Columns

This week our nation marked 163 years since the signing of the Homestead Act, legislation enacted by President Lincoln which played a key role in the development of farmland across Nebraska and rural America. Through perseverance, resourcefulness, and sacrifice, the Third District became a global breadbasket, and today, agriculture remains the economic driver of our state. For the future of agriculture, advancing sound domestic and international trade policy is critical to keep pace with innovation and secure prosperity for our communities.

This week, several House committees took significant steps to advance our legislative package to enact President Trump’s top policy priorities. In the Committee on Ways and Means, my colleagues and I began a meeting to consider the tax title of this package on Tuesday afternoon and spent more than 17 hours scrutinizing and deliberating before ultimately approving portions of the bill within our committee's subject matter.

In 2013, China launched its Belt and Road Initiative, a massive global infrastructure development strategy to expand its influence across the globe. Boasting 154 member countries spanning every inhabited continent and investments to date exceeding $1 trillion, the Belt and Road Initiative demonstrates the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) ambitions and commitment to establishing itself as a dominant superpower and shaping the world’s future. Through this program China is actively leveraging investment gifts and loans to gain sway in participating nations.

As President Trump’s second term eclipsed the 100-day mark this week, his swift actions to keep Americans safe and address the crisis on our southern border stand out in stark contrast with the failed policies of the previous administration. Executive actions to restore the Remain in Mexico policy, end the practice of catch-and-release, and appropriately classify the terror perpetrated by cartels on our southern border were long overdue.

The right to keep and bear arms is fundamental to the American experiment in self-governance. From its founding, our nation has recognized how a free people must not be deprived of means of protection and self-defense. In 1791, the Founders enshrined the Second Amendment in the Bill of Rights, declaring the right to bear arms “shall not be infringed.”

The Easter holiday is a special time of year to celebrate and spend precious time with family. As the spring brings signs of new growth to trees and fields, we are reminded of the gift of life, the resurrection of Christ, and the blessing of creating memories with loved ones. My work on behalf Third District Nebraskans in Congress is especially meaningful when it serves to strengthen families and the relationships most fundamental for our communities. 

International trade policy has been in the spotlight recently as President Trump advances his agenda to ensure American products are treated fairly in the global marketplace. Engagement with our trade partners is vital to our economic health and creating opportunity for Americans, and it is clear the president has the world’s attention.

As we near the final days of tax season, customer service at the IRS is on the minds of many Americans. Most Americans work hard and pay their taxes in good faith, yet in Fiscal Year (FY) 2023, 32 percent of customers said they were dissatisfied with their experience with the agency’s Independent Office of Appeals. Sadly, these rates have trended in the wrong direction since Democrats poured $80 billion into the IRS to hire 87,000 new agents in 2022. In FY21 just 19 percent of taxpayers reported dissatisfaction with the IRS.