Senator Fischer Voted Against U.S. Fund for Rural Areas with National Forests
Since 1908, 25% of US Forest Service revenues from timber sales, mineral leases, livestock grazing, recreation fees, and other funding sources are shared with states and counties that have national forests. By the 1990s, Forest Service payments from these sources began to decline, largely because of long-term diminished volume in timber sales. So almost 25 years ago, Congress passed the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 which authorized enhanced payments to help states and counties fund local services otherwise at risk because of this decline in revenue.
From time to time, Congress must vote to reauthorize and fund the law. On October 19, 2017, the Senate voted on an amendment from Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) to establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to the provision of full, permanent, and mandatory funding for the payment in lieu of taxes program (PILOT). The amendment passed with 58 votes (including nine Republicans voting ‘yes’), however Fischer was one of the 41 Republicans who voted ‘no’.
Nebraska has 256,659 acres of national forests including the Nebraska National Forest, Oglala National Grassland and the Samuel R. McKelvie National Forest (named for the state’s 19th governor). These federal lands are spread out across portions of: Blaine, Cherry, Dawes, Sioux and Thomas counties, each sparsely populated and with thin tax bases.
For fiscal year 2018 which began a few weeks before the vote on the Udall amendment, Nebraska received just over $139,239 in total PILOT payments for the five counties. Because these federal lands are tax-exempt, these PILOT monies are critical to helping rural counties pay for costs of law enforcement by sheriffs, busing and education expenses by local school districts and other budget line items.
It’s head-scratching why Sen. Fischer would vote against bringing this money back to our rural counties where it is so badly needed.
Bad on Sovereignty, Bad on Trade – Senator Fischer's Troubling TPA Record
During her time in Washington, Sen. Fischer has compiled a dismal record on trade policy. In May and again in June 2015, Fischer voted for legislation to give President Obama Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) otherwise known as “fast track”. After the vote, Fischer released the following statement:
“Our nation has an enormous opportunity to open new markets, increase productivity, and create jobs through strong free-trade agreements. Today, the Senate passed bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority legislation ensuring that the United States will have a strong voice at the negotiating table. It also ensures that the unsung heroes of the American dinner table – including Nebraska’s farmers, ranchers, food processors, and their families – will be able to offer their products to the world.”
Has Fischer ever read the US Constitution? Because that document delineates the powers governing trade and tariff policies. Article 1, Section 8 grants Congress the authority to "regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states." This clause forms the basis of congressional control over trade, empowering it to impose tariffs and shape trade policies. Historically, this authority provided the means to generate revenue and protect emerging industries from foreign competition.
Why did Fischer give up power delegated to the legislative branch to allow the executive branch to shape trade policy? Fast Track, which has only been around since 1974, allowed the president to negotiate international agreements in an expedited manner and with limited congressional oversight. Trade deals then come to Congress for an up or down vote with no amendments. How many Nebraskans know this? The effect of this is that that it places too much power in the executive branch, allowing the president to unilaterally select partner countries for ‘trade’ pacts, decide the agreements' contents, and then negotiate and sign the agreements—all before Congress has a vote on the matter. Normal congressional committee processes are forbidden, meaning that the executive branch is empowered to write lengthy legislation on its own with no review or amendments.
Fischer also voted against two key amendments to the TPA bill. Fischer opposed a bipartisan amendment by Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) that would have required that any future trade deals submitted under “fast track” include enforceable currency provisions. The amendment was aimed at currency cheating nations such as China and Korea who manipulate their currency and was needed to protect American workers and businesses
Then Fischer voted against another amendment that would have prevented “fast track” procedures from being used on trade deals that included Investor-State Dispute Settlements (ISDS), which allow foreign companies to challenge U.S. laws. This amendment was designed to protect America’s sovereignty and the rule of law. Wonder if local Tea Party groups in Nebraska know about this vote, because they’ll be pretty pissed when they find out that Deb was trying to erode American sovereignty!
Obama wanted TPA renewed so he could push through his Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal. But “fast track” for TPP would have made it easier for corporations to send American jobs overseas, and would undermine our wages by forcing Americans to compete with Vietnamese workers making fifty-six cents an hour.
TPP closely resembled the Korean Free Trade Agreement negotiated in 2013 which has increased our trade deficit with South Korea by 50 percent and cost 60,000 U.S. jobs in its first two years. More Kias and Hyundais coming in and less Nebraska beef and soybeans going to Korea.
Fast track and TPP put our health at risk by allowing unregulated food products into our country, such as seafood from Malaysia where contaminants and banned toxic chemicals have been found in seafood or Vietnamese shrimp farmed in unhealthy conditions. Under TPP, which Fischer supported and wanted to vote for, we could not hold these imported foods to U.S. food-safety standards.
