Opinion

It's over. The 2022 Nebraska Legislature, perhaps the least independent body of lawmakers in years, has given the term-limited Governor most everything he wanted.

In Nebraska, we know the importance of good stewardship. Our farmers and ranchers responsibly cultivate the land so future generations of Nebraskans can continue enjoying the Good Life for years to come. It’s why, nearly one hundred years before Earth Day even began, J. Sterling Morton founded Arbor Day right here in Nebraska City. Our farmers and ranchers are the original conservationists.

As the weather warms up this spring and summer, thousands of Nebraskans are planning to visit our state’s many national treasures and other historic sites. From Homestead National Historic Park in Beatrice to Scotts Bluff National Monument in the Panhandle, Nebraska has so much to offer.

My priority bill this session was LB 773. This would have passed a “constitutional carry” law in Nebraska. Law-abiding citizens would no longer have to apply for a permit and pay money to exercise a constitutionally-protected right to carry a concealed weapon. We would have become the 26th state to pass this law. Over 120 million Americans live under this law today including every state we share a border with except Colorado. It failed the cloture motion on a 31-6 vote. Thirty-three votes were needed to end the filibuster. Six senators were present not voting. Three senators were excused.

One of the most rewarding aspects of serving Nebraska’s Third Congressional District is the opportunities I get to engage with young people interested in government service. This spring, I’ve welcomed students from Bayard, Oakland-Craig, Boone Central, Summerland, and Doniphan-Trumbull schools, as well as Peru State College, to our nation’s capital. Fielding students’ questions is always a pleasure, and I deeply appreciate their thoughtful feedback and ideas about the issues we are working on in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Forgive me for not realizing sooner that the 2022 version of the Nebraska Legislature would end on a draconian note. From its support of a veto of badly needed federal rental assistance funds to turning down an attempt to provide the same tax relief to middle class Nebraskans as it guaranteed to the richest, this Legislature showed its true colors in the waning days.

It’s 965 miles from Lincoln, to the border town of Del Rio, TX. But that doesn’t mean our nation’s border crisis isn’t felt a thousand miles away. The Biden-Harris Administration’s failure to secure our broken southern border has caused a host of issues. It’s weakened our national security and overwhelmed our court system. It’s strained our economy. Most devastating, however, is the human cost it’s imposed. Our failure to secure the southern border has enabled sophisticated drug trafficking to run rampant. These deadly drugs are killing Nebraskans, leaving a wake of devastation throughout our communities.

LINCOLN (AP) - A Nebraska state lawmaker who resigned after admitting that he took photos of a female subordinate in his office without her permission acted in a “boorish, brainless and bizarre” manner but did not commit illegal sexual discrimination or harassment, according to an investigator hired by the Legislature.

There is a crisis at our southern border, and President Biden is only making it worse. At the end of March, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced it was on track to surpass one million encounters with immigrants illegally crossing our borders over the last six months. CBP data show there were 164,973 migrant encounters at our southern border in February, up seven percent from January and 63 percent from February of last year. These staggering numbers do not include the number of illegal migrants who eluded border agents.

A major tax cut package that could cost the state as much as onefifth of its budget in the outyears worked its way through the 2022 legislative session as lawmakers focused on the big issues in waning days.