Opinion

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.”

This week I will continue talking about the bills that either passed or failed in this legislative session. One that passed was LB147. The Governor correctly vetoed the bill, but the legislature voted to override his veto. I voted against the bill. LB147 is a very bad idea for the taxpayers of Nebraska. Let me explain.

Dear Editor, Each year over $130 million dollars flows into Nebraska’s rural communities to help thousands of farmers and ranchers implement conservation practices on working lands. These voluntary, incentivebased programs conserve our precious soil and water resources and make Nebraska one of the most productive crop and livestock producing states.

A one-size-fits-all approach that puts Washington in charge of Americans’ personal health and child care decisions is dangerous, especially in the wake of a global pandemic. Americans continue to struggle with unaffordable coverage, yet President Biden’s budget does nothing to actually lower health care costs. This week, the Ways and Means Committee held a hearing with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra to ask important questions about the President’s health care proposal.

The posturing has begun and the Republican field for the governor's race in 2022 is already crowded. Sides have been chosen.

Nebraska’s farmers and ranchers share a special connection to the land and water they use to grow the food that feeds the world. They cultivate the rich soil of the Great Plains and graze cattle across the rolling Sandhills. Many families have worked the same land for generations. It’s their work ethic and stewardship that have helped make Nebraska number one in the nation for agricultural production per capita.

After 2019’s historic flooding, it would have been easy to lose hope. So many Nebraskans lost their belongings, their livelihoods, and even their homes to what seemed like endless waves of water and ice. All told, the floods of that spring cost us four lives and over $3 billion in damage.