From left to right: U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer, Rep. Mike Flood and Lincoln Chamber of Commerce CEO Jason Ball speak at a federal legislative summit at Nebraska's Strategic Air Command and Aerospace Museum in Ashland, Neb. (Erin Bamer/Nebraska Examiner)
ASHLAND, Neb. — Nebraska’s congressional delegates spoke optimistically about federal policies helping the state’s economic future, despite some warning signs that Nebraska’s agricultural industry is struggling.
Three of Nebraska’s federal representatives — U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer, Sen. Pete Ricketts and Rep. Mike Flood — shared their thoughts Tuesday at a summit hosted by a collaboration of three of Nebraska’s largest chambers of commerce. Reps. Don Bacon and Adrian Smith did not attend. Bacon was out of town, and Smith’s flight was delayed out of Scottsbluff, though both sent video messages.
All five said good things about the federal budget reconciliation bill that passed in early July, also known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” Ricketts said the bill is “fantastic for families,” because it prevents potential tax increases. He estimated the changes would increase families’ average annual income between $4,000 and $7,000 over the next three years.
Fischer said the bill also includes some safety measures for Nebraska’s agricultural businesses that normally would have been included in the federal farm bill, which has yet to pass. These include improved trade promotion authority and better disaster aid for farmers, she said.
Their optimism comes at a time of increasing reservations about the economy, both nationally and in Nebraska. The U.S. Labor Department just released a jobs report that erased roughly 258,000 that previous reports had estimated were added in May and June, reducing the job growth to about 19,000 new jobs in May and 14,000 jobs in June.
Additionally, Nebraska’s Gross Domestic Product dropped more than 6% during the first quarter of 2025 , according to a report from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. The report largely blamed the loss on a slowdown in the state’s ag industry.
Some have argued that President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff tactics have introduced uncertainty that hinders Nebraska businesses. But Flood said there were signs of a slowdown in Nebraska agriculture that predate Trump’s second administration. He said he expressed these worries at the chamber’s summit last year.
“We’ve seen this coming for the better part of a year,” Flood said.
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
At the time, Flood’s concerns were rooted in Nebraska’s ongoing drought, but he said former President Joe Biden also shared some of the blame. Smith has argued previously that Biden did too little to promote agricultural trade.
Part of the explanation lies in price drops in popular Nebraska row crops like corn and soybeans. Both Ricketts and Bacon said as much, and Ricketts said the budget reconciliation bill should help farmers by doubling U.S. investments in trade promotion and increasing opportunities for Nebraska farmers overseas.
The summit’s keynote speaker Rodney Davis, a former Illinois congressman and head of government affairs for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, defended Trump’s tariff strategy. He speculated that Trump is taking a more aggressive approach for “leverage,” and guessed that if it causes too much economic pain Trump will be quick to change his direction.
“When you have leverage, you can make things better,” Davis said.
Even Smith, who acknowledged he isn’t the biggest fan of tariffs in his video message, said Trump’s policies have “leveled the playing field” internationally. Ricketts said allied countries like Australia and the United Kingdom have increased their purchases of U.S. exports because of these policies.
Fischer shared similar thoughts, saying that though tariffs make people “nervous,” Trump’s approach has forced trade conversations where there previously weren’t any. She claimed members of Nebraska’s agricultural community said they are willing to give Trump time to enact these policies to see what benefits can be gained.
This differs from the perspective of John Hansen, president of the Nebraska Farmers Union, who has said the U.S. is facing the worst farming financial crisis since the 1980s. He said he’s been fielding calls to a crisis hotline for farmers that he helps operate, where people have shared their financial struggles.
Though he has sympathy for tariff policies, he said they have to be done carefully and expressed reservations about now being the right time to act so aggressively.
“There’s desperation in their voices,” Hansen said of the crisis calls he’s received. “They’re up against the wall.”
While Flood said he doesn’t believe Trump’s tariffs are contributing to Nebraska’s agricultural slowdown, he hopes the president’s negotiations will wrap up by Christmas. He noted that for businesses to thrive, they need certainty and predictability in federal policies.
“Certainty is what I crave,” Flood said.
Comments