Deb Fischer: Difference between revisions

Debra Strobel "Deb" Fischer (born March 1, 1951) is the junior U.S. Senator from the state of Nebraska. Previously, she was a two-term member of the Nebraska Legislature, representing the 43rd District.^[1] She defeated former United States Senator Bob Kerrey on November 6, 2012 to assume one of Nebraska's two Senate seats in January 2013.

Fischer was born Debra Strobel in 1951 in Lincoln, Nebraska.^[2] Her father, Jerry Strobel, was the state director of roads under governor Kay Orr.^[3] In 1972, she married Bruce Fischer from Valentine, whom she had met while both attended the University of Nebraska–Lincoln; she left school without completing her degree to move to Valentine with her husband and help operate his family's ranch. In 1988, she returned to the university and completed her B.S. degree in education.^[4]

In 2004, Fischer was elected to the Nebraska legislature from the 43rd legislative district. She qualified for the general election by ranking in the top two in the open primary election, obtaining 25% of the vote in a seven-candidate race.^[5] She then defeated Kevin Cooksley 50.4%–49.6%, a difference of just 125 votes.^[6] In 2008, she won re-election unopposed.^[7]

Fischer's district was geographically the largest in Nebraska Legislature, comprising 12 counties and part of a 13th.^[1] During her tenure in the legislature, she did a weekly radio show on seven stations covering her district, and wrote a weekly column printed in several newspapers.^[8]

In 2007, she helped to filibuster a bill that created a statewide smoking ban for indoor workplaces and public places, while preserving some local government control.^[9]

In 2009, she fought for more funding for the smaller school districts in the state. She opposed the a plan that would "squeeze money out of certain districts so that other districts can benefit."^[10]

She was one of fourteen co-sponsors to L.B. 675, that would allow women a chance to see an ultrasound of their unborn child before an abortion is done. Julie Schmit-Albin, the executive director of Nebraska Right to Life, stated that if passed it "will be one of the strongest ultrasound laws in the country."^[11] On May 29, 2009, it passed by a 40-5 vote, and Governor Dave Heineman signed it into law.^[12]

• Executive Board and the Revenue Committee
• Transportation and Telecommunications Committee (Chair)^[13]

Primary

In January 2012, Fischer officially announced she would run for the U.S. Senate.^[13] In the Republican primary, she defeated State Attorney General Jon Bruning and State Treasurer Don Stenberg.^[14] Her win was considered a major upset, especially considering that she was dramatically outspent; she only spent $100,000 on her campaign while Bruning and Stenberg both spent well over $1 million. However, she was helped by a last-minute endorsement from Sarah Palin.^[15]

During the primary campaign, Fischer was criticized by environmentalists and others because her family's ranch near Valentine grazes cattle on federal land, leasing it for about $110,000 per year less than the market rate on private land. Opponents of federal grazing leases argue that she should relinquish her family's permit if she wants to remain "morally consistent" with her message of less government. Fischer argues that the poor quality of federal lands, plus the restrictions that come with federal leases, make it inappropriate to compare them to private leases.^[16]

General election

In the general election, Fischer faced Democrat Bob Kerrey, a former Nebraska governor and U.S. senator.

In the course of the campaign, Kerrey's advertising accused Fischer of unprincipled conduct in the matter of a 1995 adverse possession suit, whereunder the Fischers had attempted to obtain title to 104 acres (42 ha) of land adjoining their property.^[17] The Kerrey campaign maintained that Fischer, after losing the lawsuit, had used her position in the Legislature to keep the landowners from selling the property to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC). The episode, declared a Kerrey website, had shown "[n]eighbor suing neighbor; vindictiveness; pettiness; deceit; abuse of power".^[18] Fischer maintained that their intent in filing the suit was to obtain a more manageable boundary for their ranch, after repeated attempts to purchase the land had failed; an Omaha World-Herald analysis stated that the Kerrey campaign's statements regarding Fischer's actions in the Legislature failed to mention her support for a compromise measure that would have allowed NGPC to buy the land.^[19] A Fischer spokesman accused Kerrey of "reckless disregard for the truth" and "gutter politics" in the matter.^[17]

Fischer defeated Kerrey, taking 58 percent of the vote to Kerrey's 42 percent. While she narrowly lost the state's two largest counties, Douglas and Lancaster, locations of Omaha and Lincoln respectively, she outpolled Kerrey in other parts of the state, carrying some counties by as much as 3-to-1.

Fischer is the first woman to represent Nebraska in the Senate since 1954.^[20] She is also the first woman elected to the Senate from Nebraska in her own right; the state's two previous female Senators, Eva Bowring and Hazel Abel, served as caretakers. She is the first Senator since Carl Curtis (who retired in 1979) who did not live in Omaha or Lincoln at the time of their election.

• Armed Services
• Commerce, Science, and Transportation
• Environment and Public Works
• Indian Affairs
• Small Business and Entrepreneurship

In Fischer's 2012 campaign materials, she quoted several politicians and editorials describing her as a "true conservative" and a "staunch conservative".^[21]

Fischer has expressed support for a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and has signed Americans for Tax Reform's Taxpayer Protection Pledge, "promising not to raise taxes on individuals and businesses".^[22] She has also declared herself opposed to cuts in entitlement programs for Americans over the age of 40.^[23] In her 2012 campaign literature, she stated that she "would vote to fully repeal Obamacare."^[24]

Fischer describes herself as "proud to be pro-life", and cites her endorsements from Nebraska Right to Life and from the Susan B. Anthony List.^[25] Her 2012 campaign materials state that she "[s]upports the federal marriage amendment".^[21] She expresses herself as having "opposed every attempt effort [sic] by groups seeking to restrict our right to own firearms."^[26]

In her 2012 campaign materials, Fischer declared, "The EPA must be reformed and possibly eliminated". She stated that current greenhouse-gas regulations needed to be made less restrictive, and expressed her opposition to a cap-and-trade policy.^[27]

Fischer's 2012 campaign website states that she "[o]pposes amnesty and benefits for illegal aliens", that she voted against Nebraska's version of the DREAM Act in its passage in 2006, and that she co-sponsored a bill to repeal the state act in 2010.^[21]

In Fischer's 2012 campaign materials, she expressed support for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution limiting Senators to two six-year terms, and U.S. Representatives to three two-year terms. She pledged to "limit herself to two terms in office." She also stated that members of the U.S. Congress should be placed under a lifetime ban from becoming federally registered lobbyists.^[28]

Fischer and her husband Bruce operate the family ranch, Sunny Slope Ranch, near Valentine, Nebraska. Their adult sons Adam, Morgan, and Luke own the majority of the stock in the family corporation, while the elder Fischers retain a minority share.^[3]

• U.S. Senator Deb Fisher official website
• Deb Fischer U.S. Senate campaign website
• Sen. Deb Fischer, District 43 at the Nebraska Unicameral Legislature
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org

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