U.S. Senator Deb Fischer of Nebraska says she agrees with President Obama that Congress needs to take action on several initiatives this year.
Fischer says she was glad to hear the President address in his State of the Union talk Tuesday a need to strengthen the middle class. She says there are bipartisan initiatives to raise the minimum wage. But Fischer says growing the economy should be an issue for the private sector, not the government.
“The middle class is being squeezed, and Congress and the President should work together to help them, not hold them back. I’m ready to work with the President and any of my colleagues who are willing to try a new direction to jumpstart our economy. And that means focusing on the private sector. Growing government isn’t the answer.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. House has passed a new, five-year farm bill, sending it to the Senate for a vote.
Fischer says a Congressional Budget Office analysis shows the farm bill will save taxpayers $16.6 billion over the next decade.
“The bill ends direct payments. It provides new risk management tools, and it strengthens crop insurance. It also consolidates and strengthens conservation programs. The agreement provides funding for the livestock indemnity program and the livestock forage program for fiscal year 2012 and beyond.”
Fischer expects the farm bill to be voted on in the Senate in the next day or so.
Her comments came Wednesday morning during Fischer’s weekly conference call with Nebraska media.