Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Really appreciate you stopping by. You were talking to me
about People are like, Wow, it's so nice to see
you here, and you have to remind people every once
in a while, Hey, I'm here pretty frequently, right.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Yeah, you know. I fly back to the state about
every Thursday night, Landed Epley. My husband and I live
in Lincoln now and so drive an hour and I'm
at my own house, my own bed, and then Fridays
we usually are busy doing official things in the Omaha
Lincoln area, and then I fly back Sunday. But now
it's August, so we have August off our work periods,
(00:31):
so I'm doing my August road show. I guess you
could say. My husband drives me around the state. We
have staff along with us, and we just get to
meet with folks and see what's happening in their communities.
We receive, as you can imagine, a lot of invitations
to tour schools, hospitals, businesses, have round tables just to
(00:54):
be able to see all the really neat things going
on in the state of Nebraska. So that's what we
do in August.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Yeah, August is interesting. We talked to Senator Rickets, your
colleague here from Nebraska. A couple of days ago, he
was in the studio as well, and we were chatting
with him about different things that were going on, and
certainly all eyes on November. You have a challenger this year,
not a Democrat necessarily, but an independent challenger in Dan Osborne.
He's been on the show a couple of times for
one time to talk about a campaign, another time to
(01:22):
kind of talk about the Kellogg's plan, which I know
is a you know, kind of a deal that you know,
he was very familiar with. And you know, every race
is a little different because I'm learning about politics every
single day, about the nuances of race to race. What
do you make you know, we'll talk a little bit
more about some of the stuff that you're doing right now,
but what do you make of this particular race, and
(01:43):
how is this a different type of race versus maybe
when you were first trying to get into the Senate.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Well, you know, I believe that Nebraska races are really
all the same because it's important to be out and
shake people's hand and look them in the eye and
answer their questions, listen to their concerns. That's what I
did the first time I ran for the Senate. I
put seventy two thousand miles on my car traveling the state.
(02:13):
We were everywhere. That's been my model of how I
serve as a United States Senator. We are out in
the state, we're serving constituents in DC, I meet with
try to meet with every Nebraska that comes to Washington,
and if I'm not able to, we set up our
(02:34):
meetings here. So my schedule is booked. You know, we're
out in August, we'll be back in October, and we
already have that pretty well booked solid as well, because
that's what we do. It's important to Nebraska's to know
who you are. In Nebraska's they know who I am.
(02:55):
They're very comfortable with me. They come up to me
in the airport, they come up to me in the
grocery store, where they come up to me in restaurants,
and it's it's good to have those kind of meetings
and conversations with Nebraska's.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Well, it's an interesting you know the calendar, right, because
I'm watching all of these major campaigns on a national
level in there in two places every single day at least,
or maybe they divide and conquer and they send some
people one place and another, you know, can't another person
on the ticket somewhere else. I mean it's kind of
(03:30):
a spring. But at the same time, I mean that's
got to be a grind for a while. And I
know you still have a job to do. Campaigning isn't
the only thing that you're doing. So how do you
manage the calendar as you count down the last couple
of months to election day?
Speaker 2 (03:42):
Yeah, well, I just did. It's really official things that
I do. That's what we've been doing in August. We've
had a handful of campaign things, but at this stage
in a campaign, with any campaign, what you're doing, you're
out there rallying your supporters to make sure you can
get out your vote and have a good showing. And
(04:03):
I'm just really lucky. You know, I've got county chairman
in every single county in the state. I've got a
great network of helpers volunteers that are out there. We
have so many endorsements from agg groups, but we have
tremendous labor endorsements. Looking forward to doing Labor Day parades
(04:23):
with with some of my supporters out there and the
who are with labor. So that's the point we are
in the campaign right now. And that's what you see
on the national level. You know, you see Trump, you
see Vance, you see Harris, you see Walls. They're out
rallying their supporters. So that's the stage we're at and
(04:46):
that is what we are going to be focused.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
On for sure. Now we're speaking with Senator Deb Fisher
of Senator from Nebraska here in August. You know, it's
getting closer to election day. You talk about kind of
having a little break here, but there was a new
bill you were telling me about that you were able
to get kind of move in. And it's always a
big thing for people who are in Washington, d C.
