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Articles written by Steve Erdman


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  • Biennial Sessions

    Steve Erdman, 47th District|Mar 14, 2024

    In 2021 the Fufeng Group, a Chinese food manufacturer, bought 300 acres of farmland near Grand Forks, North Dakota in order to build a milling plant. They paid 2.6 million dollars for the land. That land is only twelve miles from the Grand Forks Air Base, which is home to some of America's most sensitive military secrets. Last year both the BBC and NPR reported that the Chinese had already purchased 380,000 acres of farmland in the United States. After the purchase of land was made near the...

  • Property Taxes Are Evil

    Steve Erdman, 47th District|Feb 29, 2024

    Last week the State of Wyoming advanced a bill by Rep. Steve Harshman to eliminate most property taxes in Wyoming along with a two percent hike in the State's sales tax. Shifting the tax burden away from property taxes and onto sales taxes or consumption taxes is an idea which is now gaining a lot of steam all across the country. Besides Nebraska, states which have seen these kinds of bills in recent years include Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, North Dakota, South Carolina, and Texas. In 2020...

  • Tax Raising Bills

    Steve Erdman, State Senator, 47th District|Jan 25, 2024

    Last Thursday Gov. Jim Pillen delivered his State of the State address to the Unicameral Legislature. The primary focus of the speech was devoted to tax relief, especially property tax relief. So, I listened closely to hear his plans for tax relief. Although he vows to reduce property taxes by 40 percent, he never offered any kind of substantive plan for doing so. Gov. Pillen's plan continues several of the same stale practices which have never worked in the past, such as creating more property...

  • Rules Debate

    Steve Erdman, 47th District|Jan 18, 2024

    When I first arrived in the Nebraska Legislature in 2017, Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha stood in front of me on the legislative floor. He turned around and gave me some good advice. He told me to learn the rules. I began to read the rules. Upon doing so, I quickly learned how confusing the Rule Book of the Nebraska Legislature was. So, immediately upon adjournment last year, I turned my attention to re-writing the Rule Book. The project of re-writing the Rule Book of the Legislature focused...

  • Legislative Priorities for 2024

    Steve Erdman, 47th District|Jan 11, 2024

    The 2024 Legislative session has begun. Because the Unicameral Legislature operates in a two-year cycle, this will be the second session of the 108th Legislature. The session began on January 3 and will end on April 18. Since this is only a 60-day session, there will be less time for State Senators to get the business of the State done this year. Today I will share my priorities and goals for making this year’s legislative session a productive one. I am the chair of the Legislature’s Rules...

  • Biden's Oil Policies

    Steve Erdman, State Senator, 47th District|Jan 4, 2024

    The Biden administration continues to enforce failing policies concerning oil and gas which are now beginning to affect the State of Nebraska. The Biden administration's war against global warming and its war against the use of oil and gas are both misguided and wrong. So, today I would like to explain why this is the case and how it is affecting our state. President Biden likes to brag how oil production in the U.S. is the same today as it was under Trump. Well, that is not exactly true. At...

  • Hilgers on New Gun Law

    Steve Erdman, State Senator, 47th District|Dec 28, 2023

    One of the major pieces of legislation that Nebraska State Senators passed this year was LB77, a bill which prevents cities, towns and villages from putting gun restrictions on citizens who care to arm themselves without a conceal-carry permit. As soon as the law went into effect on September 1, both mayors of the cities of Lincoln and Omaha enacted their own executive orders reinstating their city's gun free zones in public buildings, city parks, sidewalks, hiking trails, and parking lots....

  • First Noel

    Steve Erdman, State Senator, 47th District|Dec 21, 2023

    One of the words we often hear around Christmas time is the word 'noel,' which simply refers to the birth of Christ. One of the songs we sing at Christmas time is called The First Noel. That song tells the story of Christ's birth and the events that followed it. The birth of Christ is the real reason why we celebrate Christmas. The lyrics of the First Noel can teach us many things about giving this time of year. For example, the first ones to hear the good news of Christ's birth were poor shephe...

