Pikeun ngabebaskeun saharita
18 Januari, 2024
Kontak: José Flores, Jr., Diréktur Komunikasi
402-215-1052, jose@nebraskademocrats.org
***Nebraska Democratic Party News Press Release for 1-18-2024***
Nebraska Democratic Party Response to Governor Pillen’s State of the State Address
LINCOLN, NE – The Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb issues the following statement regarding Governor Pillen’s State of the State Address today:
“Governor Pillen showed yet again how out of touch he remains with the vast majority of Nebraskans. Earlier this year he bragged about a childcare “solution” of having employees watch each other’s kids. And this morning Pillen gives more out-of-touch ideas for big problems facing our state.
The Governor is still rejecting funds to feed kids with the summer EBT program, labeling it welfare. However, he accepted similar “welfare” when it benefited his corporation during COVID in the millions.
Pillen wants to provide 40% property tax relief by making us the highest sales-tax state in the nation. He is proposing a massive shift in taxes on the backs of working and middle-class families.
The Governor talks about being intentional with our spending but had no issue wasting over 1 million in COVID funds and sent our National Guard, in the name of security, to Texas to lift his profile among his Republican peers.
One of his top priorities, repeated during his address, is supposedly protecting our kids but he brushes off the dangerous levels of nitrates in our water supplies from Omaha to Scottsbluff.
Pillen’s support of shifting our taxes from public schools to private institutions is unpopular and irresponsible. Yet he continues to double down in a typical Republican playbook of eroding public trust in public spaces.
Make no mistake, Pillen wants to ban abortion in our state and is against all efforts to enshrine reproductive rights and private medical decisions in Nebraska’s State Constitution.
Attracting and retaining a qualified workforce is something we agree should be a focus if we are to compete as a state. However, when you support legislation to limit women’s reproductive rights, offer no realistic solutions to the abysmal housing and childcare issue, wage war on books instead of hunger, offer state employees no options but mandatory executive orders, and are unapologetic about xenophobic and anti-LGBTQ remarks, Governor Pillen will get exactly what his words convey – a Nebraska that is not welcoming and where young people can’t wait to get away.
As the Democratic Party, we stand with women to make their own reproductive healthcare decisions. We stand with public schools and teachers. We want to ban hunger, not books. We want more clean energy that brings Nebraska less pollution. We want a criminal justice system that reforms individuals to become productive citizens. We want a state government that is transparent about its intentions and communication. We want a state that meets the moment with big ideas instead of punching down on those who need our help and love, be it ranchers, struggling small businesses, or our immigrant community. Our candidates will bring this message to the doors as we work to turn around this state and offer an alternative to the Republican party of cruelty.”
###
