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Gubernatorial Debate, March 26,
2006 Notes taken by Nebraska Citizen.
Question: Average debt of the college student has doubled in the last decade. How would you, as a governor, make education more affordable for students?
Heineman: Has a 21 yr old son, Sam. Wants tuition to be as affordable as possible. Passed no tax increase budget that prioritized education. Largest increase in funding in the last 10 years. “We are all concerned about the affordability of college.” Performance-based scholarships, if you agree to remain in state for 5 years, then tuition/loan forgiveness program. “Education is the great equalizer. Every student should have the opportunity for a quality education.”
Nabity: If we are going to make the burden easier on students, the government must have more money in the system. If we are going to create scholarships, lower tuition, or provide incentive packages, then if you go to school here and decide to stay here, we offset some of the loans, or what have you, then Nebraska must modernize and streamline government. Spending is out of control. 46% of state money goes to education. Spending is growing at a rate we cannot sustain. Have to control taxes, or you won’t stay in state because taxes are too high. My pledge to you is, “I am going to get us there.” “We must become the most efficiently run State. We must be serious about reforming government now.” Modernize and streamline government, grow economy, then we’ll be able to help students. Once we get our economy growing the way it should, then we will have some extra money to help.
Osborne: $17,000 is the average student debt when done with college. Said this question is directly toward him, since he is on the education committee in Congress. Fed government must reduce budget $40 billion. Education must come up with $21 billion of the $40 billion. $12 billion was cut primarily from student lenders. They have been getting 9.5% return. That was done away with. Higher education act allows for year round Pell grant. This permits students to get out of school in 4 years instead of 5 or more years. We have too many students leaving the State. We think it is important to help students pay off their loans, if they will agree to stay in the State. Higher education act will eliminate origination fees. This will reduce costs to students. Identify areas of excellence. We need more students here.
Candidate may rebut or take next question. Nabity – move on
Question: SD recently passed a law banning abortion in almost all cases. If Nebraska passed a similar law would you sign it? If not, why not?
Nabity: I would sign it. “The bottom line is that abortion is one of the shames of America.” We must stop abortions and promote adoption. Abortion removes the consequences of certain types of behavior. When it is an easy fix, it allows certain behaviors to continue. I believe it is important to protect life. I will do everything I can to stop abortions. “I am the only one to have rolled out a legislative bill” that I will encourage on this issue. You can see that on my web site at www.davenabity.com It says that, 24 hours prior to an abortion, a physician must provide an updated booklet, video, access to a web site that shows everything there is to know about an abortion and presents an alternative, such as adoption.
Osborne: I have a voting record. “I have a 100% pro life voting record. I believe in the sanctity of life. I would sign the bill.” Says the toughest vote he had in Congress was regarding stem cell. Student had juvenile diabetes and friends that have Parkinsons who say “this may be our only chance,” so it is a very difficult vote. Said he supported a bill by Rosco Bartlett, who is a geneticist who found that you can extract stem cells without killing the embryo; some are convinced that only embryonic stem cells will work. Said that, with a voting record, there is very little wiggle room. “I am not going to change. I would sign the bill. It will be very controversial.”
Heineman: “I am pro life. I have been endorsed by the Nebraska Right to Life organization. This is very personal to me. I was with my wife when my son was born 21 years ago.” Says he knows how precious life is. Says he knows the SD law is controversial but would sign it. “It is a fundamental value.”
Osborne, chance to rebut. Osborne: “It looks like there is a whole lot of agreement on this issue, so let’s move on.”
Osborne: “I have been serving the Third District for the last 5 ½ years, and it isn’t that different from Lincoln, though Lincoln is a lot bigger.” Says he has spent a lot of time looking at this issue. Emphasized teaching entrepreneurial skills. Said there is a lack of startup businesses, and an advantage package is needed. $1 million dollars invested or 10 jobs created doesn’t help the average college graduate. Focus on entrepreneurship. Venture capital: “Nebraska is in the bottom five states in the nation.” “Young people are leaving because they can’t get a business started because of lack of venture capital.” Thinks we should focus on bio science and says KS is spending $500 million on bio science. This helps because of all of the jobs that research creates “and, of course, the spin offs end up in the countryside.” Biodegradable plastics.
