{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "is_view": false, "human_description_en": "where state = \"NE\" and year = 2015 sorted by date descending", "rows": [["https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ID=e85606ed-01c8-466b-b481-6bc016e831d0", "Fischer Mourns the Loss of Technical Sergeant Joseph Lemm", "2015-12-22", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Deb Fischer", "F000463", "www.fischer.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Valentine, Neb. -- U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) released the following statement today regarding the death of Technical Sergeant Joseph Lemm, a Nebraska native who was killed in a suicide bombing in Afghanistan:Technical Sergeant Joseph Lemm served many years as a member of the New York Police Department and the Air National Guard. His death is a major loss for Nebraska and our nation. My deepest sympathies are with his family and friends during this difficult time. This tragic loss is a reminder of the grave dangers our service members face around the world, and we keep them in our prayers this holiday season.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ID=4a4e3cfe-9e86-441f-be8e-6deb7bb06dac", "Fischer Unveils 2015 Edition of Working for You", "2015-12-21", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Deb Fischer", "F000463", "www.fischer.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON  This afternoon, U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) released this years edition ofWorking for You a digital magazine highlighting her legislative work and accomplishments on behalf of all Nebraskans.Click here, on the cover photo above, or on the excerpt images below to view this years edition. To view as a pdf,click here.\r\n\r\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://adriansmith.house.gov/hope-christmas-uncertain-world", "The Hope of Christmas in an Uncertain World", "2015-12-18", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Adrian Smith", "S001172", "adriansmith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Amidst the festivities of the Christmas season, our hearts remain heavy for the innocent lives recently lost to terrorism in our country and abroad.\nIn his radio address to the nation on Christmas Eve 1983, President Ronald Reagan recounted the challenges of our countrys first Christmas, encouraging Americans to approach current global conflicts with the same faith and resolve. He also highlighted the sacrifices made by our soldiers to defend our freedoms, which our brave military men and women continue to make today.\n\tAs growing threats from terrorism and persecution plague our world, President Reagans words are a welcome reminder of the strength of Americans and the true hope of Christmas.\n\tMerry Christmas, and I hope all Nebraskans enjoy a safe and happy holiday season.\n\tPresident Ronald Reagan  Radio Address to the Nation  December 24, 1983\n\tMy fellow Americans:\n\tLike so many of your homes, the White House is brimming with greens, colorful decorations, and a tree trimmed and ready for Christmas day. And when Nancy and I look out from our upstairs windows, we can see the National Christmas Tree standing in majestic beauty. Its lights fill the air with a spirit of love, hope, and joy from the heart of America.\n\t...Christmas is also a time to remember the treasures of our own history. We remember one Christmas in particular, 1776, our first year as a nation. The Revolutionary War had been going badly. But George Washingtons faith, courage, and leadership would turn the tide of history our way. On Christmas night he led a band of ragged soldiers across the Delaware River through driving snow to a victory that saved the cause of independence. Its said that their route of march was stained by bloody footprints, but their spirit never faltered and their will could not be crushed.\n\tThe image of George Washington kneeling in prayer in the snow is one of the most famous in American history. He personified a people who knew it was not enough to depend on their own courage and goodness; they must also seek help from God, their Father and Preserver.\n\tIn a few hours, families and friends across America will join together in caroling parties and Christmas Eve services. Together, well renew that spirit of faith, peace, and giving which has always marked the character of our people. In our moments of quiet reflection I know we will remember our fellow citizens who may be lonely and in need tonight.\n\tLet us remember the families who maintain a watch for their missing in action. And, yes, let us remember all those who are persecuted inside the Soviet bloc  not because they commit a crime, but because they love God in their hearts and want the freedom to celebrate Hanukkah or worship the Christ Child.\n\tAnd because faith for us is not an empty word, we invoke the power of prayer to spread the spirit of peace. We ask protection for our soldiers who are guarding peace tonight  from frigid outposts in Alaska and the Korean demilitarized zone to the shores of Lebanon.\n\tWith patience and firmness we can help bring peace to that strife-torn region and make our own lives more secure. The Christmas spirit of peace, hope, and love is the spirit Americans carry with them all year round, everywhere we go. As long as we do, we need never be afraid, because trusting in God is the one sure answer to all the problems we face. Till next week, thanks for listening, God bless you, and Merry Christmas.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://fortenberry.house.gov/media-center/fort-reports/fort-report-offutt", "Fort Report: Offutt", "2015-12-18", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Jeff Fortenberry", "F000449", "fortenberry.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "A seasoned member of an Air Force crew once approached me. He said, Congressman, I understand youre from Nebraska. I spent some time in my earlier years at Offutt Air Force Base. Im getting ready to retire, and Im going to make Nebraska my home. We love the community.\nI hear this story over and over again. The quality of life in Nebraska, including the stability and vibrancy of community and family life, attract many people who were stationed here during their military careers back to our state.\nNebraskans deeply appreciate our militarys sacrifice. We recognize the role that Offutt Air Force Base and Strategic Command play in our national security. Just south of Omaha in Bellevue, these important components of our national security infrastructure are a commanding presence in Nebraskas economic and cultural tradition.\nOffutt Air Force Base has more than 10,000 military and civilian employees and houses several Air Force commands including the 55th Wing, the largest part of the Air Forces Air Combat Command. Offutt-based personnel support worldwide intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, operating out of many different locations to aid in our national security. Other missions range from identifying remains of those who have been lost in battle to observing weather conditions for battle readiness. Personnel stationed at Offutt even monitored and detected nuclear radiation after a devastating earthquake damaged Japans Fukushima nuclear plant in 2011.\nOne of my priorities in Congress is working with both Offutt and Strategic Command to ensure military readiness.\nOne emerging challenge is the bases aging infrastructure. The base has a lone runway which needs to be replaced. Service members have to literally walk the expanse to ensure there is no concrete debris that could damage a plane during takeoff and landing. Planning has begun for a new runway, with design scheduled to begin next year. Essential communication with the Pentagon about the importance of this initiative continues on all fronts.\nThis week, I assembled an Offutt Air Force Base Task Force to conduct careful oversight of the runway replacement process. Joining my task force will be representatives from the offices of Governor Ricketts, Congressman Smith, and Congressman Ashford. We will work closely with the Pentagon through the design phase to monitor ongoing developments as we move toward needed new construction in the next few years. Ongoing evaluation of our military's needs is an important part of my assignment as Vice Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs.\nOffutt Air Force Base and Strategic Command have a symbiotic relationship that is critical to our national security. The Omaha and Bellevue communities, as well as our state government, continue working to support these institutions. In the meantime, I remain amazed at the number of veterans I meet who have served at Offutt or Strategic Commandpeople who had no relationship with our community prior to their experience here, but who now want to call Nebraska their home", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ID=0c4942a5-dea0-428c-8f12-d03c6c1e9279", "Senate Passes GONE Act to Cut Government Waste", "2015-12-18", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Deb Fischer", "F000463", "www.fischer.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON  Today, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed S. 1115  The Grants Oversight and New Efficiency (GONE) Act. U.S. Senators Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va) reintroduced this bipartisan legislation in April to save taxpayer dollars by providing additional oversight over the financial accountability of federal grant programs. The bill would require agencies to close out expired grant accounts with zero dollar balances and undisbursed funding remaining. These expired accounts cost taxpayers millions of dollars each year. Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, is also a cosponsor of the bill.\r\nSenator Fischer released the following statement:\r\nWhile tales of government waste are all too familiar, government spending on literally nothing appears to be a new low. The GONE Act takes significant steps to close out these long expired grants and identify why they were never closed in the first place. The American people deserve more accountability from the federal government, and I hope we can soon send this bill to be signed into law.\r\nSenator Manchin released the following statement:\r\nOne of my top priorities has always been getting our financial house in order and fixing Americas finances, especially when we can cut waste, fraud and abuse. Our taxpayer dollars should be spent on programs and grant opportunities that actually support those who need it most like our children, veterans and seniors, instead of administering empty grant accounts that help nobody. Its remarkable how much this country can save when the federal government cuts wasteful spending that no longer serves the American people efficiently. I am pleased to have worked with Senator Fischer to get this bipartisan legislation passed that addresses our governments wasteful spending head-on.\r\nSenator Ron Johnson released the following statement:\r\nOne of our goals for the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee this year has been to pass legislation that identifies and eliminates duplication, waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government. The GONE Act directs federal agencies to close thousands of empty and expired accounts, previously used to distribute grants, that now are only collecting account fees. This is an opportunity to save American taxpayers millions of dollars per year. I was happy to work with Senators Fischer and Manchin on this legislation, and I hope the House moves quickly to pass this bipartisan, common-sense measure in the new year.\r\nWith more than $500 billion expended annually on federal grants, the GONE Act would provide greater enforcement of existing grant closeout guidance (2 CFR Chapter 2 200.454). This guidance reminds agencies to close out grants within 90 calendar days after the end date of the period of performance. Tardy grant closeouts delay the determination as to whether taxpayer dollars were spent properly.\r\nIn 2012, a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report evaluated grant closeout delays for two major grant management systems. For example, the GAO found that users of the Payment Management System were charged a total of roughly $173,000 per month to maintain the more than 28,000 expired grant accounts with zero dollar balances listed on the yearend closeout report.\r\nThe GONE Act would require the Office of Management and Budget to direct federal agencies to coordinate with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to submit a report to Congress that identifies remaining expired grants. The HHS was charged with leading a previous effort that closed out thousands of expired grants. Following the submission of this report to Congress, agencies would then have one year to confirm that they have closed out all expired grants. Additionally, the inspector general of any agency receiving over $500 million in annual grant funding would be required to conduct a risk assessment to determine if an audit or review of the agencys grant closeout process is necessary.\r\nIn June, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved the GONE Act. The House of Representatives passed a version of the bill in September. Following Senate passage, the bill faces final approval by the House before it can head to the president to be signed into law.\r\nThe Washington Post reported on these grant accounts in April of 2013:\r\nIt is one of the oddest spending habits in Washington: This year, the government will spend at least $890,000 on service fees for bank accounts that are empty. At last count, Uncle Sam has 13,712 such accounts with a balance of zero. They are supposed to be closed. But nobody has done the paperwork yet.\r\nThe following organizations have endorsed S. 1115:\r\n Citizens Against Government Waste\r\n National Taxpayers Union\r\n Americans for Tax Reform\r\n Taxpayers for Common Sense\r\n Taxpayers Protection Alliance\r\nClick here to view text of the Fischer substitute amendment to S. 1115  The GONE Act.\r\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sasse.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=5D9D0933-A1B0-4FE7-8F60-7F5721BC22E0", "Sasse Statement on Omnibus Spending Vote", "2015-12-18", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Ben Sasse", "S001197", "www.sasse.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "\"Heres what this spending bill is: hundreds of policy decisions, thousands of pages, and more than a trillion dollars passed right before Congress skips town for Christmas.\"  \r\n   U.S. Senator Ben Sasse issued the following statement after voting against the omnibus spending bill: \"Heres what this spending bill is: hundreds of policy decisions, thousands of pages, and more than a trillion dollars passed right before Congress skips town for Christmas. Its time for Congress to end this nonsense by doing fewer thingsbut with greater transparency, deliberation, and urgency. Nebraskans see through Washington's familiar, false choice between 'fund it all' or 'shut the government down.\"", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://adriansmith.house.gov/press-release/video-smith-supports-tax-extenders-package-provide-certainty-american-families-and", "VIDEO: Smith Supports Tax Extenders Package to Provide Certainty to American Families and Businesses", "2015-12-17", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Adrian Smith", "S001172", "adriansmith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) spoke on the House floor today in support of the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act. The bill brings certainty to American families and businesses by making more than 20 tax relief provisions permanent and extending other provisions which expired at the end of calendar year 2014. \n\n\t  This legislation prevents large tax increases on the American people while creating much needed certainty in our tax code, Smith said. It allows producers, small businesses, and families to plan for the future by permanently extending important provisions like enhanced Section 179 small business expensing. The bill also enacts important reforms to ensure taxpayers get the responsiveness they deserve from the IRS and are not harassed by the agency for their political views. \nI hear from Nebraskans daily about the difficulty of making financial decisions when they do not know what their tax obligations will be until the end of the year. This bill makes great progress toward ending the cycle of uncertainty. Today the House laid the groundwork for the comprehensive reforms our tax code desperately needs.\n\tThe Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act passed the House this afternoon with Smiths support.\n\tRemarks on House floor:\n\tThank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate this time. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for your efforts on tax policy  better tax policy. \nThe U.S. Congress owes the American people better tax policy than we currently have.\nWe currently have so many temporary provisions that so many Americans are wondering and trying to predict what the tax policy will be by the end of the year. Thats not what we should be about.\nWe should be about establishing permanent tax policy whenever we can.\nI appreciate the bipartisan interest in todays bill because I know a lot of work has gone into this, and I know constituents in Nebraskas Third District can appreciate what permanent tax policy can deliver, especially as it sets us on a trajectory to comprehensive tax reform.\nWe hear from both sides that we need comprehensive tax reform. I agree.\nThis is a great way to move the ball down the field. We can end up with better tax policy today as a result of this legislation, and I urge my colleagues to adopt this legislation.\nThank you. I yield back.\n\tSmith is a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over tax policy.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://fortenberry.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/fortenberry-assembles-offutt-air-force-base-task-force", "Fortenberry Assembles Offutt Air Force Base Task Force", "2015-12-17", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Jeff Fortenberry", "F000449", "fortenberry.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Click below to listen to an audio version of this press release.\nWashington, D.C.  Congressman Jeff Fortenberry (NE-01) today announced the formation of an Offutt Air Force Base Task Force to provide additional oversight of the Defense Departments effort to design and replace the existing runway.\nAs Nebraskans we deeply appreciate our militarys sacrifice and the role that Offutt Air Force Base plays in our national security, Fortenberry said. The Offutt Air Force Base Task Force will conduct careful oversight of the ongoing runway replacement process, a critical component of Offutts infrastructure needs. We will monitor the Pentagons stated commitment to the obligated planning and design money, including a constant review of runway replacement costs.\nI have high confidence that the project is on track, and essential communication with the Pentagon about the importance of this initiative is continuing on all fronts. Joining me on the Task Force will be representatives from the offices of Governor Ricketts, Congressman Smith, and Congressman Ashford. I want to commend the many citizen groups in Nebraska that are taking a great interest in ensuring that Offutt remains a viable part of our national security infrastructure and local community life.\nFortenberry is the Vice Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs.\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sasse.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/library-files?ContentRecord_id=806EA11E-E234-48BA-85AA-EB843F94ED4C", "Full Text: Senator Sasse Discusses Executive Unilateralism on the Senate Floor", "2015-12-17", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Ben Sasse", "S001197", "www.sasse.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Today I would like to propose a thought experiment.\r\nImagine President Trump has been propelled into the White House with 300 electoral votes, having won mainly by the force of his personality, by calling BS on this town, and by his promise to get things done by acting unilaterally.\r\nThe first 100 days are huge.\r\nHe signs an order to turn the Peace Corps into stone masons to build a southern wall. He shutters the Department of Education, and by Executive order, he turns the Department of Interior into the classiest oil company the world has ever known.\r\nWhat happens next? Would those who have stayed silent about Executive overreach over the last 7 years suddenly find religion? After years of legislative atrophy, would Congress spring into action and remember its supposed power of the purse?\r\nAnd what about the Republicans? After having raged against a supposedly lawless President, would many suddenly find that they are OK with a strongman President, so long as he is wearing the same color jersey they are? He may be a lawless son of a gun, some would say, but he is our lawless son of a gun. Would the end justify the means?\r\nThe way that Congress thinks and talks about Executive power over the last few years has almost been this sophomoric. It has been based overwhelmingly on the party tag of whoever happens to sit in the Oval Office at any given moment. Republicans, Democrats, us versus themthese are the political trenches, and the no mans land lies somewhere between this Chamber and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. When your highest objective is advancing partisan lines on a map, it is easy to forgive a President who oversteps his authority, so long as he is your guy and the one with authority is in your party.\r\nI would suggest that this is the entirely wrong way to think about this issue. The problem of a weak Congresswhich we areand the growth of the unchecked Executive should be bad news to all of us. But more importantly than us, this should be bad news for every constituent who casts their votes for us under the impression that the Congress actually makes decisions and doesnt just offer whiny suggestions.\r\nThe shrinking of the legislature in the age of Obama should be bad news for all of us for three reasons.\r\nFirst, we have taken an oath to defend the Constitution, and the Constitution invests the legislature with the legislative powers.\r\nSecond, the Founders design of checks and balances actually was and is a good idea. They were struggling to preserve the freedom of the individual and especially of the vulnerable against the powerfulagainst those who could afford to hire the well-connected lobbyists. The Founders were equally afraid of the unchecked consolidation of power in a king or in the passions of a mob. They understood that human nature means that those in power will almost always try to grab more power, and that base reality hasnt changed over the last 230 years.\r\nThird, under the system that is now emerging, the public is growing more and more frustrated. They think that most of us will be reelected no matter what, and they think that the executive agencies that daily substitute rulemaking for legislating will promulgate whatever rules they want, no matter what, and that the people have no control.\r\nPeople grow more cynical in a world where the legislators who can be firedthat is what elections are forhave little actual power and a world where bureaucrats, who have most of the actual power, cannot be fired. It is basically impossible for the people who are supposed to be in charge in our system to figure out how they would throw the bums out. They ask: Where is the accountability in the present arrangement?\r\nAllow me to be clear about two things up front.\r\nFirst, I think that the weakness of the Congress is not just undesirable; it is actually dangerous for America and her future.\r\nSecond, I think this not because I am a Republican and we have a Democrat in the White House; rather, I think this because Ive taken an oath of office to a constitutional system, and I will continue to hold this view, having taken this oath, the next time a Republican President tries to reach beyond his or her constitutional powers.\r\nDespite these two strongly held views, though, in this series of addresses on the growth of the administrative State and more broadly on the unbalanced nature of executive and legislative branch relations in our time, my goal will not be primarily to advocate. My first goal is just to do some history together.\r\nMy goal is primarily to describe how the executive branch has grown and how Presidents of both parties are guilty of it. But it isnt just that Republicans and Democrats are guilty of trying to consolidate more power when they have the Presidency, although that is true; it is a one-way ratchet.\r\nIt is also the case that Republicans and Democrats are to blame in this Congress for not wanting to lead on hard issues and take hard votes, but rather to sit back and let successive Presidents gobble up more authorities.\r\nMy goal is to give all of us who are called to serve in this body a shared sense of some historical moments, about how we got to this place where so much of the legislative function now happens inside the executive branch, and to convince my colleagues of both parties that we have to take this power back, regardless of who serves in the White House and what party they are from.\r\nSo how did we get to the place where so many giant legislative decisions are now made inside 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and in the dozens of alphabet soup agencies? To understand that, we have to look briefly at the Founders and what they were trying to accomplish.\r\nThese were educated men who had studied all forms of government throughout recorded human history. They had a worked-out theory of human nature. They knew that we are created with inherent dignity worthy of respect, that our rights come to us from God via nature, and that government doesnt give us rights; government is just our shared tool to secure those natural rights. At the same time, they knew that we also have a disposition to self-interest and a capacity for evil. They observed it throughout all of human history, rulers trying to consolidate more power for their own ends, and this is obviously dangerous.\r\nOne of the lessons they drew from their rich historical understanding was the importance of keeping three main functions of government separate. As Montesquieu wrote:\r\nAll would be lost if the same man or the same body of principal men, either of the nobles or of the masses, exercised these three powers: that of making the laws, that of executing them, and that of judging the crimes and disputes among individuals.\r\nThe separation of powers could not, of course, be absolute, for the branches had to work together, each power had to counterpose one another. The key was to divide the power among different institutions while ensuring that those institutions could act together as a coherent whole on the basis of what they call mixed government.\r\nThe Constitution that emerged from the Founders debates and deliberations intentionally enshrines the separation of the powers, and this was a direct result of the Founders study of human nature and their conclusion that that nature was relatively constant. Men everywhere tend to aggrandize power and to use it for selfish ends. When power checks power in the government, the people are better protected. As Tocqueville said when he studied America: Their more constrained government leaves them more room for civil society.\r\nWe have a limited government because we mean to enable nearly limitlessthat is, more free families, more free inventors, more free churches and synagogues, more free not-for-profits, more free local governments, and so on. If you have to describe the essence of the American government in one sentence, Lincoln, to paraphrase, would say, it is of the people, by the people, and for the people.\r\nAmericans believe that we are free, endowed by our Creator with unalienablethat is unchangeable and untouchablerights. That is opposite of pretty much everything the world had ever held in government until 1776. This is what American exceptionalism meansnot that there is something unique about Americans distinct from people in any other place, but that the American idea is premised on rejecting the idea that the King is the one who is free. The King, after all, had an army, and you didnt, and he could use his power however he wished. His subjectsremember they were not called citizens; they were subjectswere dependent. If they wanted to open a business, to start a church, to publish a book, then they needed to ask the King for permission. All that was not mandatory was forbidden unless the King gave you an exception, unless the King gave you a carve-out, unless the King gave you a waiver.\r\nIn America, the opposite was to be true. You are born free, regardless of where you are from or who your parents are, regardless of your bank balance or the color of your skin. In America, if you want to preach a sermon or write a piece of investigative journalism, if you want to say that your elected leaders are losers, if you want to invest in a new app or launch a nonprofit, in America you dont need the Kings permission, for you are free.\r\nAbout 100 years ago, this idea and our system of separation of powers came under attack. There are three or four large reasons why the era of urbanization, industrialization, and then progressivism and the rise of specialized experts called our constitutional system of limited government into question. We will tackle some of those topics after the holidays.\r\nBut for now, it is sufficient to say that the Presidency began to grow larger in the first two decades of the 20th century, and the Congress began to lose some of its powers. It happened because Presidents of both parties were willing to overreach and because the Congress was willing to under-reach, to retreat from that field of competitive ideas, to retreat from our constitutional commitments. For every TRTeddy Roosevelt, a Republicanthere is an FDR, a Democrat. This should not be a partisan issue, for both sides have been guilty of extensive executive branch overreach.\r\nMeanwhile, the professional legislators realized that permanent incumbency is easier if you cede control rather than lead, if you decide not to take the hard votes but just quietly ask the executive branch to make the decisions unilaterally.\r\nToday many in my party argue that no President has ever even contemplated doing what President Obama regularly does. That is actually not true. Whatever one might think of President Obamas gobbling up of powers, his theories are not at all new. His theories date back to the Progressive Eras disdain for limits of the Constitution, and this is especially evident in the self-conscious Executive expansionism of Teddy Roosevelt, the Republican, and Woodrow Wilson the Democrat. After the holidays, we are going to spend a little time exploring both of these men and their attempts to marginalize and to intentionally ignore the Congress toas TR put itgreatly broaden the use of executive power.\r\nI hope that this look at the rise of the executive branch and its legislating over the next number of months will contribute to the efforts of all of us here together who want to recover and safeguard that constitutional vision.\r\nBut, Mr. President, in historical terms, the Congress, in the age of Obama, is very weak. This isnt about the current majority leader, and it isnt about the most recent previous majority leader. It is much bigger than that.\r\nThis institution is arguably the weakest it has been relative to the executive branch at any point in our Nations two and a half centuries. Others interested in the history of this special place might argue that there is some other moment with greater relative weakness than this current moment. We should have that debate, for we should be discussing how and why this institution became so weak.\r\nWe should stop pretendingthe constant exaggeration around here as people fake it, pretending that some tiny procedural vote that didnt pass somehow still changed the world. We should stop pretending omni-competence across huge expanses of often unknowable executive branch governmental action.\r\nVotersbetter, citizensdont believe us.\r\nThe lobbyists dont believe it either. They are willing to fake it with you, but they dont really believe you, which is why so many lobbying firms today are expanding most of their efforts in the regulatorynot the legislativelobbying space, for that is where the action is.\r\nIt would be far more useful in this bodynot to mention far more believable to the people who we work forfor us to learn to talk openly about how and why this once powerful and still special body became so weak.\r\nCongress is mocked, and we should tackle the hows and whys, for the people are not wrong. We should stop this trend, and the first step toward that would be to better understand and to more openly admit the nature of the problem.\r\nI planned this series on the growth of the executive branch for early in 2016 because it would be healthy for the Senate and for our broader public to be wrestling with the duties and constitutional authorities in advance of Novembers Presidential elections before we will know which party will win. We need to have this conversation now precisely because we dont know which party will win.\r\nLet me be realistic for a minute. I hope it is not pessimistic, but I will be realistic. I actually dont think there is much will in this body to do things like recovering the power of the purse.\r\nAnd even if there were, the will to get beyond Rs and Ds, shirts and skins Kabuki theatre, as we drift toward a parliamentary system with winners take all in the executive branchthe actual act of trying to recover power, the power of the purse and the legislative powers that the Constitution vests in this bodywould be very difficult at a time when the public is so cynical and so disengaged because of how dysfunctional this institution is.\r\nI think that the Democrats are likely only to recover a sense of their article I powers if they are looking at a President Trump or a President X or a President Y or whoever the scariest candidate might be to the Democrats. Similarly, I think the Republicans are most likely prone to forget most of their concerns about Executive overreach if a Republican does defeat Secretary Clinton in November.\r\nI will just end with two brief stories. In the first, FDR was frustrated with the Supreme Court, so he had a solution. He would just pack the Court. Who could stop him? He had control of the Congress, after all. Well, someone did stop himSenate Democrats who cared about the Constitution and their oath stepped up.\r\nIn one of the other great instances of this place just saying no, regardless of party, LBJarguably the most powerful leader until the last 10 years in the history of the Senate, the most powerful leader this place had ever known in his agebecame VP and said he would essentially remain majority leader of the Senate at the same time. Again, it was Democrats in this body who said no based on their constitutional responsibilities, not their partisanship. These were men and women who cared more about their country and more about their Constitution and more about their oaths than their party.\r\nI think that all of us in both parties should look to those examples and again be talking in the future about how we emulate them and recover the responsibilities of this body.\r\nThank you, Mr. President.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sasse.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=28A23663-1C2B-4AF0-81F5-20B99A3BE6AE", "Sasse Lifts Hold on HHS Nominees", "2015-12-17", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Ben Sasse", "S001197", "www.sasse.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "U.S. Senator Ben Sasse, a member of the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI) which has been investigating the CO-OP program for several months under Chairman Rob Portman, issued the following statement regarding his efforts to bring transparency and accountability to HHS handling of the systemic failures of the Affordable Care Acts CO-OP program. After much delay and obfuscation, HHS has finally come to the table and provided my office access to new documents, financial reports, and additional information. This is simple: HHS gave $1.2 billion to 12 failed CO-OPs that forced families to find new health plans. From the beginning, weve asked how and why HHS made their decision to send that money out the door. Given HHS recent production of documents and their ensuing commitment to cooperate, I am lifting my hold on pending nominees. As a member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, I will continue working to ensure that taxpayers and victims receive the answers they deserve.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sasse.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=F92AC9BC-330D-44E9-9731-9B4283D20CF9", "Sasse Begins Series of Addresses on Executive Unilateralism", "2015-12-17", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Ben Sasse", "S001197", "www.sasse.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Today, as promised in his Maiden Speech last month, U.S. Senator Ben Sasse began a series of addresses on the growth of the administrative state, executive unilateralism, and legislative apathy. \n\r\n\r\n   Excerpts of the Senators remarks, as prepared for delivery, are found below: \n\"Imagine President Trump has been propelled into the White House... He signs an executive order to turn the Peace Corps into stone masons and build a wall. He shutters the Department of Education and, by executive order, turns the Department of the Interior into the classiest oil company the world has ever known.