022 ruling which restored states’ ability to affirm the constitutional right to life for unborn children. For nearly five decades prior, the hopeful witness of pro-life advocates, perseverance of pregnancy centers tirelessly serving their local communities, and faithful work of many at multiple levels of public service planted the seeds for a culture of life, which continues to grow to the benefit of mothers, babies, and fathers in need of hope.