Congressman Adrian Smith meets with local residents

Congressman Adrian Smith stopped by the Kimball/Banner County Chamber of Commerce Tuesday, January 21, to update local residents on the issues being discussed in Washington.

Among the issues discussed was the current tax code which Smith believes is too convoluted and needs to be reformed to better serve the country.

"Our current tax code is 10,000 pages in length. And it costs our economy about $160 billion a year just to calculate our taxes. That doesn't include paying your taxes. Roughly half of the American people pay no federal income tax at all. But even so, we've got a system that is so complex that I think it gives people an opportunity to avoid paying taxes who should be paying taxes," Smith said.

Smith also believes that it gets in the way of law abiding citizens who do want to pay their taxes on time but find themselves lost in the complexity of the current system.

"It can take a law abiding individual wanting to do the right thing, and it's so confusing that they end up under paying their taxes or, even worse yet, over paying their taxes when they want to do the right thing and yet this convoluted system that we have is just problematic. So it just eats up our economy," Smith said.

It is because of these reasons that Smith and his colleagues are holding discussions on how to reform the current code by simplifying it and reducing the cost of compliance.

"That would help immensely, and I think that would create jobs. History says that that grows our economy and actually increases revenues through a more simplified tax code. Let's do that. I have not heard from anyone who endorses our current tax code, conservative, liberal or otherwise. This is an opportunity to have a more straightforward approach in our tax code. I think we can benefit from that as an economy but even more so as individuals and economic freedom," Smith said.

He also discussed trade policies and how we can work to strengthen the local economy through selling more products overseas.

"We passed, a couple of years ago, Columbia, Panama and South Korea trade agreements. Just within weeks, I believe, after we passed trade agreement with Columbia, one of the popcorn operators in central Nebraska received an order for popcorn that would feed nine million people out of their 40 million population. These are good stories, and not only is ag production wanting to export out of Nebraska but we have manufacturers too," Smith said.

Smith would also like to strengthen trade partnerships with Columbia, Panama, South Korea which he describes as "our friends in hostile neighborhoods".

"These are not issues that necessarily always get that much attention in the press, just not quite as interesting perhaps. But they are so important, and our friends around the world really look to us for strong partnerships. That's how we can hold up our end of the deal in terms of commercial opportunities and in terms of capitalism and that exchange of goods and services and good faith that helps consumers," Smith said.

Smith also spent a significant amount of time talking to local residents about immigration reform, something he believes is a broken system in the United States.

"I've always said, as long as this has been an issue, that a law abiding individual wishing to pursue the American dream should be able to do so without having to hire a lawyer, wait several years, spend several thousands of dollars and then get lucky. That's not how our country has operated in the past," Smith said.

Smith also expressed his concern over how foreign students who come to the United States to get an education are treated after they graduate from an American university.

"We have a situation where there are some people who come to study in the United States in areas that we need, but once they graduate, we kick them out. Well, that doesn't make a lot of sense. But also if all we do is say, 'Okay, since you're here, you're okay.' We can't do that. I think that undermines the rule of law, and any time we undermine the rule of law, I think that we will see the impact long term that it is very negative," Smith said.

Smith, who is the great grandson of German-Russian immigrants who came to the United States through Ellis Island, spoke of how that system used to seemingly work so well to which City Council member John Morrison asked why there could not be a central point set up in Texas or California, much in the same vein as Ellis Island, to help the process move more smoothly.

"We want a system that encourages legal immigration. Right now, we have a system that encourages illegal immigration. We have a system that's clearly broken. Now, proposing a central point consistent with Ellis Island, I'm intrigued by that. I have not heard that suggestion before. I will take a look at that and consider that," Smith said.

Health care reform was another issue that sparked interest in those in attendance with Smith stating that he believes that President Obama's executive decisions on the issue will lead to problems in the future.

"We have a situation on our hands where the president has made it very clear that he will do everything he can without consulting Congress. That is a bad way to govern. Whether it's the EPA, whether it's OSHA, whether it's Health and Human Services, whether it's the IRS, whether it is the Department of Justice and the Benghazi situation...his executive decisions without consulting Congress, I think, are very problematic," Smith said.

He also states that he does not believe that the Affordable Care Act or any single approach to health care reform can really help the total population of the United States.

"With over 300 million people across our country, each unique individuals, and to think that one bill to pass Congress, in a highly partisan manner and signed by the president, would make all sorts of bad things turn into good things, it's just not that way. America is too diverse of a country that legislation like that would have a positive impact," Smith said.

Given the recent shootings in Centennial and seemingly all over the United States in recent months, Smith also says that mental health is also becoming an issue that needs to be addressed in the coming days.

"I'm taking a look at the details of a bill sponsored by a Pennsylvania colleague who has a background as a mental health practitioner. And that has gotten some initial positive reviews, but clearly the pattern has been mental health. We want o be mindful of that. Some privacy issues are involved here too. We want to be careful and not over step the bounds of the federal government, but in looking at these patterns, I think mental health is the issue," Smith said.