\" \n\"So what happens next?... After having raged against a supposedly lawless President [would Republicans] suddenly find that they are actually okay with a strongman President, so long as hes wearing the same color jersey that they are? He may be a lawless sonuvagun but, some would say, hes our lawless sonuvagun. Would the ends justify the means?\" \n\"... the problem of a weak Congress and executive growth should be bad news to all of us but, more importantly, to every constituent who cast their votes for us under the impression that Congress makes decisions not just suggestions.\" \n\"I think the weakness of the Congress is not just undesirable, but is actually a dangerous thing for America... I dont think this because I am a Republican and the current occupant of the White House is a Democrat. In fact, I think we need to have this debate now precisely because we dont know who is going to control the White House next.\" \n\"I think it, rather, because I have taken an oath of office to the Constitution; and Ill still hold this same view when a Republican president next tries to reach beyond his or her constitutional powers.\" \n\"In this series of addresses on the growth of the administrative state and on the unbalanced nature of executive branch and legislative branch relations, my goal is not primarily to advocate. My first goal is just to do some history together...\"", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://adriansmith.house.gov/press-release/rep-smiths-office-hold-mobile-office-grant", "Rep. Smith's Office to Hold Mobile Office in Grant", "2015-12-15", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Adrian Smith", "S001172", "adriansmith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Constituents of Third District Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) will be able to meet with a representative of Congressman Smiths office for a mobile office on Monday, December 21, in Grant.\n\tA mobile office allows constituents to meet directly with one of Smiths staff members about federal issues and take advantage of the constituent services available through his office, such as assisting individuals with challenges they face while working with a federal agency, ordering flags flown over the U.S. Capitol and booking tours in Washington, D.C.\n\tSmith, who has offices in Grand Island and Scottsbluff, will provide his mobile office and a staff member on Monday, December 21, at the following time and location:\n\tPerkins County Courthouse  \n\t200 Lincoln Avenue, Grant, NE 69140  \n\t11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. (MST)\n\tFor additional information, contact Congressman Smiths Scottsbluff office at (308) 633-6333.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sasse.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=CD447961-25ED-404D-A7F9-7C5D522479F3", "Sasse on EPA Propaganda Campaign: \"This Is Washington Lawlessness\"", "2015-12-14", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Ben Sasse", "S001197", "www.sasse.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Today, U.S. Senator Ben Sasse, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee and Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, issued the following statement after the Government Accountability Office determined that the EPA broke federal law by engaging in \"covert propaganda\" to support the Obama Administrations controversial Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule. \"Lets not mince words: This is Washington lawlessness. Nebraskans know that WOTUS is terrible policy and everyone should agree that its wrong for government bureaucracies to run illegal PR campaigns. This puddle-propaganda was meant to rally support around the Administrations unilateral re-write of the law. That kind of spin might be commonplace in other parts of the world but thats not how America works. Nebraskans deserve better and taxpayers everywhere deserve better.\" \nBackground: \nToday, a report from the Government Accountability Office determined that the EPA broke federal law by engaging in \"covert propaganda\" to support the Obama Administrations controversial Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule. That report is available here. \nThis spring, the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers released the final Waters of the United States rule under the Clean Water Act. The rule would dramatically expand federal authority and with it EPAs power to levy fines and require additional permits and reporting. \nIn October, the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a nationwide stay on the implementation of WOTUS, noting that the rule has created a \"whirlwind of confusion.\"", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://adriansmith.house.gov/press-release/video-smith-supports-customs-bill-boost-us-trade", "VIDEO: Smith Supports Customs Bill to Boost U.S. Trade", "2015-12-11", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Adrian Smith", "S001172", "adriansmith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) spoke on the House floor today in support of H.R. 644, the Conference Report to the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act, to modernize and streamline the U.S. customs system to improve exporting. The bill passed the House this afternoon with Smiths support.\n\n\t  Remarks:\n\tMr. Speaker, I stand in strong support of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015.\nThis legislation will update and streamline our countrys customs and border policies to facilitate trade and enhance U.S. competitiveness.\nIncluded in the bill are a number of additional commonsense provisions.\nFor example, the bill fixes a technical error which inadvertently increased the tariff rates on outerwear.\nNot only is this fix important to producers, retailers, and consumers, but it also brings the U.S. back into compliance with our commitments under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.\nWhile I am disappointed we couldnt find a path forward on the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill process, I am pleased the bill contains language in support of continued work on this issue.\nThe conference report also takes important steps to strengthen Trade Promotion Authority. \nTPA is necessary to ensure the U.S. gets the best possible deal in trade negotiations as we move forward, and these agreements should leverage our countrys comparative advantages in all industries, including energy.\nFor this reason, I was happy to see the inclusion of language to prevent the administration from using trade agreements to negotiate costly greenhouse gas emission rules in the United States.\nI want to make sure Nebraska producers can make the most of the opportunities provided by a level playing field to increase exports.\nI urge my colleagues to support this important legislation, and I yield back.\n\tSmith is a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over trade policy.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://adriansmith.house.gov/year-regulation-rewind", "This Year in the Regulation Rewind", "2015-12-11", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Adrian Smith", "S001172", "adriansmith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "The end of the year is a time of reflection and anticipation  evaluating what we have accomplished and which goals are still to be achieved. Though the fight against government overreach is ongoing, we have made significant progress this year in our efforts to stand against the Obama administrations regulatory agenda and cut through red tape for Nebraskans. \n\tIn 2014, I launched an initiative called Regulation Rewind to identify federal rules which hurt economic growth, limit opportunities for rural Americans, are inconsistent with the law, or are unfair. With your input, I have continued to take action against many onerous regulations this year and provided regular updates on my website at AdrianSmith.house.gov/RegulationRewind.\n\tAfter hearing concerns from hundreds of Nebraskans regarding the Environmental Protection Agencys (EPAs) Waters of the U.S. rule, or WOTUS, I introduced a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act in July to block this harmful overreach. The companion resolution recently passed the Senate, and the next step is consideration in the House.\n\tOver the summer, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a memo increasing regulatory costs on thousands of anhydrous ammonia retailers by forcing them to comply with the Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals (PSM) standard from which they were previously exempt. Anhydrous ammonia is the most common source of nitrogen for farmers, and a number of Nebraskans have contacted me about the threat this arbitrary rule change poses to their farms and businesses. In late October, I joined 38 colleagues in sending a letter to Labor Secretary Thomas Perez to ask the agency to rescind the memo and utilize a formal rulemaking process to allow those impacted by any potential changes to be heard.\n\tTo decrease regulatory barriers for American businesses in the global marketplace, today I voted in favor of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act. This legislation modernizes and streamlines our U.S. customs system to improve exporting. The bill also prohibits President Obama from using trade agreements to negotiate costly greenhouse gas emissions rules.\n\tBurdensome regulations continue to impact rural Americans access to quality health care. Earlier this year, I reintroduced the Critical Access Hospital Relief Act to repeal the 96-hour precertification requirement. This arbitrary regulation requires physicians at small hospitals to certify Medicare and Medicaid patients will not stay more than 96 hours. I had the opportunity to invite Shannon Sorensen, CEO of Brown County Hospital in Ainsworth, to testify before the Ways and Means Committee in June about the difficulties rural hospitals face due to this rule.\n\tIn September, I joined my Ways and Means Committee colleagues in passing reconciliation legislation to repeal a series of significant Obamacare regulations, including the individual mandate and the employer mandate. Without these core provisions, the law would likely crumble under its own regulatory weight. An amended reconciliation bill passed the Senate at the beginning of this month, and the House is expected to vote on it by the end of the year.\n\tThrough Caseworker in Your Community events and mobile offices, my staff and I have been able to help hundreds of Nebraskans cut through federal red tape. We also hosted our annual Senior Services Fairs in Scottsbluff and Grand Island this fall to ensure seniors and their families have access to the best information available on Medicare and Social Security.\n\tLooking toward 2016, I am optimistic about opportunities for more success in rolling back regulations and will continue working on behalf of Nebraskans to lift these burdens. Thank you for partnering with me in this important effort.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://fortenberry.house.gov/media-center/fort-reports/fort-report-kitchen-drawer", "Fort Report: The Kitchen Drawer", "2015-12-11", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Jeff Fortenberry", "F000449", "fortenberry.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "In my house, there is a drawer in the kitchen full of disorganized stuff. Im sure you have one too. Most of us have experienced the frustration of rummaging around for rubber bands, paperclips, a nail to hang a picture, or batteries for the flashlight. Finding anything requires digging through the mess. However, something else of value usually turns up unexpectedly.\nIn the midst of all the policy discussions, inertia, and errors, the messy kitchen drawer of Congress recently yielded some important outcomes.\nFirst, the House and Senate passedand the President signedlegislation called the Every Student Succeeds Act. From my perspective the federal government should substantively remove itself from the education business altogether, which is properly the domain of parents and local communities. A homogenized and centralized approach can create one-size-fits all educational policy that does not adequately accommodate the needs of individual students with different gifts and interests. This new measure addresses concerns voiced by educators about excessive federally-mandated testing in public schools, ushering in a new era of flexibility, creative education, and local control. Educational successes occur when families, school districts, and states are allowed flexibility to implement policies that are appropriate for their children. This bill effectively ends the ill-suited No Child Left Behind bureaucratic approach.\nSecond, Congress has approved a surface transportation bill, better known as the highway bill, providing necessary support for our nations highways and bridges. This long-term surface transportation bill is needed to address important safety, economic development, and traffic congestion problems throughout the country, establishing funding certainty for the next five years. While there are concerns, particularly regarding the revenue sources, it was a necessary compromise to keep this part of America moving.\nIn the past, when gas was around $4 a gallon, I proposed dedicating a percentage of any future price drop to the highway trust fund. Oddly, the idea was rejected as a tax increase, even though it is difficult to understand how a dedication of a portion of savings is the same as increasing taxes. If my proposal had been explored, substantial increases in the trust fund could have been achieved, perhaps avoiding future funding problems.\nThird, the House passed the Visa Waiver Program Improvement & Terrorist Travel Prevention Act. The United States has trusted relationships with many countries around the world, and the visa waiver program is an important tool to invite visitors from these nations to our homeland. Unfortunately, the program also has loopholes that could pose national security threats. As many as 5,000 people from Europe have traveled to Iraq and Syria, and they could enter the United States through the visa program without proper scrutiny. The recent Paris attackers had passports that could have allowed them into the United States. The Visa Waiver Program Improvement & Terrorist Travel Prevention Act is an important step toward fixing such loopholes and strengthening our national security. Others are needed, and a wide array of immigration proposals are under discussion.\nThere is much justifiable anxiety and fear regarding the security of our country. The first duty of the government is to keep you safe. In the midst of messy policy debates ranging from the budget to immigration, a few things in the drawer got organized.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sasse.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/in-the-news?ContentRecord_id=047B13E7-D5BD-4E87-958A-0ACA3D9A6585", "Ben Sasse continues criticism of White House over terrorist phrasing", "2015-12-11", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Ben Sasse", "S001197", "www.sasse.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "by Joseph Morton,Omaha World-Herald\r\nSen. Ben Sasse was back on the Senate floor Thursday to renew his criticism of the Obama administrations aversion to identifying Americas enemy as militant Islam.\r\n\r\nThe Nebraska Republican read portions of a World-Herald story quoting Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes laying out the argument for avoiding such terms in describing the terrorist group commonly referred to as ISIL or ISIS.\r\n\r\nFor one thing, Rhodes said, using such terms gives terrorists the recognition as religious leaders that they crave. And he said it feeds the terrorists narrative of a United States at war with Islam.\r\n\r\n\r\nBut Sasse said its foolish to ignore the religious aspect of terrorism. He displayed a poster that spelled out words behind the acronym ISIL  Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Except Sasses poster had question marks after the first I in Islamic.\r\n\r\n\r\nEvery fourth-grader in America can deduce without any assistance from Vanna White what the rest of the word that begins with an I is, and yet the White House insists that no one should use the word, Sasse said. They are dealing with a world that they wish were so, as opposed to the world with which were called to struggle.\r\n\r\n\r\nSasse said identifying the enemy is necessary to crafting a successful policy for the Middle East. Intelligence and national security professionals, he said, are hampered by the administrations approach.\r\nRead the full article at theOmaha World-Herald.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://fortenberry.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/fortenberry-welcomes-little-sisters-poor-washington", "Fortenberry Welcomes Little Sisters of the Poor to Washington", "2015-12-10", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Jeff Fortenberry", "F000449", "fortenberry.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C.  Congressman Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) today welcomed to Washington Mother Provincial Loraine of the Little Sisters of the Poor, a Catholic religious order serving the elderly and the poor throughout the world. The Little Sisters of the Poor are appealing to the United States Supreme Court in their quest for equal treatment under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). A mandate in the ACA uses the strong arm of government to force the sisters to pay for drugs and procedures, including abortion-inducing drugs, which many Americans find to be ethically divisive. The government seeks to impose crushing fines on the Little Sisters if they uphold their deeply held and reasoned beliefs.\nI am moved by Mother Loraines leadership, Fortenberry said. I really feel badly for the Little Sisters. The government exists to protect their rights, not to take them away. Mother Loraine has continued to stand up for the fundamental American principle of the rights of conscience and religious liberty.\nIn the face of an unrelenting administration and cultural misunderstandings, Fortenberry continued, the Little Sisters of the Poor have inadvertently found themselves in the vanguard of a fight. For many years we have pushed legislation to try to protect conscience rights, the sacred space of the person. However, the example of a nun and a religious order dedicated to charity for the poor is much more powerful than any legislative initiative.\nWe want to simply take care of the elderly and the poor as we always have for 175 years, Mother Provincial Loraine said. I want to thank Congressman Fortenberry for all he is doing and continues to do for religious liberty, for the right to follow our conscience and serve others.\nThe Supreme Court has agreed to hear the Little Sisters case next year. They are represented by the Beckett Fund, which also successfully represented Hobby Lobby in a similar case. The Little Sisters was founded by Saint Jeanne Jugan, who was recently canonized after the Vatican attributed the miraculous case of a Nebraskan cured from cancer to her intercession.\nFortenberry is the co-author of the Health Care Conscience Rights Act. \n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ID=4ef0602a-5196-49d0-9851-81c319f152d5", "Fischer Applauds National Guard Cyber Team for Nebraska", "2015-12-10", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Deb Fischer", "F000463", "www.fischer.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  This morning, U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and chairman of the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities, applauded the selection of Nebraska for a new Army National Guard cyber protection team. Fischer released the following statement regarding the announcement:\r\nThis is good news for Nebraska. Over the last two years, Ive called for our state to receive a cyber unit. I have worked closely with General Bohac, and previously with former Senator Johanns, in support of this effort. Im happy to see Nebraskas Guard will be able to apply the talents of our state to this new and innovative mission. I will continue to work with the Army National Guard as it moves closer to implementing its plan.\r\nLast night, the Nebraska National Guard announced that it was selected as one of seven new Army National Guard cyber protection teams. These units are designed to address the cyber threats facing the United States. Nebraska will partner with Arkansas and Missouri to host 39 soldiers for this unit between the three states.\r\nThe Guard is expected to release information regarding how many soldiers from this unit it will receive, as well as the location, at a later date. According to the National Guard, the new cyber protection team is expected to begin in Nebraska and partnering states in fiscal year (FY) 2018. They expect it to become mission capable by FY 2019.\r\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://adriansmith.house.gov/press-release/smith-announces-congressional-app-challenge-judges", "Smith Announces Congressional App Challenge Judges", "2015-12-09", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Adrian Smith", "S001172", "adriansmith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) announced today Andrew Bartow, Nick Colton, and Angela Hollman will serve as Third District judges for the 2015 Congressional App Challenge. \n\tBartow, a Scottsbluff High School graduate, is currently pursuing a degree in computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In addition to his studies at MIT, Bartow worked this year as a mobile developer for the popular messaging app Snapchat. While in high school, Bartow developed an app which aided in locating lost or stolen smartphones, receiving thousands of downloads.\n\tColton is a 15-year veteran of the communications and technology industry, and serves as the director of network operations for ALLO Communications in Imperial. In this role, Colton directs ALLOs network operations and engineering, including network infrastructure and project management functions.\n\tHollman is an assistant professor in industrial technology at the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK), where her courses include telecommunications literacy, network architecture and telecommunications, internetworking design, and global internetworking. \n\tThe Congressional App Challenge is open to all high school students who live in  or are eligible to attend public schools located in  Nebraskas Third Congressional District. The winning app in each participating congressional district will be featured on the U.S. House of Representatives website and displayed in a U.S. Capitol exhibit. \nMore details and official guidelines can be found at https://www.challenge.gov/challenge/congressional-app-challenge-ne-03-rep-smith or by contacting Rick Willis in Smiths Scottsbluff office at 308-633-6333. \nThe deadline for submissions is January 15, 2016.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ID=8fb29c35-77e4-4224-8a5a-ce87981dfd07", "Fischer Supports Major Education Reform", "2015-12-09", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Deb Fischer", "F000463", "www.fischer.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON  This morning, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed The Every Student Succeeds Act  the conference report accompanying the Senates education bill by a vote of 85-12. U.S. Senator Deb Fischers (R-Neb.) bipartisan local governance amendment was included in the conference agreement. Senator Fischer released the following statement after final passage:\r\nOnce again, the Senate has passed significant, bipartisan legislation showing we can come together and get major things done for the American people. Through this bill, control over education decisions will return to parents, teachers, and local school districts who are best equipped to ensure future generations will have the skills they need to succeed. Importantly, the final bill also eliminates the flawed common core mandate.\r\nI was also proud to see my local governance amendment incorporated into the final agreement, which will empower local communities, not bureaucrats in Washington, to make the education decisions they see fit for their students.\r\nMatthew Blomstedt, Nebraska Commissioner of Education, released the following statement praising passage of the conference committee report on the Every Student Succeeds Act:\r\nI am pleased to see that the United States Senate has taken action to approve the Every Student Succeeds Act. I am appreciative of the work by Senator Fischer in making this happen so that Nebraska can continue our work on Accountability for a Quality Education System, Today and Tomorrow (AQuESTT) and tailor interventions to address unique local needs of our Nebraska schools so that we can serve every student, every day.\r\nThe Every Student Succeeds Act will now head to the presidents desk for his signature. The bill ends waivers, the common core mandate, and the federal test-based accountability system. It repeals the adequate yearly progress (AYP) federal accountability system and replaces it with a state-designed accountability system.\r\nFor years, policies resulting from the No Child Left Behind law have caused over-testing and forced educators to teach to the test rather than provide students with the knowledge and tools they need. By ending the federal test-based accountability system, the Every Student Succeeds Act would give states the ability to determine how to use federally required tests for accountability purposes.\r\nIncluded in the Every Student Succeeds Act is Senator Fischers local governance amendment. This bipartisan amendment, which Senator Fischer worked on with Senators Angus King (I-Maine) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.), ensures that local school districts are not coerced into adopting misguided education requirements and prevents federal intrusion into how local schools are governed. It also ensures local stakeholders have a stronger voice in both the regulatory and guidance processes.\r\nOn July 16, 2015, the Senate passed S. 1177  the Every Child Achieves Act, by a vote of 81-17. The bicameral conference committee agreed to file the conference report on November 19 by a vote of 38-1.\r\nThe following groups endorsed the Senates education bill that passed in July: the Nebraska Association of School Boards, the Nebraska Rural Community Schools Association, the Nebraska Association of School Administrators, the Nebraska State Board of Education, the Nebraska State Education Association, and the Greater Nebraska Schools Association. To read their statements of support, click here to see Senator Fischers press release from July.\r\nClick here to watch Senator Fischers floor speech\r\nfrom July on her local governance amendment.\r\nClick here for text Senator Fischers amendment and here for a summary.\r\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ID=c9beb7c9-6f13-41b2-9297-08205ee1cead", "Bipartisan Pipeline Safety Bill Passes Committee", "2015-12-09", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Deb Fischer", "F000463", "www.fischer.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  This afternoon, U.S. Senators Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), and Gary Peters (D-Mich.) applauded the Commerce Committees passage of bipartisan legislation to help ensure the safety of Americas pipeline network. The bill, known as the Securing Americas Future Energy: Protecting Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety (SAFE PIPES) Act, would reauthorize the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) through fiscal year (FY) 2019.\r\nSenator Fischer, chairman of the Senate Surface Transportation Subcommittee, released the following statement:\r\nTodays passage of the SAFE PIPES Act out of the Commerce committee is a positive step on the way to ensuring the safety of our national pipeline infrastructure network. Americas pipelines transport liquid fuel and gas to homes, communities, critical energy and transportation infrastructure, and our military bases. Congress must provide aggressive oversight of pipeline safety, and I look forward to supporting this bipartisan, pro-safety legislation to reauthorize PHMSA on the Senate floor.\r\nSenator Booker, ranking member on the Senate Surface Transportation Subcommittee, released the following statement:\r\nToday marks a promising step forward in our efforts to prioritize pipeline safety. Americas existing pipeline infrastructure is an important part of our national energy transportation network. In New Jersey, close to thirty-five thousand miles of gas pipelines connect residents and their energy needs. The SAFE PIPES Act will implement important oversight and accountability measures, encourage the use of new technology, and help ensure safer communities in New Jersey and around the country. Im pleased to have worked with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to secure its passage out of Committee today.\r\nSenator Daines released the following statement:\r\nThe SAFE PIPES Act is an important step forward to improve the protection of pipeline river crossings, fill vacant inspector positions and facilitate communication between PHMSA and state agencies. This is a strong, bipartisan bill that will enhance pipeline safety, promote economic opportunity and help protect our environment. I appreciate Senators Fischer, Booker and Peters for working with me on this important legislation.\r\nSenator Peters released the following statement:\r\nIts taken five years and nearly $1 billion to clean up the last oil spill from a pipeline break in Michigan, and a similar spill in the Great Lakes would be devastating to our economy, environment and drinking water supply. Im proud to work with my Commerce Committee colleagues as we move forward with bipartisan legislation that will strengthen the safety of our nations pipelines and protect our communities and natural resources from the threat of a pipeline break.\r\nThe SAFE PIPES Act would reauthorize PHMSA from FY 2016 through FY 2019. Key provisions of the bill include:\r\nRe-prioritizing and requiring PHMSA to complete outstanding mandates from the 2011 reauthorization bill.\r\nRequiring PHMSA to prioritize statutory requirements for rulemaking over new rulemaking.\r\nRequesting that PHMSA conduct an assessment of inspections process and Integrity Management programs for natural gas and liquid pipelines.\r\nEncouraging PHMSA to investigate and report on advanced mapping technologies for pipeline networks.\r\nProviding direct hire authority to the agency so PHMSA can address its staffing challenges.\r\nCalling for minimum standards to ensure the safety of natural gas storage facilities.\r\nEnsuring coordination and collaboration on research, development, and technology between PHMSA, industry, and public sector stakeholders.\r\nBefore introducing the SAFE PIPES Act, Senator Fischer convened two important hearings of the Senates Surface Transportation Subcommittee to examine PHMSA and the security of our nations pipeline network. On September 18, 2015, Senator Fischer convened a field hearing of the subcommittee with Senator Daines in Billings, Montana. The subcommittee heard from various stakeholders on ways to ensure the stability and efficiency of pipelines in this country.\r\nOn September 29, 2015, the subcommittee looked at the transportation of natural gas. The hearing featured testimony from Christopher Hart, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board; Susan Fleming, director of physical infrastructure at the Government Accountability Office, and representatives from both pipeline inspections technology and pipeline operators.\r\nClick here to view the text of the SAFE PIPES Act.\r\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sasse.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/in-the-news?ContentRecord_id=06683457-801C-4970-AAEC-F75A0EB58C8B", "Sasse: Washington Ignores 'We Are at War'", "2015-12-09", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Ben Sasse", "S001197", "www.sasse.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "by Daniel Halper,The Weekly Standard\r\n\r\nSenator Ben Sasse, a Republican from Nebraska, went to the Senate floor yesterday evening to explain that the U.S. is engaged in a war with radical Islam. \"We are at war,\" Sasse said. \"Washington ignores what it cannot escape.\"\r\n\r\nThe fact that Washington ignores the war means a presidential candidate who focuses on it can do well, Sasse suggested. \"[B]efore another person in this body  or in the national media  stands up to scold the American people about how they could possibly entertain voting for candidate x or y, perhaps we should look in the mirror at why so many of our people are running to demagoguing leaders.\r\nRead the full article atThe Weekly Standardhere.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sasse.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/in-the-news?ContentRecord_id=615D5801-E2DD-422E-A520-A38DD313E914", "'We are at war with militant Islam!' A rookie senator notes what many fear to say", "2015-12-09", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Ben Sasse", "S001197", "www.sasse.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "by Andrew Malcolm, Investors' Business Daily\r\nThere is hope. \nThere is Ben Sasse. We didn't know much about him either. He's a 43-year-old freshman GOP senator from Nebraska, an historian and father of three home-schooled children. Sasse's full bio is here.\nBut let's get to the scary stuff asap.\nHave you been feeling the country is adrift right now, under serious threat from many directions at home and abroad, but rudderless?\nHave you felt frustrated, angered, maybe even frightened for yourself and family by the lack of credible leadership -- real stand-up, follow-me leadership -- from the so-called leaders of both political parties?\nHas the thought crossed your mind that the two parties' leading candidates for president are not really up to the deadly serious task of commander-in-chief, of keeping our country safe.\nWatch Ben Sasse in the video below here. He's not running for anything. He voices precisely what so many of us have been thinking and fearing and, occasionally, hoping. Many in Washington will not like what he says. Good!\r\nRead the full article at Investors' Business Daily.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sasse.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=5F9354C0-31FD-4087-B1B3-985DB64E9905", "Sasse Statement on CO-OP Announcement", "2015-12-09", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Ben Sasse", "S001197", "www.sasse.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "\"If Maine's CO-OP is as good as it gets, things seem pretty bleak.\" \r\n   U.S. Senator Ben Sasse, who has been seeking a full and transparent accounting of the systemic failures of the Affordable Care Acts CO-OPs, issued the following statement after Community Health Options in Maine today announced that it will suspend offering new individual coverage for the 2016 plan year. Community Health Options was loaned $132 million in taxpayer money and, as of the end of 2014, was the only profitable CO-OP, according to a report by the Office of the Inspector General published this past summer. CoOportunity, which operated in Nebraska and Iowa, and 11 other CO-OPs have failed entirely. \"If Maine's CO-OP is as good as it gets, things seem pretty bleak. The only CO-OP operating in the black after the first year just announced it will stop accepting new exchange customers after Christmas. It certainly seems like there is something seriously wrong with this program. At least half a million Americans have been forced out of their health plans when 12 CO-OPs failed, but were still waiting on HHS to provide a full accounting of what has happened.\"", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://adriansmith.house.gov/press-release/smith-votes-strengthen-national-security-through-visa-waiver-program-reform", "Smith Votes to Strengthen National Security Through Visa Waiver Program Reform", "2015-12-08", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Adrian Smith", "S001172", "adriansmith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) released the following statement today after voting in favor of H.R. 158, the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) Improvement Act.\n\tRecent terror attacks around the world, including one within our own borders, have demonstrated the need for leadership and new strategies to ensure the safety of Americans, Smith said. Many of the thousands who have traveled to Syria and Iraq to join ISIS hold passports from VWP countries, giving them the opportunity to enter the United States under far less rigorous security procedures. We must close this loophole and reform the program so our country can continue welcoming visitors while preventing further threats to our national security. \n\tH.R. 158 requires nationals of  or recent visitors to  Syria, Iraq, and other countries designated as state sponsors of terrorism to obtain a visa to enter the United States. The legislation also enhances screening for all people traveling to the U.S. from VWP countries and puts additional measures in place to ensure the accuracy of travel documents.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ID=422265c0-7603-4441-9025-5fabec4fd1fa", "Fischer and King Introduce Bipartisan Paid Leave Bill", "2015-12-08", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Deb Fischer", "F000463", "www.fischer.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C.  U.S. Senators Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) and Angus King (I-Maine) announced this morning they have reintroduced legislation that would offer employers incentives to voluntarily provide paid family or medical leave to their employees. The bill, known as S. 2354  The Strong Families Act, offers new options for working families.