Opinion

The State of Nebraska prioritizes helping Nebraskans lead better lives by promoting physical and mental health. This work has taken on a whole new sense of urgency during the coronavirus pandemic. Faced with the worst public health emergency in over a century, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has stepped up admirably to serve our citizens.

Did you know the federal government operates a little-known bank account that isn’t subject to annual oversight from Congress, yet pays out billions of dollars in settlements a year? It sounds unbelievable, but it’s true. The Judgment Fund is an obscure government account the U.S.

This has been a busy legislative interim. The Government Committee has held several interim study hearings, we continue to hold meetings about potential legislation, and of course we spent much of September in a special session for redistricting. Relationships matter a great deal in politics, and relationships between some senators have gotten pretty raw over the past year. I was elected to promote conservative principles in the Nebraska Capitol. I cannot do that job well without building relationships with as many of my colleagues as possible.

This fall, the United States Supreme Court has been receiving quite a bit of attention. With ongoing litigation ranging from the Texas law limiting when abortions may be performed, to vaccine mandates, to second amendment rights, a spotlight is currently focused on the court. With so many high-profile cases and the public discussion around them, this recent attention has launched another critical debate into the limelight - court packing.

No joke. Lawmakers amended and passed a bill last session to create the STAR WARS Committee to consider ways to spend federal coronavirus recovery funds.

Nebraskans often talk about how we feed the world. It’s true now more than ever. The crops and livestock we grow and the goods we make reach far-flung places across the globe. Diners in Japan, drivers in Germany, and farmers in Africa all benefit from the products we make and grow. Our international relationships are having a big impact. Over the past decade, Nebraska exports have totaled almost $10 billion per year. Continuing to grow international trade will create more great-paying jobs to keep our kids and grandkids in Nebraska and attract more people here to our state.

While President Biden was crisscrossing Europe, Americans have been watching inflation spiral out of control. The cost of electricity has surged to the highest level in decades, and it’s expected to keep going up this winter. Even worse, headline inflation, which includes energy and grocery prices, is rising at the fastest rate in 30 years.

One of the unspoken assumptions that many Nebraskans make every day is that we can call 911 and get an ambulance dispatched quickly if there is a medical emergency. Outside of the major population centers, this is not always true. Ambulance crews in Lincoln and Omaha do not have to hold fund raisers to provide the revenue they need to maintain their vehicles and equipment and operate their rescue squad. In rural Nebraska however, the local volunteer rescue squad is often all there is. If you get hurt and have to dial 911 in much of my legislative district, you are in for a long wait, over an hour sometimes. We had better MEDEVAC coverage in Afghanistan.

For months President Biden and Congressional Democrats have single-mindedly focused on pushing their tax and spending agenda across the finish line. While my Republican colleagues and I have made progress in keeping some truly terrible ideas, like repealing stepped-up basis, out of the package so far, our work against these proposals continues.

“A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers.” – President John F. Kennedy America is the greatest country in the world because our Constitution recognizes God-given human rights and protects individual liberties.