The State of our Union

The State of the Union is a time-honored tradition, envisioned by our Founders in the Constitution, which provides an opportunity to review the past year and hear the President's ideas to make America even better in the next one. The State of the Union was traditionally given to Congress in writing only until 1913, when President Woodrow Wilson started the tradition of giving a speech to Congress. Regardless of who is President, it is important for Congress, and our country, to hear directly from the leader of our nation. While we faced our share of challenges over the past year in Nebraska, I agree with the President's assessment that "America's fortunes are on the rise, and America's future is blazing bright."

During his speech, President Trump spoke about our accomplishments, and how they have driven our strong economy. The elimination of job-killing regulations and the first tax reform in 30 years have driven strong job creation and kept our unemployment rate near record lows. After years of effort to deliver tax relief, it is rewarding to see our pro-growth policies working for the American people.

The President also highlighted recent wins on trade, including agreements with China, Japan, and Canada and Mexico (USMCA), which I am hopeful will provide another boost to our farmers, ranchers, manufacturers, and consumers. I was able to travel to Montreal and Mexico City to attend USMCA negotiations and served on the team advocating House passage of USMCA, and I will continue working with the President to ensure trade negotiations with the United Kingdom, European Union, China, and Kenya move forward with American agriculture at the forefront in the year ahead.

President Trump also spoke about domestic concerns, such as lowering prescription drug costs. In the Ways and Means Committee, we share a common goal of lowering prescription drug prices and have made progress on bipartisan reforms. This Congress we passed the bipartisan STAR Act which would make it easier to understand the impacts of prescription drug spending and shortages, and the reasons behind significant price swings. This bill would increase transparency in the prescription drug markets. Chairman Richard Neal and Ranking Member Kevin Brady of the Ways and Means Committee have recently released a bipartisan solution to address surprise medical billing, which will be a great opportunity to work together to stop this practice which harms Americans. I am pleased to support their efforts and look forward to committee consideration in the near future.

I am especially grateful the President used his platform to call for the need for all Americans to have access to high-speed internet, specifically rural Americans. This would be critical for the 23 million Americans in rural areas who still do not have access to a high-speed, reliable internet connection. In December, President Trump signed a bill containing my legislation – the RURAL Act – into law. The RURAL Act encourages infrastructure development by ensuring tax-exempt electric cooperative organizations' continued access to government grants and assistance, including rural broadband grants and FEMA disaster relief.

In President Trump's third State of the Union address, he painted a picture of a strong America. I will continue to assist the President in finding solutions to the challenges we face. The United States truly has a limitless future, and our best is yet to come.