\r\nSenator Fischer released the following statement:\r\nIm proud to join my friend Senator Angus King to reintroduce a bill to provide needed flexibility for working families. Employees face the increasingly complicated demands of caring for aging parents and young children while balancing careers and workplace schedules. Our bipartisan legislation is an important step forward to offer more workers, particularly low-wage, hourly workers, peace of mind and the opportunity to earn pay while meeting needs at home.\r\nSenator King released the following statement:\r\nBecause of our countrys outdated family leave policies, working parents too often have to struggle to balance the needs of their families and the needs of their job. Thats not how it should be in America today and thats why this legislation aims to provide them with the flexibility they need to succeed in both. By bringing family leave policies into the 21st century, we can make it easier for working Americans to make a living and take care of their families at the same time  all of which will only help strengthen our workforce and allow us to better compete in todays global economy. Im pleased to join with Senator Deb Fischer to reintroduce this common sense and much-needed bill.\r\nThe Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993 requires employers of 50 or more employees to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave. This time can be used for events like the birth or adoption of children, serious medical issues, or providing care to close family members. The challenge for many working families, particularly hourly workers living paycheck-to-paycheck, is that current law does not address paid time off.\r\nThe Strong Families Act would enable working families to have continued access to pay while they are meeting necessary family obligations. The Fischer-King plan would create a tax credit to encourage employers of any size to voluntarily offer paid leave for workers. It does not include any new mandates.\r\nDetails of the proposal, which is paid-for by budgetary off-sets, include the following:\r\n To be eligible for the tax credit, the employer must, at a minimum, offer two weeks of paid leave; they may offer more.\r\n Paid leave would be available on an hourly basis and would be separate from other vacation or sick leave; part-time employees qualify for paid leave.\r\n For each hour of paid leave provided, the employer would receive a 25 percent non-refundable tax credit. The more paid FMLA time the employer offers, the greater the tax credit.\r\n This tax credit would be available to any employer with qualified employees, regardless of size.\r\n Employers are prohibited from retaliating against employees who participate in the program.\r\n\r\nClick here to view text of The Strong Families Act.\r\nClick here to read the joint Fischer-King CNN op-ed on paid leave from 2014.\r\n\r\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sasse.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=2BE1ECAF-9046-4A0B-A0F5-15CFE6CFFB1E", "Sasse: \"We Are At War With Militant Islam\"", "2015-12-08", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Ben Sasse", "S001197", "www.sasse.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Tonight, Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE) spoke on the Senate floor, criticizing Washington's lack of urgency and seriousness in confronting the growing threat of militant Islam. I rise today to speak about San Bernardino; about the decades-long fight that our free society now faces; and about our dangerous unwillingness to tell the truth about the nature of this battle  about who our enemy is.\n  We are at war.The American people already know this. Our enemies obviously know this. It is only this town  where our so-called leaders dawdle and bicker, pander and misprioritize  it is only this town that seems confused. Washington ignores what it cannot escape.\nAnd that is both a tragedy and a crisis. Because no war is winnable when you pretend that you are not even in one.\nLets start by admitting that this war is different from most wars of the past. This is not about borders or territory. This is not about gold or other material goods.\nWe typically think about state actors, about traditional governments going to war with traditional governments. In this war, however, the enemy includes many non-state actors  many armed groups who are developing global reach in this flatter, technologically-linked modern world.\nOur enemy is merciless and barbaric. They are willing to kill people who are not on traditional battlefields. They will kill non-combatants. They will kill women and children. They will kill at holiday parties and restaurants, at Jewish delis and at sports stadiums.\nJust as sadly as the evolution of enemies, though, this war is hard for the American people to get our heads around because right now we have so much confusion  so much drift, so much orphanhood  in understanding exactly who we are  and what precisely we are defending.\nThis body, the Congress, tries to do far too many things, and we do few of them well. But when there are really important things we should be doing, well then folks seem unable to muster the time or energy or will to focus diligently on the big task.\nToday, we have such a big task sitting right in front of us.\nAnd I would humbly suggest that before another person in this body  or in the national media  stands up to scold the American people about how they could possibly entertain voting for candidate x or y, perhaps we should look in the mirror at why so many of our people are running to demagoguing leaders.\nDo senators really not understand why this is happening? I think its obvious why: Because they get so little actual leadership out of this town  out of either end of Pennsylvania Avenue, or out of either political party.\nMake no mistake: There were some genuinely dreadful things said on the national stage yesterday. But they were almost totally predictable. Did anyone here really not see this coming? And why is it that these words are attractive to some? Why do they find so many followers? Because they are comforting to people who are scared. They are food to a people who are starved for real leadership.\nSunday night was a drought. Monday night was a flood. Neither are what the people need  or what they, at their best, want. But dont be surprised that a people who are being misled by a political class in denial about the nature of this fight comes then quickly to desire very different, much more muscular words and utopian pledges.\nThis towns conversations are so often completely disconnected from the people.\nYou want to know what people calling my office  and stopping me in the grocery store since Paris and now since San Bernardino  want to talk about? They want to talk about what sharia law is  and how many Muslims believe in it. Its a fair question for moms to ask.\nAnd they want to talk about American Exceptionalism  who are we; what are we for; what are we against? What unites us?\nWe should talk more about these things. For a few minutes tonight, lets just step briefly beyond this media cycle and look at where we stand.\nThis is a clash of civilizations a fight between free people and a totalitarian movement. And let me say clearly that recognizing a clash of civilizations is not the same as wanting one.\nWe are free and our enemies hate it. They hate that my wife leaves our home. They hate that my daughters know how to read. They hate that we decided where we would go to church on Sunday.\nThey hate us not because of any particular thing we have done, by omission or by commission; they hate us because of who we are.\nThey hate us because we have a Constitution that enshrines our freedoms. And it is this Constitution that we should be fighting to defend. We should fight to defend the framework that has secured freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly for more than two hundred years  not initially judging every man by the content of his character instead of the color of his skin, but eventually guiding us beyond this American original sin and toward a more perfect union.\nThis weekend, I went to San Bernardino. My wife and I laid flowers at a memorial that has popped up on a sidewalk outside the site where 35 of our neighbors bled this week. Fourteen of them died in this massacre.\nWe talked to our American neighbors there in a neighborhood that should not be a part of a war zone. But a neighborhood that will now forever be a battlefield memorial.\nSome of the people grieving there wondered aloud to us: Why are our politicians so small, so mealy-mouthed? One Marine asked my wife if Washington really even cares about the victims of jihadi attacks like this. One woman asked why no one in Washington seems to be a full-throated lover of America.\nThey are wrong, of course, about the caring and the loving. But they can be forgiven for wondering why we are so unable to be full-throated about the big stuff.\nWe owe to those who died this week to tell the truth about the nature of this conflict. We owe it to those fourteen; we owe it to their families. We owe it to the service men and women in uniform who are abroad right now fighting for our freedom, some of whom will come home in caskets. We owe to the families of those who havent yet died  but will  in the next jihadi attack on our homeland.\nFor it is coming.\nAll adults know that the next attack is coming. You dont need to see the classified briefings some of us see to know that the future is dangerous. The San Bernardino fourteen will not be the last Americans to bleed and die  in our homeland  because we are a free society.\nAnd so we should tell the truth about the enemy we face. We should tell the truth about them but we should also dig down to be honest about who we are; we should reaffirm our core values.\nWe are not at war with terrorism, which is just a tactic. We are not at war with some empty sociological label called extremism.\nWe are not even just at war with ISIS  though we're obviously at war with ISIS  but there will be other enemies that will lift the black flag of death in the future even after ISIS has been routed in Syria and Iraq.\nThis is not about workplace violence. This is not about global warming or gun shows. This is not about income inequality. This is not about kids from broken homes, as tragic as that is, at home or abroad.\nAgain, against a whole load of hand-wringing mush, we need to remember that this attack -- and the next attack -- are not about anything that we have done wrong. This is about who we are. This is about the nature of freedom.\nSo who are we? We are people who unite around the Constitution. We are people who come together around the 1stAmendment, and we together, 320 million of us, believe in the freedom of religion, in the freedom of speech, in freedom of assembly, in the freedom of the press.\nI am a Christian. I am not a Muslim. But I am also in this life an American, and I have taken an oath to the Constitution. And so, as an American, I stand and defend the rights of American Muslims to freely worship even though we differ about important theological matters.\nIn America, we are free to believe different things, and to argue about those beliefs. It matters what you think about the nature of God, and whether he has revealed himself. What you think about salvation matters. Heaven and hell matter. But these things are actually so important, that we dont try to solve any of them by violence.\nAmerica is about the right to argue about our differences with our neighbors. But to make those arguments free from violence. We in this land, under this Constitutional creed, come together as a community of Americans to unite around the core American values, of freedom of religion, and speech, and assembly, and press.\nSo now, as it is emphatically and indisputably clear that we are not at war with all Muslims, lets tell the truth that we most certainly are at war with militant Islam. We are at war with violent Islam. We are at war with jihadi Islam. We are at war with those who believe in killing in the name of religion.\nThis is in fact precisely what America means: It is about being free to raise your kids, free to build a corner store, free to worship and assemble without the fear of violence. And so can argue about religion. Because many of us disagree.\nBut then we come together as Americans to protect each other, to defend each other against religious killing.\nThere are many hand-wringers in Washington who refuse to name the enemy we face. They refuse to admit that we are at war with militant Islam, with jihadi Islam, with violent Islam. They dance around platitudes and empty labels, hiding behind a worry (an understandable worry) that Muslims in America could face backlash.\nI share this fear. And I believe that telling the truth about who is, and who is not, our enemy is actually the only sure pathway to avoiding that danger.\nI think that those who refuse to tell the truth about our enemy  those who will nonsensically claim that the next jihadi attack is somehow just another random case of workplace violence  are making the backlash far more likely, not less likely.\nHere's how I think this backlash happens: the people who are supposed to be laser-focused on protecting us (thats us) mouth more silly platitudes that show that were either too weak or too confused to keep our people safe.\nThen, a megalomaniac strongman steps forward and starts screaming about travel bans and deportations and he promise to keep us safe, which, to some (and actually to many more than most of you seem to understand) sounds better than not being protected at all.\nYou want to stop Islamaphobia? Stop lecturing Americans that theyre supposedly stupid to be frightened about jihadis who actually do want to bomb their sporting event. And instead use your pen and phone as Commander-in-Chief to start telling us what your plan is to find and kill those who would do us harm. Start telling us what your actual plan is to have a Middle Eastern map that isnt generating more failed states that become terrorist training camps.\nThis country invented religious liberty--we're the most tolerant nation the world has ever seen. Our people want a little less elite sermonizing about tolerance in our communities, and a little more articulation of our shared Constitutional principles  and a lot more articulating of an actual battle plan.\nIf youre worried about backlash  if youre worried about obviously over-the-top rhetoric from unserious political candidates  perhaps it would be useful if those of us who have the actual job of protecting the Constitution told the truth.\nWe should be clear about who we are and about the freedoms we stand for. And we should be clear about those who would try to kill us because we believe in these freedoms.\nWe are at war with militant or jihadi Islam, but we are not at war with people who believe in the American creed, which includes the right of everybody of every religion to freely worship and to freely speak, and to freely assemble and argue. We are not at war with all Muslims. We are not at war with Muslim families in Lincoln and Dearborn who want the American Dream amid a pluralistic society for their kids. But we are most certainly at war with those who want to spread a variety of religion that aims to motivate the killing and the freedom-taking of other Americans.\nThis fight will be decades long. And we will win it. But not by denying that the fight exists. We will not win it by being mushy  about either who we are or who they are. We will win it instead by being clearer  about both who they are, and who we are. We will win it by reaffirming our core Constitutional values. We will win it because of who we are  a people who believe in freedom, and a people who are willing to fight and even to die to preserve a a free society for all Americans.\nMacBeth includes that aching line life \"is a tale, told by an idiot, full of sound and fury signifying nothing.\" The context is an aimless people, drifting from who they are, drifting toward nihilism signifying nothing.\nThis should not be us. This cannot be us.\nFor America does signify something. Something special. The belief that everyone Christian, Jew, Muslim, black, white, man, woman, rich, poor, first-generation, fifth-generation everyone is endowed by our Creator with inalienable rights. Government is our shared project in safeguarding those rights. Our Constitution  our shared creed  gives us a framework for ordered liberty. When politicians  whether incumbents who have forgotten their oaths, or candidates trying to run merely on the bluster of their personality  dont talk about the Constitution, when they dont defend first principles, when they refuse to prefer substance over soundbites  when we nonsensically say that our enemy has nothing to do with Islam or conversely that every Muslim is prejudged guilty  then our national conversation crumbles into simple sound and fury.\nThat is not us. For we are Americans.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://adriansmith.house.gov/press-release/smith-collects-more-13000-holiday-cards-troops", "Smith Collects More than 13,000 Holiday Cards for Troops", "2015-12-07", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Adrian Smith", "S001172", "adriansmith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Nebraskans submitted more than 13,000 cards to Congressman Adrian Smiths (R-NE) offices for the 2015 Red Cross Holiday Mail for Heroes program, which gives Americans the opportunity to send their gratitude and holiday greetings to service members, veterans, and their families around the world. Smiths offices in Scottsbluff and Grand Island served as collection points for Third District residents to drop off cards.\n\tAs in years past, Terri Hongsermeier of Grand Island worked tirelessly throughout the year to collect thousands of cards and coordinate their delivery to Smiths office. Kerri Wetovick and Wood River High School, the Bayard VFW Ladies Auxiliary, and Chadron First Baptist Church also each contributed hundreds of cards to this effort. \n\tThank you to everyone in the Third District who joined in this project to show our military men and women how deeply grateful we are for their service, said Congressman Smith. We hope these thousands of cards will bring cheer to those who sacrifice holidays with their families to allow us to enjoy ours in freedom.\n\tLast year, Nebraskans submitted more than 12,000 cards to Smiths offices.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://adriansmith.house.gov/press-release/smith-statement-cool-tariff-ruling-wto", "Smith Statement on COOL Tariff Ruling by WTO", "2015-12-07", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Adrian Smith", "S001172", "adriansmith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) released the following statement today after the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled Canada and Mexico may impose retaliatory tariffs of up to $1.01 billion on imported U.S. products due to the U.S. Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) law.\n\tStakeholders should continue working together to empower consumers with the information they want about the meat they buy, Smith said. However, continued inaction on COOL will only ensure $1 billion in new annual retaliatory tariffs. These penalties will damage the ability of U.S. producers and manufacturers to sell goods to 157 million of our best customers in Canada and Mexico while increasing costs for U.S. consumers on a variety of products. \nWhile some still suggest keeping COOL in its current form while negotiations continue, we must address the urgency of this issue by acting now and then proceeding with talks  otherwise, we risk the imposition of retaliatory tariffs and further damage from the possible prolonged loss of market share.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://fortenberry.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/fortenberry-supports-visa-waiver-program-reform", "Fortenberry Supports Visa Waiver Program Reform", "2015-12-07", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Jeff Fortenberry", "F000449", "fortenberry.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Click here to listen to an audio version of this press release.\nWashington, D.C.  Congressman Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) today announced his support of reforms to the U.S. visa waiver program, joining a bipartisan group of his colleagues in cosponsoring the Visa Waiver Program Improvement & Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015 (H.R. 158).\nThe visa waiver program is an important tool to invite visitors from trusted countries to America. However, it also has loopholes that could pose national security threats. The recent Paris attackers had passports that could have allowed them into the United States without the necessary vetting. Congress must determine the extent to which the program makes us vulnerable to terrorist threats and take action to reform it.\nThe Visa Waiver Program Improvement & Terrorist Travel Prevention Act is the first step in the right direction to fix loopholes and strengthen our national security. This legislation is one of a host of immigration reforms that should be undertaken.\nThe Visa Waiver Program Improvement & Terrorist Travel Prevention Act enhances national security by limiting Visa Waiver Program access for travelers who are nationals of or have recently visited countries with significant terrorist activity, including Iraq and Syria. The legislation increases security screening procedures for persons traveling to the U.S. and takes additional steps to ensure provided background information and travel documents are accurate.\nFortenberry is a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations.\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ID=e507c9a7-3001-4c4a-9b04-da0b6ece1b6b", "Fischer Previews President's Address, Touts Highway Bill Passage", "2015-12-06", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Deb Fischer", "F000463", "www.fischer.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "In Case You Missed It\r\n\r\nFischer Previews Presidents Address, Touts Highway Bill PassageAmericas News HQ  Fox News ChannelSunday, December 6, 2015\r\nSen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and chairman of the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities, joined Americas News HQ host Shannon Bream onFox News Channelthis afternoon. She discussed the threat of radical Islamic terrorism and last weeks passage of the long-term highway bill.\r\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://adriansmith.house.gov/protecting-american-energy-against-president%E2%80%99s-distorted-priorities", "Protecting American energy against the Presidents distorted priorities", "2015-12-04", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Adrian Smith", "S001172", "adriansmith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "While President Obama touted his cap-and-trade policies in Paris this week, the House was working to stop bureaucratic overreach by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Obama administration's costly regulatory agenda is a leading threat to our economy and domestic energy production, but the President continues to prioritize red tape and executive orders. \n\tAt the COP21 conference on Tuesday, President Obama stated about climate change, \"In some ways, it's akin to the problem of terrorism and ISIL.\" Following the horrific terror attacks which took hundreds of lives in Paris, Beirut, Egypt, and Mali  and now an attack within our own borders by a California couple who pledged allegiance to the leader of ISIS  the President's statement is disturbing at best.\n\tRather than focusing on a plan to destroy ISIS, President Obama continues to make his regulatory agenda the top priority for his administration. In Congress, we remain committed to standing against his executive overreach.\n\tThis week, the House passed two joint resolutions under the Congressional Review Act disapproving of the President's harmful regulations on domestic power. These regulations go above and beyond existing efforts by the power industry, and in many cases set unrealistic goals. As we enter the winter months, the last thing Nebraskans need is more red tape driving up their energy bills. These resolutions of disapproval already passed the Senate and will now go to the President's desk. \n\tTo meet America's energy needs and protect our economy, we need an all-of-the-above energy policy. The House passed the North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act on Thursday to boost domestic energy production. This legislation would reduce regulations currently blocking energy projects and innovation, strengthen the security of our electric grid, and cut down on government waste in existing programs.\n\tRenewable fuels play an important role in diversifying our energy supply and giving consumers more choices, but the EPA continues to stand in the way of their development. On Monday, the EPA announced its final Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) rule, which falls billions of gallons short of the Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) set by law. Unfortunately, this rule is yet another example of the EPA disregarding Congress to accomplish its own agenda. \n\tRecord corn harvests have shown the supply exists, but the EPA undermines consumer choice at the fuel pump with its arbitrary regulations. Earlier this year, I introduced a bill to extend to E15 fuel the same waiver from EPA volatility standards already granted to E10, allowing it to be sold year-round. \n\tI also continue to lead the charge in the House to stop the EPA's Waters of the U.S. rule, or WOTUS. This rule is one of the largest abuses of executive power in modern history, posing a significant threat to Nebraska's economy. While the Obama administration defiantly pushed forward with WOTUS, I began the process of blocking the rule by introducing a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act.\n\tThe companion resolution, introduced by Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa, passed the Senate last month. I am hopeful the House will soon consider this legislation and send it to the Presidents desk. We must use every available tool to prevent this devastating rule from ever being implemented.\n\tWhile the Obama administration pushes for more red tape and bureaucratic control over our country's energy supply, I will continue standing against the President's distorted priorities and working on solutions to strengthen American energy.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://fortenberry.house.gov/media-center/fort-reports/fort-report-recovering-america", "Fort Report: Recovering America", "2015-12-04", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Jeff Fortenberry", "F000449", "fortenberry.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "As I walked through the airport recently, I saw a young teenager who proudly displayed a button on her clothing. It said: What you do matters. I liked it! Im not sure what motivated her, but she wanted to communicate an important value, to elevate an ideal. I admired her enthusiasm for taking a stand.\nA recent survey highlights a troubling statistic: a majority of Americans dont identify with what America has become. Many people feel our country is slipping away, but most want to reclaim the promise of our nation. Contrary to the barrage of negativity, most people hope for justifiable goals: to regain power over their lives, their government, and their economic prospects.\nUltimately, however, both the government and the market are downstream from cultureand Americas social fabric is fraying. Many people are experiencing deepening anxiety about the direction of our country. The recent attack in the San Bernardino Valley has only intensified the feeling. A crazed couple driven by their twisted religious ideology murdered indiscriminately at a social service center. A horrific tragedy and a grotesque irony. \nA genuine multiculturalism, long a vibrant hallmark of the American experience, will continue to decay into discord unless two mutually supporting conditions are sustained: a genuine appreciation of organic difference and a binding substructure of universal ideals and shared values. One such value is that we do no harm to others. A religion that teaches killing is no religion at all. Other important values include trustworthiness, thrift, citizenship, courteousness, and so on (a helpful list is found in the Boy Scout Law).\nThe values crisis is compounding a three-part problem: government overreach, economic exclusion, and cultural dislocation.\nFirst, a centralizing government seems decreasingly able to understand, much less address, the needs of the citizens it should serve. In the midst of a divisive political season, partisan dysfunction and bureaucratic inertia are hindering proper progress toward addressing our countrys pressing problems, and overshadowing local initiative where certain problems can best be solved. Not everything is a federal issue.\nSecond, a private sector of consolidating corporate power, often underwritten by the state, is disenfranchising the small business sector. A loss of genuine choice and competition, of economic pluralism, reduces the ability of people to participate, own, and innovate in a marketplace that is truly free and can deliver widespread prosperity.\nThird, a culture of contrasting philosophies, more and more frequently enflamed by caustic rhetoric, is contributing to what some believe are irreconcilable social divisions. An impoverished account of individualismof a liberty reduced to autonomous choice and divorced from responsibilitycreates social anarchy, which creates the conditions for counterproductive government interventions, lawless overreach, and intrusive market manipulations. Add in the mix a confusing assortment of value choices driven more by experimenting elites than the stability of sound tradition and you have a recipe for harmful disruption. There is much sadness.\nAs politicians and the media debate policy positions, we must understand that authentic solutions involve a return to essential value propositions. The application of proper principles to these problems would enable Washington to better assuage widespread and justifiable angst with appropriate government decentralization and dynamic economic inclusion, supported by a hopeful culture.\nAs you enter Nebraska, the signs read: The Good Life. A good life is found in freedom and responsibility. A just and orderly society is founded by individuals who care. And what we all do matters.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sasse.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=B3D38DE6-7239-48CA-819E-CC4120778EC0", "Sasse: \"The Crowd-Sourcing Of Domestic Terror Is A Reality\"", "2015-12-04", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Ben Sasse", "S001197", "www.sasse.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "U.S. Senator Ben Sasse, a member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, issued the following statement today on the San Bernardino attack and the evolving nature of the war against militant Islam.\"Washington must wake up to this fact: the crowd-sourcing of domestic terror is a reality. While slow-moving, federal bureaucracies look for card-carrying terrorists, the Islamic State and al-Qaida are crowd-sourcing their jihad. We must adapt and develop a long-term strategy to name and defeat our enemy. That enemy is not the empty label extremism but the ideology of militant Islam.\"", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://adriansmith.house.gov/press-release/smith-thanks-good-life-showcase-participants", "Smith Thanks Good Life Showcase Participants", "2015-12-03", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Adrian Smith", "S001172", "adriansmith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) released the following statement today to thank the 18 photographers who submitted their photos of Nebraskas Third District to The Good Life Showcase this year. The photos are on display, each labeled with the photographers name and city, in the main lobby of Smiths Washington, D.C. office.\n\tThank you to everyone who shared their photography talents and highlighted the best of their Third District communities through this Showcase, Smith said. The variety, creativity, and number of photos we received exceeded my expectations. All submissions are proudly displayed in my Washington office so visitors and colleagues can experience The Good Life during their time in the nations capital.\n\tFeatured photographers include:\n\tApril Christman, Grand Island  \n\tAshley Haack, Scottsbluff  \n\tBill Coe, Max  \n\tColyn Suda, McCook  \n\tGrant Lebsack, Kearney  \n\tIrene Rutten, Cedar Rapids  \n\tJason Kepler, Chappell  \n\tJayson Alder, Omaha  \n\tJerry Ingram, Kearney  \n\tJill Weiser, Shelton  \n\tKevin McNichols, Atkinson  \n\tKyle Mock, Albion  \n\tLaura Vroman, Valentine  \n\tLonnie Burns, Ogallala  \n\tPeggy Johnston, Kearney  \n\tPolly Olson, Chappell  \n\tSabine Kantenseter, North Platte  \n\tTanya Lewis, Sidney\n\tSmith will continue accepting submissions for The Good Life Showcase on a rolling basis. Third District photographers are invited to send their photos for consideration to TheGoodLifeShowcase@mail.house.gov.\n\tFor more information and guidelines, click here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ID=030fc664-5fbd-493f-bbfe-58fb8065bd3c", "Fischer Votes to Repeal ObamaCare", "2015-12-03", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Deb Fischer", "F000463", "www.fischer.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON  This evening, U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) voted to repeal Obamacare. She released the following statement regarding her vote:\r\nFor many years now, ObamaCare has caused financial hardship and uncertainty for families across Nebraska. Millions of Americans are forced to have plans that are more expensive with higher premiums and ever-increasing deductibles. Today, the Senate took action and I was proud to vote for ObamaCares repeal  something I have advocated for since running for this office.\r\nI remain committed to promoting policies that will reduce costs and improve care. We must continue to help Nebraska families, and the millions of Americans who are still struggling to find affordable access to quality health care.\r\nThe ObamaCare repeal bill eliminates more than $1 trillion in tax increases and would save more than $500 billion in federal spending. For years, Nebraskans have witnessed the devastating effects of this unworkable law and nearly 20,000 Nebraskans have contacted Senator Fischers office to express their concerns with higher costs and fewer choices.\r\nAccording to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), ObamaCare will cost Nebraska taxpayers more than $582 million over the next ten years. This translates to an average increase of $843 per Nebraska household each year.\r\nWell before the passage of ObamaCare, Americas health-care system faced serious challenges. Senator Fischer believes solving these problems requires common-sense reforms. Thats why she support policies to strengthen and improve our nations health-care system, including:\r\n Repealing the individual and employer mandate\r\n Returning the definition of full-time employment to 40 hours\r\n Returning regulatory control over health insurance to the states\r\n Allowing the purchase of health insurance across state lines\r\n Enacting medical malpractice reform\r\n Maintaining protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions\r\nClick here to view Senator Fischers remarks on this bill from Wednesday.\r\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ID=e57e9ef9-749f-46bd-bd91-e45317bd667f", "Fischer Praises Final Passage of Highway Bill", "2015-12-03", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Deb Fischer", "F000463", "www.fischer.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  This evening, the U.S. Senate passed the final version of a five year highway bill 83-16. U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), chairman of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Surface Transportation, and an active member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, was appointed to the highway bill conference committee. As a member of both committees, Fischer played a key role in drafting the bill and advocating for its passage in the Senate this summer. Fischer released the following statement this evening following final passage:\r\nFor the first time in over a decade, Congress has come together and provided long-term solutions for Americas transportation challenges. Through bipartisan cooperation, this bill will provide certainty and authorize funding for our nations infrastructure over the next five years.\r\nThe Senate led the way, and Im proud to have been engaged in this historic bill  from the Commerce and EPW committee markups earlier this year to the final passage today. This final agreement includes many victories for Nebraska and will offer new resources for updating and maintaining our roads, highways and bridges for years to come.\r\nThe bill now heads to the presidents desk to be signed into law. It will authorize surface transportation projects over the next five years.\r\nSince her time in the Nebraska Legislature, Senator Fischer has been a strong proponent of long-term transportation solutions. Fischer joined her colleagues to craft the Senate version of the highway bill, which passed in July.\r\nFischer Provisions in Final Highway Agreement\r\nSenator Fischer announced the successful adoption of several key provisions she fought to include in the legislation. These provisions, which are listed below, were drafted in consultation with key transportation stakeholders in Nebraska, including officials from the Nebraska Department of Roads, local officials and community leaders, and both the public and private sector.