LINCOLN — Trim or eliminate the federal Department of Education? That was a question raised Friday at a forum attended by Nebraska's top three Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate.
Attorney General Jon Bruning and State Sen. Deb Fischer both said they would trim or reduce the size of the Education Department, while State Treasurer Don Stenberg called for the department to be eliminated.
The three spoke at an event, sponsored by the Nebraska Farm Bureau, that did not allow the candidates to engage in debate, and no fireworks were sparked.
The three seek the GOP nomination in the May 15 primary and are vying for the seat currently held by departing U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson. The Democrat has announced his retirement.
For the most part, the candidates agreed on policy issues raised during the forum, including their desire to see the size and scope of the federal government reduced, “radical” animal-rights groups stopped and the partisan divide in Washington, D.C., ended.
They agreed that agriculture was the “economic engine” that drives Nebraska as each tried to woo rural audiences by burnishing rural connections. And each made a case that his or her past is what made him or her the best candidate for Congress.
Bruning, who grew up in Lincoln, repeatedly called himself an “ag guy.” He noted that he had married a farmer's daughter and that his ancestors had helped settle a southeast Nebraska village called Bruning.
He also noted that he has sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency more than 20 times over disputed rules and regulations that had impact on farmers and ranchers. “I'm the guy who is leading the lawsuit against Obamacare. I don't go along to get along,” he said.
Stenberg noted that he was raised in Tekamah and that he learned early the importance of agriculture in the local economy.
He also said that, if elected, one of the first bills he would introduce would attempt to repeal all the rules and regulations passed under President Barack Obama.
“I'm a genuine, lifelong conservative with a proven conservative record,” Stenberg said several times.
Fischer stated that, of the three, her roots in agriculture run deepest. The state senator from Valentine was raised in Lincoln but married a rancher and has lived most of her adult life on a ranch.
She also argued that over the past eight years in the officially nonpartisan Nebraska Legislature she has worked with people on both ends of the political spectrum to pass legislation.
“I understand the legislative process, and I've been told I'm pretty good at it,” Fischer said. “I work hard, do my homework on issues and work with my colleagues.”
The three did disagree on how best to trim the federal budget.
Fischer said that in the Nebraska Legislature she helped some state agencies cut 10 percent from their budgets. It can be done, she said, but it should not be done with an “ax.”
“You have to be judicious of what you're going to cut.”
Bruning said he would look for ways to “skinny down” agencies, including the U.S. Department of Education and the EPA.
“We had a balanced budget in this country, what, just 12 years ago. We will do it again,” Bruning said.
Stenberg was the only one to call for eliminating whole departments, notably Education and Energy. He called both “failed agencies.” Education should be left to the states and the development of energy should be left to the private sector, he said.
“We do not improve education by paying (federal) bureaucrats,” he said.
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