Opinion

The 4th of July just turned the corner. I think we should all take a moment and review what it is to be an American citizen.

A few months ago, I relaunched my Regulation Rewind initiative to highlight problematic regulations coming from the new administration. The executive overreach, particularly when it fails to recognize ongoing conservation efforts of those closest to the land, is particularly disappointing. As the red tape flows from President Biden and his administration, I continue to oppose such regulations that could be detrimental to Nebraskans and the Third District.

When I packed up to go away to college, my folks put me on the train in Scottsbluff at night and I arrived in Lincoln at 6:00 a.m. the next morning. It was a smooth trip and I recall having a good sleep as the miles clicked by.

Martin Luther King, Jr. once famously said that “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character–that is the goal of true education.” For generations, Nebraskans have supported our public schools to do just this—to help build the next generation of educated and involved citizens in our state. To that end, our public schools have generally focused on teaching material that supports our communities, and have steered away from hot button political issues.

When I talk about how important the agriculture industry is to our state, I often mention that one in four Nebraska jobs wouldn’t exist without it. But that is only part of the story: These jobs contribute more than $25 billion to our economy each year, and 96 percent of our nearly 50,000 farms and ranches are owned by Nebraska families.

It has come to my attention from many constituents in the 43rd District along with others across Nebraska that there is an issue with the new proposed Health and Human Development Standards being evaluated by the Nebraska State Board of Education. Many parents, grandparents and teachers have contacted me with serious concerns about this proposed curriculum. Teaching children about gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation and gender stereotypes is planned for as early as first grade.

The Biden Administration’s tax proposals deserve to be scrutinized. Much of the focus, rightfully so, has been on their efforts to raise individual, capital gains, and corporate tax rates. There is also concern over other changes the administration wishes to make to the tax code, such as repealing stepped-up basis when a farm or small business is inherited to force families to pay more taxes. However, it’s the administration’s proposal to spend $80 billion over the next decade expanding the IRS workforce to focus on audit passthrough businesses – impacting the same families targeted by their tax increases – that calls for scrutiny today.

Lawmakers may not be in session right now, but their work goes on with more than 100 interim studies that could result in some new proposals for discussion next year. It is tempting to ascribe ulterior motives to the study requests, but maybe the topics are just interesting to the sponsors.

Since President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. was sworn into office in January, our country has seen a dramatic shift in national policy and how the federal government treats states. From tax hikes to new regulations, the Biden-Harris Administration has charted a more liberal course than the Trump Administration. Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been traveling the state highlighting the threat that President Biden’s 30 x 30 plan poses to Nebraska, but that isn’t the only issue of concern at the federal level. There are several different issues on the horizon that could affect Nebraska’s ag economy. I’ll briefly highlight a few of them here.

Each year on June 14, Americans celebrate one of the most iconic symbols of freedom the world has ever known: the American flag. We didn’t pick this date by accident. On the same day in 1777, the Second Continental Congress passed the Flag Act, which read, “Resolved: That the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.”