Heineman: Says these are two issues he is already addressing as governor -- education and economic development. Says Nebraska does a great job of educating kids but then they leave to get a job in another State. Says that last year, we passed the first comprehensive job creation economic incentive package since the 1980s. It went into full effect in Jan of 2006. Already, 26 companies have applied to 4000 new jobs. $497 million in investments. Says the university bureau of research estimates this will create more than 50,000 jobs in the next 8 years and that companies are expanding because of the new law. $15 million for ethanol incentives; “more ethanol plants under construction than any other State in the country.” Went from #3 to #2. Says ethanol industry improves local farm economy, creates 40 to 55 jobs to operate a plant, and from 75 to 100 jobs to construct a plant. “We are on the move in this State due to this economic incentive law.”
Nabity: “Jane, you asked about economic development in Lincoln, right?” [affirmative reply] “At some time, I will address the governor’s statement that he will create 50,000 jobs in Nebraska. That is like saying we will create two new Kearney’s. I would like to dig into that more, if we could.” Says that Lincoln is the capitol, the head of the university, and that we need to ask ourselves what we would like the university to look like 10 years from now. “What sorts of R&D can we get in the university?” Feels we should get food, biotech, 21st century bio tech companies to come to Nebraska to work with the University. “Think of the research triangle in North Carolina. I want that triangle here.” Good students, degrees; “Lincoln is the key to that.” Tourism. “We need to harvest traffic off of I-80.” Encourage in hunters from all over the nation. Tourism comes for football, so create ambassador program that takes the fans out hunting so they stay longer and spend some money.
“Mr. Heineman, do you want to rebut or new question?”
Heineman: “I want to keep talking. Economic development is so important to our State.” Says one of the first questions he heard was, “How do we create more jobs in the State?” “Over last 15 to 20 years, we have become a high tax State, due to something I call tax creep. We have to reverse that. That is why we have to have a laser-like focus on reducing taxes and creating a more favorable business climate.” First step was legislation passed last year. This year’s focus on tax relief. Hopes to sign into law this year. Repeal State tax on remodeled homes. Expand the homestead reduction. Take agriculture land from 80% to 75% valuation. Lower income taxes for most Nebraskans. Focus on tax relief. “We didn’t get in this tax problem overnight, and it will take time to get out of it.”
Nabity: “People in the State want Property tax, Income tax, Motor vehicle tax relief. When you create incentive packages for corporations, it creates more pressure on all of us to support the cash flow needs of the State while we wait for business to ramp up. I am not saying we should be the only State to disarm from incentive packages. But, how about a little help for the little guy out there -- the small businesses and the people trying to make a living. The governor talks about his tax relief plan. It saves the average guy $40 a year, or $3 a month. If you take the property tax, income tax, and motor vehicle tax at any socio-economic level in Nebraska and you compare what you have to pay on an annual basis to what you have to pay in SD, SD costs are half. WY taxes are a third. If you go to CO, they are about 60%. So, I think it is one thing to say ‘I am a real champion for tax relief’; but, for goodness sake, doing a tax cut that saves the average taxpayer $3 a month is an insult to our intelligence.” “We need a real reformer here -- someone who is going to transform this State, to get the State competitive. And, it can’t take a decade. We don’t have that much time. We’ve got the back end of the baby boomers retiring in the next 10 years. We’ve got the young leaving. The budget is growing at 7%. We have to modernize State government. We need to modernize it now and bring significant tax relief now.”
Osborne: “We have a hot button here. If all you do is count the jobs that are added and you don’t count the ones that are lost, it sounds pretty good. We lost some jobs up in Norfolk and West Point, and here in Lincoln. You have to look at the net jobs. I think the Nebraska Advantage Package is something we have to have. It was in the works for two or three years. A lot of people have worked on it. The problem is other states are doing the same thing, and they have a slush fund to fill in around the edges. This is a $190 million tax break. I am in favor of it. It is something we have to have.” “The ag sector benefits roughly $3 million. I realize there are some incentives for ethanol; but when you look at value added ag, $3 million out of $190 million isn’t very much.” Says there isn’t much for small businesses. “The critical issue is this, if you are going to have meaningful tax reform, you don’t increase spending 14.2% in the two year budget period. It doesn’t work. You have to reduce spending. The time to do this was last June. It is critical that people understand that. We have plenty of ways we can do that. I hope we can get to that later.”
