Panhandle Post: NHAPAC Issues Statement of Support for Sen. Deb Fischer

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Read the full release from the Nebraska Hospital Association on panhandlepost.com

Lincoln, Neb. – The Nebraska Hospital Association Political Action Committee (NHAPAC) issued a statement of support for Senator Deb Fischer’s reelection:

“The NHAPAC supports reelecting Deb Fischer to the U.S. Senate,” said Jeremy Nordquist, President of the Nebraska Hospital Association. “She has been a strong advocate for health care in our state, especially in our rural communities. We also greatly appreciate the time she and her staff spend learning about our complex health care issues and visiting our hospitals across Nebraska. Sen. Fischer’s years of public service combined with a strong track record of accomplishment is invaluable. We need to keep her in the U.S. Senate working for Nebraska.”

U.S. Senator visits Nuckolls Co.

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Read the full article on superiorne.com

Nebraska Senator Deb. Fischer was a lunch guest of the Nuckolls County Republicans at the Superior Estates Winery Monday noon.

But the senator had to work for her meal. She was asked to speak about current affairs and update the local residents on what is happening in Washington.

Currently in Nebraska during the U. S. Senate’s Easter recess, Fischer noted she is in the state most weekends. Her Washington office is about a 20 minute drive from the airport and most Thursdays she takes a direct Southwest Airlines flight to Omaha. Sunday evening she returns to Washington.

In her travels about Nebraska, she has identified several tops issues of concern for her constituents,

The top concern for Nebraskans are the open borders and the illegal immigrants pouring into the country. The senator said the immigrants were a national security issue that needs to be addressed.

The second concern had been inflation but this has changed and is now China. The Chinese balloon which last year drifted over Nebraska without notice was responsible for much of the change. Fischer noted China is expanding its military at a breathtaking speed and told those present if they were users of the internet platform of Tik-Tok to get off as China was using it as a vacuum to suck up information about Americans.

Also of concern was the Chinese purchase of farm land near military installations.

The senator also fielded questions from those present.

The questions dealt with such issues as voter integrity, immigration, ethanol, the farm bill, the push for electric vehicles, inheritance tax, and the federal budget.

With regard to elections, Fischer said she believed it was the responsibility of the states, not the federal government, to conduct elections. She said the census should not be counting illegal immigrants as the seats in the House of Repre-sentatives were determined by pop-ulation.

She noted there was good news with regard to ethanol. Big oil was beginning to support ethanol development.

The senator said she supported the repeal of the inheritance tax but there was lots of opposition to that proposal.

She said the farm bill was incorrectly named as most of the money in the bill went for welfare programs. While some have opposed splitting the two, it is her belief they should be split. According to Fischer, every state has agriculture and she believes a separate agriculture bill would be supported. Of the nearly $1.5 trillion cost of the current ag bill, $1.3 billion is for welfare related programs.

The senator said those supporting the increase use of electric vehicles are ignoring the science and the problems associated with electric vehicles.

With regard to the budget, she said it is time to wake up Washington. Priorities must be set and national security should be the first priority of the federal budget.

When it comes to reducing the federal budget, she asked those present, “What federal programs are you willing to give up?”

Fischer on the Pawnee Republican: Surveillance Hidden in Plain Sight

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Read the full op-ed by Senator Fischer on pawneerepublican.com

Imagine if at the height of the last Cold War, the Soviet Union had control over the largest television network in the United States. Imagine if its surveillance network tracked the opinions, interests, and movements of millions of Americans. Imagine this propaganda and espionage campaign targeted the next generation of American leaders.Today, we’re facing all of that combined in just one…
 

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Fischer on Kearney Hub: The truth about Biden’s electric future

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Read the full column by Senator Fischer on kearneyhub.com

Last year, President Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency proposed a 56% reduction in new vehicle emissions by 2032. The goal was to force automakers, and by extension the American public, to adopt electric cars at a breakneck pace. Biden wanted 60% of new vehicles produced to be electric by 2030.

But then reality set in. Ford, General Motors, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Jaguar, Land Rover, Aston Martin — all these companies are actually scaling back their EV releases, and the Biden administration has started to hit the brakes.

The EPA recently released a new tailpipe emissions rule that slows down the original timeline. The EPA’s revised standard responds to an undeniable trend: EV production and sales are decelerating as Americans realize their high cost.

