Columns

As your representative, I have fought to reduce burdensome and unnecessary government regulations which disincentivize entrepreneurship and strangle economic growth. In fact, regulatory issues were such a concern under the Obama administration, I consolidated my efforts under a program entitled Regulation Rewind. While the economic crisis of 2008 was a terrible event which none of us would hope to see repeated, the response under President Obama’s administration was to enact the most sweeping financial regulatory package of all time.

As many of you know, the House of Representatives recently considered its version of the 2018 Farm Bill, which unfortunately failed to gain enough votes for passage. While I do believe we will pass a Farm Bill this year, the current situation is troubling. Our agriculture producers face enough uncertainty without Washington making the situation worse.

With tax reform strengthening our economy and incentivizing job creation, we need to help more Americans achieve independence by bringing them off the sidelines and into the workforce. From this perspective, the economy is stronger than it has been in years. The unemployment rate is at its lowest level in nearly two decades and the number of open jobs is soaring while the fewest people since 1969 are receiving unemployment benefits.

Each year on the last Monday in May we set aside a special time to remember those lost in defense of our great nation. These brave men and women are owed a supreme debt of gratitude by each and every American who enjoys the freedoms afforded by our way of life.

I urge you to take time as you spend Memorial Day weekend with friends and family to remember those who will never come home. While there is nothing we can do to lessen their suffering, I make it a point to thank their families who are most impacted by the absence of our fallen heroes.

When Congress is not in session, I spend time traveling throughout our state to meet with hard working Nebraskans and hear their concerns. Nebraska’s Third District covers some 65,000 square miles, taking roughly nine hours to travel end to end, from Harrison to Falls City. In just the past few weeks, I’ve made stops in North Platte, Burwell, North Loup, Grand Island, Litchfield, Ravenna, Sumner, Falls City, Humboldt, Beatrice, York, Belvidere, Hebron, Bayard, Potter, Scottsbluff, Harrison, Alliance, and Crawford.

Commercial air service is vital to our nation’s economy and this is especially true in rural parts of the country. Regular flights into and out of geographically isolated regions like Nebraska’s Third District provide a lifeline connecting our community to the rest of the nation, which is absolutely necessary to a vibrant economy.

Promoting economic development in our local communities is a crucial part of ensuring the benefits of tax reform and reduced regulation work for the benefit of all Americans. In the Third District, countless Nebraskans focus their efforts every day on creating opportunity and attracting greater investment to our state.

This week, the House of Representatives passed a number of bills aimed at reforming the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and updating its antiquated systems and policies. These nine bills are the result of dozens of hearings, roundtables, briefings, and meetings conducted by the Ways and Means Committee, of which I am a member. For too long, the IRS has been plagued by inefficiency, poor customer service, and an utter lack of transparency.