Question: LB 239, revised state law. It allows children of illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition rates. Board of Regents voted in favor of this bill. Student government supports. Nine states, including KS, have similar laws. Yet, this bill has sat in the legislature for 5 years. If the legislature passed the bill, would you sign it?
Nabity: “I would sign it. Chances are 90% to 100% that these kids are going to live in Nebraska for the rest of their lives. Their parents are hard working and trying to provide for their kids. I think we need to do everything we can to assimilate these kids into the American way of life. Education is the great equalizer. The more we can help make adequate education available to these kids, the better.” “I know what it is like to pay out of State tuition. I have six kids that I am putting through college, and one of them is going out State. It is a huge bill.” “We lose, what, 5000 kids in enrollment? If we can bring these kids into the school system and help them become committed Americans, it is a good thing.”
Osborne: “The bill that I am most familiar with is the Dream act at the federal level. My understanding is that there is a federal law that prohibits Nebraska from doing this unless we change things at the federal level. I am co sponsor of the Dream Act. It essentially does this. You can’t qualify if you are 21 years of age or more. You have to be in the country for 5 years. You have to graduate from a high school.” “They came here as a minor. They didn’t come here intentionally as an illegal immigrant but because their parents brought them.”
“The important thing to remember is
that, between1995 and 2000, Nebraska went “There have been some push-polls that are attacking me because I have co sponsored this legislation, but I think anyone that is fair minded would realize that a child that has come here with his parents and has had no choice in the matter and has learned the language and graduated from high school and lives in Nebraska and has lived here for 5 years or more certainly should be given that opportunity. So, I would sign it without hesitation. It would be good for the State. It would be good for the country.”
Heineman: “It is a complex and difficult issue because you are talking about the children of illegal immigrants, and I believe education is the great equalizer. The challenge is that two wrongs don’t make a right. We need to address the issue on a federal level. We need to secure borders. We need to enforce the current immigration laws. We need to streamline the opportunity for legal immigration. We need to help those that go through the proper procedures.” “I am not sure if I would sign it. I have great reluctance about it. I will continue to study. I am very concerned that when their parents came here illegally, that creates a difficult problem for us.”
Osborne has option of new question or rebut.
Osborne: “I would like to say more about this. The Congress has to deal with this. I have introduced a bill that says if someone comes here that is an undocumented worker and they go to their employers and they say, ‘I want you here,’ then the immigrant can go back to their country and have a consulate sign the papers and then they reenter with a work permit that is good for up to 3 years that is renewable.” “We have between 11 and 12 million undocumented workers. We need to shrink that pool to what we need. We need the ones that are contributing. We need some of those folks here. The Third District would be in real trouble, if we didn’t have them.” “We want to make sure we do this the right way. We also need to tighten border security.”
Heineman: “Security of the nation is the issue.” “I was director of Homeland Security for Nebraska.” “We need to enforce current laws of the land. We need to secure the borders of our country. We need to expedite legal immigration.”
Nabity: “All I can say is that we can’t do a thing until the federal government shuts down that border.” Says no governor can deal with this until the federal government does its job and that the business community cannot deal with the false identification network. They can’t keep up with it. “As long as a business is doing what it can to keep up with the rules and do everything the federal government is asking of them. We can’t ask the business community to become the policeman of federal policies that are failing. The pressure is on the federal government to close the border. Once they do, then the states have to look at what we are going to do with the people that are here. Many of those people are hard working people who are doing everything they can to enjoy the American dream. I would like to give those people a chance to become Americans, but I want to sift through that group to get rid of all the criminals and those who have track records. Send them out of the country. But, those who are left, I think we have an obligation to make them American citizens.” “My ancestors came from Czechoslovakia. I am fourth generation Czech. If you could go to Canada and get 3 to 5 times the income, there would be a bunch of us in this room who would be going to Canada.”
