SEWARD - Stressing how important it is for an elected official to get face time with their constituents, for the second time in three months U.S. Representative Mike Flood hosted a town hall event inside a Nebraska high school. And for the second time in three months, many in the audience used that opportunity to make sure their voices were heard.  

People were lined up early outside Seward High School on Tuesday night waiting for the chance to meet the representative of Nebraska’s first congressional district. But just like in Columbus in late March, this week in Seward the congressman from Norfolk was once again frequently booed and otherwise interrupted as he discussed pathways towards improving affordable housing, keeping weather balloons afloat, lowering the national debt, and ensuring Medicaid remains funded. 

“This is obviously not going anywhere, and it’s the thing I care most about,” Flood said, gesturing to a large projector screen displaying a site that estimates the national debt at more than $36 trillion, a figure which increased by a few thousand dollars every few seconds of the congressman’s address. “This bill [the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” the House passed last week], while it isn’t perfect, is the first time in generations that we’ve actually made major, mandatory spending cuts. We have to grow the economy as much as we cut this [the debt] in order to get out of it. I believe we are at least going the right direction by cutting mandatory spending.” 

Above all, Flood highlighted affordable housing as “the number one issue I hear about” across the district. He said in his role in the Financial Services Committee he’s working with his partner, Democratic Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver of Missouri, on, for the first time since 1993, reigniting the Home Partnership Program. 

“It requires that the participant in a program – say, a new homeowner in Seward – must be at no more than 80 percent of the average median income. We need to move that AMI number up to something that’s north of 100 percent so that cities like Seward, and Dwight, and Lincoln, and Columbus can use it,” Flood outlined. “I see this as one way that I can use my talents in Congress to affect something in a bipartisan way, and I really appreciate that question because that program really matters to me.” 

Fresh off the experience in Columbus almost exactly two months prior, Flood prefaced Tuesday’s event with a reflection on where he was the day before: in Schuyler, for Memorial Day celebrations. 

“We’re all on the same team. Yes, there are Republicans and there are Democrats, but there are enemies in this world that want to do away with America and everything it stands for,” Flood began. “And it’s a reminder to me, and I hope it’s a reminder to all of us, that while we may disagree tonight, we are ultimately on the same team. We’re never going to agree on every issue, but I can always do better. I can always do better in my communication, I can always do better in my service to you, and we can always be better, as Nebraskans.” 

The tenor of the audience of Flood’s pair of events is hardly unique – many similar events involving elected officials across the country have been beset by boos, prompting some elected officials to refrain from hosting them, and encouraging others to do the same.  But despite once again enduring a 90-minute discussion with a largely adversarial crowd, Flood adopted an understanding tone after Tuesday’s event, stressing that it’s critical for an elected official to give constituents an opportunity to express their views - even if they are different from his own.  

The event was initially scheduled to run from 5 to 6 p.m., but Flood extended it by half an hour to ensure more people had the chance to ask their questions. Some submitted questions in advance that were read aloud on stage; other people – a few of whom asked questions at the last town hall as well – started lining up by 5:13 to get a chance to voice their questions, and even with the extended time there were still plenty of people left in the queue.  

Whether through the official microphone or otherwise, many in the audience took the opportunity to make sure their voices were heard, with chants like “Tax the Rich!” ringing out from the crowd more than once, and a noted underscoring of the final two words of the Pledge of Allegiance: “Liberty and justice for all.”  

The loudest jeers of the night came when the congressman doubled down on his support of public schools, Israel and President Donald Trump, while there were cheers and applause for his defense of the ideals behind habeas corpus and due process, and fighting to ensure that the fundamental system of checks and balance across the three branches of government remains in place so that no one person can operate above the law. 

Even with the energy exhibited in his two town halls so far this year, Flood reinforced his plans to hold another town hall in Lincoln in August of this year, something he says he’s done every year he’s been in office.  

“I switch up the other towns in the district but I always do Lincoln because it’s the largest town in my district. And I will give you plenty of notice so that you can get there – and I’ll probably need Pinnacle Bank Arena to do it in at the rate I’m going.”