Opinion

Every fall, spring, and summer, my office provides some outstanding college students with the opportunity to intern in Washington, D.C. or at one of our state offices. These internships give students the chance to learn more about public policy, our system of government, and constituent service. This summer, I welcomed four interns to our D.C. team. These college students are all from Nebraska, and over the last eight weeks they have done important work on behalf of the state. I am always delighted to welcome young people to our nation’s capital and am consistently impressed with the motivation and skills of our next generation of Nebraskans.

While I have been in Ukraine, I have been closely following the plight of service members being forced out of the United States military because they refuse the Covid vaccine. What is happening to these American patriots is absolutely despicable, and the most shameful thing I have seen done to American military personnel since the Vietnam war.

As the American people continue to suffer under President Biden’s broken economy, disconcerting data in the latest jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed June as having the weakest overall job growth in the last 14 months. The data also revealed the workforce participation rate is decreasing at a time when employers need workers most. According to BLS, the number of Americans in the workforce decreased to 62.2 percent in June. For context, workforce participation was at 63.4 percent prior to the CO- VID-19 pandemic and comfortably over 66 percent prior to the 2008 financial crisis.

A demolition permit has been issued for a 100-year-old Lincoln house that once belonged to a retail giant in the Capital City. A preservationist has come out of A preservationist has come out of retirement to lead the fight against plans to tear down a historic elevator at the Neligh Mills in north central Nebraska.

One of America’s greatest civil rights heroes is from Nebraska. Yet nationally, almost nobody knows about him.

While visiting Columbus recently, I was asked by a member of the press what was my favorite part of my time in the area. I explained that the truth is visiting with Nebraskans is one of the best parts of my job.

I would like to address a question I get a lot: Why did you go to Ukraine? As most people know I am a retired U.S. Army Colonel with numerous combat deployments over my 36 years of service.

Dear Editor, Reducing the number of people who return to prison is a key goal of any criminal justice system. In Nebraska, more than 70 percent of those discharged in 2019 have not returned to the custody of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services (NDCS) – a significant benchmark.

As a member of the Republican Jobs and the Economy Taskforce, I am committed to promoting America’s economic recovery; however, concerns of a recession continue to mount due to President Biden’s mismanagement of the economy. The June jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the weakest overall job growth since April 2021. This comes at a time when 57 percent of Americans say the actions of the federal government have hurt their family over the last six months, according to a recent Monmouth University Poll. This number is the highest Monmouth has ever recorded and overshadows the number of Americans saying federal actions over the same period have helped them, at eight percent.

Today’s letter is R. R as in Republican, Red State and Ricketts.