Question from Mike Tobias: Nebraska is using more than its share of Republican River water, as determined by the three State Compact. With a deadline for compliance approaching, some steps have been taken, paying farmers not to irrigate and buying water that is currently stored in the reservoir to send downstream. But, Kansas officials have told me that a so-called "good faith effort" will not be satisfactory and that it would be expensive for the State of Nebraska if we are not in compliance. What specific additional steps would you take or propose to help Nebraska comply with the Compact?
Heineman: “Mike, that is a very good question. I have identified water as the issue of the decade because it is so important to our State. Agriculture is the number 1 industry and we need to make sure there is water for agriculture as well as our cities. And, this is a situation that we did not get into overnight, and we are not going to get out very quickly. For the past few months, our office, the attorney General’s office, the Department of Natural Resources, the local NRDs, the local farmers who, I might add, have saved 25% to 30% below their allocation, and the Bostwick Irrigation District, we have worked to put together an agreement so that we can be more in compliance with our legal obligations relative to the Compact. The Bostwick Irrigation District has supported that with a vote of 172 to 14. That was the short term most immediate problem in the State, and we’ve got to move on. And, I applaud their efforts. Attorney General Bruning called it a historic step forward, and I certainly agree with him.” “Now, long term, we’ve got to address water, trying to be as innovative as we can and yet practical. The fact of the matter is, right now, the Department of Natural Resources and the local NRDs are working on Integrated Water Management Plans to try to conserve water in the future. At the Federal level, we have received help from the Federal government regarding programs like CREP, EQIP, vegetation management. We are working with our Federal delegation, and this is one where I want to thank Congressman Tom Osborne. He’s been very good and part of our team effort on these issues. And, that is how we do best in this State. When we all work together as a team to address this most fundamental and important challenge in our State. Because water is very, very precious.”
Nabity: “This is an area where we’ve got to manage water very, very carefully. I am going to make a couple of statements here. I am going to expand on them, and hopefully this will go around a couple of times. But, first of all, I believe that the Agreement that our State went to Kansas and signed in 2002 is flawed. And, the reason it is flawed is it took conservation off the table as a contributor as to why stream flows are depleting. Now if you pond, if you terrace, if you plant grasses, if you plant trees, water is not going to get back to the river. And I feel like that the people who were representing Nebraska sold out the irrigators in the State and put 100% of the responsibility on the irrigator. Now why this is such a bad deal is that if a farmer irrigates -- Let's just say he creates $5 dollars for the economy. You know, a buck might go to a seed company, a buck might go to a fertilizer company, you might have a buck to go to an irrigation company, and there are other people in the local town, the local community that make money, and the farmer nets a buck. If you shut down irrigation, you lose that $5 in the economy. If you pay the farmer a buck to stop farming, you destroy the small towns all across this State. And, why wouldn’t a farmer in the Bostwick Irrigation District say, ‘Yeah, pay me free money, that’s fine.’ They weren’t going to take water out of the Harlan Reservoir anyway. So, it was free money.” “What we need to do is spend money on a water transfer plan to move water from areas of surplus to areas of need. Two million acre feet of water come into this State and 8.5 million acre feet leave it and turn into salt water in the Gulf of Mexico. The money should have been spent on a water transfer plan to move water to areas of need so we can keep everybody farming. If you take people out of farming, our economy crashes. I hope to be the ‘water governor’ here in Nebraska who lays out a whole new strategic plan for managing water across the State.”
