Rep. Smith stops in Beatrice, talks gun reform, gas prices, more with NCN

BEATRICE - A Nebraska U.S. Representative made a stop in southeast Nebraska.

Congressman Adrian Smith of Nebraska's 3rd congressional district met with News Channel Nebraska at KWBE in Beatrice to talk about a number of issues facing Nebraska and the country. Those included were gun reform, gas prices, and the future of Nebraska's politics. When it comes to gun reform, Smith believes decisions should come at a community level, not from Washington. 

“When you look at mental health, when you look at school safety issues, work place safety issues, we have to look at those,” Smith said. “I’m not convinced that all the solutions need to come out of Washington. I hope that communities across America feel empowered to make the changes they think have to be made.”

With that being said, Smith doesn’t believe in shutting down a place of business that sells firearms.

“Some people think shutting down the local firearm retail store is the answer” Smith said. “I don’t think that’s going to resolve the problem that I think is far deeper.”

A big talking point for the GOP party in the Cornhusker state is the differences Nebraska’s republicans have. To Smith, diverse thinking isn’t a bad thing for the party, but he does believe a shared interest in taxes, spending and economical growth are key for party success.

“That’s pretty unifying across the Republican Party and I think a lot of democrats subscribe to a conservative point of view as well,” Smith said. “We just had a big primary in Nebraska, very competitive, that’s a good sign. It shows there’s a lot of vibrance in the party, there’s certainly diversity of thought and that’s okay.”

Jim Pillen recently won the republican nomination for governor. He’ll face off against democrat Carol Blood in November. Smith gave his thoughts on what Pillen would bring to the table.

“I think Jim Pillen is an innovator,” Smith said. “He is a very successful businessman, especially in agriculture. He know what Nebraska is really good at and I think his ability to think about the future is what’s most valuable.”

When it comes to the future, Smith says Pillen’s plan of handling the economy in the long-term is key.

“We won’t be able to tax or spend our way out of debt,” Smith said. “But when you look at growing our economy, and getting our economy back on track, I think Jim Pillen can do a great job carrying on what we’ve seen as great economic success in Nebraska.”

As for Smith himself, he also is a proponent of thinking about growing Nebraska and America.

“We need to focus on growth, we did great work in 2017 with tax reform, President Biden has tried to undo a lot of that, fortunately, he’s been unsuccessful in that,” Smith said. “We need to think about the future, but not wait another 30 years for tax reform to change some things.”

And lastly, gas prices. It’s caused frustration for drivers across America. Smith says President Biden’s claims of high gas being related to a drive in electric vehicles won’t fix the issue.

“Is there a role for electric vehicles right now, yes. But they’re not feasible for most Nebraskans. For most Americans,” Smith said. “So, we need more affordable energy. Whether that’s at the pump or at your house, just turning on your lights, so we need to open up more domestic sources.”