(05:08):
To let people know what they are doing as far
as legislation goes. Because tell me about this new bill.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Well, we've been working for for quite a long time
with well on childcare. We hear that all across Nebraska,
whether it's in Omaha and Hemmingford, Nebraska, people need access
to high quality childcare and we haven't been able to
figure out how and what would be the best way
(05:36):
to address that. But talking to a lot of Nebraskas
and with a lot of support from stakeholders, we introduced
a bill and it would it would really put an
emphasis on a program that already works, and that's the
Childcare Development Block grants that are out there. That's a
tried and true system. It works. Every every person I
(06:00):
I've talked to involved in childcare acknowledges that, but we
want to have more flexibility to it. We want to
make sure that we have it's called at a cost
estimation model to be able to recognize the cost for
providers in providing that childcare and then balance that against
(06:23):
what their profits are. And what I've heard from providers
is they are very excited about that that recognizes their
true cost. I also want to make sure that parents
are able to have flexibility in choosing providers, whether it's
a large childcare center, whether it's a family in home provider,
(06:47):
whether it's part of your family providing that childcare. There's
all sorts of different models out there, and the federal
government shouldn't be saying, well, this is what everybody in
Nebraska should do.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Date.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
We just want to make sure families have access to
good childcare and that their choices meet their needs on
this and so we've gotten, like I said, tremendous buy
in on it. Elizabeth with First five Nebraska, I give
her a shout out that she's just been great to
work with and all of her colleagues as well. She
(07:22):
had an article in the Midland section of the Omaha
World Herald earlier this week on the need for childcare,
and she gave a good shout out to my bill
as well. So these are matters that affect every single family.
That's what I try to do. You know, we're whether
(07:42):
it's paid family leave. In twenty seventeen, Angus King and
I he's an independent, supports me and we were able
to get in federal law the first paid family leave program.
I also focus a lot, you know, on on defense
national security, so it's a very wide portfolio that I
(08:06):
deal with every single day.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
Senator Fisher, I know that you're busy, so I'll get
you out on this. I know that you represent all
of Nebraska. But there's a lot of people who are
very curious as to how the second Congressional District is
going to vote for the presidency, because there are scenarios
where that could end up being a very important and
deciding single electoral vote. If you were, you know, kind
(08:32):
of trying to analyze that from a perspective of, Hey,
you know many people think this is going to lean blue,
but here's why it should turn red. What would you
say to those people in an elevator pitch, Well.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
This is longer than an elevator pitch.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
Mary, I wish I had no time.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
I know, I know it's this is obviously going to
be a district that's going to receive a lot of attention.
We saw the district go for President Biden, we saw
it go for President Obama, it's on for Trump before.
So it's one of those swing districts. I don't know
which way it's going to go. We're in. We're in
(09:08):
a different scenario with this election. If you would ask
me this question a month ago, I would have said
President Trump will win this district. But the Democrat Party
kind of upended what everybody thought was going to be
the ticket and now trying to figure out moving forward
(09:30):
just where everybody stands on issues. So it's yeah, it's
going to be fascinating to watch, and election nights should
be interesting.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
That is true. I think, if anything, it will be interesting.
Senator Fisher, Senator Dev Fisher, I'm so happy we got
to do this in person this time. I can't wait
to talk to you again and anytime soon, especially if
there's some another bill that you want to make sure
everybody knows about. That's exactly the kind of stuff I
love to learn about as well. That's the stuff that
is a little confusing to me. Nice to have it
(10:00):
explained like you just explained your new bill. And we
will chat sometime very soon and probably before that election.
