{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.ricketts.senate.gov/news/press-releases/ricketts-reflects-on-successful-year-fighting-for-nebraska/", "Ricketts Reflects on Successful Year Fighting for Nebraska", "2024-12-13", "2024", "2024-12", "Republican", "Senate", "NE", "Pete Ricketts", "R000618", "www.ricketts.senate.gov", "ricketts", "https://www.ricketts.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/?jsf=jet-engine:press-list&pagenum=", "scraper", "December 13, 2024\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) reflected on the achievements he and his office delivered for Nebraskans over the past year. Ricketts made the comments while on a conference call with Nebraska media.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m proud of the work my team and I have done fighting for Nebraskans,\u201d Ricketts said. \u201cWhether it\u2019s meeting with Nebraskans or helping them navigate the federal government, my goal remains the same. I will make sure Nebraskans\u2019 voices are heard and their concerns are addressed. My team and I are committed to advancing Nebraska\u2019s priorities in Washington.\u201d\n\nRicketts highlighted his efforts to remain accessible to Nebraskans. Ricketts held 87 public events across Nebraska in 2024, released the \u201cRicketts Review\u201d on abusive and wasteful spending, authored 52 weekly columns, and participated in nearly 150 exclusive interviews seen or heard by Nebraskans. Ricketts also reflected on his team\u2019s commitment to excellent constituent services.\n\n\u201cFinally, I\u2019m proud of our work to help Nebraskans navigate the federal bureaucracy, Ricketts closed. \u201cMy constituent services team held nearly 700 outreach events in Nebraska this year. This includes Mobile Office Hours in all 93 counties \u2013 twice. We helped nearly 800 Nebraskans access federal services. We cut through red tape and recovered almost $5 million owed to them by the federal government.\u201d\n\nTRANSCRIPT:\n\nSenator Ricketts: \u201cToday, I\u2019m going to recap the year we\u2019ve had.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m proud of the work my team and I have done fighting for Nebraskans.\n\n\u201cWhether it\u2019s meeting with Nebraskans or helping them navigate the federal government, my goal remains the same.\n\n\u201cI will make sure Nebraskans\u2019 voices are heard and their concerns are addressed.\n\n\u201cMy team and I are committed to advancing Nebraska\u2019s priorities in Washington.\n\n\u201cOne of my greatest priorities is remaining accessible to Nebraskans.\n\n\u201cI continue to do what I did as Governor. Get around the state. Talk to people. Listen to their concerns.\n\n\u201cThis year, I held 87 public events across the state.\n\n\u201cFederal Spending Briefings and Border Security Briefings. Community Meetings, and a well-attended, capstone Federal Issues Forum at the Nebraska State Fair.\n\n\u201cI released the \u201cRicketts Review\u201d filled with examples of abusive and wasteful spending. It also highlighted my targeted solutions to get us back on track.\n\n\u201cIn addition, I released 52 weekly columns to keep folks at home informed.\n\n\u201cI did nearly 150 exclusive interviews that were seen or heard across the state.\n\n\u201cI held 23 of these weekly press calls to answer your questions.\n\n\u201cSenator Fischer and I also hosted regular telephone townhalls to answer questions directly from Nebraskans.\n\n\u201cThese events will continue.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m also proud of the legislative successes we\u2019ve achieved this year.\n\n\u201cWe passed landmark legislation to ban foreign adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party from owning apps like TikTok.\n\n\u201cWe passed the ADVANCE Act to expand and support for advanced nuclear energy, including in Nebraska.\n\n\u201cWe passed the Winnebago Land Transfer Act, which returns 1,600 acres of wrongfully seized land by the Army Corps of Engineers back to the Winnebago Tribe.\n\n\u201cWe passed a water bill that included seven of my solutions to increase transparency from the Army Corps of Engineers, expedite permit processing times, mitigate ice jam impacts to critical infrastructure and report on the accuracy of cost estimates.\n\n\u201cAnd this week, we will pass a National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that provides critical funding for modernizing our nuclear deterrent.\n\n\u201cAll these wins were bipartisan.\n\n\u201cThe Senate also passed the Kids Online Safety Act, which requires social media platforms to put the well-being of kids first.\n\n\u201cI hope the House will consider it soon.\n\n\u201cDespite Republicans being in the minority, we delivered results for Nebraska.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m also hopeful we will soon pass a Farm Bill that works for Nebraska.\n\n\u201cThe Farm Bill framework proposed by future Ag Committee Chairman John Boozman ensures our farmers and ranchers will have the tools they need.\n\n\u201cIt improves crop insurance and strengthens trade promotion programs.\n\n\u201cIt includes my bills to improve flood protection, make infrastructure more resilient, and assist rural microentrepreneurs.\n\n\u201cIt also includes my bill to give a next step to workers on SNAP.\n\n\u201cWe need to pass it as quickly as possible. Our farmers and ranchers deserve it.\n\n\u201cFinally, I\u2019m proud of our work to help Nebraskans navigate the federal bureaucracy.\n\n\u201cMy constituent services team held nearly 700 outreach events in Nebraska this year.\n\n\u201cThis includes Mobile Office Hours in all 93 counties\u2014twice.\n\n\u201cWe helped nearly 800 Nebraskans access federal services.\n\n\u201cWe cut through red tape and recovered almost $5 million owed to them by the federal government.\n\n\u201cFor example, one constituent had developed leukemia related to his time serving our country.\n\n\u201cDespite this, the VA denied him compensation, inaccurately claiming he was \u201casymptomatic.\u201d\n\n\u201cHis appeal went unheard for months \u2013 until he contacted my office.\n\n\u201cThankfully, the VA soon acknowledged they made an error.\n\n\u201cThey issued him $83,000 as backpay and monthly compensation for continued treatment.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re going to continue delivering excellent customer service for our constituents.\n\n\u201cThere\u2019s still much work to do, and I\u2019m just getting started.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to fight for Nebraska in the U.S. Senate.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:07:19Z"]], "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"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.ricketts.senate.gov/news/press-releases/ricketts-reflects-on-successful-year-fighting-for-nebraska/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.797684071585536, "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"}