The Biden administration says that, because of electric vehicles, “the future of American transportation is on track to be cleaner, safer, more affordable, and more reliable than ever before.”

But the production of EV batteries requires a massive amount of electricity, usually produced by burning fossil fuels. The weight of batteries quickly wears down an EV’s tires. One study found that electric cars emitted about a quarter more particulate than hybrids.

Administration activists aren’t just wrong about the environmental benefits of EVs. They’re also wrong about their performance.

We heard about EVs malfunctioning this winter. Freezing and hot temperatures drain batteries and reduce range, stranding some drivers. EVs have been plagued with glitches. A Consumer Reports survey even found that new EVs have 79% more problems than internal-combustion cars.

These performance problems create safety issues. In January, the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility at the University of Nebraska conducted EV crash tests and found that EVs have 20% to 50% more impact. An EV’s extra weight means damage is greater than a comparable gas car.

EVs are not better for our environment. Biden said that “investing aggressively in electric vehicles and battery production now is important for strengthening our long-term economic security.”

The reason he gave is that 75% of EV battery manufacturing is done in China. In his words, “for some battery components, critical materials, China controls nearly half the global production.”

Biden’s logic is severely flawed. If we force electric vehicle adoption now, we’ll increase China’s dominance in sourcing and manufacturing. A senior research scientist at MIT admitted that, when it comes to EVs, “we still are going to be dependent on China for many, many years.”

These so-called “clean” cars also use dirty manufacturing methods, including child labor and unsafe working conditions.

The Biden administration is sending millions of dollars to Congo to support cobalt mining for EV batteries. A few years ago, human rights groups investigated Congo’s mining sector. They found it full of young children working in hand-dug tunnels that often collapse, burying kids alive.

One Congolese mining expert said it best — “How can you br a green revolution on trashing Congolese environment and exploiting Congolese workers?”

If the Biden administration continues pushing an electrified vehicle fleet as quickly as it is now, environmental, performance, and human rights issues will go unresolved. That’s the danger of government mandates — consumer choice can’t compel manufacturers to do what’s best for the American people.

The administration is spearheading a reckless push toward an electric future, one with a host of negative consequences. If they have integrity, they’ll come clean about the dirty truth, including the EV record on environmental problems, safety risks, and human rights abuses.

THE AUTHOR Republican Deb Fischer serves as the senior United States senator from Nebraska.

 
 

Fairness to our Railroaders by Sen. Deb Fischer

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Read the full op-ed by Senator Fischer on chadronradio.com

Everyone hears about the controversial fights in Washington, but they don’t always know the untold stories of true legislating. Practical answers to real problems don’t make headlines, but those solutions make a difference in Americans’ lives. Last week, we made strides toward passing such a bill that would right a wrong done to thousands of Americans and Nebraskans: our railroaders.

On Wednesday, the Senate Budget Committee held a markup to consider my bipartisan Railroad Employee Equity and Fairness (REEF) Act, and I was invited to introduce my bill to the committee. The Budget Committee rarely considers any bill other than the budget — so it was a unique and important opportunity to advocate for railroaders. The committee unanimously approved the REEF Act, another rare victory, and the bill is now ready for a full Senate vote.

Once passed, the REEF Act will end cuts to railroad workers’ unemployment and sickness benefits. A law passed years ago mandates that the Railroad Retirement Board cut its Unemployment Insurance Account each year and use that money to offset the federal budget deficit. These cuts, 5.7 percent annually, are set to continue through 2031. That means the government will cut railroad employees’ benefits repeatedly over the next seven years.

There’s a glaring problem with these cuts. The Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, which funds unemployment and sickness benefits for railroaders, is the only federal benefits program entirely funded by one industry: the railroad industry. There’s not one general taxpayer dollar in the fund. The government is essentially stealing money from railroad workers to offset federal debt. It’s a classic case of Washington meddling that punishes working people.

I’ve heard from many railroad workers over the years. They all agree that these cuts are demoralizing, are unfair, and make them want to leave the industry.

That’s a major problem. Railroaders keep our trains moving, whether to transport passengers or freight. In 2021, Nebraska freight rail alone employed 8,436 railroad workers. The same year, freight rail transported 34.5 million tons of products from Nebraska to other parts of the country. That included 19.1 million tons of farm products and 7.2 billion tons of food products. Nationally, corn is the highest-volume grain carried by railroads — and as one of Nebraska’s top exports, transporting corn is vital to our agriculture industry and our economy. If railroad workers suffer, railroads suffer. If workers and railroads suffer, Nebraska suffers.