Osborne: “Obviously, this is very important. My family has been in the irrigation business for 50 years, and irrigation brings approximately $7 billion dollars per year into our economy so it’s critical, and this is a big deal. I went down to Kansas and met with their attorney general, along with Jon Bruning, a few months ago and we informed them what we’re doing in Nebraska and I think they were surprised. They were pleased. It was a good first start. It was mentioned that we did do something called the Conservation Reserve Enhanced Program, which my office initiated and were able to get $158 million dollars coming to Nebraska -- $153 million of that is Federal money -- to retire 100,000 acres of land. Now, the way that this works is we take probably about 70,000 of those acres down in the Republican along with some EQIP money and the water Model indicates that even in dry years, which is the worst possible situation, we would get between 20,000 and 25,000 acre feet saved by this program We’re short about 30,000 acre feet each year right now. Also, I’ve put in an appropriation request for $5 million. We’ve also got a grant going from the RC&Ds and the people down in the Republican for a million and a half. Six and a half million dollars to spray vegetation in the river in that area. Conservatively, we can save about 10,000 acre feet of water by spraying the vegetation and that probably could be more, but if you add 25 and 30, that’s the shortfall. Now, it’s going to take about 3 years to get that thing done so we may have a shortfall next year that won’t be quite as much, and the next year a little bit more; but eventually, within 3-4 years, I think we can handle the whole shortfall with Kansas and be in reasonably good shape. We will have to work together on this, and I think we have a lot of good things going for us and I think this is important.”
Rebut or new question, Mr. Nabity?
Nabity: “I’d like to keep talking about this because if you look at Central and Western Nebraska, you already have a population shrinking. With all due respect to Congressman Osborne, if you could go to a landowner and you say, “Look, quit farming. Here’s a buck, as opposed to keep farming and flow $5 through the economy and get your buck.” What you do is you put a whole bunch of businesses out. We’re talking 100,000 acres of land that people are going to quit farming. I got a telephone call from a guy named Dan Nelson from Curtis. He says, ‘You know what happened to me? I was renting ground from a gentleman, and the farming activity that we had on that guy’s ground…that kept my family in business…’ This is a 25-year old guy who has a young family that’s trying to make it in farming. The CREP program gave the landowner so much money that he said, ‘I’m not going to mess around with this farming anymore. I’m going to quit.’ And, then he could sell off all his irrigation equipment and get about $200 per acre on the irrigation equipment and this young man, Dan Nelson, doesn’t know if he’s going to be able to make it now because he cannot farm anymore. And, the chain reaction on this, economically, could be catastrophic for the State of Nebraska and somebody, as a Governor, has got to begin to defend the economic interests of this State and the small guys out there who are suffering at the hands of government actions that don’t follow through with what kinds of economic damage could occur to a State. We’ve got to think about this, especially when the science is flawed. How much responsibility does ground water irrigation contribute to the stream flow depletions versus Federal Conservation policies? Federal Conservation policies are not in the game right now and all the information is contained in the Department of Natural Resources, and the Governor won’t let the information out. So, we need reform here, and we need to protect the farmers.”
Osborne: “I think we better rebut a little bit here. First of all, with all due respect to my friend David, conservation was figured in and I don’t necessarily like the Compact either with Kansas; but it was figured in, and it was part of the deal. I think we need to understand that. The idea of transferring surplus water from someplace down in the Republican is fine if you’ve got a place where there’s surplus water. The Platte River west of Highway 183 is over-appropriated. The Republican River is over-appropriated. So, where are you going to get the surplus water? There is a plan to take $250 an acre, that is much more than CREP pays, and pay people in the Platte Valley to give up their irrigation rights, which transfers the same problem to the Platte and pipes the water down into the Republican, which might be good for the Republican, but I say, ‘Where’s the money going to come from?’” “’Well, you need $5 million to buy the acreage, and that $5 million is going to come from the irrigators in the Republican.’ Are they going to want to do that? We’ve got the Federal government paying for this deal. And, so, the transfer issue is a little bit nebulous. I don’t have any problem if someone can figure out a way to transfer water down there. It is possible. It is feasible. Geographically, we can do this thing. But, anyway, the other issue is the shortfall of people being driven out of farming. And, this is painful but somebody’s got to quit irrigating in order to come into compliance. We have two areas where more water is going out than it’s coming in. So, somebody has got to stop farming. So, we’re trying to compensate through agri-tourism, through hunting operations, other ways that you can use that CREP land. There are other things that you can do to still make a living. But, believe me, nobody wants to see irrigation go away any more than (slight pause) I hate this thing. But, we’re going to do the very best that we can.”