Next, Fischer took aim at the Trade Adjustment Assistance program (TAA). Started by President John F. Kennedy in 1962, TAA is administered by the U.S. Department of Labor and allows workers and companies to apply for training and temporary income assistance for workers who have been laid off due to rising imports or offshoring.
1,547 Nebraskans lost their jobs at 22 companies between May 2015 and December 23, 2020 and were eligible for more than $9.3 million in TAA benefits. Source: Public Citizen. Department of Labor Trade Adjustment Assistance Consolidated Petitions Database. Washington, DC
First, Fischer voted against an amendment to the TPA bill restoring funding for the TAA program to approximately $575 million, the level established by the Trade Adjustment Assistance Extension Act of 2011. Then she tried to defund the entire program by voting for an amendment to strike the extension of the TAA program. See, for Deb Fischer, Nebraska workers who lost their jobs because of foreign imports or because their companies moved offshore, are just pieces of trash to be kicked to the curb and forgotten about.
There is a lucrative market for American farm, forest and fishing products worth $1.24 billion in annual sales according to a study by Texas A&M University. It’s Cuba, just 90 miles off the coast of Florida. Nebraska would win big if we allowed Cuba to buy our agricultural products on credit like all our other trading partners instead of cash. Texas A&M found that Nebraska would rank 9th among the 50 states in export value with $40.8 million annually which would help to create 1,164 jobs in the state of the 31,262 new jobs which would be created nationally if we could export to Cuba. Take dairy products. Cuba is a deficit milk producer and currently imports 50,000-100,000 tons of milk powder annually, primarily from New Zealand, South America and Poland. This milk powder and butter could come from Cornhusker State dairy farms.
But you won’t find Fischer’s name as a co-sponsor of the Freedom to Export to Cuba Act which was filed by Sen. Jerry Moran and Sen. Roger Marshall, both Kansas Republicans along with two Senate Democrats. The bill repeals key provisions of existing laws that block Americans from doing business in Cuba, but keeps in place laws that address human rights or property claims against the Cuban government. Nor has Fischer co-sponsored any versions of the Cuba Agricultural Exports Act that have had bipartisan support in both branches of Congress during her two terms. Even the US Chamber of Commerce supports making money by exporting our stuff to Cuba.
Republicans often bring up Cuba’s human rights record as a reason not to do a trade deal. But we do business with China, a nation that has a horrendous record on human rights including persecution of the Uyghurs in the far northwest region of China. This argument fails to hold water.
Fischer Says 'No' to Helping Homeowners Save On Energy Costs
During consideration of the H.R. 5376, the Inflation Reduction Act on August 7, 2022, Fischer voted for an amendment by Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) that would have eliminated $460 million from the Home Owner Managing Energy Savings (HOMES) rebate program administered by state governments and instead direct the funding to local governments as general supplemental payments. The HOMES program helps residents make their homes more energy efficient and less costly to run and maintain comfortable indoor temperatures by providing increasing amounts of rebates for increasing percentages of energy saved: for a 35% reduction in energy use, a homeowner could get up to $4,000 in rebates, or up to $8,000 for low- and moderate-income homeowners. Redirecting funding from emissions reductions to general purpose would significantly reduce the benefits the bill would have for U.S. households and their energy bills, and our environment. Thankfully, the Senate rejected the Lee amendment by a vote of 49–51 (Senate roll call vote 305).
As of August 8, 2024 the Home Energy Rebate programs have hit a major milestone as the U.S. Department of Energy has now awarded more than $1 billion to states to expand the availability of rebates for eligible homeowners and renters seeking to make energy-efficient upgrades. According to DOE, Nebraska is preparing applications to receive a state allocation for consumer rebates and program administration of $91,268,349 and the funding amount already awarded is $2,284,020*
*States and territories can apply for early administrative funding of up to 2.5% of their allocations, capped at $5 million, to begin developing their programs.
Action: Win the May 14 Legalize Marijuana NOW Party Primary to Support Dan Osborn and Beat Deb Fischer
Deb Fischer lied about serving two terms, and now the Senator is lying about Dan Osborn's positions.
It makes sense for a politician desperate to keep hold on power: Nebraskans are much more aligned with Osborn's policy positions than with Fischer's. This is perhaps nowhere clearer than when it comes to legal medicinal use of marijuana.
Dan Osborn supports legal medical marijuana and removing cannabis from Schedule I. In interviews, he talks about how marijuana is less harmful than alcohol. In our poll of 1,048 likely Nebraska voters last November, a wide majority agreed with Osborn on medical marijuana - including rural voters in the vast third district.
Fischer, a staunch prohibitionist, is deeply out of step with Nebraskans. Historically, the Senator has even threatened to defund the Justice Department unless it cracked down on states with permissive attitudes towards marijuana.
