Opinion

Lawmakers have amended and advanced a package of bills that will keep the Nebraska Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Centers on track toward becoming treatment-based instead of corrections-based facilities.

Earlier this year, the Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) published draft health standards for public comment that included several sex education topics. Like many Nebraska parents, I was deeply troubled by the standards. They would teach young children age-inappropriate content starting in kindergarten. They would also inject non-scientific, political ideas into curriculum standards. That’s why I have called on the NDE to scrap the proposed sex education topics in the standards.

For the last year, our highest public health priority has been defeating COVID-19 and getting back to our normal lives. But this phrase means more than just our fight against the coronavirus.

LB51 is a bill introduced by Senator Steve Lathrop. He is the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and this bill is one that he made a committee priority. LB51 will change the requirements for the certification law enforcement officers and accreditation of law enforcement agencies in Nebraska. It will end the reserve officer program in Nebraska and mandate a number of new police policies concerning the use of force.

Earlier this year, President Biden pushed his $1.9 trillion spending package, the American Rescue Plan, through Congress and signed it into law claiming it was a dire necessity because of the pandemic. However, his administration has been very slow in rolling out programs created by this massive bill despite saying it was so urgently required. Instead, they have been busy proposing more “emergency” spending, before money allocated in the previous bill has even been spent and while our economy has begun bouncing back, largely on its own.

The Nebraska Legislature is two-thirds of the way through the 2021 legislative session. Over the next several weeks, Senators will vote on a number of key bills. As they do, I encourage Nebraskans to follow the debate closely at the State Capitol.

There are quite a few corrections-centered bills on the Nebraska Legislature’s table this year. While there are some solid ideas dealing with transparency and costs of incarceration, it appears those bills will linger in committee while senators focus on a big-ticket item in the state budget.

I spent the last two weeks traveling the length of our state, meeting and talking with dozens of Nebraskans. I was so grateful for this chance to hear directly from such a wide range of people. Congress can always use more Nebraska common sense, and these conversations are one way I bring that common sense with me to Washington.

The Nebraska Constitution requires the Legislature to do only two things: meet on the first Wednesday after the first Monday in January, and pass a budget once every two years. Technically, the Legislature only has to pass this package of budget bills and nothing else. Legislatures are two years long. Much of the first session following the election is devoted to the budget. As I write this, we are in the middle of that debate right now.

Over the last four years, we have seen our trade relationships and trade agreements updated at record rates. Now with Ambassador Katherine Tai, who most recently served on the staff of the House Ways and Means Committee, sworn in as the new United States Trade Representative, it is time to hit the ground running and pick up where the previous administration left off by leveling the playing field with our trade partners, improving market access for U.S. goods, and finalizing pending free trade agreements.