Nebraska's Congressmen weigh in on support for 'big, beautiful bill'

The House of Representatives passed the “One Big Beautiful Bill” on Thursday, with help from Nebraska’s Congressional delegation.

All three members voted in favor of the budget reconciliation bill, which now goes to President Donald Trump for his signature.

Second District Congressman Don Bacon, who plans to retire when his term ends next year, said, that, “stopping tax increases of approximately $141 a month on middle class Nebraskan families and making the tax code permanent is critical, which is why I voted yes on the bill.”

The bill extends the tax cuts passed in 2017 during Trump’s first term and also adds hundreds of billions of dollars for immigration enforcement and defense spending while also making significant cuts to Medicaid and SNAP.

First District Representative Mike Flood, vice chairman of the Republican Main Street Caucus, said in a joint statement with the group’s chairman, Dusty Johnson, that the bill, “provides historic tax relief for working Americans, secures our border, increases economic opportunity for Main Street businesses, and refocuses SNAP and Medicaid on their core mission of serving our most vulnerable.

Adrian Smith, who represents Nebraska’s sprawling 3rd District, said the bill, “will catalyze President Trump’s plan to energize our economy and get our country back on track.”

The bill, “not only prevents severe tax hikes and expands tax relief for family farms, small businesses, and middle-class Americans, it strengthens essential Farm Bill programs,” Smith said in a statement. “It also ensures public assistance programs remain sustainable for the neediest Americans and empowers the Trump administration to keep our communities safe.”

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen also weighed in on the bill’s passage, saying the vast majority of the state’s residents support Trump’s agenda.

“This legislation is foundational to extending tax cuts for families, boosting our military, securing our borders, and growing agriculture,” Pillen said in a news release.

Not everyone was happy about the bill's passage, though.

Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb said that by approving the "big ugly bill," Republicans "abandoned farmers and ranchers" "condemned rural hospitals to closure" and "turned their backs on American-made wind and solar energy."

"This isn’t leadership. It’s betrayal," Kleeb said.

Non-profit advocacy organization Nebraska Appleseed said in a statement that the bill will, "devastate our communities, stripping health care and food support away from tens of thousands of Nebraskans and their families."

The Nebraska Hospital Association criticized the cuts to Medicaid in the bill.

"Nebraskans need to be aware that the day is coming when more than 70,000 citizens will lose Medicaid coverage, rural hospitals will be forced to eliminate service and some will close, and individuals and small businesses with commercial insurance will be forced to pay higher premiums to close the funding gap in our health care system,” Jeremy Nordquist, Phe organization's president, said in a news release.