Columns

At Christmas each year, I like to share a portion of a Christmas speech from President Reagan - I would like to think the hope he shared 40 years ago matches the hope we can have as we enter 2021. After a year of unprecedented challenges, it can be difficult to look for the bright side of things. It is important to remember, although the COVID pandemic is unprecedented, we have been in difficult times before.

Over the past two weeks, I have met via video conference with winners of the Third District Excellence in Innovation and Adaptation Recognition (EIAR), as well as the Third District's winner in this year's Congressional App Challenge. While I prefer meeting with Nebraskans in person, being able to recognize Nebraskans who innovated in the face of a pandemic while using technology seemed entirely appropriate.

At the end of November, Nebraska closed another successful deer hunting season. While hunting is a great benefit of our constitutional right to bear arms, it is not the primary reason our founders chose to specifically enumerate this protection in our Bill of Rights. Nationwide our Second Amendment rights continue to be under threat.

When I meet with hospitals and health care providers around Nebraska, both prior to and during the current pandemic, the impact of unnecessary regulations on their ability to provide care in rural areas is always at the top of their list of concerns. Over the last four years I have appreciated working with the Trump administration on these issues because of their persistent willingness to listen to rural Americans, take these concerns seriously, and act. We cannot afford to go in the other direction.

Over the last four years, we have updated our trade relationships and trade agreements at a historic pace. We secured updated comprehensive trade agreements with Canada, Mexico, and South Korea; entered into Phase One agreements with China and Japan that address many significant impediments to U.S. exporters in these major markets; and achieved important progress to remove trade barriers faced by particular sectors in several other countries. Together, these nations purchase almost 50 percent of the United States' current exports.

While votes are still being counted and recounted, there are other things we must focus on as well – like getting our economy back on track. Through the use of tools like Zoom, I am able to meet with Nebraskans about our economy without skipping a beat.

After a contentious election, it is important we come back together and take stock of the unifying values and liberties which make our country great. While we have been endowed by our Creator with the freedom to self-govern, which we exercise through free and democratic elections, this freedom has endured because of the sacrifices of our veterans, as well as the men and women currently serving in our military who put their lives on the line so that we may enjoy these rights.

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).