  • EPIC Opposition

    Steve Erdman, State Senator, 47th District|Dec 14, 2023

    "Wow!" "Amazing!" "Unbelievable!" These are the kinds of expressions that come to my mind whenever I hear about the current efforts to defeat the petition drive to put the EPIC Option Consumption Tax on the ballot for 2024. The EPIC Option Consumption Tax is the fix for our broken tax system, and those who oppose putting it on the ballot are undermining the right of the citizens to make that choice for themselves. Two years ago, I was visited by a couple of nationally acclaimed economists. The...

  • State Employees Back To Work

    Steve Erdman, 47th District|Dec 7, 2023

    The COVID-19 pandemic is over. It has been over for quite some time, and now we are beginning to see what kind of damage some of our bad government decisions have done to our economy, to our society, and to our workforce. The government shutdowns that occurred during the days of the pandemic have done more to harm the United States of America than any other emergency situation since 9/11 some 22 years ago. Historians will likely remember the COVID-19 pandemic as the most important and...

  • Trev Albert's Contract Extension

    Steve Erdman, 47th District|Nov 30, 2023

    Have you heard about the new contract extension for the University of Nebraska's Athletic Director? If you haven't, you might get a little overwhelmed by the numbers. I was surprised by the tremendous increase in salary plus the guarantee of future bonuses.  Trev Alberts is a former UNL football player who now serves as the Athletic Director at UNL. According to his new contract extension, his annual base salary will go up from $800,000 to $1.7 million, and it will increase again to $2.1...

  • Count Your Many Blessings

    Steve Erdman, State Senator, 47th District|Nov 23, 2023

    It may seem to you like America has lost its way. The pilgrims must have had similar thoughts (but in a much more literal way) when they had to lower the sails on the Mayflower and go adrift at sea for a while. Despite all of their hardships, though, the pilgrims eventually reached Cape Cod and returned thanks to God for bringing them to a whole new world. Hardship and tribulation can easily cause us to adopt a negative attitude towards life. So, during times of hardship I am often reminded of...

  • Nebraska's Housing Market

    Steve Erdman, 47th District|Nov 16, 2023

    Rising home values continue to create problems for people living in our state. While Nebraska's statewide valuation rate increase of 12.9 percent for the last 12 months is significantly less than the national average of 20.7 percent, the current situation is still not good for people living in Nebraska. So, today I would like to highlight some of the problems affecting those looking to purchase a home in Nebraska. Homeowners have been defaulting on their mortgage loans at an alarming rate in Neb...

  • Veterans In Gaza

    Steve Erdman, 47th District|Nov 9, 2023

    The word "veteran" is a fancy way of saying, "Once a soldier, always a soldier." Such is the case with a select group of veterans today whose previous deployment and military service overseas put them in contact with important connections in Israel, Palestine and Egypt. Even as we honor our veterans this year on November 11, there are some who continue to serve our country by putting their lives on the line. So, today I would like to highlight these veterans and tell you about the work they are...

  • Remembering Our Men in Blue

    Steve Erdman, 47th District|Nov 2, 2023

    I have a deep appreciation for our men in blue. Those who wear the uniform put their lives on the line every day in order to uphold law and order, peace and tranquility, and safety and security for all of the citizens of our great state. However, a lot has happened recently regarding our law enforcement officers, so today I would like to highlight three ways we can support our law enforcement officers. The first way we can support our law enforcement officers is to thank them for their service....

  • COVID-19 Vaccination Deaths

    Steve Erdman, 47th District|Oct 26, 2023

    I have long tried to warn the public about the politicization of COVID-19, especially in regards to preventative measures. Now a new study by the Correlation Research in the Public Interest links COVID-19 vaccinations to some 17 million deaths worldwide. The new study examined 17 equatorial and Southern Hemisphere countries including Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Ecuador, Malaysia, New Zealand, Paraguay, Peru, The Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Suriname,...

  • Rule Changes Needed

    Steve Erdman, 47th District|Oct 19, 2023

    One of the questions I get asked a lot about these days concerns how the Legislature plans on changing the rules for next session. The Unicameral Legislature is a self-governing body, and I am the current chair of the Legislature's Rules Committee. That means that any proposed rule changes for next year have to go through me first. So, it is natural that people would want to ask me about rule changes for next year. What sparks this question by so many people today relates to what happened in...