Heineman: “Congressman, I want to help you out a little here. Dave is a little off-base. The fact of the matter is that out in Holdrege about a year ago, I guess it was, we’d been working on this CREP program -- Department of Agriculture, Game and Parks, Department of Natural Resources, with the US Department of Agriculture – and we had a signing ceremony at Holdrege. I signed on behalf of the State. Congressman Osborne was there to witness that historic agreement. I think that was the right thing to do. Again, water is an issue where we need to work together as Nebraskans, as friends, as neighbors. It is too critical, too important to our future. We all care about irrigators. I mean, I’ve said it over and over again, agriculture is the #1 issue in the State. The #1 industry in this State. In fact, this past week, we just held a news conference. A recent survey shows that, compared to ten years ago, where one in four jobs used to be related to agriculture and agribusiness, it is now one in three. I grew up in the McCook and Benkelman area. I know a little bit about southwest Nebraska and south central Nebraska. We’re concerned about agriculture. We’re concerned about those Main Street businesses and about agribusiness. And, that’s why we needed a short-term solution. Again, we’re all trying to work together – both the Federal delegations and the State government – to try to move this State forward. The one thing we need for sure is a little help from Mother Nature. We can talk about the drought all we want, but we need more moisture. Now, we may get a little break this year in the sense that Colorado has about 40% more snow-melt than they’ve had in previous years, but again, I want to come back and say that water is the issue of the decade. I say that because we’ve got to keep a focus on it for such a long period of time to make sure we protect and maintain and sustain this very precious resource in our State.”
Question: Medicaid costs, we’re hearing, are escalating for the State. What would you do to try to control those costs? And, the second part of the question is what level of privatization may or may not be a part of that solution?
Heineman: Says Medicaid has grown by 10% to 11% per year over the last 20 years. Stated that we now spend more money on Medicaid than we do on the University of Nebraska and higher education and that we need to have a discussion on whether that is the priority or not. Says we have a reform task force that is making suggestions and that one of those suggestions we are already doing and that is to use more generic drugs. “We must consider moving to more home-based care because that is a lower cost.” Thinks the issue is critically important because it will soon overtake the amount of money we spend on all education, and we cannot afford to do that. “But, Medicaid is a very important program. We have got to find a way to lower the costs.”
Osborne: Says Medicaid is about 17% of the State budget and growing at about 10% each year. Feels common sense things we can do, such as home health care to keep people out of a nursing home for 3, 4, or 5 years, reduces costs by about 50%. Thinks we can go together with other States to get a larger drug-purchasing pool. Wellness incentives Get a waiver such as what is done in FL. There, the State buys the person a Medicaid insurance policy. This may not work for children, but is good for the rest, he says. Thinks these programs should save the State substantial amounts of money and that many hospitals are covering Medicaid patients in the emergency room unnecessarily.
Nabity: Doesn’t want our program to be the “Cadillac of the country where sick people move here to tap into our Medicaid.” “We need to eliminate fraud and abuse in the system. A lot of people opt out of their employer-sponsored insurance and try to get on Medicaid. Use technology to crack on down on abuse. Some people abuse the emergency room for minor problems.” Believes in development of co-pays and incentives to go to lower cost places. “All of us have to pick up the bill for those who abuse the system.” Wants a panel and committee of people from the private sector, not from people within the system, and perhaps privatize the system. Thinks should use vouchers to buy private insurance and make more citizens responsible for their own lives.
Governor Heineman, do you want to go to the next question or continue this?
Heineman: “I want to continue and broaden the discussion to the budget. Three items make up about 70% of the State budget:
State aid to education Thinks that Medicaid has grown at such a fast rate that it is overtaking the amount we spend on the University. “This is critical because I believe education should be a top priority.” Feels Medicaid must be brought in control -- that its growth must be cut in half. “Some people are hiring their spouse and putting the children on Medicaid. This is driving up the cost.” Thinks the State must look at long term care and that everyone must appreciate that, even though Medicaid is very important, it cannot be sustained at the current growth rate.
