Opinion

The withdrawal from Afghanistan is the biggest U.S. foreign policy blunder in decades. We left hundreds of American citizens and thousands of our Afghan allies at the mercy of the Taliban, the same group that gave safe haven to al Qaeda as it planned the 9/11 attacks. A suicide bombing at the Kabul airport killed 13 American servicemembers, including a Nebraskan, Marine Corporal Daegan Page, making it the deadliest day in Afghanistan for the United States since 2011.

I am happy to report the first special session of the 107th Nebraska legislature has adjourned sine die. Nebraska has successfully completed its redistricting process. The Governor signed the six bills (maps) on the last day of September. Now other subdivisions of state government can finish drawing their precincts and other maps. Each bill had the emergency clause attached so they became law when he signed them. Unlike quite a few states who intend to wait until January to finish this vital work, we have got it done. It’s important to remember this process was made much more difficult by the federal government’s failure to provide the census information in April. States didn’t receive the data until August. The bottom line is we cannot have another election until this important work is completed, and I am glad it is.

This week the House of Representatives passed a bill which would raise the debt limit to allow unlimited new spending through most of 2022 and provide short-term funding for the government until December 3. The bill, which was passed on a party-line vote, now heads to the Senate without a bi partisan agreement in place to ensure passage. Meanwhile, Democrats primary focus remains their arbitrary deadline to ram through President Biden’s expansive tax and spending package. These factors are quickly colliding with economic reality.

The Legislature needed a hero. As debate dragged on over redrawing legislative districts in its first special session, it became obvious that something big had to happen to break the deadlock. With a population that has definitely shifted to the three largest eastern counties – Douglas, Lancaster and Sarpy – it was obvious that Greater Nebraska was going to lose a senator.

October is Manufacturing Month here in Nebraska. It is a great opportunity to celebrate the innovators and makers creating jobs across the Cornhusker State. Our state has a rich tradition of inventing and manufacturing premium products. Over the years, the imaginations of Nebraskans gave birth to ski lifts, center pivots, vise grip pliers, Kool-Aid, and Dorothy Lynch salad dressing. Today, companies in our state manufacture everything from subway cars, to combines, to the syringes used to deliver coronavirus vaccines.

In March 2020, like so many other businesses across the country, Mac’s Creek Winery in Lexington was forced to shut their tasting room’s doors. But instead of giving up, they began hosting virtual tastings on Facebook Live, inviting people to enjoy their Nebraskamade wines at home.

LB 188 is a bill introduced by Sen. Steve Halloran in the first session of the 107th Legislature. It was referred to the Government, Military and Veteran Affairs Committee which I chair. This bill would prohibit any agent or employee of the State of Nebraska or any political subdivision from participating in the enforcement of any federal directive regarding a firearm, firearm accessory, or ammunition that does not exist under Nebraska state law.

As Nebraskans know, I serve on the Ways and Means Committee in the House of Representatives. The Third District is both an economic powerhouse and one of the most rural districts in our country. I initially sought to join the committee to provide a voice for Nebraska on tax and trade issues which are critical to our rural communities. These issues are still front and center now.

We’ve all seen the movie. The jailer falls asleep and the bad guys get his keys and escape, usually in black and white and on horseback.

We’ve come a long way over the last year. Nebraska has managed the coronavirus pandemic without lockdowns, without statewide mandates, and without vaccine passports. We have the thirdlowest fatality rate from COVID-19 in the country. And we’ve fully vaccinated 87.5 percent of our 65+ population.