\r\nIncreased Nebraska Transit Funding (Section 3015 and 3017): Nebraskas transit programs will receive approximately 12 percent more in increased funding for the life of the bill. It establishes a new competitive grant for bus and bus facility funding.\r\nCategorical Exclusion Programmatic Agreement Template (Section 1315): Fischers provisions will improve the programmatic agreement process for categorical exclusion (CE) projects. This provision establishes procedures  based on a template developed by the Secretary of Transportation  which will allow states, in addition to the federal government, to determine which state or federal agencies must be consulted prior to beginning an infrastructure project.\r\nTechnical Assistance for States (Section 1307): This provision will provide technical assistance from the Federal Highway Administration to help states provide their own certification regarding the appropriate level of environmental review of certain CE projects. This will prevent them from wasting time while waiting for the federal government to provide its assessments.\r\nCommercial Driver Pilot Program for Veterans (Section 5404): The FMCSA will be required to establish a pilot program to allow military veterans, who are between the ages of 18 and 21 and also possess a commercial drivers license (CDL) to drive commercial trucks across state lines. The program also establishes a working group to evaluate, monitor, and provide recommendations to the DOT on the pilot program. Program participants will not be authorized to transport passengers, hazardous cargo, or larger truck configurations.\r\nNational Freight Program and Rural Corridors (Section 1116 and 70103): Provides guaranteed annual funding for Nebraskas rural and urban freight corridors. Under the separate freight grant program, there is a set-aside for both small and rural projects, which will be a significant benefit for Nebraska.\r\nFederal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Regulatory Reform (Sections 5202 to 5205): Reforms flawed regulatory process at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to ensure better public and stakeholder participation in the process. It will also promote more transparency at the agency, improve responses to stakeholder petitions, and a strengthened cost-benefit analysis for rulemakings. Fischers provisions also require the FMCSA to inventory, update, and reissue outdated guidance documents every five years.\r\nCompliance, Safety, Accountability Reform (Sections 5221 to 5225): This provision addresses the flawed Compliance, Safety, and Accountability (CSA) truck scoring program. It requires the FMCSA to commission an independent assessment of the program and issue a corrective action plan after receiving the results. Current scores must be removed from public view until the DOT Inspector General certifies these flaws are addressed.\r\nHair Testing for Commercial Drivers (Section 5402): Allows for hair testing of commercial truck drivers as an alternative form of drug testing. The provision requires the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to establish guidelines within one year for hair testing.\r\nPorts Performance Freight Statistics Program (Section 6018): This will require yearly reporting by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics regarding metrics for top U.S. ports. It establishes a working group to design the metrics for reporting, including ports, federal stakeholders, rail and trucking industries, shippers, and port users.\r\nHazardous Materials Endorsement Exemptions for Agriculture Producers (Section 7208): The provision exempts agricultural retailers, business employees and producers from obtaining a hazardous materials drivers license for transporting diesel fuel. This applies to shipments containing less than 1,000 gallons if the container is clearly marked as diesel fuel.\r\nPTC Plan Approval Clarification and ECP Braking Study (Section 11315d and 7311): This provision clarifies that the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) does not have the authority to approve or disapprove Positive Train Control (PTC) plans that outline its implementation beyond 2018. It requires the FRA to report and publish the safety benefits of a billion dollar electronic braking mandate  or face repeal.\r\nCrop Insurance Restored (Section 32205): The $3 billion in cuts to the crop insurance program are reinstated. Previously, the Bipartisan Budget Deal reduced the overall rate of return for insurance providers from 14.5 percent to 8.9 percent. This had put the most important and viable risk management tool available to agriculture producers at risk.\r\nProtections for Nebraskas Community Banks (Section 32203): The conference report would reduce the rate of the dividend the Federal Reserve pays to its member banks with total assets greater than $10 billion from six percent to a floating rate. This mirrors the yield on 10-year treasury bonds, protecting the majority of Nebraska banks. The report would also reduce the assets within the Federal Reserves Capital Surplus Fund to $10 billion and redirect funds above this amount to the Highway Trust Fund.\r\nPraise for Highway Bill from Key Nebraska Stakeholders\r\nA long-term highway bill has broad support across Nebraska. The following Nebraska stakeholders released statements praising Senator Fischers work on the transportation bill:\r\nNebraska Governor Pete Ricketts released the following statement:\r\nThe passage of the transportation bill today represents a new five-year commitment from Congress to building the 21st-century infrastructure we need to continue to grow Nebraska. Senator Fischers leadership and our Nebraska delegations commitment to this legislation have resulted in much-needed certainty for the state as we plan for future projects and work to determine how to best utilize all our transportation resources.\r\nOmaha Mayor Jean Stothert released the following statement:\r\nLike many large cities, Omaha has an aging infrastructure. A long-term federal funding commitment will help us continue with needed infrastructure improvements across the city. We appreciate Senator Fischer's support of the FAST Act and the many ways it will benefit Omaha.\r\nLincoln Mayor Chris Beutler released the following statement:\r\nWe appreciate the efforts of Senator Fischer and the Nebraska delegation to increase and stabilize the federal funding for street and transportation improvements. Lincolns economy and our high quality of life depend on projects and programs that these dollars help support.\r\nKyle Schneweis, director of the Nebraska Department of Roads, released the following statement:\r\nIts very gratifying to see Congress complete a five-year highway and transit bill. This renewed federal partnership with states comes at a critical time for the well-being of Nebraska and the whole country. I want to thank our congressional delegation for their unfailing attention to this important responsibility, and Senator Fischer in particular for her steadfast leadership.\r\nCurt Simon, executive director of the Omaha City Transit Authority (Metro), released the following statement:\r\nWe are excited to extend our thanks to Senator Fischer as a member of the Conference Committee and the Nebraska delegation. Enactment of this new transportation bill will provide long term stability and allow for the much needed resources to upgrade buses in the Metro fleet. This is a big win for Nebraska and our Omaha metropolitan area.\r\nSteve Nelson, president of the Nebraska Farm Bureau Federation, released the following statement:\r\nWe truly appreciate Sen. Fischers work on the Conference Committee in representing the views and needs of Nebraskas farmers and ranchers. This deal not only provides five years of funding certainty for our nations highway infrastructure, it also provides relief to states looking to reduce the regulatory burden on farmers and ranchers without the threat of losing federal funding. Lastly, the agreement reached to avoid the $3 billion in cuts to the federal crop insurance delivery system helps ensure that the key risk management tool for Nebraska farmers will be available at a time when it is needed most.\r\nDeb Cottier, executive director of the Nebraska Northwest Development Corporation, released the following statement:\r\nThis major piece of legislation provides much-needed long-term certainty and flexibility for state and local governments and creates opportunities for improving rural highway corridors vital to safe travel, economic development, and energy development for Nebraska, the Heartland Region, and the United States. We have waited a long time for a multi-year bill, and we thank Senator Fischer for her leadership on this legislation.\r\nLarry Dix, executive director of the Nebraska Association of County Officials, released the following statement:\r\nThe Nebraska Association of County Officials appreciates the efforts that Senator Fischer has put forth on the Federal Surface Transportation Act. Nebraska counties have worked with Senator Fischer for many years on infrastructure needs. She has served Nebraska counties very well through her leadership, when she was in the Nebraska Legislature, and now at the federal level. Senator Fischers experience knowing the needs of Nebraska counties roads and bridges is invaluable. Thanks to her leadership on infrastructure needs, we will have a bill that we can literally build on.\r\nClick here for a summary of the final highway agreement.\r\nClick here for the full text of the bill.\r\n\r\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sasse.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=8DA65B0C-4FE9-4D0F-B328-9EC665702C5D", "Sasse Statement on ObamaCare Repeal and Pro-Life Legislation", "2015-12-03", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Ben Sasse", "S001197", "www.sasse.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Sasse presides over Senate as bill passes 52-47  \r\nU.S. Senator Ben Sasse issued the following statement after voting for legislation that repeals the core of ObamaCare and redirects taxpayer dollars from the nations largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, to community healthcare centers. Sasse was presiding over the Senate tonight when the legislation passed 52-47.\"Congress is finally putting legislation to repeal ObamaCare on the Presidents desk but our work is far from done. Republicans cant beat bad ideas with no ideas its time to put a serious replacement on the table and give the American people a clear choice between ObamaCare and a patient-centered solution.\n\"Im also grateful that my colleagues have voted to direct taxpayer funds away from the nations largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, and toward community health centers that provide comprehensive care for women and their families. Our pro-life positions are motivated by compassion and respect for the vulnerable that's exactly what this legislation is all about.\"", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://adriansmith.house.gov/press-release/rep-smiths-office-hold-mobile-offices-tryon-and-mullen", "Rep. Smith's Office to Hold Mobile Offices in Tryon and Mullen", "2015-12-02", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Adrian Smith", "S001172", "adriansmith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Constituents of Third District Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) will be able to meet with a representative of Congressman Smiths office for mobile offices on Tuesday, December 8, in Tryon and Mullen.\n\tA mobile office allows constituents to meet directly with one of Smiths staff members about federal issues and take advantage of the constituent services available through his office, such as assisting individuals with challenges they face while working with a federal agency, ordering flags flown over the U.S. Capitol and booking tours in Washington, D.C.\n\tSmith, who has offices in Grand Island and Scottsbluff, will provide his mobile office and a staff member on Tuesday, December 8, at the following times and locations:\n\tMcPherson County Courthouse  \n\t500 Anderson Street, Tryon, NE 69167  \n\t9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. (CST)\n\tHooker County Library  \n\t102 N. Cleveland Avenue, Mullen, NE 69152  \n\t4:45 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. (MST)\n\tFor additional information, contact Congressman Smiths Scottsbluff office at (308) 633-6333.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://adriansmith.house.gov/press-release/public-comment-period-extended-va%E2%80%99s-proposed-reconfiguration-black-hills-health-care", "Public Comment Period Extended on VAs Proposed Reconfiguration of Black Hills Health Care System", "2015-11-30", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Adrian Smith", "S001172", "adriansmith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Public Comment Period Extended Until February 5, 2016\n\tMembers of the South Dakota, Wyoming and Nebraska congressional delegations today made the following statement in support of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) decision to extend the public comment period on the environmental impact statement regarding proposals for reconfiguration of the Black Hills Health Care System (BHHCS) until February 5, 2016. Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Mike Enzi (R-Wy.), John Barrasso (R-Wy.), and Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) and U.S. Representatives Kristi Noem (R-S.D.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wy.) and Adrian Smith (R-Neb.), sent a letter to VA Secretary Robert McDonald earlier this month requesting the extension.\n\tWe are pleased that Secretary McDonald listened to our concerns and extended the public comment period for the VAs proposed changes to the BHHCS, said the Members. Any reconfiguration will impact veterans in the tri-state area who rely on the system for their health care needs. For this reason, it is critical that area veterans and stakeholders have adequate opportunity to voice their opinions regarding the future of its facilities.\n\tOn October 28, 2015, the VA released its draft environmental impact statement (EIS) with respect to the BHHCS. The delegations letter to Secretary McDonald requesting an extension of the comment period can be found here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://adriansmith.house.gov/press-release/smith-statement-epa%E2%80%99s-final-renewable-fuel-standard-rule", "Smith Statement on EPA's Final Renewable Fuel Standard Rule", "2015-11-30", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Adrian Smith", "S001172", "adriansmith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) released the following statement today after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its final Renewable Volume Obligation (RVO) numbers for biofuels under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) for 2014, 2015, and 2016.\n\tThe final RVO numbers released by the EPA are disappointing and do not reflect the standards for biofuels set by Congress, Smith said. Despite record corn harvests showing the supply exists, the EPA continues to undermine consumer choice at the fuel pump through arbitrary regulations. I hope the EPA will reconsider these RVO levels and recognize the necessity of an all-of-the-above approach to meet our countrys energy needs.\n\tSmith introduced H.R. 1736 in April to extend to E15 the same waiver from EPA volatility standards already granted to E10, allowing it to be sold year-round. To read more about H.R. 1736, click here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sasse.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=9BAC9EE9-3832-455D-B72C-DB6D72657D30", "Sasse Hits EPA's Unilateral RFS Rewrite", "2015-11-30", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Ben Sasse", "S001197", "www.sasse.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "\"Nebraskans cant ignore the law, and neither should Washington.\"  \r\n   U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse issued the following statement today regarding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys (EPA) unilateral rewrite of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) volume requirements. \"Nebraskans cant ignore the law, and neither should Washington. Reasonable people can argue about the RFS and the appropriate place to do that is Congress. Our states farmers never had an opportunity to vote for or against any of these bureaucrats but thats not stopping the EPA from acting like a super-legislature. I am incredibly disappointed that, over and against concerns my letter voiced this spring, one of Washingtons most powerful agencies is again unilaterally re-writing the law.\"", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://adriansmith.house.gov/surrounded-reasons-be-grateful", "Surrounded by Reasons to Be Grateful", "2015-11-27", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Adrian Smith", "S001172", "adriansmith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "The holiday season gives us an opportunity each year to dedicate quality time to our families and friends, reflecting on all we have for which to be grateful. It is understandably more difficult to engage in joyous celebration with the growing turmoil in our world. However, it is important for us to focus on and give thanks for all the goodness in our lives and communities.\n\tIn his address to the nation on Thanksgiving Day 1985, President Ronald Reagan observed, We are grateful for our abundant harvests and the productivity of our industries; for the discoveries of our laboratories; for the researches of our scientists and scholars; for the achievements of our artists, musicians, writers, clergy, teachers, physicians, businessmen, engineers, public servants, farmers, mechanics, artisans, and workers of every sort whose honest toil of mind and body in a free land rewards them and their families and enriches our entire Nation.\n\tPresident Reagans words help us reflect on the countless blessings to be thankful for in the greatest country on Earth. The American dream still inspires people to achieve, create, and innovate in ways which benefit all of humanity. Our country continues to be one of the most generous in the world, giving and volunteering to serve those in need. Nebraska agriculture produces far more than we consume, providing us the opportunity to help feed the world.\n\tDespite the challenges we face, we are surrounded by so many reasons to be grateful.\n\tWith recent attacks and heightened security worldwide, we owe our deep gratitude to the first responders who put their lives on the line to keep us safe. In the wake of tragedy, police in Paris and around Europe have spent countless hours capturing terrorists and preventing additional attacks. Throughout our country, we have seen increased patrols and more officers devoted to protecting our homeland. Amidst grave challenges, these heroes put others before themselves to ensure our security.\n\tWe also remember our military men and women around the world who are sacrificing holidays with their families to defend our country against those who wish to do us harm. The selfless commitment of our men and women in uniform has allowed Americans to live in freedom for nearly 240 years.\n\tTo show appreciation for our troops, I am again helping to collect cards for the American Red Cross Holiday Mail for Heroes program. Through this effort, we can send gratitude and holiday greetings from Nebraska to our service members, veterans, and their families around the world. This tradition is a wonderful opportunity for families, schools, and local communities to show their support for our troops and our veterans. \n\tMy district offices in Scottsbluff and Grand Island are serving as collection points for Nebraskans to drop off or mail cards through Friday, December 4, 2015. To ensure your cards reach their destination, please use generic salutations such as Dear American Hero, and do not include your personal contact information, inserts, glitter, or postage. For more information and guidelines, please visit www.AdrianSmith.house.gov/HolidayMailforHeroes.\n\tI remain deeply grateful for the privilege of representing you in Congress. As we enjoy the holiday season, I hope you will join me in thanking the brave men and women who protect us each day as well as expressing gratitude for our many blessings as Nebraskans.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ID=6b813a89-f2bb-4c17-8521-8502c91e60e3", "Fischer Statement on the Passing of Senator Howard Lamb", "2015-11-27", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Deb Fischer", "F000463", "www.fischer.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) released the following statement regarding the passing of former Nebraska State Senator Howard Lamb:\r\nState Senator Howard Lamb was a tireless advocate for rural Nebraska. Our paths crossed often  in Lincoln and across the state  and I always looked forward to our thoughtful conversations about the important issues facing Nebraska and our nation. \r\nI knew I could always count on him for his honest opinion, and appreciated his support and counsel. Howard was a good man and a good friend. He will long be remembered for his integrity and his dedicated service to his constituents. \r\n\r\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://fortenberry.house.gov/media-center/fort-reports/fort-report-thanksgiving-1", "Fort Report: Thanksgiving", "2015-11-25", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Jeff Fortenberry", "F000449", "fortenberry.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "As you join your family and friends to celebrate Thanksgiving, I want to wish you a happy and blessed holiday! America remains a country of wonderful opportunitya source of hope constantly renewed and replenished with our great ideals and values. The cynicism of the moment gives way to this special time to pause and reflect on the graces in our lives. Thanksgiving itself a gift.\nThanksgiving is a relatively new holiday. While the origins are found in the celebration of the pilgrims, President Abraham Lincoln first proclaimed Thanksgiving as a national holiday in 1863. In 1941, Congress established Thanksgiving as the fourth Thursday in November. Of course our tradition has evolved and it also brings the chance to watch a little football and begin our preparations for Christmas!\nAs a side note, Small Business Saturday is one way to support our local businesses and by extension our neighborhood economic ecosystem. Small businesses are essential for economic diversity and dynamism as most new jobs are created in the small business sector. One way we can all help our community is to remember the people who make things in America, providing us services and strengthening our country. This year, Small Business Saturday is November 28. \nI wish you all a Happy ThanksgivingGo Big Red!", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sasse.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/in-the-news?ContentRecord_id=6AA29B06-8816-4695-9745-42A84CBA25C2", "World-Herald editorial: HHS needs to answer Sasse's questions", "2015-11-24", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Ben Sasse", "S001197", "www.sasse.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse has some questions \u2014 but the administration doesn\u2019t seem to want to answer them. Twelve of the 23 nonprofit health insurance co-ops set up under ObamaCare, including CoOportunity that insured thousands of Iowans and Nebraskans, have failed due to financial problems. Sasse since May has been asking questions about exactly when federal officials knew what about CoOportunity\u2019s financial woes, why they made the decisions they did and what will happen to both the taxpayer money involved and to the individuals who lost coverage. Add to those another: Why won\u2019t the Department of Health and Human Services provide the senator with complete answers?\r\nRead the full article at the Omaha World-Herald.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ID=63d550c1-5bdb-4485-b593-519190b3d721", "Fischer Releases Thanksgiving Video Message", "2015-11-23", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Deb Fischer", "F000463", "www.fischer.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  Today, U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) released the following video, wishing all Nebraskans a happy Thanksgiving:\r\nClick here or on the image above to view the video.\r\n\r\nBelow is the full transcript of Senator Fischers remarks:\r\nHi, this is Senator Deb Fischer, and this is my Thanksgiving message to you.\r\nMy husband, Bruce, and I get to be home this Thanksgiving to celebrate this wonderful family holiday with our sons.\r\nI hope many of you are able to be with your families this Thanksgiving as well.\r\nThis is a time for us to be with family, to be with loved ones, to be with our friends, and to really be grateful for all the blessings that we have in life.\r\nId especially like to thank the members of our Armed Services and their families because your loved ones are helping to keep all of us safe.\r\nTheyre far from home, and theyre serving this country.\r\nSo, thank you for the sacrifices that you make and that your loved ones make.\r\nSo, I wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving.\r\nHave some good turkey and pumpkin pie, and lets celebrate.\r\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://adriansmith.house.gov/protect-americans-stop-underestimating-isis", "To Protect Americans, Stop Underestimating ISIS", "2015-11-20", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Adrian Smith", "S001172", "adriansmith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "A series of terrorist attacks by ISIS militants have taken hundreds of innocent lives in the past few weeks alone. The Nov. 13 attack in Paris, which killed at least 129 people, came one day after more than 40 people were murdered in a double suicide bombing in Beirut. On Oct. 31, a bomb on a Russian jet killed all 224 people on board. As I prepare to send this, a hotel in Mali is under siege by gunmen, though the terrorist group responsible has not yet been confirmed.\n\tMy prayers and deepest condolences continue to be with the grieving families of the victims in each of these attacks. The callous taking of innocent lives by terrorists is a heartbreaking reality our world must face head-on. Not only has ISIS attacked one of our closest allies in its horrifying assault on Paris, but these terrorists now threaten to attack the United States.\n\tThe federal government has no greater responsibility than keeping Americans safe. However, President Obama and his administration continue to underestimate ISIS and downplay the threat posed by this brutal terrorist group, even as their attacks increase and become more sophisticated. \n\tOn the morning of Nov. 13, mere hours before the Paris attack, ABCs Good Morning America aired an interview with President Obama in which he said about ISIS: I dont think theyre gaining strength and we have contained them. Even after the attack, the President referred to the atrocities as a setback. \n\tIn reality, it was an act of war by radical Islamic terrorists.\n\tThe attacks in France, Egypt, and Lebanon have brought renewed focus to the reach of ISIS beyond their original areas in Syria and Iraq. As the New York Times reported this week, ISIS is likely responsible for nearly 1,000 civilian deaths outside Iraq and Syria this year. The article also noted, The Islamic State has declared official provinces  or wilayat  in areas of Afghanistan, Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen that had networks loyal to ISIS, many of which have adopted the organizations signature brutality. \n\tClearly, ISIS is not contained or losing strength. One of the most visible outcomes of the Obama administrations failing strategy against ISIS is the massive refugee crisis. \n\tAt least one Paris attacker used a fake passport to enter Europe in a wave of refugees. While we are called to demonstrate empathy to those fleeing war, we must ensure refugees are thoroughly vetted to prevent Americans compassion from being exploited by those who would do us harm. \n\tI support a freeze on President Obamas refugee resettlement plan until we have a better understanding of the individuals seeking refuge and the means to comprehensively screen them. Congressional approval should also be required before any refugee resettlement efforts resume.\n\tTo address these concerns, this week the House passed H.R. 4038, the American Security Against Foreign Enemies (SAFE) Act, of which I am a cosponsor. The bill requires the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Director of the FBI, and the Director of National Intelligence to unanimously certify to Congress any proposed Syrian or Iraqi refugee does not represent a security threat before admission to the United States can be granted.\n\tWith growing dangers to our country due to violent extremism, the federal government must first and foremost ensure the safety of American citizens. President Obama must also make our national security his top priority and present a comprehensive plan to destroy ISIS. Together with our allies, we can triumph over terror.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://fortenberry.house.gov/media-center/fort-reports/fort-report-paris", "Fort Report: Paris", "2015-11-20", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Jeff Fortenberry", "F000449", "fortenberry.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "As we think about the history of America, one of our finest hours came on the shores of France on D-Day, June 6, 1944. We are familiar with the general details of the battle, the missed zone drops of the paratroopers the night before, the slaughter that met the first assault wave on Omaha Beach, and the heroics of our Rangers on Pointe du Hoc. Among the lesser known facts, the troops that hit Utah Beach under the command of General Theodore Roosevelt landed in the wrong place. Landing with his men in the first wave and realizing the error, General Roosevelt responded: The war starts here. \nAnother lesser known fact is that the French resistance commander General Leclerc also came ashore at Utah Beach. The French people are rightfully proud of their own efforts to defeat the Nazis and have erected markers tracing the advance of Leclerc toward Germany. The first marker sat in the breach where our troops first stormed through. I took it as a sign of ongoing respect for Americas sacrifice when the French moved their first monument to Leclerc to accommodate a new World War II memorial, a replica of a Higgins Boat Troop Carrier that was built by Nebraskans just this year.\nIn the wake of last weeks horrifying attacks in Paris, Americas longstanding ties to France have gained renewed significance. ISIS targeted a stadium, cafes, and a theatrean act of nihilistic destruction against innocent civilians who were just beginning to enjoy their weekend. Beyond destroying large swaths of the Middle East and many of its inhabitants, precipitating the greatest refugee crisis since World War II, the so-called Islamic State has now killed French secularists and Catholics on their streets, Russian Orthodox civilians on an airliner, and Shiite Muslims in Beirut. \nForeign policy is complicated, especially in the Middle East, but this new level of terrorism has brought three critical issues into focus. \nFirst, the international community has a responsibility to fight ISIL. The world constantly pushes America to the forefront of needed military action, but the entire community of responsible nationsincluding certain Sunni Arab countriesmust engage in this conflict. It is not the responsibility of the United States alone. We can lead. We will lead. But it must be in solid concert with responsible world powers. France has properly responded with its own air campaign, backed by our intelligence. This resolve could compel more Europeans to rethink their vulnerability and take decisive action.\nSecond, it is time to face reality: the targeted and systematic violence against Christians, Yezidis, and other religious minorities in the Middle East is genocide. Genocide is a powerful word. The world must recognize this grim reality and work to support the most vulnerable minorities in the Middle East. No responsible approach to the tragic situation unfolding in Iraq and Syria can ignore their plight.\nThird, the related issue of refugees and migration points to the collapse of the nation state order. Simply accommodating more asylum is a reaction, not a response, and one that has to be reconciled with national security and capacity concerns. As a response, the House of Representatives voted this week to pause and significantly modify the Syrian refugee program given multiple levels of concern about security and immigration policy. Attacking the injustice that leads to refugee flight must be the first priorityfollowed by new political structures that allow people to remain where they are in safety or return to their ancient homelands. This is a precondition for long-term stability in the region. An immediate step could be an international enforcement of safe zones, especially for vulnerable minorities, within northern Syria and Iraq. \nAfter American forces landed on D-Day with key allies and defeated the Nazis, the United States was cast into the role of the worlds sole superpower. At great sacrifice to our country, we created the space for international order. We forged the conditions for international commerce, including helping other countries develop their own economies and governing systems rooted in high universal ideals.\nTimes have changed. We no longer live in a unipolar world.\nThe gruesome attacks in Paris can create a point of convergence. The prevention of peril in the 21st century requires a new cooperative agreement to fight dark ideology, twisted theology, and barbarism across the globe. ISIL is battling the very essence of our civilization. Beyond the bloodshed, ISIL attacks the underlying philosophical proposition of the West: that all persons have dignity and therefore rights. We stand at a solemn crossroads. The world must fight back on two fronts: against ISILand for the time-honored philosophical principles and values that sustain an orderly existence. So depends the beauty of Paris", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://fortenberry.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/fortenberry-eshoo-urge-state-department-consider-all-ethno-religious", "Fortenberry, Eshoo Urge State Department to Consider All Ethno-Religious Minorities in Genocide Designation", "2015-11-20", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Jeff Fortenberry", "F000449", "fortenberry.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C.  The bipartisan Co-Chairs of the Religious Minorities in the Middle East CaucusReps. Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) and Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA)are strongly urging the State Department to include all ethno-religious minority populations as it considers designating ISIS attacks on minority populations in Iraq and Syria as genocide.\nIn a letter dated November 19th to Secretary of State John Kerry, Fortenberry and Eshoo wrote:\nWe're witnessing the systematic extermination of Iraq and Syrias entire ethno-religious minority populations and the atrocities perpetrated against each of these vulnerable groups shock the conscience of civilized humanity.\nPress reports have indicated, however, that the State Department is considering a less-inclusive designation of the genocide taking place.\nAs Co-Chairs of the Religious Minorities in the Middle East Caucus, we request that as you consider the designation of genocide, you include in your designation every ethno-religious minority group being systematically targeted by ISIS.\nThe United States must condemn the act of genocide as the most barbaric and criminal act of humankind and must do so for all those who are suffering.\nFortenberry and Eshoo are authors of H. Con. Res. 75, a resolution declaring the atrocities being committed by ISIS in Iraq and Syria against Christians and other ethnic and religious minorities including Yezidis, Turkmen, Sabea-Mandeans, Kaka'e, and Kurds as genocide and crimes against humanity.\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://adriansmith.house.gov/press-release/congressional-caseworker-visit-burwell-and-loup-city", "Congressional Caseworker to Visit Burwell and Loup City", "2015-11-19", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Adrian Smith", "S001172", "adriansmith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Constituents of Third District Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) who need assistance dealing with a federal agency are invited to attend Caseworker in Your Community events on Tuesday, November 24, in Burwell and Loup City.\n\tCaseworker in Your Community is an opportunity for constituents to meet directly with one of Smiths congressional caseworkers. Caseworkers may be able to assist constituents who are having problems dealing with a federal agency such as the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Social Security, Medicare, passports and visas through the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, or the Internal Revenue Service.\n\tCaseworker in Your Community will be held on Tuesday, November 24, at the following times and locations:\n\tGarfield County Courthouse  \n\tCommissioners Room  \n\t250 S. 8th Avenue, Burwell, NE 68823  \n\t10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (CST)\n\tSherman County Courthouse  \n\t2nd Floor Commissioners Board Room  \n\t630 O Street, Loup City, NE 68853  \n\t2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (CST)\n\tFor additional information, please contact Congressman Smiths Grand Island office at (308) 384-3900.