Columns

As the strongest democracy in the Middle East, Israel is a special partner and crucial ally to the United States. Together we collaborate on defense, intelligence, and trade. In fact, President Reagan signed our country's first trade agreement with Israel in 1985.

We have a spending problem, not a revenue problem. Last year, federal revenue was at a near record high, yet our debt continued to increase. Despite attempts to restore fiscal order, this trend has been ongoing for years.

In 2011, Congress and President Obama brokered a bipartisan compromise to stop the bleeding. The Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA) cut spending, capped future spending, and included no tax increases. While this bill was not perfect, it showed bipartisan resolve to address our spending crisis.

One of my top priorities is improving health care for rural Americans. Access to high quality, affordable, and available heath care is increasingly lacking in many areas. Empowering providers to better meet the needs of patients and reducing costly and burdensome regulations can go a long way to streamline and strengthen our health care system.

With July upon us, we are now more than halfway through the first year of the 116th Congress. So far 2019 has been marked by partisan divides which have stood in the way of results.

There is much work to do to solve our nation's challenges. Instead of focusing on impeachment or forcing the President to release his tax returns, Congress should be working on efforts to ratify the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA), lower health care costs, and rein in our debt.

As recent trends demonstrate, we must take border security seriously. In May, U.S. Customs and Border Protection stopped 144,000 people from illegally entering the United States – the most in one month since 2006. This incredible number of people is almost three times the population of Grand Island.

On July 4, 1776, our founders introduced to the world a new idea of government. In this government, citizens would not look to a tyrant, monarch, or group of powerful people to provide for them, but would be free to provide for themselves and determine their own destinies. The American Dream – an idea anyone can achieve great things in this country – has its foundation in the Declaration of Independence.

Trade agreements reduce trade barriers, which promotes economic growth and cooperative relationships between nations. Because 95 percent of consumers reside outside U.S. borders, we must constantly be looking for ways to increase access to foreign markets and ensure America's competitiveness in an increasingly global marketplace. Negotiating trade agreements reduce tariffs between countries and open previously closed markets. Trade with foreign nations represents tremendous opportunities for the American economy.

Federal revenue continued at near-record highs in 2018, at $3.33 trillion. Unfortunately, this amount was not enough to cover the $4.2 trillion in spending last year, further exacerbating our $22 trillion in national debt. As President Ronald Reagan said, "The problem is not that the people are taxed too little. The problem is that government spends too much."