releases: https://www.sasse.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/in-the-news?ContentRecord_id=D308E6B4-F9B4-4F8E-8043-231E11D3171B
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| 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 | legacy | It was quite the anniversary present. Marking 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. The 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. Noting 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. As 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. I ran because I think the public is right that we as a people are not tackling the generational crises that we face, Sasse said. Among 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. No one in this body thinks the Senate is laser-focused on the most pressing issues facing the nation. No one, Sasse said. Neither party escapes blame, Sasse contended, adding that on his trips back to Nebraska he hears a pox on both parties and all your houses. Sasse 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. The 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. Sasse clearly put his finger on the problem. Now comes the hard part. Americans 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. Overcome inertia. Break the partisan gridlock. Dive into substantive, fact-driven debates on these enormous challenges. Find solutions to problems too long ignored. The 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. Read online at the Omaha World-Herald. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |