U.S. Senate · Nebraska

Keeping Nebraskans Safe

Pete has helped President Trump bring illegal border crossings to a record low by voting to deliver $46.5 billion investment in border security. He voted to hire 16,000 border patrol agents and invest $4 billion in clearing the immigration court backlog. After Joe Biden intentionally opened our southern border, Pete has worked with President Trump to secure our border and keep Americans safe.

What does immigration reform look like to you?

To me, immigration reform looks like striking the right balance between safety and dignity. We must have a secure border. Without a border, we don’t have a country. However, the massive increase in ICE's budget has been wasteful spending without real accountability. We can spend all we want. We aren’t going to deport every undocumented immigrant. Congress needs to pass comprehensive immigration reform with real urgency. This includes E-Verify, securing the border, properly funding immigration courts, and creating an immigration system that allows for guest worker programs to help support American industries in places where there are not enough workers to fill all the jobs domestically. This is a problem that has existed for far too long.

Delivering Proven Nebraska Solutions

Nebraska is what America is supposed to be. Pete Ricketts is working to bring our Proven Nebraska Solutions to the rest of America. As Governor, Pete phased out state taxes on military retirement income and Social Security. He worked to improve government services by making SNAP work better for the people who need it. And he worked to make government operate more like a business by rooting out waste and inefficiency.

Cutting Taxes

Pete Ricketts is helping Nebraska families, workers, seniors, and small business owners keep more of their hard-earned income. As governor, Pete championed the largest state tax cut in Nebraska history. He cut property taxes by $10 billion. Pete delivered a total of $12.7 billion in tax relief during his time as governor, including:

How do you envision the Senate and the Executive Branch working together to ensure effective governance while maintaining the necessary constitutional balances?

The Senate and the Executive Branch are two co-equal branches of government meant to keep each other in check. If elected, I will work to enact policy that restores that balance, like invoking the War Powers Act to pull us out of the war in Iran that drags on into its seventh month. Congress’s role, as established by Article I of the Constitution, is to make law. Article II mandates that the President execute that law, not make it. The legislative branch has given up its power to make laws to the executive. The result is a federal government that does not have checks and balances. That is dangerous and that needs to change.

Protecting Our National Security

Pete knows Communist China is a threat to our American way of life. As a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, he has been a leader in combating the Chinese Communist Party and protecting our homeland. Pete introduced bipartisan legislation to strengthen America’s ability to stop foreign adversaries from owning farmland, including the CCP. He voted to invest in better weapons, training, and military equipment …

What principles should guide the Senate’s role in foreign policy, treaty ratification and national security?

The principles that should guide the Senate is one that puts America first while understanding we are actors in a global system and restrained coordination with the Executive. The President is the most important diplomat and the chief architect of America’s foreign policy agenda. It is important that America have a coherent and unified foreign policy agenda. But, when I signed on the dotted line for this country, I vowed to defend the constitution, and that will never change. The Constitution explicitly gave Congress, not the President, the power to declare war and the power to ratify treaties. Congress has to grow a spine and become a co-equal branch of government once again in all spaces including the foreign policy space.

Making Government Work Better

Pete believes government should work for the people it serves. As governor, he cut the growth of government spending by over half from 6.5% to 2.8%. By rooting out waste and inefficiencies in state government, he improved government services while saving taxpayers money. Under Pete’s leadership, DMV wait times in South Omaha dropped from 29 minutes to eight minutes.

Do you think the Senate should regulate artificial intelligence, and if so, how?

Yes. AI will define the rest of the twenty-first century and will reshape society as we know it. We are in an AI arms race with foreign powers, and we must win that race. But, we must be careful about what we are willing to sacrifice in the pursuit of the race. We must protect our workers from greedy corporations who threaten to displace millions of workers to hoard even more wealth for themselves. And, we must protect our natural resources as well. The Ogallala Aquifer is depleting at six times the rate it’s being replenished. Data centers threaten to destroy our way of life if we fail to put reasonable guardrails on their deployment and construction. We can win this race without burning down the US to do it, and that’s what we need to do.

Delivering for Nebraska

Pete helped secure $500 million in guaranteed funding for rural Nebraska hospitals Last year helped nearly 800 Nebraskans recover nearly $5 million – and on track to do the same this year Assisted nearly 1,800 Nebraskans in navigating the federal government

Defending Our Values

There’s no better place to live the American Dream than Nebraska. Pete Ricketts is fighting to protect our Nebraska values and defend that dream in Washington.