Opinion

You have probably heard of the partisan and reckless spending spree congressional Democrats are putting together, and that the final total of the plan will number in the trillions of dollars. But as much as the high price tag is concerning and will hurt Nebraska families, I also want to share with you some of the specifics of what’s actually in this measure.

Back in March, Governor Ricketts issued a statement opposing “vaccine passports.” He said “This concept violates two central tenets of the American system: freedom of movement and healthcare privacy.” I couldn’t agree more. Whether or not someone has taken any medication is absolutely none of the government’s business. Government policies that force people to be injected with drugs they don’t want, is flat wrong.

Last week while appearing at a hearing of the House Homeland Security Committee, President Biden’s Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas claimed, “the border is secure.” Anyone who has read a newspaper or watched a newscast could tell you it isn’t, yet the Biden Administration insists it is. Enough is enough; they cannot ignore the border crisis.

Nebraskans continue to tell me their top priority is relief from local government property taxes. Since taking office, addressing this issue has been my number one priority. This budget cycle—thanks to the support of farmers, ranchers, homeowners, and small businesses—we will deliver historic amounts of property tax relief.

A panel of Nebraska lawmakers wants to tackle changes to the state’s tax system next year. Normally I would pooh-pooh such an idea in an election year.

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.