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Senator Ben Nelson at November Press Club

U.S. Senator Ben Nelson was the guest speaker at last week’s Omaha Press Club Noon Forum.

Nelson, who's retiring from the U.S. Senate, talked about his two terms in office.

Nelson said when he went to Washington, he worked with Republican Leader Trent Lott as much as he did with Democrat and then-Minority Leader Tom Daschle. 

He says he believes there's a difference between compromising values and finding solutions to help move the country forward.

"There’s always a way to do it if there’s a will.  It just means sometimes you’re going to have to find ways to put some of your thoughts aside and say that’s for a later day because we have to get this done tomorrow.  Whether it was tax cuts early on, whether it was fiscal relief for the states, we were able to work together across the lines.  Sure, there was partisanship but the partisanship always got checked at the door.”

Nelson said the Senate is trending in a different direction today, making cooperation more difficult. 

Republican Deb Fischer will take over Nelson’s seat in the U.S. Senate in January.