Osborn can beat Fischer and needs the support of all cannabis reform advocates to do it. However, a hostile effort has emerged by a primary candidate to label Osborn a "union thug" and throw the race to Fischer.
Osborn supporters should vote in the primary as independents or Marijuana Party members on the Marijuana Party ballot and support Kerry Eddy, a reform activist who will unite cannabis issue voters to support Osborn in the general election and beat Fischer.
Osborn supporters need to check and update their registration by April 29 and vote for Kerry by the May 14 in-person primary date.
>> Read the Seeing Red blog post about how to make sure your vote counts in the primary. <<
Warren Buffett Chases Rail Profits at the Expense of Transportation Safety
Political influence accelerates corporate profits and income equality while threatening public safety. Nowhere is that clearer than the current state of the railroad industry, where a "Moneyball" approach to operations foreshadows more catastrophic derailments, more dangerous blocked crossings, and more worker injuries and deaths.
Legendary investor Warren Buffett, known as "the Oracle of Omaha," is the seventh richest man in the world – along with investments in candy and insurance, his holding company Berkshire Hathaway also owns BNSF Railway, the largest railroad company in the United States. Now, he’s leaning on the railroad for bigger profits. His latest investment letter specifically calls out the imperative to put shareholder profits above workers and communities. Reaction to Buffett's latest profit mandate was swift and hit BNSF workers hard: deep cuts to skilled craft unions, management, and maintenance. Unions are now calling on the Federal Railroad Administration to ensure the safety of BNSF’s system.
In the 1800s, fatal rail accidents were rampant in the United States.
Today, America’s new robber barons threaten to take us back to the dark days of railroading’s past, packing longer trains with fewer train crews and slashing the very employees that inspect tracks, engines, and freight cars. BNSF and other rail companies have embraced “Precision Scheduled Railroading,” which pressures railroad employees to speed up their safety inspections of locomotives and freight cars, has doubled the territory for track inspectors, and replaces human checks and balances with new sensor systems.
Help ProPublica Tell the Story of Rail Safety in the U.S.
U.S. states have tried to mandate minimum crew numbers and rules on blocked crossings – however, interstate commerce means those efforts are often overturned in court. Federal action is imperative. Congress could act to ensure rail safety - and it looked like they just might after the devastating East Palestine derailment last year. However, reform has stalled out in Congress. Railroads are putting profits over safety and withering the industry in favor of heavy trucks that clog and damage our public highway infrastructure. Enough is enough. That’s why railroaders in Nebraska are supporting an independent for U.S. Senate who will help get things moving again.
Parties Will Spend Billions on Elections
In 2022, interest groups spent 1.3 billion on just five U.S. Senate races. Long election cycles and huge stakes mean big spending on all sides - especially by political parties.
Term limits would go a long way to making the playing field a bit more level for regular folks. Many Nebraskans just want to see more turnover in representative leadership!
Knowing that incumbents will spend millions to hold onto their Senate seats next year, what would we do with $2 million to support change and majority positions on reproductive freedom, medical marijuana and so much more?
We'd spend the majority of our budget making sure grassroots donors and activists directly support our candidates. Millionaire incumbents have a big advantage even as voters struggle with pocketbook issues like the price of groceries and gas (41% of Nebraska voters said this is their top issue). It takes working class representation to make change on working class issues! Influencers, direct mail, peer-to-peer, and email all have a role in fueling grassroots campaigns.
Next is a quarter of the budget on education and persuasion - it's even more important to educate and inform voters about working class candidates than it is to talk about the incumbents' broken promises. Social media, web, mobile, and streaming TV and audio plus physical and digital billboards all help tell the story.
How would you spend a $2 million budget to make change in the U.S. Senate? Tell us!
Send an Independent Working Class Fighter to the U.S. Senate
Today we are making an early endorsement of Dan Osborn, the independent candidate for U.S. Senate in 2024.
For years, critical railway safety bills have languished in Congress and powerful corporate lobbies have blocked reform. Worker safety and the safety of the Nebraska public is on the line, and our “representatives” can’t move the legislation that would protect lives.
As an independent, Dan can be a critical vote that either the Republicans or Democrats must win over on their priorities – that would put Dan in the catbird seat when it comes to championing and passing legislative priorities for Nebraskans.
Dan comes from a railroad family and is a true independent unaffiliated with either party. The U.S. Senate gets nothing done because it’s full of politicians who follow orders from Charles Schumer or Mitch McConnell. Dan can be a swing vote, ensuring that the nation’s policy is not being dictated by either sold-out party boss.
