Opinion

This week I participated in a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on the mental health crisis in the United States. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, nearly one in five American adults live with some form of mental illness. Other government data show, among school-aged children, diagnosed cases of anxiety and depression are increasing over time—from 5.4 percent in 2003 to 8.4 percent in 2011-2012. These alarming numbers are pre-pandemic. While the COVID-19 pandemic put a spotlight on the need to address the mental health crisis in this country, there are many contributing factors to Americans’ declining mental health.

A state Senator who won a nasty election battle with a member of the same party is calling for an end to the official nonpartisan status of the Nebraska Legislature. Sen.

Here in the Good Life, we must not take our public safety for granted. We’ve seen other states fail to support law enforcement and underinvest in their corrections. News stories with video footage of rampant theft and outbreaks of violence have become the unfortunate norm in cities like San Francisco and Washington, D.C. Residents of these areas feel unsafe, and they’re fleeing to find a better place for their families. More than half of the San Francisco Bay area population plans to leave permanently in the next few years. Washington, D.C. lost over 20,000 residents from July 1, 2020 to July 1, 2021.

As your U.S. senator, my job is to represent your interests in Washington.

On February 9, 2022, 20 calendar days will have passed since my priority bill, LB773, had its hearing in the Judiciary Committee. I notified the speaker the first hour of the very first day of session that this will be my priority bill. I was the first senator to do so. After 20 calendar days have passed since a bill hearing, a procedure in the legislature’s rules commonly known as the “pull motion” is in order.

This week marked the official start of tax season. Unfortunately, tax filers everywhere can expect a frustrating process and potential lengthy delays on their returns.

Discussion has started on several bills that will have an impact on state revenue in what some warn are uncertain times. Omaha Sen.

We’re on the cusp of an historic moment in America. After 49 years, the Supreme Court is set to revisit the infamous Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion in 1973. This year, they have an opportunity to undo one of the worst decisions ever made by our nation’s highest court.

I recently read an article in the Lincoln Journal Star that tells an all-too-familiar story. In 2012, Dr. Jeff Fraser, a family practice doctor from Lincoln, was diagnosed with prostate cancer. After his third treatment, another doctor prescribed him hydrocodone for back pain caused by the cancer. “That’s when my brain got addicted,” Dr. Fraser said.

My good friend Sen. Steve Halloran’s Convention of State’s resolution, LR 14 passed Friday, January 28, without a single vote to spare. It was signed by the speaker of the legislature and presented to the Secretary of State for his correspondence with the congress.