I'm Deb Fischer: That's why I want Nebraska's vote for the Senate

Two weeks ago I stopped at the Hy-Vee grocery store on Pioneers Boulevard in Lincoln. I had spent the day traveling back from meeting Nebraskans in North Platte, Kearney and Grand Island – a long day on Interstate 80.

When I walked in, an older gentleman recognized me and told me his story. He had lived a good life, paying his taxes on time and contributing to Social Security his entire life. But now that fixed income bought less milk, fewer eggs and hardly any beef.

This wasn't the future he expected. I thanked him for his thoughts and as he walked away he said, “Oh, and can you fix that damn border too?”

All Americans, and especially Nebraskans, don't need much to be happy. We take care of ourselves and work hard. But we expect a safe place to raise a family and a good chance to make a decent living — or at least enough to pay for housing, food and the occasional Huskers game.

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When my husband Bruce and I were raising our family on the family ranch in Cherry County, things were different. Raising a family is hard work, but food was more affordable and we knew the police would keep the streets safe while the best military in the world protected our borders and our freedoms.

But as everyone knows by now, including the gentleman in the Hy-Vee parking lot, this is no longer the America we live in.

Senator Deb Fischer speaks to the press about the Department of Defense's transparency on Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's health on January 11, 2024 in Washington, DC (Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images)

Nebraska families are paying about $1,140 more per month for essentials today than they were four years ago. We all feel the pressure at the checkout, when paying our heating bill or when we have to choose between new school supplies and the mortgage payment. But if you put a dollar value on it, the loss is staggering. Every family in Nebraska took a pay cut of at least $13,000 this year compared to four years ago, and they didn't do anything they deserved.

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Over the last four years, about five times the population of the entire state of Nebraska has flowed into the United States – the vast majority through our southern border. Some people say illegal immigration is a victimless crime. What's so bad about that?

Tell that to the Americans who have seen what an open border means to communities – sons and daughters lost to drug overdoses or violent crime, fathers and mothers stuck at work because illegal immigrants are under the table for less Working for money, or the hospitals and other social services that are now forced to care for people who shouldn't be here in the first place.

Senator Deb Fischer speaks about border security and Title 42 during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on May 11, 2023. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Over the last four years, the world has gone from a largely safe and stable place to a place that is literally on fire. Israel is fighting for its life, but America is not on its side. China is expanding its commercial influence and building up its military, but we can't keep up. Russia is taking advantage of weak American leadership, and other states will soon follow. The entire world that American leadership, power, and trade have built over the last 80 years is slipping away.

This is not the America – or the world – in which I want my grandchildren to grow up.

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When I first ran for Senate, I promised I wouldn't be another TV talking head, another Washington show pony. Nebraska deserved a workhorse, so I put my head down and got the job done. And I can honestly tell you today that I stood up for the state that I love.

de. Deb Fischer speaks during a ceremony unveiling a statue of writer Willa Cather at National Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol on June 7, 2023. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

In my years in public life, I have poured $4 billion into repairing highways and local roads, rebuilding bridges, ensuring clean drinking water and modernizing airports, including Eppley Airfield in Omaha and Lincoln Airport.

I have advocated for increased funding for our troops and passed defense legislation to reverse decades of decline in American military power. I have also supported Nebraska's role in ensuring America's security by fighting for improvements not only to our ICBMs in the western part of the state, but also to Offutt Air Force Base in the east.

And I have voted many, many times to secure our border – for all the good that has been done during this term.

Judge Amy Coney Barrett, President Trump's pick for the Supreme Court, meets with Senator Deb Fischer at the U.S. Capitol on October 1, 2020. (Graeme Jennings Pool/Getty Images)

I worked with President Trump to pass better trade deals for our producers, and I passed farm legislation to keep the future of family farms and ranches alive for the next generation.

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I voted against the outrageous spending and regulations that fueled inflation. And I passed a bill that would have lowered shipping costs to keep food prices low — but President Biden vetoed it.

Working with Omaha law enforcement, just this year I passed legislation to make it easier to recruit and retain police officers to make the streets safer for our children. And I passed the nation's first paid family leave law so we don't have to choose between making a living and caring for these children.

Senator Deb Fischer speaks during the general session of the International Association of Fire Fighters Legislative Conference at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill on March 9, 2015. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Despite all of these things, I find myself in the same situation as the gentleman outside of Hy-Vee – heartbroken about the current state of this nation and deeply concerned about the future.

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But with new leadership in Washington, God willing, we will reverse America's decline this November.

My name is Deb Fischer. I ask Nebraskans for their vote so we can change the course of this country. I ask for your trust and support so we can build the future our children and grandchildren deserve – not the one we are headed for.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM SEN. DEB FISCHER