Railroad employees deserve the benefits they’ve earned by committing their careers to the railroad, in many cases for years or decades. They’ve paid into the Unemployment Insurance Account throughout their careers to contribute to their retirement and other benefits. It’s a question of fairness: that money should be used for its intended purpose rather than by the federal government.

The REEF Act will right the wrong of unfair cuts, ensuring that the people who keep our trains moving receive the benefits they’ve earned. This is a common-sense bipartisan legislative change, and I applaud my colleagues on the Budget Committee for unanimously approving my bill. I look forward to passing it in the full Senate soon.

Thank you for participating in the democratic process. I look forward to visiting with you again next week.

Newsweek: Border Patrol Union Issues Scathing Warning to Biden

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Read the piece by Andrew Stanton on newsweek.com

The National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) issued a warning to President Joe Biden on Thursday as he prepares to visit the U.S.-Mexico border in Brownsville, Texas.

Biden’s visit comes as immigration and border control continue to dominate the 2024 presidential election. Republicans have blamed Biden’s border policies for an uptick in migrant arrivals, urging him to take executive action to tighten border security. There were more than 2.4 million encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border during the 2023 fiscal year, up from roughly 1.7 million in 2021, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.

While Biden visits Brownsville, former President Donald Trump, who remains the frontrunner to win the Republican presidential nomination and has embraced hardline immigration policies, is set to visit Eagle Pass, where Texas authorities and the federal government have been locked in a legal battle over state measures intended to prevent illegal immigration.

On the day of his visit, the union representing members of border patrol gave a warning to Biden in a post to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

“Attention President Biden: Keep our name out of your mouth today,” the post reads.

Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment via email.

The union joins Republicans who have criticized Biden over the visit, accusing him of only visiting the border for a “photo op” while not taking more action to secure it.

“President Biden’s photo op visit to the border today means nothing after three years of inaction, as the agents serving at our southern border know all too well,” Senator Deb Fischer, a Nebraska Republican, wrote in response to the NBPC post.

Representative Byron Donalds also shared the post, adding, “Biden pledged to reduce border security out of spite. Biden caused a border crisis with 64+ actions.
Biden could fix this TOMORROW. Biden refuses because it’s an admission of failure. Our cities are overrun & Americans are getting killed. EVERYONE knows he’s failed our nation.”

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended Biden’s visit on a press conference on Wednesday when pressed about whether it is an “election year stunt.”

“On the first day of this presidential administration, [Biden] put out a comprehensive immigration policy to deal with this issue. That was his first piece of legislation. I would hope the American people see how serious this president was, or is, about fixing this issue,” she said.

The White House has blamed Republicans for inaction on the border after conservatives sank a bipartisan bill that would have addressed the border. Critics have accused Republican lawmakers of rejecting the bill to deny Biden a political win in an election year, noting their opposition came after Trump urged Republicans not to accept anything less than a “perfect” bill.

Border Patrol union president Brandon Judd previously described Biden’s trip as “”too little, too late.”

Rural Radio: California is only state left to approve E-15 use

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Read the piece by Alex Makovicka on ruralradio.com

California is the only state left to approve sales of E15, which is gasoline blended with 15% ethanol.

U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE) said just over one year ago, California introduced an ambitious climate strategy for significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. She pointed to “practical reforms” that would immediately benefit California and the environment, referring to the approval of E15 sales in the state.

“While the state government focuses on dramatic climate plans to make a political statement, researchers in California have found significant positive environmental effects associated with E15,” Fischer stated. “Emissions testing conducted at the University of California at Riverside, supported by the California Air Resources Board, found that replacing 10% ethanol (E10) with E15 results in significant air quality benefits — including statistically significant reductions in the emissions of particulate matter, carbon monoxide, total hydrocarbons, non-methane hydrocarbon gases and other pollutants.”

Montana recently became the 49th state to approve the sale of E15. Earlier this week, the Biden administration announced it was set to approve E15 gasoline expansion in 2025.

Some activists who oppose E15 believe ethanol production would require land that otherwise would be used for food production, Fischer stated.

Last year, Fischer reintroduced the Nationwide Consumer and Retailer Choice Act, which would allow the year-round, nationwide sale of E15.