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Nebraska Farm & Ranch - Government
March 21, 2013
A Trillion Dollar Tax Hike by Senator Deb Fischer
It was an historic week in the United States Congress. For the first time in 92 years, Congress began the budget-making process without first receiving a budget from the President. This effort was a necessary step given that the President’s budget has been delayed for over a month, despite legal requirements for a timely submission to Congress. Like many Nebraskans, I was initially encouraged by news that, after four years, Senate Democrats had finally agreed to work with Republicans to craft a budget. But I was disappointed to learn their plan, which was unveiled by Budget Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.), includes $1.5 trillion in new taxes and no plan to balance the budget. I was also troubled to hear the president state balancing the budget is “not a priority.” Let me be clear: balancing the budget is a top priority for me. Over the past four years, the American people have seen $1.7 trillion in new taxes and $518 billion in new regulations – all while adding nearly $6 trillion to the national debt. Nebraskans know we must grow the economy, not the debt. Unfortunately, the budget released by Senator Murray was crafted without any Republican input and actually increases spending. In Nebraska when the Legislature had to cut funding to deal with revenue shortfall, we used the committee process to identify real spending cuts. Conversely,
Omaha Office 11819 Miracle Hills Drive, Suite 205 Omaha, Nebraska 68154 Phone: (402) 391-3411 Fax: (402) 391-4725
Lincoln Office 440 North 8th Street, Suite 120 Lincoln, Nebraska 68508 Phone: (402) 441-4600 Fax: (402) 476-8753
Washington D.C. Office 825 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Phone: (202) 224-6551 Fax: (202) 228-1325
the Senate Budget Committee fashioned a vague, purely political document that fails to make any meaningful reductions. This is no way to produce a responsible budget, and I believe Nebraskans deserve better. A responsible budget does not continue out-ofcontrol federal spending; rather, it sets priorities and cuts wasteful spending. A responsible budget does not let Medicare and Social Security continue to slip toward insolvency; instead, it saves these programs for current retirees and future generations. A responsible budget does not hit America’s job creators with $1 trillion in new taxes; instead, it seeks to replace our antiquated tax code through comprehensive pro-growth tax reform. I am concerned the Budget Committee will likely attach binding instructions to the budget resolution requiring the Finance Committee to raise “revenue” (which we all know means more “taxes”) through the procedural tactic called “reconciliation” – the same procedure used to push ObamaCare through the Senate. As I’ve mentioned before, cherry-picking politically motivated, industry-specific tax credits or loopholes to pay for more government spending undermines our well-intentioned efforts to comprehensively reform the tax code. The American people deserve a simpler, fairer tax code and I believe there is, for the first time in many years, real momentum to get something
done on tax reform this year. The leaders of the tax-writing committees on both sides of the aisle have expressed a desire to move forward on tax reform. That is why I am so concerned about the Senate Democrats’ budget and its requirement to raise taxes without the needed tax reform to lower rates and broaden the base – the winning formula that we know was used for tax reform in 1986. Finally, I know many Nebraskans continue to express concern about the painful effects of sequestration, or those automatic, across-theboard spending cuts. While I believe we must cut wasteful spending, I also consider sequestration a bad idea. Instead, I support responsible replacement cuts, which make fiscal sense, reduce actual spending, and ensure government can continue to meet its core responsibilities. This week, I cosponsored an amendment to provide the Administration with the flexibility it claims it currently does not have to ensure “essential” federal employees continue to provide vital services, including meat inspections, control tower operations, defense operation, border security, and other core duties. I hope that this common sense amendment is adopted. I will continue to work with my colleagues – Republicans and Democrats – to make smarter, more careful spending cuts.
Meeting the Food Demands of the Future by Congressman Adrian Smith Scottsbluff Office 416 Valley View Drive, Suite 600 Scottsbluff, NE 69361 Phone: (308) 633-6333 Fax: (308) 633-6335
Nebraska farmers are among the most efficient and productive in the world. Our producers have embraced new technologies and techniques to produce an abundance of crops, opening the door to increased trade and helping to feed the world. These advances have not only helped American agriculture thrive, but also play a critical role in meeting global food demands of the present and future. By 2050, the Earth’s population is expected to swell to more than nine billion people. To feed this growing population scientists believe we will need to produce more food in the next 50-100 years than we have throughout most of human history. Meeting this demand will require extraordinary efforts, especially considering it will have to be accomplished on the same amount of land (or less), and with fewer resources such as water. This effort will only be realized if farmers around the world continue to increase their yields. Farmers in Nebraska and across the heartland have led the way by utilizing new techniques, irrigation technologies, and crop sciences to grow more crops with less land, water, and fertilizer. Ryan Weeks, who serves on my Agriculture Advisory Council, raises popcorn, commercial
Grand Island Office 1811 West Second Street, Suite 105 Grand Island, NE68803 Phone: (308) 384-3900 Fax: (308) 384-3902
corn, soybeans, alfalfa, and prairie hay in central Nebraska. Ryan is one of the many Nebraska farmers using high-tech irrigation tools and modified crops to produce more food at lower costs and greater quality on the same acreage settled by his great-great grandparents in 1892. Thanks to new technology, farmers such as Ryan are able to use computer systems to monitor moisture in the ground through sensors and only water the crops which need it. The entire system is tracked by satellite and can be monitored and controlled remotely through a tablet or smartphone. These advances help farmers manage their time and conserve water, reducing the cost of producing a crop and minimizing crop losses due to over- and under-watering. Currently, about 17 percent of farmland in the United States is irrigated. These areas, however, account for around 50 percent of total annual crop revenue. Another important development to improve productivity and efficiency are genetically modified and genetically engineered crops. While modified foods are nothing new — humans have been cross-pollinating plants to create better crops for thousands of years — science is now helping us
Washington Office 503 Cannon House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Phone: (202) 225-6435 Fax: (202) 225-0207
to create improved versions of these plants which require less water, fertilizer, and pesticides. To encourage further advances, federal policy should compliment, not undermine, innovation. This means ensuring our regulatory structures are efficient and based on sound science. We also must ensure our trading partners recognize our products as safe and nutritious based on internationally recognized standards. We must also ensure lawmakers are knowledgeable and informed on agriculture issues to make sure we get the policy right. As cochairman of the House Modern Agriculture Caucus, I have held numerous briefings to educate members of Congress and staff on innovations in agriculture including biotechnology, water conservation, and animal welfare. As we recognize National Agriculture Week (March 17-23) we have much to celebrate and many challenges ahead. Knowing the work ethic and forward thinking of our producers combined with the exciting advances in agriculture, I am confident we will meet the food demands of our growing world.
Restoring Responsible Health Care by Senator Mike Johanns Kearney Office: 4111 Fourth Avenue, Suite 26 Kearney, NE 68845 Tel: (308) 236-7602 Fax: (308) 236-7473
Lincoln Office: 294 Federal Building 100 Centennial Mall North Lincoln, NE 68508 Tel: (402) 476-1400 Fax: (402) 476-0605
Getting in to see your doctor on short notice can be a headache. But imagine being required to schedule an appointment before you can use your own money to buy aspirin for a headache. Unfortunately, because of the new health care law, this is a reality for 33 million Americans who choose to budget for their health care expenses with a flexible spending account (FSA) or a health savings account (HSA). Families with these accounts are now prohibited from using their own money, set aside specifically to cover healthrelated expenses, to purchase over-the-counter (OTC) medication without a doctor’s prescription. In places like rural Nebraska, where health care practitioners are already in short supply, doctors cannot afford to have office schedules cluttered with unnecessary appointments to write prescriptions for standard painkillers, cold and flu medications and the like while folks with real health care needs are forced to take a number. The irony is the requirement was put in place to keep the health care law from appearing even more costly than it already does. And it’s not the only unwise change.
Scottsbluff Office: 115 Railway Street, Suite C102 Scottsbluff, NE 69361 Tel: (308) 632-6032 Fax: (308) 632-6295
Another health law provision kicked in this year, limiting FSAs to a mere $2,500 — again, a ploy aimed at making the $2.6 trillion health law look less costly at the expense of folks who plan ahead for their health care needs. Families that once used their FSAs to budget for their child’s braces, a process that could total $7,000, are now stuck searching for other ways to cover these expenses. This arbitrary cap is especially difficult for families who have children with special needs, whose tuition could be covered by an FSA. Specialized education for these children can cost up to $14,000 a year, well above the new FSA annual ceiling. These mandates are not fair to individuals and families who take the initiative to plan for their health care costs. That’s why, this week, I introduced a bill to eliminate these provisions in the health care law. The Family Health Care Flexibility Act restores the original function of these plans by eliminating the prescription requirements for OTC medications for HSAs and FSAs and removing the arbitrary FSA cap.
Omaha Office: 9900 Nicholas St., Suite 325 Omaha, NE 68114 Tel: (402) 758-8981 Fax: (402) 758-9165
Washington, D.C. Office 404 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510
Sadly, these changes are needed to restore flexibility and access in the wake of a law billed on exactly these ideas. Former Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in 2010 that Congress had to pass President Obama’s signature health care law “so you can find out what’s in it.” As we approach the third anniversary of the law’s enactment on March 23, Nebraskans continue to get a clearer picture of the harm being done by the rushed policies in this law. These are just a few examples of this law’s negative ramifications, with more likely to follow. Responsible individuals should be allowed to budget for their health expenses, an option they were stripped of to mask the health law’s skyrocketing price tag. This is one of the many reasons I opposed this law when it was first offered and voted numerous times to repeal or defund it after it passed. Responsible Americans should not be required to pay an unfair price for a law that falls well short of achieving its own goals.