  • Columbus

    Steve Erdman, 47th District|Oct 12, 2023

    Monday, October 9th is Columbus Day. It is also Indigenous Peoples Day here in Nebraska. Christopher Columbus was a man of incredible integrity, but revisionists have targeted him in their attempts to rewrite the history of Western civilization with false narratives. Too many people today erroneously believe that Christopher Columbus was a bad person. So, today I would like to expose the revisionism and help restore the good name of Christopher Columbus. On October 9, 2017 Vincent Schilling...

  • Straight Talk From Steve: Local Control

    Steve Erdman, 47th District|Oct 5, 2023

    One of the complaints that I often here about the EPIC Option Consumption Tax has to do with the loss of local control. For example, the League of Municipalities held an informational meeting last week, where they complained about how the EPIC Option Consumption Tax eliminates local control. This was a false assumption. The EPIC Option Consumption Tax does not eliminate local control. The pink postcards we all received recently in the mail were the result of a bill that passed in the...

  • Straight Talk From Steve: Expanding CNPPID's Empire

    Steve Erdman, 47th District|Sep 28, 2023

    One of the biggest problems facing states today is empire building. Empire building is the mentality of growing governmental entities without regard for the best interests of the community or the interests of private taxpaying citizens. Many managers of governmental entities and directors of state agencies view their mission in terms of expanding the reach of their organization, and that is not good when it hurts the community or affects the standard of living of their constituency. So, today I...

  • Straight Talk From Steve: The Labor Shortage

    Steve Erdman, 47th District|Sep 14, 2023

    Last month Gov. Jim Pillen put together a new task force to examine Nebraska's workforce shortage. In predictable fashion, Gov. Pillen stacked the task force with those who continue to ignore Nebraska's most pressing problem, namely the need for tax reform. Instead of choosing people who care about tax reform, those who were selected for the task force represent the most supportive of our state's broken tax system. Besides state agencies, the task force will consist of representatives from the...

  • Straight Talk From Steve: The Sports and Spaces Act

    Steve Erdman, 47th District|Sep 7, 2023

    Last week Riley Gaines came to Nebraska. Who is Riley Gaines? Riley Gaines is one of America's most decorated female swimmers. Swimming for the University of Kentucky, she became a 12-time All-American as well as the SEC Female Scholar-Athlete of 2022. However, she has begun speaking around the country in support of women's sports and against transgender athletes competing in women's sports. At the 2022 NCAA Swimming and Diving national championships Riley Gaines found herself having to compete...

  • Straight Talk From Steve: The Heartbeat Omnibus Bill

    Steve Erdman, 47th District|Aug 31, 2023

    Last week the South Carolina State Supreme Court upheld that state's new law banning abortions after the sixth week of gestation. Bill's which ban abortions after the sixth week are known as heartbeat bills because that is when a baby's heartbeat is normally first detected. Writing for the majority, Justice John Kittredge said that while the new law infringes on a woman's right of privacy and bodily autonomy, the South Carolina Legislature had reasonably determined this time that "interest of...

  • Straight Talk From Steve: LB-589

    Steve Erdman, 47th District|Aug 24, 2023

    Whenever it comes to delivering on property tax relief for the good, hardworking citizens of Nebraska, governmental entities with tax asking authority always seem to find ways to shut it down, and that is exactly what is happening in Nebraska again this year. Today I would like to inform you about how the Nebraska Department of Education is undermining the Legislature's efforts to provide property owners with some much-needed property tax relief this year. Earlier his year Sen. Tom Briese of...

  • Straight Talk From Steve: ES & S Machines

    Steve Erdman, 47th District|Aug 17, 2023

    Are Nebraska's elections fair, accurate, and transparent? To answer this question, concerned citizens must consider how Nebraska counts its ballots in statewide elections. Nebraska uses ES&S vote counting machines to count its ballots during statewide elections. ES&S stands for a company called Elections Systems & Software. Understanding how these ES&S vote counting machines work is critical for answering these crucial questions about the integrity of our elections. The use and accuracy of v...

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