GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (KSNB) – The U.S. Senate race in Nebraska took center stage at the State Fair on Tuesday, where Dan Osborn and Sen. Pete Ricketts were questioned on health care, immigration enforcement and beef imports.<\/p>\n
Ricketts said he is proud of the work he has done in Washington on passing legislation including the \u201cBig Beautiful Bill,\u201d which he said made needed changes to Medicaid.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also put in work requirements so that that 20-something-year-old guy who\u2019s sitting on his parents\u2019 couch doesn\u2019t have a wife, doesn\u2019t have kids, that we don\u2019t have to pay for him unless he wants to go do 20 hours\u2019 worth of work, 20 hours\u2019 worth of education, or 20 hours\u2019 worth of volunteer work,\u201d Ricketts said.<\/p>\n
Osborn responded by saying he would not have voted in favor of the bill.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was just out in Chadron, Nebraska, recently, and there\u2019s a dialysis plant that just closed as a direct result of the Big Beautiful Bill Act and cutting Medicaid for people who rely on it,\u201d Osborn said.<\/p>\n
Osborn said he is concerned about the amount of money being spent on Immigration and Customs Enforcement.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are seeing this same mission performed off administrations in the past off of a budget of $7 billion. Now that\u2019s been increased to $80 billion. So if you\u2019re a true fiscal conservative, you should be concerned with this number. This is wasteful government spending,\u201d Osborn said.<\/p>\n
Ricketts pointed to his record when asked how he would handle the border and ICE.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have worked to make sure we have a secure border. I voted for the Working Families Tax Cup, which dedicated $170 billion to be able to help build a wall, hire more agents. In fact, the National Border Patrol Council, the union for all the brave women and men who defend our border, came to Nebraska for the first time to endorse me because they know I will support them, just like I did when I was governor when I sent the Nebraska State Patrol down there,\u201d Ricketts said.<\/p>\n
Osborn and Ricketts were also asked about the news of importing beef into the United States.<\/p>\n
Ricketts said he sympathizes with farmers who are making hard decisions.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, they\u2019re trying to make decisions on their heifers. And this actually makes it more difficult on them to keep those heifers so they can expand the size of the herd. Expanding the size of the herd is how we get long-term to lower prices for consumers and families,\u201d Ricketts said.<\/p>\n
Osborn said importing beef is a mistake.<\/p>\n
\u201cBringing in 300,000 pounds, or metric tons, excuse me, of foreign beef, and beef, mind you, that China wouldn\u2019t even touch, undercuts our actual producers here in the state,\u201d Osborn said.<\/p>\n
The exchange starts a race to the midterm election in November, which is just over 60 days away.<\/p>\n