Opinion

Gas prices are high – as of March 14, the national average is $4.32 per gallon, the highest it has ever been. When President Biden was asked if he had a message for Americans who are paying record prices at the pump, this was all he had to say: Prices are “going to go up. Can’t do much right now. Russia is responsible.”

We have completed all of our committee hearings and we’ve begun full-day debate on the floor. The speaker is focusing the agenda on priority bills from senators, committees and speaker priority bills. We are also working on consent calendar legislation. These are bills that had no opposition in their committee hearing, and were advanced out of committee on a unanimous vote. The process for these bills is accelerated and debate is limited.

As Western nations continue to respond to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, there’s no question increasing trade partnerships with countries who share our values would benefit the United States and the world. Realizing the administration seems content to sit back and let others lead on trade, I recently led a bipartisan Congressional delegation to the United Kingdom (UK) to discuss trade opportunities and challenges.

A canal, a new prison and tax cuts are taking prominent spots on the agenda for the second half of the Nebraska Legislature’s current session. Governor Pete Ricketts wants $500 million to upgrade a 100-yearold water pact with Colorado and build a canal to divert water from the South Platte River into Nebraska.

As Nebraskans, we value resourcefulness and self-reliance. We also care for our neighbors. We recognize that extraordinary times—like a natural disaster or a global pandemic—warrant extra assistance. During the height of the coronavirus pandemic, Nebraskans stepped up to help those in need. At the federal and state level, we did the same. The State has received and distributed an unprecedented amount of federal funding to help Nebraskans weather the storm over these past two years.

Americans all across the country rely on the U.S. Postal Service to deliver mail and packages in a timely and efficient manner. The USPS is especially important to people who live in rural areas and to our seniors, for whom the Postal Service is often a crucial connection to the rest of the world.

Friday, March 11, 2022, we advanced my “constitutional carry” bill, LB 773, to the next round of debate. The opposition to the bill conducted an eight-hour filibuster. We needed 33 votes for the cloture motion to be successful and we received exactly that. After the rollcall vote was tallied, three senators changed their vote to a “yes” for a total of 36 yes, nine no, three present not voting, one excused.

Dear Editor, We appreciate the businesses in the Cherry County area, and also all of the individuals that donate items, services, and of their time to support the 4-H Luck of the Draw every February in Valentine. It is great to be a member of a community that supports its youth in sports, FFA, 4-H, all activities that teach our youth honor, respect and responsibilities.

This week President Biden delivered his first State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress. While I went into the evening open to hearing President Biden propose real solutions to urgent challenges like soaring energy and food prices, waves of illegal crossings at our southern border, and workforce shortages, I was disappointed by how readily he rehashed many of the failed policies of his first year in office which have put us in this position. Inflation is at a 40-year high, we have a serious supply chain crisis, and Russia has invaded Ukraine. Now is the time for steady, effective leadership, not more of the same policies which have led to crisis after crisis during the Biden presidency.

It has been said “the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer.” That aphorism (a pithy observation that contains a general truth) is attributed to British poet and author Percy Bysshe Shelley in 1840. It has been heard in more than one iteration during the debate on a major income tax cut bill (LB939) currently before lawmakers The measure, introduced by Elkhorn Sen.