‘We do not have unlimited money’: Flood hosts town hall discussing war, SNAP and more

BELLEVUE, Neb. —

Congressman Mike Flood talked about his work in Congress Tuesday night at a Bellevue town hall. He shared an update on the status of his housing bill along with funding for Offutt Air Force Base.

“I think you’re going to see an increase in the number of airmen that are going to be working at Offutt over the next five years,” Flood said.

That money includes over $1 billion to update and repair damage from the 2019 floods, $5.1 million for road paving in Papillion, and $1.7 million for renovations for the Bellevue Public Library.

Nebraskans then had an opportunity to ask the representative questions. Some voters were concerned about SNAP, a program limited by the One Big, Beautiful Bill.

“We have returned our spending to 2019 levels,” Flood said. “We do not have unlimited money. We want people who need those resources to get those resources.”

Others were concerned about protecting some of Nebraska’s most vulnerable. One Nebraskan asked about Flood’s commitment to protecting the rights established by Olmstead.

“To [Governor] Jim Pillen’s credit, he’s the first governor in my lifetime that was able to eliminate the DD waiting list,” Flood said. “Ultimately, the state legislature is going to decide what the resources are that are going to the developmental disability program.”

Foreign conflict was also a big topic throughout the night with questions about Ukraine, Israel and Iran. Flood’s responses received loud shouts from the audience.

“These are countries that I care about, that you care about,” Flood said. “We do support NATO. We should all support NATO.”

“Iran, for 50 years, has vowed death to America. If they got their hands on a nuclear weapon or a dirty bomb, they would use it on us,” Flood said. “We need to finish the job.”

He also spoke on medical marijuana, saying that while he doesn’t support it, it is the duty of the state to fulfill the voters’ decision to have it. However, he said that Delta-8 and Delta-9 products are a bigger issue.

“Go visit with the juvenile court judge in any county in the state; they will tell you it’s this Delta 8 stuff and Delta 9 stuff that’s causing the problem because it’s wildly unregulated,” Flood said.