Nabity: “We need leadership in this area. We need a decisive governor. I would find out what other states are doing that works. Then, the governor needs to lead the legislature. Feels that current governor, instead, follows the legislature. “I think it is the job of the governor to lead. I will be a problem solver.” Feels that growth in spending needs to be stopped and that this will not happen with “happy talk.”
Osborne: “We do a lot of studies in Nebraska. A former governor called it admiring the problem. We do that too much.” Says the Federal government has given the States the ability to use a waiver process. “It takes time, but Florida is leading. We should use their example.” “Put many of our Medicaid people on private health insurance.” “We do need to look at the fraud.” Feels there are too many people paying down their assets and then letting the State pick up the bill. Thinks there should be less unnecessary use of the emergency room.
Question: What is the biggest threat Nebraska faces? Is the State prepared for it?
Nabity: “Terrorism against any of our agricultural products -- livestock or commodities. Sometimes, I think the biggest threat to us is our own government. Government is getting in the way of the entrepreneurs and small businesses.” Tells story on sales tax on game birds. “Biggest problem we have is a government running out of control.” “Go to www.fixnebraskanow.com and tell me your story about how government is interfering with your business.”
Osborne: Feels that bio-terrorism is probably the threat -- Foot and Mouth Thinks that terrorists seem to think of symbols and that we need to make sure that we have an inter-operable communication system. Feels that Washington has changed a lot since 9/11, and that we should appreciate the safety we have in Nebraska.
Heineman: Feels that bio-terrorism is the biggest threat. Was Homeland Security director while Lieutenant Governor. Thinks that Nebraska is a model for the country. “We work as a team. We involve a lot of people. I am concerned about it, and hope it never happens. We have gone through drills on the national level.”
Question: With 93 counties and more than 500 cities and towns, Nebraska ranks among the top ten nationally in per capita of government employees. Take a broad look at government structure. If you could take a broad slate, how would you structure local government in Nebraska?
Osborne: Feels we have a lot of government, a lot of employees, and a lot of public power. Says Nebraska has about the same number of employees as Iowa, and Iowa has about twice as many people. Thinks there should be a review of every state agency and the schools. Ask people in the agencies how to make things better. Feels we should control substance abuse, especially methamphetamines, and have a coordinated attack on abuse. Thinks education, interdiction, fund task forces fully, and treatment would help reduce local costs Shared services, shared IT. He is not in favor of combining 20 counties but combining services within counties.
Heineman: Feels we need to think about structure we want. Says he is holding discussions with county and city employees on how to make government more efficient. Greater use of technology. Respect local control, especially in schools. Technology at the state level, combine software licenses. Network Nebraska has reduced internet costs by 60%. More use of distance education. Provide every student a quality education.
Nabity: “The question was about how to downsize government and how that impact employment, correct?” Questioner: “How would you restructure government?” “Let me say to Government employees that I think we can restructure state government without massive unemployment. Maybe 40% of the employees are within 10 years of retiring. If you let everyone go that works for State government, you wouldn’t even make a dent in the expense problems that face this State. So, payroll is not the problem. It is how we do what we do. We have to modernize government.” Thinks we need dramatic reform. “Turn the capital upside down and shake all the loose parts out. State employees can be a part of that solution. We need incentives on how to save money. Partner with business. Reduce redundancy and waste. Modernize welfare programs. Do it across the board so we are not picking on just one area.” “We are doing this to make this State the jewel of the Midwest.”
Heineman: Modernize government; look at shared services. Feels Omaha and Douglas County should merge into one county. Focus on technology.
Nabity: “State government is growing like a tumor, and it is sucking the blood out of our economy. It is out of control. We should have modernized 15 or 20 years ago. Texas did this. Florida and California did. We need a champion from the private sector that will operate the State like a business so we can lower property, income and motor vehicle taxes.” Feels we need to eliminate the death tax, too. “We must have a governor who is a reformer.”
Osborne: Address original question. State employees feel like they are left out of the budget process. Feels it is critical that cities and local government participate in budget process. “We are dropping valuation on ag from 80% to 75%, and there is no talk about who will pick up the difference. It will be local government, and there is no provision to deal with that.” Thinks there has to be better coordination; local people must be a partner.
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