By U.S. Senator Deb Fischer
This week, Nebraskans entrusted me for the third time with the greatest honor of my life, and Iโm humbled by their decision to return me to the U.S. Senate for six more years.
I do not take Nebraskansโ trust lightly. Like the past 12 years, I will honor my commitment to advocate for all Nebraskans for the next six years. I pledge to fight for the state where I was born, raised, and educated; where I met my husband and brought up my children; and where Iโve served as a local school board member, a state legislator, and a U.S. Senator.
Most politicians love to talk. But once theyโre elected, they too often forget that the primary job of a Senator is actually to listen.
Throughout October, my team and I drove well over a hundred thousand miles back and forth across Nebraska. I met face to face with hundreds of Nebraskansโfrom Valentine, to western Scottsbluff, Kearney, Omaha, and everywhere in between. I heard from farmers, law enforcement officers, small business owners, nurses, teachers, and more.
Thatโs what my job is all about: listening to you, and then taking action in Washington.
Your meetings, letters, phone calls, and conversations inform everything I do, from voting, to legislating, to pushing an administration to change course.
During my time in public service, Iโve put $4 billion into highways and local roads, rebuilding bridges, ensuring safe drinking water, and modernizing airports, including Omahaโs Eppley Airfield and the Lincoln Airport.
Iโve pushed for more funding for our troops, and Iโve passed defense bills to reverse decades of a decline in American military power. Iโve supported Nebraskaโs role in keeping America safe by fighting for improvements not only to our intercontinental ballistic missiles in the western part of the state, but also to Offutt Air Force Base in the east.
Iโve worked to pass better trade deals for our producers, and Iโve passed Farm Bills to preserve our family farms and ranches for the next generation.
Working with Omaha law enforcement, I passed a law just this year to make it easier to recruit and retain police officers so that the streets are safer for our kids. And I passed the first ever national paid family leave law so that we donโt have to choose between earning a living and taking care of those kids. In this new Congress, I look forward to improving that law and expanding it to cover more families.
Iโve consistently voted to secure our border and to oppose outrageous spending bills and regulations that fueled inflation. Over the past four years, I opposed the harmful policies of the Biden-Harris administrationโpolicies that inflated the cost of living, left our border wide open, and weakened Americaโs leadership on the world stage.
As my new term begins in January, I will also represent Nebraskaโs concerns to a new administration. What Iโve heard most from folks at home is their concern with cost of living and a need for a safer, more secure country. Partnering with a Republican executive branch, Iโm confident that we can secure the border again, strengthen our national defense, and make life more affordable.
But no matter what challenges arise over the next six years, I pledge to keep returning home to Nebraska and visiting with all of our communities. Iโm also asking you to share your thoughts with me and my office. From constituent services to mail and phone calls, to meeting in person either at home or in Washington, hearing from you helps me build a stronger, better state for all of us.
To my fellow Nebraskans: I am eternally grateful for the trust youโve placed in me for the third time. Over the next six years, I promise to continue delivering the results that make our Good Life even better.
During my first twelve years in office, we accomplished so much together. We made America safer, and we made Nebraska an even better place to live, work, and raise a family. Iโve never been more optimistic about Nebraskaโs future.
Thank you all, may God bless you, and may God bless the great state of Nebraska.