Opinion

Back in 1966, the last time Nebraska voters took the state’s tax system in their own hands, I was an eager college sophomore journalism major. I was astonished at how voters went to the polls and repealed the state property tax system, essentially leaving state government with no real means of support while reserving property taxes for local government.

Through the years, the Good Life has been forged by pioneers and entrepreneurs in search of opportunities. They put down roots and built welcoming communities that created great jobs for families looking to make a new start. Along the way, Nebraska’s love and respect for law and order has made our state great. Our state motto is: equality before the law – and we live by this principle by fairly and consistently applying the law to everyone.

From the 1940s until 1999, all quarters looked essentially the same. The U.S. Mint had been using the same design on every new quarter for more than 60 years – George Washington on one side, and a bald eagle on the other.

Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson administered the first United States Census in 1790. The census has been conducted every 10 years since then in accordance with Article I, Section 2 of the United States Constitution. Accurate population figures are necessary for determining each state’s representation in Congress.

When I speak with the farmers, ranchers, manufacturers, and other businesses in the Third District, a common theme is the importance of trade to our state’s economic success. This week, the Ways and Means Committee held our annual hearing on the administration’s trade policy agenda, where members of the committee had their first opportunity to hear from and question Ambassador Katherine Tai, our recently confirmed United States Trade Representative (USTR). I appreciated the opportunity to urge the Biden Administration to enforce existing trade agreements and reiterate the necessity of renewing Trade Promotional Authority and completing pending free trade agreements that would not only benefit Nebraska, but our nation as a whole.

If this were a horse race, Nebraska lawmakers would be heading into the final stretch looking to muster more unadulterated energy than disqualified 2021 Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit. As it turns out, this promises to be more of a steeplechase in which competitors are required to jump diverse fences and ditch obstacles.

Nebraska has long been known as the Beef State and May is Beef Month, so it’s the perfect time to enjoy a delicious burger or steak. Agriculture is our state’s largest industry, and beef is the biggest segment of Nebraska agriculture.

On May 5, I held a meeting with FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr in Lincoln, where he spoke with Nebraska state senators on the Unicameral’s Transportation and Telecommunications Committee and also with members of the Nebraska Public Service Commission. This was a wonderful chance for these Nebraska leaders to talk with Commissioner Carr about what’s going right in our state and about what we could be doing better.

We are in that season of every legislative session where the desire of senators to cooperate and compromise with each other is just about gone. Several really good bills have been killed because of vote-trading schemes between senators across three factions (conservatives, liberals, moderates). None of these three factions have enough votes to get anything done by themselves, so coalitions have to be built. It is this time of the session when you get to see exactly who a senator really is. It is easy to see what is important to them and what is not. The votes on the board do not lie.

Many parts of the economy in our great state of Nebraska are thriving. However, the new slate of tax increase proposals coming from the Biden Administration will undermine the success of Nebraska, and states like it, by removing capital from family farms and small businesses at a time when we need to be encouraging economic growth.