Sen. Kavanaugh withdraws two rural-health bills after administration concerns; reads Amanda Gorman poems and criticizes ICE

Senator Mikaela Kavanaugh asked the Legislature to withdraw two bills she had sponsored: LB 774, which would have created a cash fund for a rural health transformation program, and LB 775, which would have placed guardrails around a behavioral health transformation program. She said the Department of Health and Human Services raised concerns about LB 774 and asked that she withdraw it. The Legislature adopted the first withdrawal motion 44 ayes, 0 nays.

During her remarks on the floor, Kavanaugh read two poems by former U.S. Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman memorializing people she said were killed in ICE operations. She linked the readings to broader concerns about federal immigration-enforcement deployments, said "the detention center in McCook, Nebraska is a stain on the history of Nebraska," and urged colleagues to use their public platform to press for accountability. "We have a platform all 49 of us and we should be using it," she said.

On LB 775, Kavanaugh said the administration’s submission to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services was not publicly shared and the hospital association withdrew support for her bill, which she characterized as seeking oversight and "guardrails" for the program. She asked members to "vote green on the motion to withdraw," and the motion to withdraw LB 775 was recorded as adopted (43 ayes, 0 nays reported by the clerk).

Senator McKinney, in floor remarks, said the two named individuals were not the only people affected and urged a broader view of accountability. Kavanaugh responded on closing remarks that accountability for law enforcement generally is necessary and urged senators to vote for withdrawal to avoid expending further political capital.

The withdrawals mean neither bill will advance this session; the floor proceedings included extended floor statements, the poetry readings, and multiple senators’ responses recorded in the legislative journal.