A new poll commissioned by Nebraska Railroaders for Public Safety found that Nebraskans of all political persuasions are deeply unhappy with incumbent Senator Deb Fischer’s representation over the past decade. “She has done nothing for Nebraskans” and “I am unaware of one bill she has passed,” voters say. In fact, even with most voters just getting to know who Dan is, the poll found that 40 percent would support him (with 38% for Fischer). That number climbs to 53% once voters learn more about Dan – and now it’s our job, together, to be sure they do.
Dan might be new to electoral politics, but he’s a proven fighter. In 2021, he led the successful strike against Kellogg’s that saved hundreds of working class union jobs. His platform puts railway safety front and center, including:
- Requiring two-person crews to protect against derailments
- Increasing fines for violating federal rail safety laws so these giant corporations take safety regulations seriously
- Finally passing a federal law to stop blocked crossings – which has bipartisan support but has stalled in the do-nothing Congress
Nebraska has a strong independent streak and it’s time we elect a next-generation representative of the working class instead of continuing to send out-of-touch millionaires back to Washington to fail us.
Senator Fischer promised to serve just two terms and has not earned a third. (70% of Nebraska voters are concerned with Fischer’s broken promise.)
Dan will fight every day for small businesses, workers, and farmers. He wants to cut taxes for small businesses and the middle class, protect middle-class jobs and wages, improve worker safety, and create a level playing field for family farms and ranches, through a Right to Repair law and fixing federal crop insurance subsidies that unfairly favor large operators.
Dan opposes efforts to legislate how private citizens conduct themselves. While he respects the deep moral convictions of his fellow Nebraskans, he opposes using the federal government to enforce those convictions on others and will fight to stop harsh government intervention in our private lives and decisions.
Nebraska Railroaders for Public Safety asks that you not take our word for it but get to know Dan Osborn. Research his platform, listen to him speak, talk to your neighbors. If you’re as convinced as we are that early support for Dan is one way we build a better future for Nebraska families, you can help by making a grassroots donation directly to his campaign.
ProPublica: "Railroad companies have penalized workers for taking the time to make needed repairs and created a culture in which supervisors threaten and fire the very people hired to keep trains running safely"
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has criticized Union Pacific, the largest freight rail carrier in the US, for failing to maintain its fleet and continuing to use faulty equipment. The FRA found that more than 70% of the train engines in the company’s East Departure Yard in North Platte, Nebraska, had safety defects, as did 20% of the cars. These defect ratios are twice the national average. The company has not displayed a sense of urgency to improve locomotive and car conditions, according to the FRA.
"We get paid to move freight. We don’t get paid to work on cars."
The safety record of the country’s railroad industry is under deep scrutiny, with all eyes on Norfolk Southern, whose train notoriously derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, in February, releasing toxic pollution and forcing a mass evacuation. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has been trying to get the nation’s largest freight rail companies to participate in a voluntary safety program in which workers can confidentially report “close calls” like runaway trains and misaligned switches without fear of retribution. The rail industry has resisted, saying employees could use the system to avoid punishment for their own safety violations.
Read more in ProPublica's report, "How the Railroad Industry Intimidates Employees Into Putting Speed Before Safety."
Updates from Nebraska Railroaders for Public Safety
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A new survey of voters in Nebraska found that high costs of gas and groceries was the most pressing concern for 41% of respondents a year out from the 2024 General Election. Several other issues topped biggest challenges for a quarter or more of the electorate:
- Immigration (36%)
- Political extremism (33%)
- High taxes (29%)
- Threats to women’s reproductive freedom (28%)
- Government intrusion in our personal lives (27%)
- Access to quality, affordable health care (25%)
Seventy-three percent of Nebraska voters said they are "10 out of 10" motivated to participate in the 2024 election.
If the Presidential election were held today, 53% of Nebraska voters would choose Donald Trump, and 35% would choose Joe Biden.
Trump topped favorable public opinion with 43 percent viewing the former Republican President favorably, and 48% unfavorably. Labor unions came in second with 42% approval, while 30% of Nebraska voters view labor unions unfavorably.
Voters were split on sending incumbent U.S. Senators back to Washington, DC. After reviewing bios of two-term Senator Deb Fischer and first-time candidate Dan Osborn, 53% percent said they would choose Osborn were the election held today. Pete Ricketts, appointed to the Senate in January, saw 47% support for election to the seat vs. 38% for a prospective candidate from the Democratic Party.
Nebraskans were widely split on trusted media sources, with no single source winning more than 29% from voters:
- Local TV news (29%)
- National TV news (ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS) (21%)
- National Public Radio (20%)
Stay tuned to our blog over the next year as we continue to provide updates.
The survey reached 1,048 representative Nebraska voters and was fielded Nov. 13-16 by Change Research, which conducts public opinion polls for KQED and has a strong record of top quality results.