Work to Do
While we have successfully enacted major legislation this year to protect our borders, cut taxes for families, and restore faith in government this year, opportunities abound for further progress to improve the lives of Nebraska families. Nowhere is that more clear than in the House Ways and Means Committee, where I serve. We continue to make progress across the issue areas within the committee’s jurisdiction, with key developments involving trade, health, and tax.
November is recognized as Rural Health Month, so it was fitting the committee’s Health Subcommittee, held a hearing this week on modernizing care coordination to prevent and treat chronic disease. Among the many pieces of legislation discussed in this hearing was my bill, the Ensuring Community Access to Pharmacist Services Act (ECAPS). Community pharmacists are trained to identify and match medication to disease, and ECAPS would ensure those pharmacists can expand access for Medicare patients by testing and providing medication for strep, flu, and COVID. Not only would seniors benefit from accessing care already available to their neighbors with private insurance, but rural communities would benefit as well. By reimbursing pharmacists at 85% of the rate for physician services, ECAPS would reduce costs to taxpayers, while providing new revenue streams for community pharmacists.
Trade also continues to be at the forefront of our committee’s work. This week I led 112 bipartisan members in sending a letter to Ambassador Jamieson Greer, the U.S. Trade Representative, strenuously emphasizing our ongoing support for the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and highlighting its benefits to American agriculture. USMCA includes a six-year joint review, an appropriate innovation which ensures all three nations can engage to conduct proper oversight. I appreciate this opportunity as it allows us to address true enforcement issues. During negotiations for USMCA I successfully pressed for a strong agriculture chapter, including language to protect U.S. biotech crops and begin addressing Canada’s protectionist dairy policies, and it is vital we ensure those provisions remain in place. I look forward to continuing my work on this.
Prior to our return to full session, I was pleased that the IRS formally announced it would be suspending its unauthorized Direct File program for 2026 and beyond. This program was illegally implemented by the Biden administration without legislated authority or funding and was one of the last vestiges of the Biden-Harris efforts to closely monitor American families’ bank accounts, dictate their tax bills, and audit them if they disagreed. Starting with legislation I first introduced in 2022 we have now successfully defunded nearly all of Democrats’ $80 billion IRS expansion. Direct File alone duplicated existing free services at an estimated cost of $41 million—far exceeding initial projections. As part of legislation I ensured was included in the Working Families Tax Cuts to stop this abuse of taxpayer dollars, IRS must develop new ways to promote and improve existing free filing options and ensure they are treating taxpayers fairly. I look forward to working with the Trump administration on this.
As we look ahead to the next thirteen months, the work before us remains substantial, but so does the promise of what we can deliver. Whether strengthening rural health care, growing market access for our producers, or reining in federal overreach, these past weeks have shown what determined, accountable governance can achieve. I am committed to building on this momentum and ensuring Nebraska families see the benefits of a government that listens, acts, and puts their needs first.