So thank you so much for coming. All right, it's
two fifty news radio elevens in KFAB
Really appreciate you stopping by. You were talking to me
about People are like, Wow, it's so nice to see
you here, and you have to remind people every once
in a while, Hey, I'm here pretty frequently, right.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Yeah, you know. I fly back to the state about
every Thursday night, Landed Epley. My husband and I live
in Lincoln now and so drive an hour and I'm
at my own house, my own bed, and then Fridays
we usually are busy doing official things in the Omaha
Lincoln area, and then I fly back Sunday. But now
it's August, so we have August off our work periods,
(00:31):
so I'm doing my August road show. I guess you
could say. My husband drives me around the state. We
have staff along with us, and we just get to
meet with folks and see what's happening in their communities.
We receive, as you can imagine, a lot of invitations
to tour schools, hospitals, businesses, have round tables just to
(00:54):
be able to see all the really neat things going
on in the state of Nebraska. So that's what we
do in August.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Yeah, August is interesting. We talked to Senator Rickets, your
colleague here from Nebraska. A couple of days ago, he
was in the studio as well, and we were chatting
with him about different things that were going on, and
certainly all eyes on November. You have a challenger this year,
not a Democrat necessarily, but an independent challenger in Dan Osborne.
He's been on the show a couple of times for
one time to talk about a campaign, another time to
(01:22):
kind of talk about the Kellogg's plan, which I know
is a you know, kind of a deal that you know,
he was very familiar with. And you know, every race
is a little different because I'm learning about politics every
single day, about the nuances of race to race. What
do you make you know, we'll talk a little bit
more about some of the stuff that you're doing right now,
but what do you make of this particular race, and
(01:43):
how is this a different type of race versus maybe
when you were first trying to get into the Senate.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Well, you know, I believe that Nebraska races are really
all the same because it's important to be out and
shake people's hand and look them in the eye and
answer their questions, listen to their concerns. That's what I
did the first time I ran for the Senate. I
put seventy two thousand miles on my car traveling the state.
(02:13):
We were everywhere. That's been my model of how I
serve as a United States Senator. We are out in
the state, we're serving constituents in DC, I meet with
try to meet with every Nebraska that comes to Washington,
and if I'm not able to, we set up our
(02:34):
meetings here. So my schedule is booked. You know, we're
out in August, we'll be back in October, and we
already have that pretty well booked solid as well, because
that's what we do. It's important to Nebraska's to know
who you are. In Nebraska's they know who I am.
(02:55):
They're very comfortable with me. They come up to me
in the airport, they come up to me in the
grocery store, where they come up to me in restaurants,
and it's it's good to have those kind of meetings
and conversations with Nebraska's.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Well, it's an interesting you know the calendar, right, because
I'm watching all of these major campaigns on a national
level in there in two places every single day at least,
or maybe they divide and conquer and they send some
people one place and another, you know, can't another person
on the ticket somewhere else. I mean it's kind of
(03:30):
a spring. But at the same time, I mean that's
got to be a grind for a while. And I
know you still have a job to do. Campaigning isn't
the only thing that you're doing. So how do you
manage the calendar as you count down the last couple
of months to election day?
Speaker 2 (03:42):
Yeah, well, I just did. It's really official things that
I do. That's what we've been doing in August. We've
had a handful of campaign things, but at this stage
in a campaign, with any campaign, what you're doing, you're
out there rallying your supporters to make sure you can
get out your vote and have a good showing. And
(04:03):
I'm just really lucky. You know, I've got county chairman
in every single county in the state. I've got a
great network of helpers volunteers that are out there. We
have so many endorsements from agg groups, but we have
tremendous labor endorsements. Looking forward to doing Labor Day parades
(04:23):
with with some of my supporters out there and the
who are with labor. So that's the point we are
in the campaign right now. And that's what you see
on the national level. You know, you see Trump, you
see Vance, you see Harris, you see Walls. They're out
rallying their supporters. So that's the stage we're at and
(04:46):
that is what we are going to be focused.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
On for sure. Now we're speaking with Senator Deb Fisher
of Senator from Nebraska here in August. You know, it's
getting closer to election day. You talk about kind of
having a little break here, but there was a new
bill you were telling me about that you were able
to get kind of move in. And it's always a
big thing for people who are in Washington, d C.