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://adriansmith.house.gov/press-release/video-smith-recognizes-national-rural-health-day", "VIDEO: Smith Recognizes National Rural Health Day", "2015-11-19", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Adrian Smith", "S001172", "adriansmith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "In recognition of National Rural Health Day, Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) spoke on the floor of the House of Representatives this afternoon to bring attention to the challenges rural Americans face in maintaining access to quality health care.\n\n\tRemarks:\n\tMr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the fifth annual National Rural Health Day.\nThe third Thursday in November is set aside each year by the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health to recognize the unique health care needs of and challenges facing rural Americans and their communities. \nThese challenges include fewer health care providers and longer travel distances. \nThe hospitals serving rural communities continue to be burdened by arbitrary regulations such as physician supervision and 96-hour certification rules which we need to address.\nThis year, rural consumers in twelve states also face the challenge of finding a new insurance plan because the Consumer Oriented and Operated Plan, or co-op, created by Obamacare from which they purchased coverage has failed. \nThis includes 120,000 Nebraskans and Iowans who bought coverage through CoOportunity Health.\nConsumers and taxpayers deserve to know what went wrong with the co-ops and whether the $2.4 billion in federal loans to this failing program will be repaid.\nI will continue to fight for these answers, and I yield back.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ID=501d4291-1361-4f12-a63e-eaf397b59c09", "Fischer Applauds Committee Approval of Sportsmens Act", "2015-11-19", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Deb Fischer", "F000463", "www.fischer.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) hailed todays passage of the Bipartisan Sportsmens Act of 2015 by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. This is an important step toward reaching a final vote in the Senate. Senator Fischer released the following statement:\r\nOutdoor recreation is part of the Nebraska way of life. Today was an important step forward for bipartisan legislation that will promote our country's hunting, fishing, and conservation heritage. I hope the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will swiftly consider this bill so that a final proposal can advance to the Senate floor.\r\nAccess to public lands is the number one issue for America's sportsmen and sportswomen. The Sportsmen's Act includes a broad array of bipartisan measures to enhance opportunities for hunters, anglers, and outdoor recreation enthusiasts. The bill would also reauthorize key conservation programs, improve access to public lands, and help boost the outdoor recreation economy.\r\nIn February, Senator Fischer joined Congressional Sportsmens Caucus (CSC) leadership in introducing the legislation. Fischer has been a member of the CSC since 2013, and she currently serves as the caucus vice-chair.\r\nThis is the first of three committees of jurisdiction that must approve the bill before it can receive a final vote on the Senate floor.\r\nClick here to view the text of the Bipartisan Sportsmen's Act of 2015. \r\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ID=e6d89d7e-7534-4964-85c3-559f8de4f660", "Fischer Joins Bill to Support Apprentice Programs", "2015-11-19", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Deb Fischer", "F000463", "www.fischer.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) joined Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.) to cosponsor their bill, which encourages apprenticeships and the training of workers with relevant skills. S. 574  the Leveraging and Energizing Americas Apprenticeship Programs (LEAP) Act would offer businesses a tax credit for each new apprentice they hire. Senator Fischer released the following statement regarding the bill this afternoon:\r\nThe American labor force has a skills gap problem: nearly eight million workers are unemployed while more than five million jobs are waiting for workers with relevant skills.\r\nThis bill would help match individuals with job opportunities by offering tax credits to businesses who hire and train apprentices. With this common-sense proposal, we can strengthen our workforce and provide businesses with more incentives to succeed and grow.\r\nAccording to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately eight million Americans are unemployed, and 5.5 million positions remain unfilled. Many employers have indicated the number one reason they cannot fill open positions is a lack of candidates with relevant skills. Meanwhile, apprenticeships are a proven way to help people develop in-demand skills in a cost-effective manner.\r\nThe LEAP Act would offer businesses a tax credit of $1,000 in wages per taxable year for each new apprentice hired. It would also offer a $1,500 tax credit for apprentices under the age of 25. In either case, the credit can be claimed for a maximum of two years.\r\nA study by Mathematica Policy Research estimated that individuals who have completed a registered apprenticeship program earn, on average, an additional $240,000 more over their careers. That comes to a taxable return of $27 on every federal dollar invested in registered apprentice programs.\r\nThe Nebraska Department of Labor reports that there are currently 364 registered occupation sponsors in the state, with new apprenticeship opportunities added regularly. At a time when student loan debt is at a record level, the LEAP Act offers individuals a cost-effective and proven route to professional success.\r\nClick here to learn more about the LEAP Act and read the bills text.\r\n\r\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sasse.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=AD1702A5-87F1-47DD-B3A2-C9849495E20A", "Sasse Continues to Press HHS for CO-OP Answers", "2015-11-19", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Ben Sasse", "S001197", "www.sasse.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "\"These questions are not going away and we will ask them for another six months if that is what it takes.\" \r\n   Tonight, U.S. Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE) announced his intent to continue blocking fast-tracked consideration and confirmation of HHS nominees until the Administration gives a complete and transparent accounting of the systemic failures of the Affordable Care Acts CO-OP program. Last night, after months of silence, HHS sent a letter which was non-responsive to the Senator's request. Sasse issued the following statement: \"HHS sending a letter is not the same as providing real answers. These questions are not going away and we will ask them for another six months if that is what it takes. After 12 failed CO-OPs, six months, and numerous letters and press inquiries to HHS, families who lost their insurance plans still do not know what went wrong. HHS has not yet answered the most important question: why did it give $1.2 billion to 12 failed CO-OPs? We know that HHS relied upon so-called milestone or performance reviews to give out loans, but that information has not seen the light of day. Until HHS produces a full accounting, which must include these milestone reviews, they remain non-responsive to the core of our request. Families who lost their plans and taxpayers who paid the bill still deserve answers.\"\nSasse's response to HHS tonight is available here. \nHHS November 18 letter to Senator Sasse is available here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ID=3d301b93-a65b-40b6-a4b5-f41c74e6151c", "Fischers Office Teams-Up with American Red Cross for 2015 Holiday Mail for Heroes Campaign", "2015-11-18", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Deb Fischer", "F000463", "www.fischer.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Senator Deb Fischers office is teaming up with the American Red Cross to help Nebraskans send holiday wishes and appreciation to members of the military, their families, and our veterans. This is the third year Senator Fischers office has coordinated the Holiday Mail for Heroes campaign with the Red Cross. Senator Fischer released the following statement encouraging Nebraskans to participate:\r\nThe Holiday Mail for Heroes program is a simple way for Nebraskans to share their holiday cheer, along with their gratitude, to the men and women of our military. I hope the people of Nebraska will join me in sending greetings to the dedicated members of our armed services around the world, their families, and our veterans.\r\nThe Holiday Mail for Heroes program collects cards and messages to send to our military men and women serving both abroad and in our local communities. Nebraskans who wish to participate can make or purchase a card to sign, and mail them to Senator Fischers Omaha office. In order to guarantee delivery, cards must be received by December 6, 2015. They can be dropped off at, or mailed to, the following address:\r\nOffice of Senator Deb Fischer\r\n11819 Miracle Hills Drive\r\nSuite 205\r\nOmaha, NE 68145\r\n\r\nIn addition to your homemade cards, Senator Fischer and the Red Cross have created a card specifically for Nebraskans that can be printed and signed at home. You can download cards through Senator Fischers website by clicking here.\r\nTo ensure holiday cards can be quickly screened and mailed, the Red Cross asks participants to follow the guidelines listed below:\r\n \r\nEnsure that all cards are signed.\r\n \r\n \r\nUse generic salutations, such as Dear Service Member. Cards addressed to specific individuals cannot be delivered through this program.\r\n \r\n \r\nOnly cards are being accepted. Do not send or include letters.\r\n \r\n \r\nDo not include email or home addresses on the cards. The program is not meant to foster pen pal relationships.\r\n \r\n \r\nDo not include inserts of any kind, including photos. These items will be removed during the reviewing process.\r\n \r\n \r\nPlease refrain from choosing cards with glitter or using loose glitter, which can aggravate the health issues of ill and injured warriors.\r\n \r\n \r\nIf you are mailing a large quantity of cards, please bundle them and place the cards in large mailing envelopes or flat rate postal shipping boxes. Each card does not need its own envelope. All envelopes will be removed from all cards before distribution.\r\n \r\nFor more information, please visit the American Red Cross website by clicking here.\r\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://fortenberry.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/fortenberry-comments-resettlement-syrian-refugees", "Fortenberry Comments on Resettlement of Syrian Refugees", "2015-11-17", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Jeff Fortenberry", "F000449", "fortenberry.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C.  Congressman Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) today made the following statement regarding resettling Syrian refugees in the United States:\nMy first responsibility is to keep America safe. A rapidly expanding Syrian refugee policy could create conditions for domestic tragedy. In the wake of the horrific attacks in Paris, America needs a well ordered asylum process, not one that is rushed and could compromise our nation's safety. ISIL has now put Washington in its crosshairs. We must not allow Paris to be repeated on our shores.\nSyrian refugees are fleeing a maelstrom of violence, much of it perpetrated by ISIL. Humanitarian concerns can be met without jeopardizing our security. Any proper asylum process must strengthen robust security screening measures. To this end, I have cosponsored the Refugee Resettlement Oversight and Security Act. This legislation halts the administration's Syrian refugee policy to ensure the rigorous implementation and proper prioritization of immigration oversight measures.\nThe Refugee Resettlement Oversight and Security Act (H.R. 3573) gives Congress necessary oversight for the U.S. refugee program. It would codify vigorous additional security measures for refugees, and require approval by both the House and Senate of any refugee resettlement program. The measure would give Congress the authority to block any insufficient proposals put forward by the Administration, and seeks to prioritize the resettlement of persecuted religious minorities.\nFortenberry is a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations. \n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://adriansmith.house.gov/press-release/smith-announces-congressional-app-challenge-high-school-students", "Smith Announces Congressional App Challenge for High School Students", "2015-11-16", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Adrian Smith", "S001172", "adriansmith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) has announced the second annual Congressional App Challenge for Nebraskas Third District. This nationwide competition is designed to promote innovation and engagement in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) among high school students who will compete by creating and exhibiting a software application, or app, for mobile, tablet, or computer devices on a platform of their choice.\n\tThe Congressional App Challenge celebrates innovation and encourages our students to pursue the boundless opportunities in STEM fields, Smith said. I look forward to seeing the apps Third District students create for this years competition.\n\tThe Congressional App Challenge is open to all high school students who live in  or are eligible to attend public schools located in  Nebraskas Third Congressional District. Students may participate individually or in teams of up to four. Students entering the competition must provide a YouTube or Vimeo video explaining their app and what they learned through the competition process.\n\tThe winning app in each participating congressional district will be featured on the U.S. House of Representatives website and displayed in a U.S. Capitol exhibit. \n\tMore details on submitting a contest entry, the rules of the competition, and helpful programming resources can be found at https://www.challenge.gov/challenge/congressional-app-challenge-ne-03-rep-smith or by contacting Congressman Smiths Washington, D.C. office. The deadline for submissions is January 15, 2016.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ID=f39c7af3-8e3d-4b01-b5b2-9c6c432c9e2a", "Fischer Statement on Paris Attacks", "2015-11-14", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Deb Fischer", "F000463", "www.fischer.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and chairman of the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities, released the following statement regarding last nights terrorist attacks in Paris, France:\r\nLast night, the world witnessed unimaginable terror and the very real threat Islamic terrorism poses to free and open societies. I join all Nebraskans in our deep sorrow and solidarity with the people of France as they grieve and persevere through this tragedy.\r\nAs these events in Paris have united the world in grief, so too must the world unite with resolve. Those responsible for planning and coordinating this horrific assault on innocent civilians must be held to account. The messages of hate and radicalism that underpin these attacks demands a global response.\r\nIn the days and weeks ahead, I hope the people of France will take comfort in the prayers and aid of the American people. We are in this together.\r\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://adriansmith.house.gov/new-chapter-us-house", "A New Chapter for the U.S. House", "2015-11-13", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Adrian Smith", "S001172", "adriansmith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "It has been a historic season in the U.S. House of Representatives.\n\tLast month, we elected a new Speaker of the House. Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin had the role thrust upon him when Speaker John Boehner unexpectedly retired from his post mid-term. To answer the call, our new Speaker chose to give up what he has often referred to as his dream job as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. \n\tWhile serving with him on the Committee, I saw firsthand Mr. Ryans ability to lead, listen, and thoughtfully craft solutions on pressing issues such as trade, tax reform, and entitlement reform. As Speaker, he is already demonstrating his commitment to creating a more open process in the House to ensure everyone participates and works together. He correctly recognizes we are in a generational defining moment, as he says, to get our country moving in the right direction.\n\tRepublicans in Congress have lacked unity. Independent thinking is a hallmark of conservatism, but it can be difficult to corral. Speaker Ryan is the right conservative leader to move the House forward and help us start thinking bigger as we tackle the issues facing our country. I am encouraged by the potential for substantial reforms under his leadership.\n\tWith Speaker Ryans departure from the Ways and Means Committee, Representative Kevin Brady of Texas has been selected as the new chairman. I have enjoyed serving with Chairman Brady on the Health Subcommittee, which he most recently chaired, and look forward to working with him in his new capacity. \n\tAs chairman of the Health Subcommittee, Chairman Brady has partnered with me in seeking answers from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on Obamacares failed consumer operated and oriented plans, known as co-ops. Since the failure of CoOportunity Health in Nebraska and Iowa nearly one year ago, I have made numerous requests to HHS and CMS for information on why there was not more oversight of these co-ops and what these agencies are doing to prevent further damage. As I impressed upon CMS chief of staff Dr. Mandy Cohen in last weeks subcommittee hearing, called by Chairman Brady, I continue to await these answers  and the Committee will continue to push for them.\n\tWe are also committed to furthering our work on tax reform. Families and businesses need certainty, which requires an overhaul of our complicated, outdated, and uncompetitive federal tax code. Temporary tax extenders are detrimental to economic growth and jobs. Making some of these tax provisions permanent, such as enhanced Section 179 expensing levels which allow small businesses and producers to invest in equipment, is an important step toward simplifying the tax code. Speaker Ryan and his predecessor Chairman Dave Camp laid the groundwork for substantial tax reform during their time as chairmen, and I look forward to continuing this process under Chairman Brady with Speaker Ryan at the helm of the House. \n\tDespite significant transitions in the U.S. House, my commitment to serving Nebraskas Third District and making your voice heard has not changed. It is an honor to represent you in Congress, and I am optimistic about the opportunities to engage in meaningful debates and accomplish conservative solutions in this new chapter.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://adriansmith.house.gov/press-release/congressional-caseworkers-visit-york-clay-center-hebron-and-superior", "Congressional Caseworkers to Visit York, Clay Center, Hebron, and Superior", "2015-11-13", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Adrian Smith", "S001172", "adriansmith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Constituents of Third District Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) who need assistance dealing with a federal agency are invited to attend Caseworker in Your Community events on Wednesday, November 18, in York and Clay Center, and on Thursday, November 19, in Hebron and Superior.\n\tCaseworker in Your Community is an opportunity for constituents to meet directly with one of Smiths congressional caseworkers. Caseworkers may be able to assist constituents who are having problems dealing with a federal agency such as the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Social Security, Medicare, passports and visas through the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, or the Internal Revenue Service.\n\tWednesday, November 18\n\tYork County Courthouse  \n\tCommissioners Room  \n\t510 North Lincoln Avenue, York, NE 68467  \n\t9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. (CST)\n\tClay County Courthouse  \n\t1st Floor DMV Office  \n\t111 West Fairfield Street, Clay Center, NE 68933  \n\t1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. (CST)\n\tThursday, November 19\n\tHebron Secrest Library Meeting Room  \n\t146 N. 4th Street, Hebron, NE 68370  \n\t10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (CST)\n\tSuperior Public Library Meeting Room  \n\t449 N. Kansas Street, Superior, NE 68978  \n\t1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. (CST)\n\tFor additional information, please contact Congressman Smiths Grand Island office at (308) 384-3900.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://fortenberry.house.gov/media-center/fort-reports/fort-report-medicare-open-enrollment", "Fort Report: Medicare Open Enrollment", "2015-11-13", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Jeff Fortenberry", "F000449", "fortenberry.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "America is confronting deep philosophical divides over the proper size and role of government. The vast majority of people agree, however, that government has at least one basic function: the protection of its citizens. Protection can come in the form of supporting a strong military, setting the guardrails for the proper functioning of the free market, or helping those who are in the need of retirement security. As we debate how to best repurpose the functional parts of our government, it is important to continue to take care of the business before us. The Medicare system is one important part of health care retirement security for many Americans.\nFor those who are currently in the Medicare program, it is now Open Enrollment Season. Each year during Open Enrollment (which this year runs until December 7), Medicare beneficiaries have the opportunity to review and make changes to their prescription drug coverage (Part D) for the upcoming year. There is also the opportunity to enroll or disenroll in a Medicare Advantage plan (Part C). If you or a family member participate in a prescription drug plan, its important to take advantage of the market options available to you at this time to save money, or better conform your plan to your individual need.\nThe Medicare prescription drug program (Part D) was founded in 2003. The program was complicated at first, but now the regional cost estimates have fallen dramatically and the satisfaction rate is around 90%. The program empowers seniors to have choices for plans that best meet their needs. It is my hope that this can serve as a model for health care services in the near future.\nMedicare Part D plan providers are required to notify beneficiaries of any changes made to their plans for the upcoming year. If you received a notice from your Part D drug plan, be sure to review the changes so that you can assess your options for 2016. You can choose from 23 Medicare Prescription Drug Plans offered this year in Nebraska. Some Medicare beneficiaries may qualify for extra help with the drug plan costs. Eligible persons can receive financial assistance to pay for monthly premiums, annual deductibles, and co-payments. If you want to learn more about your general options or eligibility for the Extra Help Program, I invite you to review these resources:\n1. Nebraska Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP)\nNebraska SHIIP is a free counseling service that provides information on Medicare and offers assistance with reviewing and enrolling in a prescription drug plan. Contact SHIIP toll-free at 1-800-234-7119 or via the agency's website at: http://www.doi.nebraska.gov/shiip/.\n2. Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Finder\nThe Prescription Drug Plan Finder enables beneficiaries to review and compare the available prescription drug programs at Medicare's website: https://www.medicare.gov/find-a-plan/questions/home.aspx/.\n3. You may contact Medicare directly at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) or http://www.medicare.gov/. Of course, my staff is also available to assist you at 402-438-1598 if you have any problems with your earned Medicare benefits.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sasse.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=491207F0-670E-4398-AEF6-37677F35033D", "Sasse Statement on Terror Attacks in Paris", "2015-11-13", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Ben Sasse", "S001197", "www.sasse.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "\"This is a stark reminder that the United States and free people across the globe must develop a serious strategy to defeat those who turn stadiums and concert halls into killing fields.\" \r\nU.S. Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE), a member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, issued the following statement today regarding the terror attacks in Paris, France.\r\n\"This is a stark reminder that the United States and free people across the globe must develop a serious strategy to defeat those who turn stadiums and concert halls into killing fields. These murderers must be hunted, killed, and destroyed. Confronting the growing threat of violent jihadism is a defining foreign policy challenge of our time. Americans will mourn and stand alongside our French allies in this long and difficult task.\"", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://adriansmith.house.gov/press-release/tri-state-delegation-requests-extended-public-comment-period-reconfiguration-black", "Tri-State Delegation Requests Extended Public Comment Period of Reconfiguration of Black Hills Health Care System", "2015-11-12", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Adrian Smith", "S001172", "adriansmith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) joined colleagues from South Dakota, Wyoming and Nebraska in sending a letter to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Robert McDonald to request an extension of the public comment period in the wake of the VAs Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed reconfiguration of the Black Hills Health Care System (BHHCS). The letter was signed by U.S. Sens. Mike Rounds (R-SD), John Thune (R-SD), Mike Enzi (R-WY), John Barrasso (R-WY), Deb Fischer (R-NE) and U.S. Representatives Kristi Noem (R-SD), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), and Smith.\n\tThe time constraints imposed by the current 60-day comment period may present a significant challenge for veteran stakeholders given that many may be traveling or spending time with family throughout the holiday season, wrote the Members. The VAs public comment meetings also overlap the holiday season, which may further limit stakeholder involvement. For these reasons, we respectfully request that the VA extend the comment period to February 5, 2016.\n\tAs you know, we continue to have concerns about the impact the VAs proposal to reconfigure the BHHCS will have on access to care for our regions rural veterans, veteran mental health services, the assumptions made about a future partnership with the Fall River Hospital, and data used to support this proposal, wrote the Members. Unfortunately, there also remains an underlying distrust among veterans and Hot Springs stakeholders that the VA has proceeded with a predetermined decision to vacate the Hot Springs VA hospital and domiciliary.\n\tFull text of the letter can be found here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ID=3f11ceb4-5469-48f3-a1cb-3c025ab1a174", "Tri-State Delegation Requests Extended Public Comment Period of Reconfiguration of Black Hills Health Care System", "2015-11-10", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Deb Fischer", "F000463", "www.fischer.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTONU.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, led his colleagues from South Dakota, Wyoming and Nebraska in a letter to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Robert McDonald to request an extension of the public comment period in the wake of the VAs Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed reconfiguration of the Black Hills Health Care System (BHHCS). The letter was signed by U.S. Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Mike Enzi (R-Wy.), John Barrasso (R-Wy.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) and U.S. Representatives Kristi Noem (R-S.D.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wy.) and Adrian Smith (R-Neb.).\r\nThe time constraints imposed by the current 60-day comment period may present a significant challenge for veteran stakeholders given that many may be traveling or spending time with family throughout the holiday season, wrote the Members. The VAs public comment meetings also overlap the holiday season, which may further limit stakeholder involvement. For these reasons, we respectfully request that the VA extend the comment period to February 5, 2016.\r\nAs you know, we continue to have concerns about the impact the VAs proposal to reconfigure the BHHCS will have on access to care for our regions rural veterans, veteran mental health services, the assumptions made about a future partnership with the Fall River Hospital, and data used to support this proposal, wrote the Members. Unfortunately, there also remains an underlying distrust among veterans and Hot Springs stakeholders that the VA has proceeded with a predetermined decision to vacate the Hot Springs VA hospital and domiciliary.\r\nFull text of the letter can be found here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ID=4c82ff56-18a2-40c5-b270-8090d1e5ab76", "Fischer Statement on Veterans Day", "2015-11-10", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Deb Fischer", "F000463", "www.fischer.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) released the following statement today in honor of Veterans Day:\r\nOur country is safe thanks to the generations of exceptional citizens who have answered the call of duty. Their sacrifices have been borne to ensure our grandchildren and great-grandchildren can grow and thrive in the land of the free. I hope all Nebraskans will continue our states proud commitment of honoring our veterans on Veterans Day, and every day.\r\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ID=70a49f6b-d63f-4744-8e4d-eb3349674434", "Fischer Named to Conference Committee for Highway Bill", "2015-11-10", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Deb Fischer", "F000463", "www.fischer.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  This afternoon, U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), chairman of the Commerce Subcommittee on Surface Transportation, was appointed to the highway bill conference committee. The committee will focus on rectifying the differences between the House and Senate versions of the legislation. Fischer released the following statement this afternoon:\r\nIm honored to join my colleagues on the highway bills conference committee. Nebraskans and all Americans want a long-term transportation bill that provides certainty, advances highway project construction, and enhances road safety. After years of delay, we are now very close to a solution that would update and maintain Americas infrastructure for years to come.\r\nLast week, the House of Representatives passed a long-term highway funding bill, which set the stage for a conference committee to work out the differences between the Senate and House versions. Since her time in the Nebraska Legislature, Senator Fischer has been a strong proponent for long-term transportation solutions. Fischer joined her colleagues to craft the Senate version that passed in July.\r\nA long-term highway bill has broad support from across Nebraska. The following Nebraska stakeholders released statements praising Senator Fischers work on the transportation bill this afternoon:\r\nBarry Kennedy, President of the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce, released the following statement:\r\nNo one knows Nebraskas infrastructure and roads funding needs better than Senator Fischer, who led the fight to pass LB84 in the Legislature. It is indeed good news for Nebraska to learn that Senator Fischer will be a member of the Senate-House conference talks to ensure that a highway funding measure gets to the presidents desk soon.\r\nKyle Schneweis, Director of the Nebraska Department of Roads, released the following statement:\r\nThe momentum is there for Congress to soon complete the first long-term authorization in a decade. Long-term stability of federal program funding is crucial to Nebraska and all State DOTs to efficiently plan and finance infrastructure projects we need to build today and to plan for tomorrow. Congress has an opportunity to provide the strength needed to ensure public safety and promote progress for Americas economy by passing a multiyear bill with long-term funding and sensible reforms. Now is the time to meet myriad needs of our aging highways, bridges, transit and rail systems. Lets get it done.\r\nLynn Rex, Executive Director of the League of Nebraska Municipalities, released the following statement:\r\nTransportation infrastructure is critical to the future of all cities and villages in Nebraska. Distances between population centers make it crucial that Nebraskas highways and street be in a condition to meet the economic needs of our State. Senator Fischers experience in these areas will be invaluable as she represents Nebraskas transportation needs.\r\nIn her capacity as chairman of the Commerce Subcommittee on Surface Transportation, and as an active member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, Fischer worked to include many key provisions in the Senate bill. Specifically, this legislation would reform the regulatory process, enhance project flexibility for states, and streamline the environmental review process. These provisions were drafted in consultation with transportation stakeholders in Nebraska, including officials from the Nebraska Department of Roads.\r\nNow that the highway bill has passed both chambers, a conference committee has been appointed to iron out the differences between the House and Senate versions. Both chambers will then vote on the final bill, which will be sent to the president to be signed into law.\r\nSenator Fischer will be joined on the conference committee by Senators Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Orin Hatch (R-Utah), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), and John Cornyn (R-Texas).\r\n\r\nSenates version of the multi-year highway bill.\r\n\r\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ID=9e4c38e5-f90c-4d2b-877a-ef51751981c7", "Senators Introduce Bipartisan Pipeline Safety Bill", "2015-11-10", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Deb Fischer", "F000463", "www.fischer.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. This afternoon, U.S. Senators Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), and Gary Peters (D-Mich.) introduced bipartisan legislation to help ensure the safety of Americas pipeline network. The legislation, known as the Securing Americas Future Energy: Protecting Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety (SAFE PIPES) Act, would reauthorize the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) through 2019.\r\nSenator Fischer, chairman of the Senate Surface Transportation Subcommittee, released the following statement:\r\nAmericas pipelines move critical energy resources to our homes and businesses. Congress must conduct robust oversight to ensure the safety of this important network. That is why Im proud to join my colleagues today to introduce bipartisan pro-safety legislation to reauthorize PHMSA.Our bill would require the agency to prioritize significant safety objectives, facilitate the hiring of new pipeline inspectors, and bolster communication between PHMSA and the states, industry, and safety stakeholders.\r\nSenator Booker, ranking member on the Senate Surface Transportation Subcommittee, released the following statement:\r\nAmericas existing pipeline infrastructure serves an important role as a part of our national energy transportation network. In New Jersey, close to thirty-five thousand miles of gas pipelines connect residents and their energy needs.With new technologies at our fingertips, we should be pursuing more effective and efficient ways to safeguard against potential pipeline accidents that threaten public safety and our environment. By implementing important oversight and accountability measures, providing more flexibility to PHMSA, and deploying innovative technology, the SAFE PIPES Act will help ensure safer communities in New Jersey and around the country. Im pleased to have worked with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to achieve these ends and look forward to working to pass this bill.\r\nSenator Daines released the following statement:\r\nSafe and secure pipeline infrastructure is critical to our nation and is especially important to Montanans  both for economic opportunity and environmental protection in our state. The SAFE PIPES Act will improve the protection of pipeline river crossings, help fill vacant inspector positions and better facilitate communications between PHMSA and state agencies. I appreciate Senators Fischer, Booker and Peters for working with me on this important legislation to enhance pipeline safety and protect our economic and environmental resources.\r\nSenator Peters released the following statement:\r\nMichiganders know firsthand the disastrous consequences of a pipeline break, and with the Great Lakes providing drinking water for over 40 million people, we cannot risk a pipeline break that would devastate our environment and economy. Im proud to introduce bipartisan legislation that will take meaningful steps to help ensure pipeline safety and protect both our natural resources and population centers.