Opinion

A sign in the truck stop restaurant said the lack of staff could result in delays in seating and service. A friend said they had a 45-minute wait for sushi at a favorite restaurant. What does it say when you have to wait for raw fish?

A week after taking office, President Biden signed Executive Order 14008 that set a goal “of conserving at least 30 percent of our lands and waters by 2030.” This goal is also known as 30 x 30. The order parrots the policy goals of radical environmental groups. For years, environmental groups have sought government support for policies that are harmful to agriculture and a productive economy.

After a new president takes office, they have hundreds of jobs to fill. As a general rule, presidents can hire whomever they choose. But when it comes to the highestlevel positions, the Constitution gives the U.S. Senate the opportunity to offer “advice and consent” on a president’s nominees.

Last session, my good friend Sen. Steve Halloran introduced the Convention of States resolution as he has done in every legislature since we began our term in office in 2017. Once passed, this will be Nebraska’s “application” to the United States Congress asking that a convention of states for the purpose of proposing amendments to the federal constitution be called. I strongly support this legislation, and I will always co-sponsor it.

The last few years that I flew into Omaha to visit my parents, a government run transit agency picked me up at the airport. This time, my driver was a 30-something single mother of girls, and full of delightful and engaging questions. The surface dialogue melted into more serious queries when she learned my husband was a pastor. It became evident this meeting was divinely arranged.

Pre-COVID-19, the United States had a robust and booming economy, both in terms of economic growth and in terms of economic opportunity available to Americans in the workforce. This success was directly attributable to two of the biggest accomplishments to come out of the Ways and Means Committee in the past 25 years - welfare reform and comprehensive tax reform.

A few weeks ago, I made my first post-pandemic road trip across Nebraska driving from Lincoln to Scottsbluff and then back to Lincoln a couple days later. It was great to see the crops growing, the traffic whizzing by and even the billboards beckoning me to stop and see what I had been missing all these months.

We’re only a month away from one of the most important annual events for our state—the Nebraska State Fair in Grand Island. This year, the fair will run from August 27 through September 6. It’s a great way to celebrate Nebraska agriculture, cap off the summer with family-friendly entertainment, enjoy amazing food, and connect with our rich heritage.

You may have heard that on July 21, the U.S. Senate held a vote to begin debate on a bipartisan infrastructure bill.

Nebraska had only been a state for 70 years when the very first session of the Nebraska Unicameral Legislature was held in January 1937. Every school kid in Nebraska is taught about our one-of-a-kind system of State government. Most of them also tour the capitol building at this time of year. As another mob of school kids trooped past our office door, the inevitable always happens. They see the buffalo head I have displayed in our office. Much to the frustration of their chaperons, they all want to see “Buffy” and our office is suddenly filled with wide-eyed fourth-graders brimming with questions. This has to be the most photographed buffalo mount in the state. They make you forget the often vulgar nature of politics, and remind you that we do things here that are going to out-live us. They inspire me, so I decided to write about them today.