(05:08):
To let people know what they are doing as far
as legislation goes. Because tell me about this new bill.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Well, we've been working for for quite a long time
with well on childcare. We hear that all across Nebraska,
whether it's in Omaha and Hemmingford, Nebraska, people need access
to high quality childcare and we haven't been able to
figure out how and what would be the best way
(05:36):
to address that. But talking to a lot of Nebraskas
and with a lot of support from stakeholders, we introduced
a bill and it would it would really put an
emphasis on a program that already works, and that's the
Childcare Development Block grants that are out there. That's a
tried and true system. It works. Every every person I
(06:00):
I've talked to involved in childcare acknowledges that, but we
want to have more flexibility to it. We want to
make sure that we have it's called at a cost
estimation model to be able to recognize the cost for
providers in providing that childcare and then balance that against
(06:23):
what their profits are. And what I've heard from providers
is they are very excited about that that recognizes their
true cost. I also want to make sure that parents
are able to have flexibility in choosing providers, whether it's
a large childcare center, whether it's a family in home provider,
(06:47):
whether it's part of your family providing that childcare. There's
all sorts of different models out there, and the federal
government shouldn't be saying, well, this is what everybody in
Nebraska should do.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Date.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
We just want to make sure families have access to
good childcare and that their choices meet their needs on
this and so we've gotten, like I said, tremendous buy
in on it. Elizabeth with First five Nebraska, I give
her a shout out that she's just been great to
work with and all of her colleagues as well. She
(07:22):
had an article in the Midland section of the Omaha
World Herald earlier this week on the need for childcare,
and she gave a good shout out to my bill
as well. So these are matters that affect every single family.
That's what I try to do. You know, we're whether
(07:42):
it's paid family leave. In twenty seventeen, Angus King and
I he's an independent, supports me and we were able
to get in federal law the first paid family leave program.
I also focus a lot, you know, on on defense
national security, so it's a very wide portfolio that I
(08:06):
deal with every single day.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
Senator Fisher, I know that you're busy, so I'll get
you out on this. I know that you represent all
of Nebraska. But there's a lot of people who are
very curious as to how the second Congressional District is
going to vote for the presidency, because there are scenarios
where that could end up being a very important and
deciding single electoral vote. If you were, you know, kind
(08:32):
of trying to analyze that from a perspective of, Hey,
you know many people think this is going to lean blue,
but here's why it should turn red. What would you
say to those people in an elevator pitch, Well.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
This is longer than an elevator pitch.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
Mary, I wish I had no time.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
I know, I know it's this is obviously going to
be a district that's going to receive a lot of attention.
We saw the district go for President Biden, we saw
it go for President Obama, it's on for Trump before.
So it's one of those swing districts. I don't know
which way it's going to go. We're in. We're in
(09:08):
a different scenario with this election. If you would ask
me this question a month ago, I would have said
President Trump will win this district. But the Democrat Party
kind of upended what everybody thought was going to be
the ticket and now trying to figure out moving forward
(09:30):
just where everybody stands on issues. So it's yeah, it's
going to be fascinating to watch, and election nights should
be interesting.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
That is true. I think, if anything, it will be interesting.
Senator Fisher, Senator Dev Fisher, I'm so happy we got
to do this in person this time. I can't wait
to talk to you again and anytime soon, especially if
there's some another bill that you want to make sure
everybody knows about. That's exactly the kind of stuff I
love to learn about as well. That's the stuff that
is a little confusing to me. Nice to have it
(10:00):
explained like you just explained your new bill. And we
will chat sometime very soon and probably before that election.
So thank you so much for coming. All right, it's
two fifty news radio elevens in KFAB
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