\r\nThe SAFE PIPES Act would reauthorize PHMSA from Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 through FY 2019. Key provisions of the bill include:\r\n Requiring PHMSA to prioritize statutory requirements for rulemaking over new rulemaking.\r\n Requesting that PHMSA conduct an assessment of Integrity Management programs for natural gas and liquid pipelines.\r\n Encouraging PHMSA to investigate and report on advanced mapping technologies for pipeline networks.\r\n Providing direct hire authority to the agency, so PHMSA can address its staffing challenges.\r\n Ensuring coordination and collaboration on research, development and technology between PHMSA, industry, and public sector stakeholders.\r\nBefore introducing the SAFE PIPES Act, Senator Fischer convened two important hearings of the Surface Transportation Subcommittee to examine PHMSA and the security of our nations pipeline network. On September 29, 2015, the subcommittee looked at the transportation of natural gas. The hearing featured testimony from Christopher Hart, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board; Susan Fleming, director of physical infrastructure at the Government Accountability Office, and representatives from both pipeline inspections technology and pipeline operators.\r\nOn September 18, 2015, Senator Fischer convened a field hearing of the subcommittee with Senator Daines in Billings, Montana. The subcommittee heard from various stakeholders on ways to ensure the stability and efficiency of pipelines in this country.\r\nClick here to view the text of the SAFE PIPES Act.\r\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://adriansmith.house.gov/press-release/smith-statement-agoa-status-south-africa", "Smith Statement on AGOA Status of South Africa", "2015-11-09", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Adrian Smith", "S001172", "adriansmith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) released the following statement on the potential revocation of duty-free status of South African agriculture exports to the U.S. under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). On November 5, President Obama notified Congress South Africa had not made sufficient progress in lifting unscientific sanitary and phytosanitary restrictions on U.S. beef, pork, and chicken, leading the administration to end duty-free treatment of AGOA-eligible agriculture goods in 60 days.\n\tWhile trade agreements provide important tariff and non-tariff trade benefits for producers and consumers, they also prove their importance by ensuring we have a codified means to address concerns when our trade partners dont follow the rules, Smith said. I appreciate the ongoing work of the U.S. Trade Representative to address these issues and support the decision to pursue this remedy permitted under AGOA.\n\tSmith is a member of the Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee. In September he joined with colleagues from the Ways and Means Committee writing to Ambassador Michael Froman in support of reviewing AGOA eligibility. To view the full letter, click here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sasse.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/in-the-news?ContentRecord_id=FA086132-887D-4198-9ED9-A47F66CD4C97", "LJS Editorial: Sasse breaks new ground", "2015-11-08", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Ben Sasse", "S001197", "www.sasse.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Nebraskans should take the time to read or listen to Sen. Ben Sasses first speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate.\r\nIt can be found on his website (www.sasse.senate.gov) and in other places on the Internet.\r\nWed be flabbergasted if almost everyone -- even those who did not vote for him and could never imagine themselves voting for him -- did not find themselves nodding in agreement at some point.\r\nHeres the money graph, as old editors would say, in a mother lode of contenders for the label.\r\nAnd if I can be brutally honest for a moment: Im home basically every weekend, and what I hear -- and what Im sure most of you hear -- is some version of this: A pox on both parties and all your houses. We dont believe politicians are even trying to fix this mess. To the Republicans, to those who claim this new majority is leading the way: Few believe that. To the grandstanders who use this institution as a platform for outside pursuits: Few believe the countrys needs are as important to you as your ambitions. To the Democrats, who did this body harm through nuclear tactics: Few believe bare-knuckled politics are a substitute for principled governing. And does anyone doubt that many on both the right and the left now salivate for more of these radical tactics? The people despise us all.\r\nIf Sasses speech can be faulted, it would be that its better at defining the problem than in prescribing solutions.\r\nBut as the 12-step programs say, the first step is admitting you have a problem. And it seems safe to say, the better the analysis of the problem, the closer one is to fixing it.\r\nRead the full editorial online at theLincoln Journal Star.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sasse.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/in-the-news?ContentRecord_id=D308E6B4-F9B4-4F8E-8043-231E11D3171B", "World-Herald editorial: For Sasse, now the hard part", "2015-11-07", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Ben Sasse", "S001197", "www.sasse.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "It was quite the anniversary present.\r\n\r\nMarking one year since his election to the U.S. Senate, Ben Sasse delivered his maiden floor speech this week. It got more attention than most.\r\n\r\n\r\nThe people despise us all, the Nebraskan told fellow lawmakers. And why is this? Because were not doing our job. Were not doing the primary things that the people sent us here to do.\r\n\r\n\r\nNoting his past experience as a crisis turnaround specialist, the Republican did a thorough job spelling out problems that beleaguer the upper chamber of our governments legislative branch.\r\n\r\n\r\nAs The World-Heralds Washington correspondent, Joseph Morton, reported, Sasse pointed to a Capitol dominated by sound bites, partisan talking points, pandering to the political bases and myopic fights over small-bore policy questions.\r\n\r\n\r\nI ran because I think the public is right that we as a people are not tackling the generational crises that we face, Sasse said.\r\n\r\n\r\nAmong the critical issues not being addressed in a serious way: A long-term foreign policy in an age of jihad and cyberwarfare. Budgets for entitlement programs that are completely fake. No serious plan for an economic future in which work and jobs will be more fundamentally disrupted than at any point since hunter-gatherers first settled in agrarian villages.\r\n\r\n\r\nNo one in this body thinks the Senate is laser-focused on the most pressing issues facing the nation. No one, Sasse said.\r\n\r\n\r\nNeither party escapes blame, Sasse contended, adding that on his trips back to Nebraska he hears a pox on both parties and all your houses.\r\n\r\n\r\nSasse talked about some baby steps that could be taken and pointed to three former senators whose careers could offer guideposts: Daniel Patrick Moynihan, D-N.Y., and the need for debates to be based on sound data; Margaret Chase Smith, R-Maine, and a willingness to challenge ones own party; and the Senates unique role as reflected by West Virginia Democrat Robert Byrds devotion to the chamber, its history and powers.\r\n\r\n\r\nThe Nebraskans speech got several positive reviews, including this from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.: I suspect most people would not have predicted that the best lesson we were to hear about whats wrong with the Senate and what needs to change would have come from somebody who just got here.\r\n\r\n\r\nSasse clearly put his finger on the problem. Now comes the hard part.\r\n\r\n\r\nAmericans can hope the speech wont be the end of it, that the freshman senator who grabbed the attention of his colleagues can now persuade them all to step up. The proof, as always, is in the pudding.\r\n\r\n\r\nOvercome inertia. Break the partisan gridlock. Dive into substantive, fact-driven debates on these enormous challenges. Find solutions to problems too long ignored.\r\n\r\n\r\nThe challenge now is for Sasse and level-headed lawmakers of both parties to work together in restoring the Senate to responsible governing. If the Nebraskan can help achieve that, the Senate and the country will be well-served.\r\nRead online at the Omaha World-Herald.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://adriansmith.house.gov/keeping-our-commitment-nebraska-veterans", "Keeping Our Commitment to Nebraska Veterans", "2015-11-06", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Adrian Smith", "S001172", "adriansmith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Nebraska is home to more than 140,000 veterans who have demonstrated their selfless commitment to the cause of freedom. As we honor their service on Veterans Day, we must also recognize the challenges they face and renew our own commitment to caring for these heroes.\n\tThe Veterans Administration (VA) recently released a draft Environmental Impact Statement for the reconfiguration of the VA Black Hills Health Care System. Since the VA first proposed closing its Hot Springs facility years ago, I have been working to ensure Nebraska veterans maintain access to the care they need. I am troubled by the VAs insistence on pressing forward with a plan veterans have clearly shown they do not want.\n\tTravel time and access to care continue to be foremost concerns for veterans in rural areas. Reducing services at Hot Springs would require many Nebraska veterans to drive upwards of six hours roundtrip for care, forcing many to delay seeking services  or to not seek care at all. Failing our veterans in this way is unacceptable.\n\tSandra Horsman, director of the VA Black Hills Health Care System, said the Hot Springs decision does not come down to costs but quality of care, adding our number one concern is our veterans. If this is true, I hope the VA will listen to the thousands of Nebraska veterans opposing further restrictions on their already limited access to care.\n\tThe VA is hosting a series of public meetings on the future of Hot Springs, including three in the Third District:\n\tWednesday, December 2, 6:30 p.m.  8:30 p.m.  \n\tChadron State College (Ballroom in Student Center) in Chadron\n\tThursday, December 3, 1:00 p.m.  3:00 p.m.  \n\tNewberrys in Alliance\n\tThursday, December 3, 6:30 p.m.  8:30 p.m.  \n\tGering Civic Center (Oregon Trail Room) in Gering\n\tIn addition to attending these meetings, I encourage Nebraska veterans to make their voices heard by submitting comments to the VA before January 5, 2016, online at www.blackhillseis.com, by email at vablackhillsfuture@va.gov, or by mail at the following address:\n\tStaff Assistant to the Director  \n\tVA Black Hills Health Care System  \n\t113 Comanche Road  \n\tFort Meade, SD 57741\n\tGiven the large number of veterans impacted by this potential closure, I am working with my colleagues in neighboring states to try to extend the public comment period. The Environmental Impact Statement is a long, complex document, and veterans deserve sufficient time to review it. As chairman of the Congressional Rural Veterans Caucus, I will continue fighting to keep Hot Springs open for veteran care.\n\tAs the holiday season approaches, we have the opportunity to express our gratitude and greetings to service members, veterans, and their families around the world by participating in the Red Cross Holiday Mail for Heroes program. In 2014, Third District residents collected more than 12,000 cards. If you wish to join us in this effort, please drop off your cards (without postage) to my district offices located in Grand Island and Scottsbluff by Tuesday, December 1. More information is available on my website at https://AdrianSmith.house.gov/HolidayMailforHeroes.\n\tOn Veterans Day, we honor and remember those who served our country and defended our freedoms. We must keep our commitment to these heroes every day by ensuring they have access to the care and resources they deserve.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://adriansmith.house.gov/press-release/smith-statement-presidents-keystone-xl-pipeline-disapproval", "Smith Statement on President's Keystone XL Pipeline Disapproval", "2015-11-06", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Adrian Smith", "S001172", "adriansmith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) released the following statement today after President Obama announced his decision not to approve the Keystone XL pipeline.\n\tExtended reviews of the law and the science by the Obama administration have demonstrated Keystone XL would provide needed infrastructure with little or no environmental impact. Plain and simple, the Presidents decision today is a purely political move which will hurt the middle class. Not everyone can afford to buy a hybrid car as a means to deal with an uncertain national energy policy. Unfortunately, the Presidents narrow agenda continues to hurt the very people he says he wants to help. \n\tThe Keystone XL Pipeline would have run through Nebraskas Third District, which Smith represents.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://fortenberry.house.gov/media-center/fort-reports/fort-report-veterans-day-0", "Fort Report: Veterans Day", "2015-11-06", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Jeff Fortenberry", "F000449", "fortenberry.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Nothing in Johnny Bravos training had prepared him for what he saw that night. The American fighter pilot was on a mission high above the mountains and the clouds in Afghanistan. The moon was so bright, the blanket of clouds so thick, that he could not see the mountains below. He was struck by the serenity of the moonlight gleaming on the clouds.\nAll of a sudden sounds broke the quiet. His radio crackled, and he heard the word contact. Johnny Bravo knew what that meant. Special operations forces below him were in trouble.\nAlthough his aircraft was not equipped to navigate the mountainous terrain below, he decided to act. He pulled out an old Soviet air map to determine his exact location. Using his mathematical training, squaring the variables of speed, distance, and the time available for a strike, he made a decision. He plunged his aircraft straight down through the thick clouds.\nThe aircraft lurched back and forth, shaking violently. Finally, breaking through the clouds, Johnny Bravo found himself in a valley only hundreds of feet from the ground. It was a startling scene. Fire from both sides of steep cliffs poured down on one spot where his fellow troops were trapped. Instantly, Johnny Bravo trained his weapons on the sources of fire, counting out loud, One one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand, pulling up before slamming into the side of a mountain.\nHe circled upward and then punched down through the clouds into the valley again. With fire still raining down onto his troops, he continued to unload his weapons on the enemy positions. He did it again, counting all the while, One one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand.\nAfter emptying his ammunition, he said to his wingman, Now you go. His wingman said, I dont think I can do it. Johnny Bravo replied, Then follow me.\nTheir planes, literally feet apart, both dove through the clouds. His wingman began firing as Johnny Bravo once more counted out, repeating the maneuver time and again until his wingman ran out of ammunition.\nThat night every man came back alive.\nWhen Johnny Bravo returned to base, he was asked why he took such a risk. Duty did not compel him to act in such a heroic manner. He simply replied, They would have done the same for me.*\nThis morning I had the privilege of honoring 40 of Nebraskas veterans in front of 300 students at Lux Middle School in Lincoln. The young people prepared a beautiful ceremony with an honor guard, the school band, and the D'Lux Singers. Ninety-two-year-old World War II veteran Vi Berst was in attendance; on D-Day, he hit Omaha Beach at 7 a.m. I told the young students, These men and womenthey did it for you.\nIt is this spirit of selflessness that lives on in so many of our veteransand the military men and women who are serving our nation today. They gave and continue to givefor one simple reason: it is necessary and it is their duty. Veterans Day is a reminder of the shared sacrifices that are needed to keep what we value. And it is a reminder to thank the men and women who keep our country safe, who keep our country strong.\n\n*I am recounting the story of Johnny Bravo as told to me by Simon Sinek. He is the author of Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Action.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sasse.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=1F9811BF-6BD5-4471-97B8-926F00623001", "Senator Sasse Testifies on CO-OP Failures Before House Committee", "2015-11-05", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Ben Sasse", "S001197", "www.sasse.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "\"Our constituents deserve nothing less than a full accounting.\" \r\n  Today, U.S. Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE), who last month announced his intent to block consideration and confirmation of every HHS nominee and oppose the fast-tracking of those nominees until the Administration provides a complete and transparent accounting of the systemic failures of the Affordable Care Act's CO-OP program, testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce.The Senator's statement, as prepared for delivery is found below.\n                        \r\n\nCommittee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, \"Examining the Costly Failures of Obamacares CO-OP Insurance Loans\"\r\n\r\nNovember 5, 2015\r\n\r\nStatement from Senator Ben Sasse\r\n\r\nAs prepared for delivery:Chairman Murphy, Ranking Member DeGette, and members of the subcommittee, thank you for inviting me to speak today. I appreciate the opportunity to think along with you about how we respond to the failure of CO-OPs in 13 states. It is an urgent problem that has left hundreds of thousands of Americans scrambling to find new health plans this fall.\nBefore we dive into the details about CO-OPs, I want to take a moment to suggest we take off our partisan hats. Yes, I fiercely oppose the Affordable Care Act. And yes, there are members of this committee who might love it. Thats not what this is about. Its about getting to the bottom of whats going on and why so many of our neighbors are losing their health coverage.\nThe tumultuous failure of the Affordable Care Acts Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan program began in my own backyard with the collapse of CoOportunity Health in Nebraska and Iowa.\nThe goal of todays hearing will be to get to the bottom of what is happening with CO-OPs. I plan to make two points today. First, while there is much more that we must understand, what we know so far suggests that the CO-OP program may be systemically flawed and serves as an example of greater bureaucratic incompetence generally. Second, that the lack of transparency on this issue is harmful and the Department of Health and Human Services owes the American public answers. Republican or Democrat, our constituents deserve nothing less than a full accounting.\nThe CO-OP program was included in the ACA to purportedly foster competition in the new exchanges by federally funding the start-up of 23 non-profit health insurers. To get them off the ground, taxpayers loaned these insurers $2.4 billion. After less than two years of operation, 12 CO-OPs are down and the program has a failure rate of over 50 percent.\nThe first failure, CoOportunity Health in Nebraska and Iowa, has arguably been the messiest because people lost their health plan in the middle of the plan year. CoOportunity was awarded a total of $145 million in taxpayer-funded loans. The new insurer had garnered about 10 times the number of enrollees that they had originally anticipated and was seemingly successful.\nHowever, despite the ample funding and enrollees, on December 16, 2014, more than a month into the new open enrollment season, the Iowa Insurance Commissioner placed CoOportunity under a supervision order. By January 23, 2015, the Iowa Insurance Commissioner deemed rehabilitation of CoOportunity impossible and sought a court order for liquidation. After just one year of operation, the new nonprofit health insurer abruptly collapsed.\nThis was a quite a shock to the 120,000 CoOportunity enrollees, a majority of whom are Nebraskans. These people were forced out of their insurance plans and had to go through the grueling process of signing up for coverage on healthcare.gov all over again.\nSo why did CoOportunity fail? Curiously, more than 9 months later, we still dont have answers.\nBut sadly, CoOportunitys messy demise was just the first CO-OP domino to fall. Now, a total of 12 CO-OPs across 13 states will be closed by the end of the year. These 12 co-ops were awarded more than $1.1 billion in taxpayer-funded loans and had more than a half a million enrollees.\nAnother especially noteworthy failure is Health Republic of New York, the largest CO-OP. It received more in taxpayer loans than any other CO-OP, totaling more than $265 million. In late September, they announced they would cease operations at the end of the year. But just last Friday, the states health insurance regulatory body, revealed that the situation was much worse than originally anticipated. Apparently, a review conducted in conjunction with CMS found that the previously reported filings were not an accurate representation of Health Republics financial condition. Now, the CO-OP is closing down as fast as possible instead of at the end of the plan year.\nThis means that the more than 200,000 enrollees in Health Republic will have to pick a new insurer and plan in order to maintain health coverage for the month of December. The new coverage will then expire on December 31st and they will have to once again choose another insurance plan for 2016 coverage. The sudden disruption and subsequent consumer confusion is eerily similar to what Nebraskans and Iowans faced earlier this year with CoOportunitys closure.\nWhich brings me to my second point: We still dont have good answers. With 12 out of 23 insurers rapidly going under, inaccurate filings for the New York CO-OP, and more than $1 billion in taxpayer \"loans\" out the door, there are more questions than ever regarding the CO-OP program at large. I believe it is essential that HHS answer basic questions.\nFor instance, CMS awarded additional solvency loans to CoOportunity, Health Republic in New York, and Kentucky Health Cooperative, all of which have closed or are closing now. Was CMS doubling down on their initial misjudgment by awarding additional loans?\nAt the time of the awards, these three insurers were operating at substantial losses that seemingly stemmed from poorly pricing their products. Indeed, one analysis measured the percentage difference between the CO-OPs average silver plan premium for a single, 27-year-old in the state to the corresponding average premium for all other carriers selling in the same market and found that CoOportunity in NE, Health Republic in NY and Kentucky Health Cooperative were all priced more than 20 percent below all their competitors.\nShould HHS have given these companies more taxpayer money given the anomalies of their pricing models?\nMoreover, HHS has yet to address if and when taxpayers will be repaid for the $1 billion they loaned to these 12 CO-OPs.\nThese are the types of answers and information that HHS should be providing to the American people.\nThe lack of transparency thus far has been disappointing to say the least. I started asking questions after CoOportunity failed in my state this past May. Without receiving a sufficient response, I asked more questions when the second CO-OP failed in Louisiana. By the time eight CO-OPs had gone under, I elevated my effort to get answers by pledging to oppose all HHS nominations. Since that announcement, less than three weeks ago, four additional CO-OPs are closing, cementing further that this is a systemic problem within the CO-OP program.\nConsumers who face coverage disruption and taxpayers who footed the bill deserve answers. CMS needs to provide a complete accounting of what has gone wrong within the CO-OP program. I hope that will start today at this hearing.\nThank you.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://adriansmith.house.gov/press-release/smith-applauds-senate-passage-resolution-disapproval-block-wotus", "Smith Applauds Senate Passage of Resolution of Disapproval to Block WOTUS", "2015-11-04", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Adrian Smith", "S001172", "adriansmith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Resolution mirrors House legislation introduced by Smith in July  \n\t  \n\tCongressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) released the following statement today after the U.S. Senate passed S.J. Res. 22 to block implementation of the Environmental Protection Agencys (EPAs) Waters of the U.S. rule (WOTUS) by congressional disapproval under the Congressional Review Act. This legislation, introduced by Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA), is a companion bill to Smiths H.J. Res. 59 introduced in the U.S. House in July.  \n\t  WOTUS is one of the largest abuses of executive power in modern history, posing a significant threat to Nebraskas agriculture economy, Smith said. While the Obama administration defiantly pushed forward with this damaging rule, I introduced the resolution of disapproval in the House to ensure Congress did not miss an opportunity to block this regulatory overreach.\n\t\n\tWith todays passage of the resolution in the Senate, I am optimistic the House will soon consider this legislation and send it to President Obamas desk. I am grateful to my Senate colleagues for standing up for rural Americans and following through on our commitment to using every available tool to prevent this devastating rule from ever being implemented.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sasse.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/in-the-news?ContentRecord_id=1AACD0CB-6226-4190-B300-13E4F5BC894C", "Ben Sasse  in Senate floor debut  offers stinging criticism of state of debate in Congress", "2015-11-04", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Ben Sasse", "S001197", "www.sasse.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "By Joseph Morton, Omaha World-Herald\nOne year after Nebraskans sent him to Washington, Republican Sen. Ben Sasse on Tuesday delivered a scathing assessment of the Senate as a forum dominated by sound bites, partisan talking points, pandering to the political base and myopic fights over small-bore policy issues.\nThe people despise us all, Sasse told his colleagues. And why is this? Because were not doing our job. Were not doing the primary things that the people sent us here to do.\nSasse has generally kept his head down this year. Tuesday was his first address on the Senate floor, and it came many months after all of his fellow freshmen senators had delivered their own maiden speeches.\nSasse said he waited so long partly out of deference to past Senate tradition that new senators wait a year before they spoke on the floor, and partly because he wanted to spend time interviewing his new colleagues about what they believe ails the institution.\nSenators often find themselves addressing a near-empty chamber, but more than one-third of the senators, including ten Democrats, were in their seats to listen to Sasse. That included fellow rookies and longtime veterans.\r\nSasse criticized Republicans who would use the floor as a platform to grandstand for outside pursuits  a line that was widely interpreted as a shot against senators running for president. He hit Democrats for harming the institution in the past with bare-knuckled tactics.\nIn theory, Sasse said, the Senates unique characteristics  such as six-year terms and individual senators rights  should insulate it from the bickering of 24-hour news cycles. But he said that has broken down over time in the face of incessant fundraising demands, the increasing ubiquity of cameras and constant travel requirements.\nWe  in recent decades  have allowed short-termism and the sound-bite culture to invade this chamber, and to reduce so many of our debates to fact-free zones, he said.\nHe paused at one point to note that he was nervous his speech would make him sound like a naive idealist.\nTo add to the discomfort, Im brand new to politics, 99th in seniority and occasionally mistaken for a page, Sasse said.\nHe stressed that he was not decrying a lack of civility on the Senate floor, but rather a lack of substance.\nThis is not a call for less fighting, he said, but for more meaningful fighting.\nHe had a list of suggestions for baby steps that could improve the situation. He also cited three senators from years past as guideposts for restoring the Senate:\n Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a New York Democrat who famously said, Everyone is entitled to his own opinion but not to his own facts. Sasse, who intentionally sits at Moynihans old desk in the Senate chamber, said national debates must rest on sound data.\n Margaret Chase Smith, a Maine Republican who showed her willingness to take on her own party when she called out fellow GOP senator Joe McCarthy for his tactics. Sasse called for less tolerance of straw-man arguments in Senate debate, even if that means criticizing members of ones own party.\n Robert Byrd, a West Virginia Democrat who was devoted to the Senate, its history and its powers. Sasse called for the Senate to grapple more with its specific duties and unique role.\nSasse said each senator has an obligation to answer when constituents ask why the Senate isnt working.\nAnd if your only answer to this question is to blame the other party, then you dont get it, Sasse said, and the American people think youre part of the problem, not part of the solution.\nAs he concluded his half-hour speech, the other senators applauded. Many approached him with an encouraging handshake and slap on the back.\nSenate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., stood and commended Sasse for an extraordinary maiden speech. He said Sasses decision to wait so long before delivering his first speech had built up some suspense about what he would say.\nI suspect most people would not have predicted that the best lesson we were to hear about whats wrong with the Senate and what needs to change would have come from somebody who just got here, McConnell said.\nSasse said after the speech that he felt a little like a skunk at a garden party delivering his pointed remarks, but he intended it to be a humble commercial for how he plans to approach floor debates.\nSen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who recently cast his 12,000th vote in the Senate, said he appreciated Sasses scholarly speech.\nSaid Grassley: It had a lot of good points about what the Senate has evolved into.\r\nRead the full article at theOmaha World-Herald here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sasse.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/in-the-news?ContentRecord_id=3AC89607-878D-43D7-A42D-AB7E224DE66F", "Nebraska's rookie senator: 'A six-year term is a terrible thing to waste'", "2015-11-04", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Ben Sasse", "S001197", "www.sasse.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Francine Kiefer, Christian Science Monitor \n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tLike the historian and turnaround specialist that he is, rookie Sen. Ben Sasse (R) Nebraska spent his first year in the US Senate privately interviewing his colleagues, both Republicans and Democrats, trying to find out why the Senate is broken and how to fix it.\r\nOn Tuesday, in an unusual maiden speech, the newbie shared his findings, basically holding up the mirror to his colleagues. Even more unusual, a good number of them stayed to listen, from the Senate majority leader, to GOP presidential candidates Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, to a dozen-or-so Democrats.\r\nThe freshman from Nebraska  a former college president, not a politician, he emphasized  spoke with a winsome earnestness, revealing what so many in this body already know:\r\nIn private, hardly any of them considers members of the other party to be evil or stupid or bribed. And that, shamefully, they have allowed short-termism and the sound-bite culture to invade the chamber.\r\nWhat the Senate should be doing is debating the big issues of the day that need solving  from the challenges of violent jihad to the need for entitlement reform. He rejected the view that the Senate simply reflects the polarization of the country, calling polarization beyond Washington overstated.\r\nThe hundred of us should mitigating, not exacerbating, the polarization, he said.\r\nIn a good-natured, yet serious way, he admonished senators for not doing the job that the chamber was designed to do  essentially throwing away the opportunity and breathing room that a six-year term provides for fulldebate and resolution of major issues.\r\nBluntly talking about the Senate's brokenness is not \"naive idealism,\" said the boyish-looking senator, who is occasionally mistaken for a page. It's a necessary discussion, he said, because \"a cultural recovery\" in the Senate is needed for \"a national recovery.\"\r\nSenator Sasse expressed particular concern with executive overreach  but said part of the reason for this was because of legislative under-reach. Senators are not willing to lead or take hard votes, and so successive presidents of both parties gobble up more and more power.\r\nA six-year term is a terrible thing to waste, he concluded, and judging from the response of his colleagues  a standing ovation  the senators seemed to agree. Sen. John Cornyn (R) of Texas, the No. 2 GOP leader in the Senate, called the speech outstanding.\r\nThoughtful, pointed, constructive, needed, said Sen. Chris Coons (D) of Delaware, who, already 40 minutes late to a meeting, had to fend off texts from his staff because he wanted to stay and hear Sasse out.\r\nWill the Nebraskan's comments amount to a pebble thrown into a pool, creating a little ripple but nothing more as it sinks to silence?\r\nI seriously doubt thatSenator Sasse will only throw a pebble, said Senator Coons. I suspect there will be a steady rain of little rocks.\r\nRead the full article at theChristian Science Monitor.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sasse.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/in-the-news?ContentRecord_id=3B916528-DF0C-4E70-AE18-42071CEFAB8E", "Sasse challenges Senate to do its job", "2015-11-04", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Ben Sasse", "S001197", "www.sasse.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "by Don Walton,Lincoln Journal Star\r\nSen. Ben Sasse challenged the Senate on Tuesday to heal itself, stepping back from partisan wrangling and reluctance to tackle the nation's deepest problems because of fear of losing re-election.\n\"The people despise us all,\" Sasse said in his first Senate floor speech, delivered one year after he was elected as Nebraska's freshman senator.\n\"And why is this? Because we're not doing the job we were sent here to do.\n\"I'm home basically every weekend,\" Sasse said, \"and what I hear, and what I'm sure most of you hear, is some version of this: A pox on both parties and all your houses. We don't believe politicians are even trying to fix this mess.\"\nSasse said he ran for a Senate seat last year \"because I think that the public is right that we as a people are not tackling the generational crises that we face.\"\n\"We don't have a long-term foreign policy for the age of jihad and cyberwar; our entitlement budgets are completely fake.\n\"We are entering an age where work and jobs will be more fundamentally disrupted than at any point since hunter-gatherers first settled in agrarian villages.\n\"And yet we don't really have any plans,\" he said.\n\"No one in this body thinks the Senate is laser-focused on the most pressing issues facing the nation. No one.\"\nSasse said meaningful debate on those issues could be a beginning.\n\"The Senate was built to focus on the big stuff,\" he said. \"The Senate is to be the antidote to sound-bites.\"\nBut the sound-bite culture has invaded the Senate chamber, Sasse said, and \"radically reduce(d) so many debates to fact-free zones.\"\n\"We don't have many actual debates,\" he said. \"We regularly devolve into bizarre partisan-politician speech. We hear robotic recitations of talking points.\"\nSasse said he recognizes that a call for more honest Socratic debate \"runs the risk (of) being written off as overly romantic, as nave idealism,\" especially when you rank 99th in Senate seniority.\nBut, he said, \"I believe that a cultural recovery inside the Senate is a partial prerequisite for a national recovery.\"\n\"This is not a call for less fighting, but for more meaningful fighting,\" he said. \"This is a call to be for things that are big enough that you might risk your re-election.\"\nSasse has been talking privately with individual senators on both sides of the partisan aisle during the year to gather their perspective in advance of his first floor speech.\nIn coming months, Sasse said, he plans to deliver a series of floor speeches about what he described as \"the historic growth of the administrative state.\"\n\"Republicans and Democrats are both to blame for grabbing more power when they have the presidency,\" he said.