Opinion

Lawmakers are going home to await the call to come back to Lincoln to tackle that once-a-decade task of redistricting. It’s high political drama for deeply partisan senators in a non-partisan Unicameral.

The coronavirus pandemic has been a long journey, but through it all Nebraskans have pulled together to keep people healthy. On March 6, 2020, Nebraska reported its first positive case of the coronavirus. Over the last 15 months, Nebraskans have made many sacrifices. We have spent time apart from each other, figured out how to manage schools and businesses, and worked hard to slow the spread of the virus to protect our hospitals.

Memorial Day began in the years after the Civil War, when it was originally called “Decoration Day.” At the first official celebration of this holiday in 1868, then-Congressman James A. Garfield, who would become our 20th president, said in a speech at Arlington National Cemetery that those who gave their lives for our country “summed up and perfected, by one supreme act, the highest virtues of men and citizens.”

The first session of the one-hundred seventh Nebraska Legislature has drawn to a close. The Speaker has announced that we adjourned “sine die” on Thursday the May 27. Sine die is a Latin phrase that means “without day.” To adjourn sine die indicates the final adjournment of a regular legislative session for the year. We adjourned six legislative days early.

Our nation’s law enforcement officers work every day to keep our communities safe. We owe it to these brave individuals to provide them with the resources necessary to do their jobs both safely and securely across America. I stand with our law enforcement officers and thank them for putting their lives on the line. Yet despite their service, there are still calls to “defund the police,” which would leave our communities less safe and drive economic opportunity away from areas that need it most.

Back in 1966, the last time Nebraska voters took the state’s tax system in their own hands, I was an eager college sophomore journalism major. I was astonished at how voters went to the polls and repealed the state property tax system, essentially leaving state government with no real means of support while reserving property taxes for local government.

Through the years, the Good Life has been forged by pioneers and entrepreneurs in search of opportunities. They put down roots and built welcoming communities that created great jobs for families looking to make a new start. Along the way, Nebraska’s love and respect for law and order has made our state great. Our state motto is: equality before the law – and we live by this principle by fairly and consistently applying the law to everyone.

From the 1940s until 1999, all quarters looked essentially the same. The U.S. Mint had been using the same design on every new quarter for more than 60 years – George Washington on one side, and a bald eagle on the other.

Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson administered the first United States Census in 1790. The census has been conducted every 10 years since then in accordance with Article I, Section 2 of the United States Constitution. Accurate population figures are necessary for determining each state’s representation in Congress.

When I speak with the farmers, ranchers, manufacturers, and other businesses in the Third District, a common theme is the importance of trade to our state’s economic success. This week, the Ways and Means Committee held our annual hearing on the administration’s trade policy agenda, where members of the committee had their first opportunity to hear from and question Ambassador Katherine Tai, our recently confirmed United States Trade Representative (USTR). I appreciated the opportunity to urge the Biden Administration to enforce existing trade agreements and reiterate the necessity of renewing Trade Promotional Authority and completing pending free trade agreements that would not only benefit Nebraska, but our nation as a whole.