\n\"And Republicans and Democrats are both to blame in the legislature as well for not wanting to lead on hard issues and take hard votes, but rather to sit back and let successive presidents gobble up more authorities.\"\r\nRead the full article at theLincoln Journal Star.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ID=6c070cfb-90bf-424a-906e-a7edd5dbaf70", "Fischer Votes for Bill to Stop WOTUS", "2015-11-03", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Deb Fischer", "F000463", "www.fischer.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, released the following statement this afternoon after voting for S. 1140  The Federal Water Quality Protection Act, which she cosponsored:\r\nToday, I voted to stop the federal governments attack on Nebraska families, taxpayers, job creators, ag producers, and communities.\r\nThe Federal Water Quality Protection Act would require the government to do its homework and work with states and local stakeholders before imposing such a rule  something that should have happened in the first place.\r\nI will continue to hold the administration accountable and ensure the citizens of Nebraska, not bureaucrats in Washington, remain in control of our water resources.\r\nThis afternoon, the U.S. Senate voted on The Federal Water Quality Protection Act, which would direct the administration to withdraw the rule and issue a revised proposal. The bill would set clear limits on federal regulation of water, require consultation with states and impacted stakeholders, and ensure that a thorough economic analysis is conducted. It failed to pass the necessary 60-vote threshold to advance by a margin of 57-41.\r\nFischer is also an original cosponsor of S. 1178  The Defending Rivers from Overreaching Policies Act. This bill targets the flawed science used by the EPA to expand the definition of water.\r\nThe WOTUS rule has been marked with strong, bipartisan opposition since it was first announced last year. On August 27, 2015, hours before the rule went live, a temporary injunction was issued by U.S. District Court Judge Ralph Erickson of North Dakota. Nebraska was one of 13 states exempted from the rule. Last month, on October 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled against WOTUS. This ruling immediately blocked the implementation of WOTUS nationwide.\r\nSince the proposed rule was announced in 2014, Senator Fischer has been a vocal opponent. In March, she chaired a field hearing of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in Lincoln, Nebraska. She has repeatedly urged EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy to scrap the rule altogether.\r\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sasse.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/in-the-news?ContentRecord_id=0D8215B9-C55B-46EA-9B08-1F1C6B20627F", "The Weekly Standard: Ben Sasse Is Now Ready to Shake Up Washington", "2015-11-03", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Ben Sasse", "S001197", "www.sasse.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "by Fred Barnes\r\nA tradition in the Senate required a newly elected member to wait a year or more before addressing his colleagues on the Senate floor. But that practice has been absent from the Senate for decadesuntil today.\r\nSenator Ben Sasse (R-Neb), elected a year ago today, decided he would first consult his colleagues and former senators extensively about the way the Senate works. Today, having talked at length to more than half of them, including the leaders of both parties, he is set to deliver his initial speech.\r\nSasses theme is that the Senate has strayed from concentrating on big issues. Its been distracted by the sound-bite culture of todays news cycle.\r\nBefore todays speech, Sasse told me he had been thinking about this topic since last spring. He characterized his speech as a plea for substance, not a plea for civility. He said senators might think the speech is too idealistic or too scolding.\r\nNo one in this body thinks that the Senate is laser-focused on the most pressing issues facing the nation, he says in his prepared remarks today. No oneNo one disputes it. No one is on the verge of coming to the floor to announcethat the Senate is diligently working last year, or this year, or next year, on detailed plans for confronting the greatest challenges facing the nation.\r\nThe Senate, Sasse says, is built to insulate us from opinion fads and the short-term bickering of the 24-hour-news-cycles. Stated differently: the Senate was built to focus on the big stuff, the really hard, long-term problems. The Senate was built to be the antidote to sound bites.\r\nWhat major problems are insufficiently addressed? Id put national security at the top of the list, he said in the interview. Three others: the rising cost of entitlements, the jobs market in the fast-churning economy, and the crisis in civil engagement. Civic disengagement, he says in his speech, is arguably a larger problem today than is polarization. It isnt so much that regular folks are locked into predictably Republican or Democratic positions on every issue, he says. Its that they are turning away from politics altogether.\r\nSasse argues for a kind of Socratic speech in which senators will upgrade their game through debate with each other. But bizarrely, we dont really do this here very much, he says. We dont have many actual debates. This is a body that would be difficult to today describe as the greatest deliberative body in the world  something that has often been true historically.\r\nWhat the Senate does, Sasse says, is important to national recovery. In fact, he says recovery will not occur without this special institution. I believe a cultural recovery inside the Senate is a partial prerequisite for national recovery.\r\nWhen he arrived in the Senate, he chose to sit at the desk of Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY), who died in 2003. Moynihan is Sasses model senator, a Harvard professor before his Senate terms. Sasse has degrees from Harvard, St. Johns, and Yale (Ph.d).\r\nMoynihan read social science prolifically, and sought constantly to bring data to bear on the debates in this chamber, Sasse says in his prepared text. Like any genuinely curious person, he asked a lot of questions  so you couldnt automatically know what policy he might ultimately advocate just because he could ask hard questions of everyone. He had the capacity to surprise us.\r\nAt the least, Sasse may surprise his colleagues with his sharp critique of the Senate.\r\nRead this article atThe Weekly Standard.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sasse.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/in-the-news?ContentRecord_id=98E5B4F4-0BFB-4FA0-81B4-1182B637ED33", "The Atlantic: Can Washington's Most Interesting Egghead Save the Senate?", "2015-11-03", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Ben Sasse", "S001197", "www.sasse.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Almost exactly a year ago, just after the 2014 elections,TheWashington Postsized upthe motley crew of newly elected senators10 Republicans and one Democratand tried to figure out what roles they would play once they arrived in the Capitol. Ben Sasse, a 43-year-old conservative from Nebraska with no prior political experience, was voted most likely to give the first speech and most likely to make trouble for the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell. D.C. seemed to have Sasse (pronounced sass) pegged as a rabble-rousing smarty-pants eager to turn the place upside down. But Sasse proceeded to defy expectations: He decided to spend the first 10 months of his term listeningwithout giving any speeches at all on the floor of the Senate. (This approach did not please everyone: Aletterpublished in theLincoln Journal Starlast month accused him of simply collecting his paycheck and having an occasional meeting with other senators.)\r\nOn Tuesday, a year after he was elected, Sasse will speak on the Senate floor for the first time. Instead of being the first freshman to speak, he will be the last.\r\nIm a historian by training, Sasse explained, perched on a chair in his Senate office, which is nearly bare save for a few generic pictures of Nebraska. Until a few decades ago, he said, it was traditional for new senators to wait a year to speak. That thats no longer the case, he suspects, speaks to the pathology of the modern Senate, where lawmakers deliver stale talking points for the benefit of the C-SPAN2 cameras, often with nobody else in attendance.\r\n\r\nSasse says he has approached the Senate like a company in need of a culture change. Ive done 26 crisis and turnaround projects in the last 21 years, so Im used to going into places that are really broken, he says. You always have to walk this fine line between learning a placeby being humble and asking questions and having empathy for real humans laboring in broken institutionsand resolve, that youre going to still steel yourself to not let human empathy cloud the fact that a broken institution is a broken institution. In his speech today, according to a draft, he plans to say, I believe that a cultural recovery inside the Senate is a partial prerequisite for national recovery.\r\n\r\n\r\nWhat the heck does this mean? And if the problem with the Senate is that senators arent listening to each others speeches, can you really hope to fix it by giving another speech nobody listens to?\r\nSasse can seem, from the perspective of a jaded Washington insider, hopelessly navelike when, a month ago, he went off on amulti-part ranton Twitter about the need for Republicans to think bigger when it came to selecting a speaker of the House and suggested that Arthur Brooks, the right-wing theorist and happiness guru, might be the man for the job. Sasse is fond of saying that the things Washington fights over are boring to regular people and that there are plenty of folks in Nebraska who could run the country better than its current elected leaders, which sounds very much like the kind of diversionary hooey politicians frequently spout to convince voters theyre not, in fact, politicians.\r\nBut Sasse insists what hes proposing in Tuesdays speech is more than just a bunch ofpious baloney. He has a three-part plan, basednaturallyon historical precedent, to make his mark now that hes opened his mouth to speakand get his colleagues to pay attention.\r\nSasses first historical model is Daniel Patrick Moynihan, the former New York Democrat, whose Senate desk Sasse has commandeered. Moynihan once famously said, Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts; Sasse believes facts too often go missing when todays senators talk. The second model is Margaret Chase Smith, a Republican from Maine who served in the 1950s and 60s and who, despite her strong opposition to Communism, felt compelled to call out her fellow Republican, Joseph McCarthy, for his political witch hunts. Sasse sees her as an icon of putting principle ahead of party.\r\n\r\n\r\nBut once he starts speaking, Sasse doesnt plan to stop. He has concocted an audacious plan to get his fellow senators attentionone he hopes could rescue the moribund upper house from its current torpor.\r\nSasse is, in fact, a historian by training, among other thingshe may have the Senates most varied resume, from the five degrees (Harvard undergrad, three masters, Yale Ph.D) to several executive-branch positions in the Bush administration (Department of Justice, Health and Human Services) to corporate consulting to academia. When he set out to run for Senate last year, he was the president of a small Lutheran school in his home state, Midland College, whose faltering enrollment and finances he successfully turned around; running with ahybridof establishment credentials and Tea Party passion, he defeated two better-known candidates in the Republican primary and sailed to victory in the general election.\r\n\r\n\r\nemanding facts and calling out excessive partisanship sound nice, I told Sasse, but do you really expect anyone to care? Just last week, Ted Cruz took to the floor of the Senate to rip McConnell as a very effective Democratic leader; McConnell wasnt there and didnt bother to respond, seeing it as yet more presidential-campaign posturing. Wont Sasses colleagues ignore him, too?\r\nI actually plan to engage people, Sasse replied. I guess they can ignore me, but part of the reason I want to preview this is so it doesnt seem so jarring when it actually happens. When people give straw-man speeches, I plan to go and interrupt.\r\n\r\n\r\nThat is, Sasse plans to actually hang out in the Senate, listening to his colleagues stupid speechesand rebutting them in real time when he feels theyve gone astray. Hes not just begging them to have debates. Hes going to debate them, whether they like it or not.\r\nI ask if hes been biting his tongue all year, listening to speeches without giving any of his own. Oh, for heavens sake, he says. Since he is 99th in seniority, hes often tasked with presiding over the floor, which in practice means hoping the C-SPAN2 cameras dont catch him munching on chocolate-covered pretzels while another senator drones away in the otherwise empty chamber. I sit in this chair all the time, and it just feels like Charlie Browns mom talking all the time, he says.\r\nSasses third historical icon is Robert Byrd, the late West Virginia Democratchosen not for his segregationist views, but for his 100-speech series on the history of democracy. The Senate, he believes, can become a place for that kind of storytelling again. Every few weeks, he plans to deliver a new installment in a series of meditations on executive authority, the separation of powers, and the Constitution.\r\nIf its not the Senate, where will this deliberation happen? Sasse asks me, before he bounces out of his chair to head off to a meeting. I think wed be much better off if the people who have this job had to actually argue about what the policy agenda of the country should be over the next decade. If the Senates most interesting egghead has his way, there will be a lot more arguing soon to come.\r\nRead this article atThe Atlantic.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sasse.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/in-the-news?ContentRecord_id=AFB1072B-9C49-4EEB-B49D-A379B670BB7F", "OWH: Ben Sasse  making debut on Senate floor today  offers stinging criticism of state of debate in Congress", "2015-11-03", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Ben Sasse", "S001197", "www.sasse.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "by Joseph Morton, Omaha World-Herald\r\nSen. Ben Sasse has a stinging critique of the state of debate in the U.S. Senate  and plenty of suggestions for how to do it better.\r\n\r\nThe Nebraska Republican makes his debut on the Senate floor this afternoon, a year after Nebraskans elected him and many months after all of his fellow freshmen senators delivered their maiden speeches.\r\n\r\n\r\nSasse waited this long for his first speech partly out of deference to Senate tradition and partly because he wanted to spend time interviewing his new colleagues about what they believe ails the institution.\r\n\r\n\r\nThe Senate floor, he said, has become a sound bite hunting ground, where members trot out dueling sets of partisan talking points for short-term policy advocacy. In private, he said, senators concede that no one ever persuades anyone in floor debate, and that the Senate isnt dealing with the nations long-term problems.\r\n\r\n\r\n\"And yet publicly, people seem really content to just drift along acting like: Well, this will probably work itself out,\" Sasse told The World-Herald. \"Nobody believes that.\"\r\n\r\n\r\nSasse says he will push the Senate to take a bigger-picture view and will lean on his own background as a historian and a turnaround expert. His speech will highlight three former senators as guideposts for the future:\r\n\r\n\r\n Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York, a Democrat who delivered the oft-cited exhortation that everyone is entitled to their own opinion but not their own facts. Before lawmakers can debate the best solutions to the nations problems, Sasse says, they need to agree on the problem itself and the relevant data surrounding it.\r\n\r\n\r\n Margaret Chase Smith of Maine, a Republican who showed her willingness to take on her own party when she called out fellow GOP senator Joe McCarthy for his tactics. Sasse wants less tolerance in Senate debate for straw man arguments, even if that means members calling out others from their party.\r\n\r\n\r\n Robert Byrd of West Virginia, a Democrat who was devoted to the Senate, its history and its powers. Sasse will call for more focus on the bodys constitutional authority, which he says has been slipping away over the years. One reason he cited for that is a committee structure that has remained largely the same, even as the federal government has grown tremendously in size and scope.\r\n\r\n\r\n\"Executive overreach is enabled by legislative underreach, and the Congress has been ceding authorities to the executive branch for decades,\" Sasse said. \"And that process is clearly accelerating with the way rule making works now and the way the Congress has essentially made itself impotent.\"\r\n\r\n\r\nIn short, Sasse doesnt plan to hold back, but will head to the floor and respectfully interrupt colleagues of either party in order to push for more actual debate.\r\n\r\n\r\nTuesdays speech is an introduction to how Sasse will operate on the floor and he hopes that over time  he says hes not under any illusions that this will happen quickly  it will help change the way debate on the floor functions so it becomes a place where members actually convince each other once in a while.\r\n\r\n\r\nSasse says that younger senators are particularly concerned about the need for changes if the Senate is going to deal with the many crises on the horizon, from entitlement spending to terrorism.\r\n\r\n\r\n\"The easy thing to do is just to keep playing shirts-and-skins exercises,\" Sasse said. \"Im not going to do that.\"\r\nRead this article at theOmaha World-Herald.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sasse.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=3DFDEA50-BA5A-48CB-B5DD-67C5C4C33834", "Senator Ben Sasse's Maiden Speech", "2015-11-03", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Ben Sasse", "S001197", "www.sasse.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Remarks as prepared for delivery. \r\n\r\nThank you, Mr. President. I rise to speak from the Floor for the first time today. I have never been in politics before, and I intentionally waited a year to speak here.\r\nI want to talk today about the purpose of the Senate, about some of the historical uses of the Floor of this special body, and about what baby-steps toward institutional recovery might look like.\r\nBefore doing so, let me explain briefly why I chose to wait a year since Election Day before beginning to fully engage in Floor debate.\r\nIve done two things in my adult worklife: Im a historian by training and a strategy guy by vocation. Before becoming a college president, I helped over a dozen organizations find strategies to get through some very ugly crises. One important lesson I learned over and over is that, when you walk into any troubled organization, there is a delicate balance between expressing human empathy and yet not passively sweeping hard truths under the rug. On the one hand, it is absolutely essential to listen first, to ask questions first to learn how a broken institution got to where it is  because there are reasons. Things drift and fray for reasons; people rarely set out to break special institutions they inherit.\r\nStill, empathy cannot change the reality that a bankrupt company is spending more to build its products than customers are willing to pay for them; a college with too few students is not only out of money but out of spirit; a charity that cannot persuade enough donors to invest in its cause might not have the right cause.\r\nThis is the two-part posture I have adopted in my rookie year. Because of this goal of empathetic listening first, of coming to sit and privately interview many of you  and also because of a pledge I made to Nebraskans in deference to an old Senate tradition  I have waited.\r\nBut please do not misunderstand: Do not confuse a deliberate approach with passivity. I ran because I think that the public is right that we as a people are not tackling the generational crises that we face: We dont have a long-term foreign policy for the age of jihad and cyberwar; our entitlement budgets are completely fake; we are entering an age where work and jobs will be more fundamentally disrupted than at any point since hunter-gatherers first settled in agrarian villages. And yet we dont really have any plans. I think the public is right that we as a Congress are not shepherding the country through the serious debates we must have about the future of this great nation.\r\nI will outline the key observations from my interviews of you another day. For now let me flag the painful, top-line take-away: No one in this body thinks the Senate is laser-focused on the most pressing issues facing the nation. No one. Some of us lament this fact; some are angered by it; many are resigned to it; some try to dispassionately explain how they think it came to be. But no one disputes it.\r\nAnd if I can be brutally honest for a moment: Im home basically every weekend, and what I hear  and what Im sure most of you hear  is some version of this: A pox on both parties and all your houses. We dont believe politicians are even trying to fix this mess. To the Republicans, to those who claim this new majority is leading the way: Few believe that. To the grandstanders who use this institution as a platform for outside pursuits: Few believe the countrys needs are as important to you as your ambitions. To the Democrats, who did this body harm through nuclear tactics: Few believe bare-knuckled politics are a substitute for principled governing. And does anyone doubt that many on both the right and the left now salivate for more of these radical tactics? The people despise us all.\r\nAnd why is this? Because were not doing the job we were sent here to do. The Senate isnt tackling the great national problems that worry those we work for.\r\nI therefore propose a thought experiment: If the Senate isnt going to be the most important venue for addressing our biggest national problems, where is that venue? Where should the people look for the long-term national prioritization? Or, to ask it of ourselves, would anything be lost if the Senate didnt exist? Again, this a thought experiment, so let me be emphatically clear: I think a great deal would be lost if the federal government didnt have a Senate  but game out with me the question of \"Why?\" What precisely would be lost if we had only a House of Representatives, rather than both bodies? The growth of the administrative state, the fourth branch of government, is increasingly hollowing out the Article I branch, the legislature  and many in Congress have been complicit in this hollowing out of our own powers. So would anything really be lost if we doubled-down on Woodrow Wilsons impulses and inclinations toward administrative efficiency by removing much of the clunky-ness of legislative process?\r\nOr, we could approach this thought exercise from the inside out: What is unique about the Senate? What can this body do particularly well? What are its essential characteristics? What was it built for? Consider its attributes:\r\n \r\nWe have 6-year terms instead of 2-year terms (and the Founders actually considered lifetime appointments to the Senate);\r\nWe have proportional representation of states, not of population counts  reflecting a federalist structure where we are supposed to be especially attuned to the distinction between agreeing that government might have a role to play in tackling certain kinds of problems  and yet guarding against a routinized assumption that only a centralized, national government can ably tackle problem X or Y;\r\nThird, we have rules designed to strengthen the hand of individual senators, not to the end of obstruction, but rather to ensure full debate and engagement with dissenting points of view  for the Founders had less concern with governmental efficiency than with protecting minority rights and culturally unpopular views;\r\nFourth, we had no formal rules acknowledging political parties until as late as the 1970s; we had merely a 20th century convention of acknowledging to speak first the leaders of the two largest party blocks;\r\nWe have explicit constitutional duties related to providing the executive with advice  chiefly on the building of his or her team and on the long-term trajectory of foreign policy.\r\n \r\nSix-year terms; representation of states, not census counts; nearly limitless debate to protect dissenters; no formal rules for political parties. What then is the answer to the question, \"What is the Senate for?\" Possibly the best shorthand is: \"To shield lawmakers from obsession with short-term popularity to enable us to focus on the biggest long-term challenges our people face.\"\r\n \r\nThe Senate was built to be the antidote to sound-bites.https://t.co/ruYE4yngj4pic.twitter.com/TyeXurV2Sy\r\n Senator Ben Sasse (@SenSasse)November 3, 2015\n \r\n\r\nWhy does the Senates character matter? Precisely because it is meant to insulate us from short-termism. This is the point of the Senate. This place is built to insulate us from opinion fads and the short-term bickering of 24-hour-news-cycles. The Senate was built to focus on the big stuff. The Senate is to be the antidote to sound-bites.\r\n\r\nI have asked many of you what is wrong with us. And, as in most struggling organizations, there is a high degree of agreement in private about what ails us  about what incentivizes short-term over long-term behavior:\r\n \r\nthe incessant fund-raising;\r\nthe ubiquity of cameras wherever we talk;\r\nthe normalization over the last decade of using many Senate rules as shirts-and-skins exercises;\r\nconstant travel (again often to fundraise) meaning that sadly, many families around here get ripped up.\r\n \r\nThis is not to suggest that there is unanimity among you in these private conversations. The divergence is most pronounced at the question of what comes next, whether institutional decline is inevitable: Some of you are hopeful for a recovery of a vibrant institutional culture. But more of you are pessimistic.\r\nThe most common framing of the worry is this: Okay, so this might not be the Senates finest hour. But isnt the dysfunction in here merely an echo of the broader political polarization out there? Its an important question: Isnt the Senate broken merely because of a larger \"shattered consensus\" of shared belief across our land?\r\nSurely, this is part of the story. But there is more to say:\r\nFirst, the political polarization of the country (outside Washington) is often overstated. We could talk about the Election of 1800, the run-up to the Civil War, the response to Catholic immigration waves, the bloodiest summers of the Civil Rights movement, or the experiences of returning soldiers from Vietnam if you want to talk about high-water marks of polarization.\r\nSecond, civic disengagement is arguably a larger problem today than is polarization. It isnt so much that most regular folks are locked into predictably Republican and Democratic positions on every issue; its that they are tuning us out altogether. And despite the echo chambers for those of us with these jobs, are we aware that the Pew Research Center notes that the total 24-hour viewership of CNN, Fox, and MSNBC is only between 1.8 and 2 million? Thats it.\r\nThird, one of our jobs is to flesh out competing views with such seriousness and respect that we should be mitigating, not exacerbating, the polarization that does exist. This is one of the reasons we have a representative, rather than a direct, democracy.\r\nFourth, surveys reveal that the public is more dissatisfied with us than they are scared about the intractability of the grand challenges we face. Consider this contrast:\r\n \r\nBetween two-thirds and three-quarters of Americans think the country is headed in a bad direction; that the experiences of their children will be less than the experiences of their parents. Thats really bad.\r\nBut consider this: Only one in ten is comforted that Congress is doing a decent job.\r\nLets be clear about what this means: If the voters were given a choice to fire everyone in Congress, does anyone have any doubt what they would do?\r\n \r\nThere are good and bad reasons to be unpopular. A good reason would be to suffer for waging an honorable fight for the long-term that has near-term political downsides  like telling seniors the sobering truth that theyve paid in far less for their Social Security and Medicare than they are currently getting back.\r\nBut we all know deep down that the political class is unpopular not because of our relentless truth-telling, but because of politicians habit of regularized pandering to those who already agree with us. The sound-bite culture  whether in our ninety-second TV stand-ups in the Russell rotunda, in our press releases, in the habits honed in campaigns  is everywhere around us.\r\nThis is the very reductionism  the short-termism  that this institution was explicitly supposed to guard against. The \"Senate\" is a word with two meanings  it is the 100 of us as a group, a community, a \"body\" (thats an important metaphor); and it is this physical chamber. The Senate is what we call this special room in which we assemble to debate the really big things.\r\nBut what happens in this chamber now is what is most disheartening for a newby like me. As our constituents know, something has gone awry here. We  in recent decades  have allowed the short-termism of sound-bite culture to invade this chamber, and radically reduce so many debates to fact-free zones.\r\nMr. President, I mentioned that Ive done two kinds of work before coming here: historian/college president and crisis turn-around guy. While they might seem quite different, both depend on a certain kind of deliberation, a kind of Socratic speech.\r\nGood history is good story-telling. And good story-telling demands empathy; it requires understanding different actors, differing motivations, competing goals. Reducing everything immediately to good and evil is bad history  not only because it isnt true, but because reductionism is unpersuasive; it is boring. Good history, on the other hand, demands that one talk socratically  that one can present alternate viewpoints, not strawman arguments.\r\nSimilarly, can you imagine a business strategist who presents just one idea, and then immediately announces that it is the only right idea, the only plausible idea? How would companies respond? They would fire that guy. A good strategist, by contrast, puts the best construction on a range of scenarios; and outlines the best criticisms of each option, including especially the option he or she wants to argue for most passionately. And then one assumes that your competitors will upgrade their game in light of your opening moves. This is again a kind of socratic speech.\r\nBut bizarrely, we dont really do this very much here. We dont have many actual debates. This is a place that would be difficult today to describe as \"the greatest deliberative body in the world\"  something that has often been true historically.\r\nSocrates said it was dishonorable to make the lesser argument appear the greater  or to take someone elses argument and distort it so that you dont have to engage their strongest points. Yet here, on this Floor, we regularly devolve into bizarre partisan-politician speech. We hear robotic recitations of talking points.\r\nWell, guess what: Normal people dont talk like this. They dont like that we do. And, more importantly, they dont trust us because we do.\r\nIts weird, because one-on-one, when the cameras are off, hardly anyone here really believes that senators from the other party are evilly motivated  or bribed  or stupid. There is actually a great deal of human affection around here  but again, thats in private, when the cameras arent on.\r\nPerhaps I should pause to acknowledge that an introductory speech like this makes me nervous. Talking about the recovery of more honest, Socratic debate runs the risk, I fully recognize, of being written off as overly romantic, as nave idealism. To add to the discomfort, Im brand new to politics and 99th in seniority.\r\nBut talking bluntly about what is not working in the Senate in recent decades is actually not nave idealism, but aspirational realism. Heres why: I believe that a cultural recovery inside the Senate is a partial prerequisite for a national recovery. I dont think that generational problems like the absence of a long-term strategy for combating jihad and cyber-war; like telling the truth about entitlement overpromising; like developing new human capital and job retraining strategies for the emerging era of much more rapid job change  I dont think these long-term problems are solvable without a functioning Senate. And a functioning Senate is a place that rejects short-termism, both in substance and in tone.\r\nThe Senate has always had problems  its a human institution populated by sinners. But it hasnt always had todays problems. There have been glorious high points when the Senate has flourished. And I believe a healthier Senate is possible again  but it will require models and guides. To that end, I have been reflecting on three towering figures of the last half-century who used the Floor differently than we usually use it today, and who thereby have much to teach us.\r\nBefore naming them, though, let me clarify my purpose: I do not think there is any magic bullet to restore the Senate. My purpose in speaking today is basically just to move into public discussions Ive already been having in private as I try to define a personal strategy for how to use this Floor. I want advice. I am opening a conversation and soliciting input on how to contribute to the broader team  and there are many of you  who want an upgrading of our debate, our prioritization, and our seriousness about the bigger challenges.\r\nTwo weeks ago, in discussion about this with one of you, I was asked: \"So you are going to admit our institutional brokenness and call for more civility on the Floor?\" No. While I am in favor of more civility, my actual call here is for more substance.\r\nThis is not a call for less fighting  but for more meaningful fighting. This is a call for bringing our A-game to the debates on the biggest issues here, with less regard for the 24-month election cycle and the 24-hour news cycle. This is a call to be for things that are big enough that you might risk your reelection.\r\nSo lets name three folks who can instruct us, because they brought a larger approach to this Floor:\r\nFirst, I sit quite intentionally at Daniel Patrick Moynihans desk. The New Yorker who cast a huge shadow around here for a quarter century famously cautioned that, while each of us has a right to our own opinion, we most certainly dont have any right to our own set of facts. He read social science prolifically, and sought constantly to bring data to bear on the debates in this chamber. Like any genuinely curious person, he asked lots of questions  so you couldnt automatically know what policy he would ultimately advocate just because he asked hard questions of everyone. He had the capacity to surprise us.\r\nSecond, in a time when circling the partisan wagons and castigating the opposing party can feel reflexively easy, we could all benefit from reading again Margaret Chase Smiths \"Declaration of Conscience\" speech on this Floor from June 1950. The junior senator from Maine was a committed anti-communist  sometimes called the first female cold warrior. And for her, that meant not knee-jerk opposition to competing views but rather the full-throated defense of what she called \"Americanism,\" defined as \"The right to criticize; The right to hold unpopular beliefs; The right to protest; The right of independent thought.\" Senator Smith was rightly worried about Alger Hiss and the infiltration of the State Department by spies, and that meant that grand-standing and lazy character smears were not only dishonest; they were distracting and therefore dangerous. And thus, the freshman senator  and at that point the only woman in the body  went to the Floor to demand publicly what she had previously asked for unsuccessfully in private: Was there any evidence for all of Joe McCarthys scandalous claims? Because a committed truth-teller challenged someone in her own party, on an issue on which she had ideological alignment with him, to reject strawman arguments and disingenuine attacks, the Senate would  four years later  censure McCarthy and banish McCarthyist tactics from this place.\r\nFinally, and for my purposes today most importantly, I would like us to recall Robert Byrd, one of the larger figures in this bodys two and a half centuries. As a historian, I have long been a student of the West Virginian, troubled though he was.\r\nWe sometimes conceive of our role today as merely policy advocates  as those who argue for our respective partys position on some short-term policy fight. And that is sometimes important. But that is only one of our roles. We dont have a parliamentary system  and that choice was on purpose.\r\nWith Moynihan and Margaret Chase Smith, we also need to contextualize our debates about our largest national challenges with facts and data; we need to agree on what problems we are trying to solve before we begin bickering about which programmatic levers might work more or less well; we need to challenge those in our own party not to construct lazy strawman arguments of those we are debating.\r\nBut there is something else we need as well. Beyond policy advocating and policy clarifying, we need an overarching narrative. We need to pause to regularly recall the larger American principles that bind us together  our Constitutional creed, our shared stories, and our exceptional American dream of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all 320 million of our countrymen.\r\nWe all know in our marriages that sometimes the only way to navigate through small and medium disagreements is by pausing to embrace again our larger shared commitments and our history. We need more of that here. We need to be able more often to agree on some big things before we get to the work of honorably disagreeing about some smaller policy fights.\r\nOne of the important legacies of Senator Byrd (and again, this is no commentary on other aspects of his messy past) is that he forced the Senate to grapple with its history, specific duties, and unique place in the architecture of Madisonian separation of powers.\r\nTo return to our thought experiment: Do we think the Founders would have regarded a 9% Congressional approval rating  a stunning level of distrust in representative government  as an existential crisis? Do we? Is it conceivable that we can get away with just drifting into the future, or is it essential that we fix this?\r\nCount me emphatically among those who think we need to fix it. We should not be okay with this. And if we are going to restore this place, part of it will center on recovering the executive/legislative distinction. The American people should demand more of us as legislators, and they should demand more of the next president as a competent administrator of the laws that we pass. That is only possible if we again have some identity commitments that are about the Constitutions Article I (the legislature) in tension with the duties of the Article II branch (the executive). Everything cannot be simply Republicans versus Democrats. We need Democrats to speak up when a Democratic president exceeds his or her powers. And I promise you that I plan to speak up when the next president of my party exceeds his or her proper powers.\r\nDespite all his other failings, Robert Byrd labored hard to mark those non-partisan lines. We should too.\r\nTo that end, in the coming months, I plan a series of Floor speeches on the historic growth of the administrative state. This will not be a partisan effort; it will not be a Republican senator criticizing the current administration because it is Democratic. Rather, it will be a constructive attempt to understand how we got to the place where so much legislating now happens inside the executive branch  for this kind of executive overreach came about because of a great deal of symbiotic legislative underreach. Republicans and Democrats are both to blame for grabbing more power when they have the presidency; and Republicans and Democrats are both to blame in the legislature as well for not wanting to lead on hard issues and take hard votes, but rather to sit back and let successive presidents gobble up more authorities. We can and we must do better than this. And the century-long look at the growth of executive branch legislating over the next many months will be an attempt to contribute to the efforts of all here, both Democrats and Republicans, who would like to see the Senate recover some of its authorities and some of its trustworthiness.\r\n \r\nSuch executive overreach came about because of a great deal of symbiotic legislative underreach. pic.twitter.com/vN27Moznq9\r\n Senator Ben Sasse (@SenSasse) November 3, 2015\n \r\n\r\nEach of us has an obligation to be able to answer our constituents question: \"Why doesnt the Congress work? And what is your plan for fixing the Senate in particular?\" And if your only answer is that the other party is fully to blame, then we dont get it, and the American people understandably think that we are part of the problem, not the solution.\r\nThis institution wasnt built just to advocate for new policy X versus new policy Y for next month. We must also serve as a forum for helping the nation understand and navigate our hardest debates. Our ways of speaking should mitigate polarization, not make it worse. As was well said around here recently: \"We will not always agree  not all of us, not all of the time. But we should not hide our disagreements. We should embrace them. We have nothing to fear from honest differences honestly statedI believe a greater clarity between us can lead to a greater charity among us.\"\r\nAgain, saying we should be reducing polarization doesnt mean we should be watering down conviction. Quite the contrary. We do not need fewer conviction politicians around here; we need more of them. We do not need more compromising of principles; we need clearer articulation and understanding of competing principles  so that we can actually make things work better, not merely paper over the vision deficit.\r\nWe should be bored by lazy \"politician speech,\" bored by knee-jerk partisan certainties on every small issue. We should primarily be doing the harder work of trying to understand competing positions on larger issues. Good teachers dont shut down debate; they try to model Socratic seriousness by putting the best possible construction on arguments, even  and especially  if one doesnt hold those positions. Our goal is not to attack strawmen  but to strengthen and clarify meaningful contests of ideas.\r\n \r\nI think we can do better  and I want to labor with all who want to figure out how. pic.twitter.com/3dJKf5ihEf\r\n Senator Ben Sasse (@SenSasse) November 3, 2015\n \r\n\r\nRepresentative government requires civic reengagement. Our people need to know that we in this body are up to the task of leading during this time of nearly universal angst about whether this nation is on a path of decline. I think we can do better  and I want to labor with all who want to figure out how.\r\nThank you, Mr. President.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://adriansmith.house.gov/press-release/rep-smiths-office-hold-mobile-offices-oshkosh-and-arthur", "Rep. Smith's Office to Hold Mobile Offices in Oshkosh and Arthur", "2015-11-02", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Adrian Smith", "S001172", "adriansmith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Constituents of Third District Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) will be able to meet with a representative of Congressman Smiths office for mobile offices on Thursday, November 5, in Oshkosh and Arthur.\n\tA mobile office allows constituents to meet directly with one of Smiths staff members about federal issues and take advantage of the constituent services available through his office, such as assisting individuals with challenges they face while working with a federal agency, ordering flags flown over the U.S. Capitol and booking tours in Washington, D.C.\n\tSmith, who has offices in Grand Island and Scottsbluff, will provide his mobile office and a staff member on Thursday, November 5, at the following times and locations:\n\tGarden County Courthouse  \n\t611 Main Street, Oshkosh, NE 69154  \n\t9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. (MST)\n\tArthur County Courthouse  \n\t205 Fir Street, Arthur, NE 69121  \n\t11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (MST)\n\tFor additional information, contact Congressman Smiths Scottsbluff office at (308) 633-6333.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://adriansmith.house.gov/press-release/smith-receives-fueling-growth-award-support-ethanol", "Smith Receives Fueling Growth Award for Support of Ethanol", "2015-11-02", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Adrian Smith", "S001172", "adriansmith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) has received the 2015 Fueling Growth Award for his leadership in supporting domestic energy production and the ethanol industry. The award was presented by Growth Energy.\n\tEthanol provides consumers in Nebraska and across America with a competitive alternative, Smith said. In April, I introduced H.R. 1736 to expand consumer choice at the fuel pump by extending to E15 the same waiver from EPA volatility standards already granted to E10, allowing both blends of ethanol to be sold year-round. I am honored to be recognized by Growth Energy as a leading advocate for biofuels and will continue working to advance domestic energy production in Nebraska and nationwide.\n\tIn presenting the award, Tom Buis, co-chairman of Growth Energy, said, Representative Smith has been a long-time champion for the ethanol industry. He has always worked to ensure sound federal policies are in place to ensure the growth of the industry. He understands the importance renewable fuels add to our energy security. Furthermore, Representative Smith understands the importance of consumer choice and savings at the pump. His tenure in Congress has been one that has helped the industry grow and thrive, and we are grateful for his continued and unwavering support.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sasse.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/op-eds?ContentRecord_id=7CE62C70-CD43-49A2-ACFE-F638A82C031B", "Lincoln Journal Star: HHS owes Nebraskans simple answers", "2015-10-31", "2015", "2015-10", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Ben Sasse", "S001197", "www.sasse.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "When CoOportunity Heath failed, 120,000 individuals  the majority of whom are Nebraskans  lost their health plans. They deserve to know what went wrong.\r\nThe several hundred thousand Americans who lost coverage when nine additional CO-OPs failed across the country deserve honesty, and taxpayers deserve transparency regarding the billions of dollars they loaned to these failed projects. Until we get those answers, the Senate should refuse to fast-track nominees to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the agency responsible for overseeing this mess.\r\nHHS owes Nebraskans clear answers. Here are the kinds of questions HHS needs to address. Its pretty simple:\r\n \r\nDid the people who ran these CO-OPs know how to make the numbers work?\r\nWhy were these 23 CO-OPs given $2.4 billion, and where did the money go? How and when exactly were these decisions made?\r\nWas Washington throwing good money after bad by giving CoOportunity an additional $32 million just three months before it was forced to shut down?\r\nCan taxpayers expect to see the billions they loaned to these CO-OPs? Does HHS have any plan to make that happen?\r\nDid HHS know these failures were coming, and could consumers have been better protected? Was there a way to prevent the suffering that these families endured? Did HHS tell anyone that these problems might be coming?\r\n \r\nWe dont have those answers yet. In fact, some in Washington are claiming that these CO-OPs would have succeeded if only they had received more taxpayer money through a bailout known as the ACAs risk corridor program. If Congress allowed insurer bailout money, they argue, we wouldnt be in this mess. But here are the inescapable facts: First, CoOportunity was in serious financial trouble long before Congress clarified that there would be no bailouts. Second, as the Obama administration has said, this program was never designed to be an unlimited taxpayer-funded bailout.\r\nJust how big is this problem? The Affordable Care Acts CO-OP program created 23 nonprofit health insurers across the country with $2.4 billion in taxpayer-funded loans. They began selling insurance in 2014 and, so far, 10 of them are already going out of business.\r\nWhat about the others? Are they more successful? Hardly. A report from the HHS Office of Inspector General says only one of them was operating in the black at the end of 2014. This is a systemic failure.\r\nWere these CO-OPS built on sound business models? It is possible that part of the problem was unsound pricing. For example, according to one analysis, CoOportunity priced its product more than 20 percent below the average silver plan premium of their competitors. The CO-OPs in New York and Kentucky have similar pricing compared with their competitors, and both are closing at the end of this year.\r\nMy office first asked questions after CoOportunity failed. We asked again when a second CO-OP in Louisiana went under. After eight CO-OPs had failed, we said that wed oppose the nomination of new HHS nominees. Since we first asked, hundreds of thousands more Americans have been harmed by these failures and will face similar disruptions. Despite all this, HHS still refuses to explain what has happened.\r\nThis isnt about spreadsheets  its about people. This is about the Nebraskans who lost coverage, the taxpayers who paid the bill, and the bureaucrats who sent out the checks.\r\nRepublicans and Democrats have a duty to our constituents, and HHS has a duty to provide these answers.\r\n \r\nEnough is enough. CO-OP collapse victims who lost coverage & taxpayers who paid billions in loans deserve answers. https://t.co/nhQGF7DIIz\r\n Senator Ben Sasse (@SenSasse) November 2, 2015\n \r\n\r\nContrary to the claims of some, demanding good governance isnt partisan  its problem solving. We can only fix this mess after weve found the facts.\r\nTo date, HHS has refused to answer even the most basic questions. This is the agency that moved actuarial and solvency decisions further from the states  something they now appear to have no actual competence to execute. If Congress is going to prevent this from happening again, we need to understand exactly what went wrong.\r\nEnough is enough. The victims  tens of thousands of Nebraskans and hundreds of thousands nationwide  who lost coverage deserve answers. The taxpayers who paid billions in loans deserve answers. Confirming new HHS nominees before that happens would be irresponsible and cruel. We have an obligation to get those answers.\r\nClick here to read the article at the Lincoln Journal Star.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://adriansmith.house.gov/attacks-animal-agriculture", "Attacks on Animal Agriculture", "2015-10-30", "2015", "2015-10", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Adrian Smith", "S001172", "adriansmith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "In August, C-SPANs Washington Journal featured Jeff Kerr, general counsel for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Foundation. During the interview, he stated, There are many things human beings used to do for thousands of years that weve evolved beyond, and our interaction with animals is the next version of the civil rights movement in this country.\n\tThis statement illustrates the political extremism of organizations such as PETA and the Humane Society of the United States which regularly attack animal agriculture.\n\tNebraskas farmers and ranchers provide for the needs and welfare of livestock and poultry every day, as they know producing high quality products depends on raising healthy animals. Because their livelihood depends on cultivating crops and livestock to develop our nation and feed the world, the success of any operation is tied directly to land quality and livestock well-being. Despite statements such as Mr. Kerrs, the true evolution over thousands of years has been the improvements made to animal care and food safety.\n\tUnfortunately, many recent developments have shown how these attacks on animal agriculture are pervading scientific and government organizations. This week, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a warning linking red meat to increased cancer risk, despite admitting numerous studies showed no correlation between red and processed meats and cancer. \n\tThe WHOs biased claim comes as the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) continue their work on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which has elicited its own controversy. The administrations Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) released recommendations earlier this year for Americans to decrease red meat consumption based on non-nutritional factors. I joined many of my colleagues in sending letters to USDA and HHS, expressing my concerns about inconsistencies within the report and the DGACs lack of focus on sound science.\n\tFederal regulations on school lunches have also caused headaches for schools across the country. When visiting schools across the Third District, I have too often heard stories of insufficient meals leading to students attending their after-school activities on empty stomachs or stopping by local fast food outlets. The Child Nutrition Act is due for reauthorization, and I am concerned how recent unfounded criticism of meat consumption might lead to additional regulations. Any reauthorization must be based on sound science and allow local officials who best know the needs of their students to exercise more discretion over meal options.\n\tIn a strange twist, the Bureau of Prisons banned pork from federal prison menus on October 1, claiming pork was the lowest-rated food option by prisoners. Following a national backlash and congressional inquiries, the Bureau reversed its decision only nine days later. Documentation provided by prison officials after the reversal showed the majority of prisoners actually liked pork or felt neutral about it. Though this chain of events defies explanation, the removal of pork from prisons  as brief as it may have been  is certainly consistent with the administrations ongoing attack on animal agriculture.\n\tOur producers continue to demonstrate they are dedicated to providing the highest quality, safest, and most affordable food in the world. In my role as co-chairman of the Modern Agriculture Caucus, I am committed to standing with them by promoting sound science and sensible policies which move animal agriculture forward.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://fortenberry.house.gov/media-center/fort-reports/fort-report-federal-budget", "Fort Report: The Federal Budget", "2015-10-30", "2015", "2015-10", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Jeff Fortenberry", "F000449", "fortenberry.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "If you have ever attended the Nebraska Breakfast in Washington, you might remember the charts. While they are not the most riveting conversation piece, the charts are my attempt to display graphs and statistics that communicate the massive and complex federal budget in a digestible way. As surprising as it seems, a number of people tell me they look forward to the budget presentation.\nThe charts do not paint a pretty picture. Spending has burdened our nation for far too long, resulting in a growing and unsustainable debt. If we had to pay off the national debt today, every man, woman, and child would owe about $57,000. Although the deficit is now falling thanks to improvements in responsible budgeting, some tax reforms, and slight economic improvement, more progress must be made to restore fiscal discipline. Three years ago the deficit was $1.4 trillion. That number is now projected to be $426 billionbelow the 50-year average as a percentage of economic output. Good progress, but still not enough. \nA properly functioning government is important for the protection of our country, orderly commerce, and maintaining the guardrails of a flourishing civil society. These objectives require a rightly ordered budgetary process. \nIn the early part of each year, the President proposes a budget. Congress can either accept or reject that proposal. Most of the time, the Presidents budget is rejected. The House and the Senate craft their own versions and attempt to harmonize differences. While theres a lot of talk about various policy initiatives, the Appropriations Committee, on which I serve, makes strategic decisions with the budget number to determine which programs are unnecessary and outmoded, and which programs need to be enhanced. Heres the problem: this entire process has been disrupted, with many stops and starts. Regular order has become regular disorder.\nBudgetary delays and confusion create another problem. Increased volatility translates to higher price tags. People in business know that a cycle of disruption damages efficiency, not to mention the bottom line. The same is true of government budgeting. \nThis week the House of Representatives passed a budget for the remainder of the current and next fiscal year with my support. The measure increases military spending, fixes a Medicare Part B problem, and creates stability for the near term. It is also less than the 2011 discretionary spending. While the agreement is not perfect, the prospects for a better conclusion were weak, the potential for more Washington-led drama high, and further stress on the military real.\nMany people are justifiably anxious about the economy, cynical about politics, and concerned about worsening chaos in our culture. Budgetary drama worsens this insecurity. America cannot sustain more disruption from Washington. If we steadily move toward balancing our budget and attacking our debt, along with enhancing small business formation and the right type of healthcare reform, we can reset the way Washington runsand help turn our country around.\nIf you would like to see my budget charts, I invite you to view them at Fortenberry.house.gov.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://fortenberry.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/klin-radio-fortenberry-speaker-paul-ryan-federal-budget", "KLIN Radio: Fortenberry on Speaker Paul Ryan, Federal Budget", "2015-10-30", "2015", "2015-10", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Jeff Fortenberry", "F000449", "fortenberry.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Congressman Fortenberry discusses newly elected Speaker Paul Ryan and the need to pass a federal budget with Kevin Thomas on DriveTime Lincoln.\nClick on each part of the interview below to listen.\nPart One\nPart Two", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ID=41e8d302-71a7-465f-8175-290e3d34b12b", "Fischer Votes Against Budget Agreement", "2015-10-30", "2015", "2015-10", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Deb Fischer", "F000463", "www.fischer.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) released the following statement after voting against the budget proposal this morning:\r\nI understand the importance of long-term certainty and appreciate the hard work of our congressional leadership to find a compromise. At the same time, I have strong concerns regarding the substance of this agreement.\r\nI am particularly concerned with the potential harm this legislation will inflict on Nebraskas economy and our agriculture community. Under the current terms of the legislation, ag producers would be negatively impacted by changes to the crop insurance program. They should not be targeted to bear the brunt of this agreement  its a question of basic fairness.\r\nFinally, Nebraskans sent me to Washington to stop wasteful spending. The reforms within this agreement are a good step forward, but much more needs to be done to address our $18 trillion in debt.\r\nThis morning, Senator Fischer voted against the two-year budget agreement that will suspend the debt ceiling until March 16, 2017 and lift the statutory spending caps by $80 billion over the next two years.\r\nThe agreement would also amend the Federal Crop Insurance Act to establish an 8.9 percent cap on the overall rate of return for insurance providers. Currently, the overall rate of return is approximately 14.5 percent. Due to this change, producers and crop insurance providers will face a more challenging financial environment which will negatively impact the delivery and coverage of the most important risk management program tool available to farmers.\r\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sasse.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=B560785E-783C-477B-B799-3E32ECB60C60", "Sasse Statement on Budget Deal", "2015-10-30", "2015", "2015-10", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Ben Sasse", "S001197", "www.sasse.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "\"This backroom deal grows government.\" \r\n   U.S. Senator Ben Sasse issued the following statement after voting against a budget deal negotiated between the White House and GOP Congressional leadership. \"This backroom deal grows government. Congress has missed another opportunity for major reforms to our broken entitlement programs. Im disappointed that again and again Washington does nothing to prevent the pain that will come when Nebraskans are forced to pay for this city's debts and phony math.\"", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://adriansmith.house.gov/press-release/smith-statement-hot-springs-va-report", "Smith Statement on Hot Springs VA Report", "2015-10-29", "2015", "2015-10", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Adrian Smith", "S001172", "adriansmith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) released the following statement on the draft Environmental Impact Statement for the reconfiguration of the VA Black Hills Health Care System.\n\tTravel time and access to care continue to be foremost concerns for western Nebraska veterans. I am troubled by the VAs insistence on pressing forward with a plan veterans do not want, which would require those who need care most to drive an additional hour each way to receive it. I will be reviewing this study in detail and remain committed to ensuring our heroes have access to the care they deserve.\n\tSmith serves as chairman of the Rural Veterans Caucus.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://adriansmith.house.gov/press-release/smith-statement-speaker-ryan%E2%80%99s-election", "Smith Statement on Speaker Ryans Election", "2015-10-29", "2015", "2015-10", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Adrian Smith", "S001172", "adriansmith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Smith Statement on Speaker Ryans Election                                           \n              Oct 29, 2015                        \n                    \n                    \n                                            \n          \n        \n        \n          \n  \n    \n    \n    Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) released the following statement today after voting for Congressman Paul D. Ryan for Speaker of the House.\n\tPaul is the right conservative leader to move our Republican conference forward and help us start thinking bigger as we tackle the issues facing our country. In his role as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, Paul demonstrated his ability to lead, listen, and thoughtfully craft solutions on pressing issues such as trade, tax reform, and entitlement reform. I am grateful to Paul for his willingness to sacrifice what he has often referred to as his dream job at the Ways and Means Committee to take on the challenge of uniting House Republicans and our country as Speaker, and I look forward to continuing to work with him.\n\tSmith is a member of the House Ways and Means Committee.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://fortenberry.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/fortenberry-statement-speaker-ryan", "Fortenberry Statement on Speaker Ryan", "2015-10-29", "2015", "2015-10", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Jeff Fortenberry", "F000449", "fortenberry.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C.  Congressman Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) made the following statement after todays vote to confirm Paul Ryan as Speaker of the House:\nPaul Ryan did not seek to be Speaker, the office sought him. He is a well-respected and highly capable leader. I think he will run the House with fairness and respect, while seeking a smarter and more effective government.\nI know Paul Ryan. I think America will find in him an empathetic leader that speaks to the heart of people who experience difficult and broken situations. Our nation doesnt need any more disruption from Washington.\nSpeaker Ryan will govern dynamically. We have begun the process of reversing the concentration of power in the House. I believe Speaker Ryan will bring more unity to Congress as we confront the many problems facing our country.\nFortenberry is a member of the House Appropriations Committee.\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ID=59539d20-5be7-4d12-89aa-cad6254c647b", "Rossiter Nomination Approved by Judiciary Committee", "2015-10-29", "2015", "2015-10", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Deb Fischer", "F000463", "www.fischer.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON  U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) released the following statement after this mornings Senate Judiciary Committee vote in favor of advancing Robert Rossiter Jr.s nomination to the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska:\r\nIm happy to see Mr. Rossiter advance to the next stage of the confirmation process, and I look forward to voting for him once his nomination reaches the Senate floor. I would also like to thank Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley for making this nomination a priority.\r\nFollowing todays vote of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Mr. Rossiters nomination will head to the Senate floor for a final vote, which is expected by the end of this year. Last month, Senator Fischer delivered testimony in support of Rossiter at his nomination hearing before the Judiciary Committee. During her testimony, Fischer highlighted Rossiters integrity, legal skill, and dedication to the rule of law.\r\nSenator Fischer and former Senator Mike Johanns first recommended Mr. Rossiter for this position in August of 2014. After the announcement that Judge Joseph Bataillon planned to retire from regular active service, Fischer and Johanns began a statewide search. They accepted applications for more than four months before announcing their selection of Mr. Rossiter to fill the vacancy. Traditionally, when submitting judicial nominations, the president gives deference to home-state senators during the selection process.\r\nRossiter is currently a partner at Fraser Stryker.He graduated cum laude from Creighton University School of Law in 1981, where he served as the editor of the Creighton Law Review. After receiving his law degree, Rossiter clerked for U.S. District Court Judge C. Arlen Beam.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nClick here for high-definition photos of last months nomination hearing. Click on the image above to view Senator Fischers testimony on behalf of Bob Rossiter during hisnomination hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee.\r\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://fortenberry.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/fortenberry-statement-bipartisan-budget-agreement", "Fortenberry Statement on Bipartisan Budget Agreement", "2015-10-28", "2015", "2015-10", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Jeff Fortenberry", "F000449", "fortenberry.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C.  Congressman Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) made the following statement after todays vote to pass the Bipartisan Budget Agreement of 2015:\nAmerica cannot sustain more disruption from Washington. This new budget agreement, while imperfect, nonetheless adequately funds our military, prevents Medicare problems, and stabilizes the budget. It holds the line on discretionary spending to 2011 levels.\nAmerica has enough to worry about without Washington causing even more instability. It is important to get this behind us to reset the way Washington works.\nFortenberry is a member of the House Appropriations Committee.\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ID=d0ac04f8-d973-49e5-af47-7881715bde53", "Fischer Statement on Extension of Highway Authority", "2015-10-28", "2015", "2015-10", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Deb Fischer", "F000463", "www.fischer.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), chairman of the Commerce Subcommittee on Surface Transportation, released the following statement after the passage of a temporary extension of spending authority for programs funded through the Highway Trust Fund (HTF):\r\nI am disappointed yet another short-term extension was needed today. However, I am encouraged by the progress that has been made in the House on a long-term funding highway measure. Importantly, the short-term extension approved today also provides needed time to implement new rail safety technology known as Positive Train Control.\r\nNebraskans want a long-term transportation bill that provides certainty, advances highway project construction, and enhances road safety. Once the House passes their bill, I am confident we can come together and craft a bipartisan, multi-year transportation bill. The safety and reliability of our nations transportation system depends on it.\r\nThis afternoon, the U.S. Senate passed a temporary extension of spending authority for programs funded through the HTF. This extension will last until November 20, and is merely an authorizing patch to allow programs to continue receiving funding. No new funding is attached to this extension.\r\nSenator Fischer has been a proponent for increasing infrastructure investment and facilitating the initiation of highway projects since her time in the Nebraska Unicameral. As an active proponent of a long-term highway funding bill, Fischer joined her colleagues to craft the Senate version that passed in July.\r\nIn her capacity as chairman of the Commerce Subcommittee on Surface Transportation, and as an active member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, Fischer worked to include many key provisions in the Senate bill. Specifically, this legislation reforms the regulatory process, enhances project flexibility for states, and streamlines the environmental review process. The highway bills provisions were drafted in consultation with transportation stakeholders in Nebraska, including officials from the Nebraska Department of Roads.\r\nLast week, the House passed their version of the highway bill out of committee. Once the bill passes the full House of Representatives, a conference committee will be appointed to iron out the differences between the House and Senate versions. Both chambers will then vote on the final bill, which will be sent to the president to be signed into law.\r\nClick here for more information regarding the\r\nSenates version of the multi-year highway bill.\r\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.sasse.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=896E1D75-719F-4546-9A42-5EF368154BD6", "Sasse Statement on CISA", "2015-10-27", "2015", "2015-10", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Ben Sasse", "S001197", "www.sasse.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "U.S. Senator Ben Sasse, a member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee and an outspoken advocate of a systematic review of U.S. cyber doctrine, issued the following statement regarding todays vote on The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act. \"A single piece of legislation will not solve the United States strategic cybersecurity challenges but I am pleased that this bill elevates our national conversation, makes incremental improvements, and sunsets in a responsible way. After today's votes, we will still face the long-term challenges and uncertainty of this new era of cybersecurity. We must completely re-evaluate our entire cyber doctrine. Theres more work ahead.\" \nAdditional background: \nSection 208 of The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act is identical to legislation offered by Senator Sasse in the Homeland Security Committee earlier this year. This section will require the government to review unclassified databases similar to those hacked at OPM an adversary could use to build a picture, or classified mosaic, that would be damaging to national security.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "truncated": false, "filtered_table_rows_count": 529, "expanded_columns": [], "expandable_columns": [], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "units": {}, "query": {"sql": "select url, title, date, year, month, party, chamber, state, member_name, bioguide_id, domain, scraper, source, date_source, text, has_text, collected_at, updated_at from releases where \"state\" = :p0 and \"year\" = :p1 order by date desc limit 101", "params": {"p0": "NE", "p1": "2015"}}, "facet_results": {"party": {"name": "party", "type": "column", "hideable": false, "toggle_url": "/press/releases.json?state=NE&year=2015", "results": [{"value": "Republican", "label": "Republican", "count": 529, "toggle_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?state=NE&year=2015&party=Republican", "selected": false}], "truncated": false}, "chamber": {"name": "chamber", "type": "column", "hideable": false, "toggle_url": "/press/releases.json?state=NE&year=2015", "results": [{"value": "House", "label": "House", "count": 529, "toggle_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?state=NE&year=2015&chamber=House", "selected": false}], "truncated": false}, "state": {"name": "state", "type": "column", "hideable": false, "toggle_url": "/press/releases.json?state=NE&year=2015", "results": [{"value": "NE", "label": "NE", "count": 529, "toggle_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?year=2015", "selected": true}], "truncated": false}, "year": {"name": "year", "type": "column", "hideable": false, "toggle_url": "/press/releases.json?state=NE&year=2015", "results": [{"value": "2015", "label": "2015", "count": 529, "toggle_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?state=NE", "selected": true}], "truncated": false}}, "suggested_facets": [], "next": "2015-10-27,https~3A~2F~2Fwww~2Esasse~2Esenate~2Egov~2F~2Fpublic~2Findex~2Ecfm~2Fpress-releases~3FContentRecord_id~3D896E1D75-719F-4546-9A42-5EF368154BD6", "next_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?state=NE&year=2015&_next=2015-10-27%2Chttps~3A~2F~2Fwww~2Esasse~2Esenate~2Egov~2F~2Fpublic~2Findex~2Ecfm~2Fpress-releases~3FContentRecord_id~3D896E1D75-719F-4546-9A42-5EF368154BD6&_sort_desc=date", "private": false, "allow_execute_sql": true, "query_ms": 125.34815818071365, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}