Deb Fischer

Deb Fischer
U.S. Senate, Nebraska
Incumbent
In office
January 3, 2013-present
Term ends
January 3, 2019
Years in position	0
Party	Republican
Predecessor	Ben Nelson (D)
Compensation
Base salary	$174,000/year
Elections and appointments
Last election	November 6, 2012
First elected	November 6, 2012
Next election	November, 2018
Campaign $	$5,253,975
Term limits	N/A
Prior offices
Nebraska State Senate District 43
2005-2013
Education
Bachelor's	University of Nebraska Lincoln, 1988
Personal
Birthday	March 1, 1951
Place of birth	Lincoln, NE
Profession	Rancher, Sunny Slope Ranch
Net worth	$323,501
Religion	Protestant
Websites
Office website
Personal website
Campaign website

Deb Fischer (b. March 1, 1951) is a Republican member of the United States Senate from the state of Nebraska. She was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2012.

Fischer defeated former Governor and U.S. Senator Bob Kerrey and independent candidate Russell Anderson in the November general election. Incumbent Senator Ben Nelson (D) did not seek re-election in 2012. Fischer succeeded him on January 3, 2013.

Prior to her election to the Senate, Fischer served as a member of the Nebraska Unicameral representing District 43, and an Executive Board Member, from 2005-2013.

Biography

Born March 1, 1951 in Lincoln, Nebraska, Sen. Fischer is a cattle rancher from Valentine, Nebraska. Her experience prior to election to the Nebraska State Legislature include being a member of the Sandhills Cattle Association, the Nebraska Cattlemen, the Valentine Rural High School Board of Education, the AgBuilders of Nebraska, the Nebraska Department of Agriculture’s Rural Rehabilitation Review Board, the Nebraska Agricultural Leadership Council and the Governor’s Ag Advisory Council.

Fischer earned her Bachelors degree in education from University of Nebraska Lincoln in 1988.

Fischer has worked as a rancher for Sunny Slope Ranch since 1972.

Fischer began her political career on numerous boards and committees, such as the Nebraska School Finance Committee, Nebraska Department of Agricultural's Rural Rehabilitation Review Board, National School Boards Association National Nominating Committee, the Governor's Agricultural Advisory Council, the Republican Party, the Cherry County School District #5 Board of Education, and the Cherry County Visitor Promotion Committee. In 1990, she joined the Valentine Rural High School Board of Education on which she presently serves. Fischer served on the Nebraska Coordinating Commission for Post-Secondary Education in 2000 and in 2005 she joined the Nebraska State Legislature as senator.

Issues

Campaign themes

2012

On her campaign website, Fischer lists nine issues. They are:

• 2nd Amendment Rights

• On her website, Fischer says, "I’m a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment and I’ve opposed every attempt by liberals to intrude on our right to own firearms. In the Nebraska Legislature, I have an A+ rating from the National Rifle Association. In the U.S. Senate, I will continue to be an advocate for gun owners and our constitutional rights."

• Agriculture

• On her website, Fischer says, "As someone involved in a family ranch business, I know firsthand the challenges and responsibilities people in agriculture face. Agriculture plays a crucial role in our Nebraska economy and provides a stable and safe food supply for our nation and for the world. As a U.S. Senator, I can be a key ally for Nebraska agriculture."

• Energy

• On her website, Fischer says, "Being dependent on oil coming from countries who are – or who soon could be – enemies of the United States just isn’t wise. I support efforts to produce new sources of energy from wind and solar power and want to advance those technologies so they can become competitive with fossil fuels. In the meantime, I support efforts to increase efficient energy use and to use new technologies to reduce energy consumption. I support renewable energy sources, including ethanol, but I still believe the United States needs to be committed to exploring and recovering all of the potential energy sources we have here at home. In times where gasoline is approaching four dollars per gallon, I strongly believe that we need promote responsible oil drilling in our country."

• Health Care

• On her website, Fischer says, "The government takeover of health care supported by President Obama and Senator Ben Nelson will move medical care in the wrong direction. As your U.S. Senator, I will vote to repeal Obamacare."

• Illegal Immigration

• On her website, Fischer says, "Keeping our borders secure is a primary responsibility of the federal government. If elected, I will support increased agents/troops on our southern border to beef up security. I support the E-verify system of validating legal immigrants when they apply for a new job. I will not tolerate those who break immigration laws and enter our country illegally."

• National Security

• On her website, Fischer says, "The most important job of the federal government is to keep us safe and secure. Our brave men and women in uniform perform their duty to protect all of us admirably and effectively. In the Senate, I will not play politics with our security and our troops. I will give our military the tools they need to keep America safe and free, and I will ensure our troops and their families are supported and that their needs are met."

• Protecting Life

• On her website, Fischer says, "I am proud to be pro-life and to have had a solid pro-life voting record during my seven years in the Nebraska Legislature. I will continue to support a culture of life by supporting pro-life policies in U.S. Senate."

• Small Businesses

• On her website, Fischer says, "Congress needs to set legislative priorities that will reward entrepreneurship, growth and innovation. When elected to the U.S. Senate, Deb Fischer will have five legislative priorities that she will address to give our small businesses a chance to succeed and create jobs."

• Taxes and Spending

• On her website, Fischer says, "Our federal debt is almost $15 trillion dollars. That is just unacceptable. We simply can not continue to print money to pay our national debt. Our first priority must be to cut federal spending. We cannot tax our way to prosperity like President Obama has proposed. The appetite for big spending programs is strong in Washington D.C. and we need to change politics-as-usual. That’s why I strongly support a balanced budget amendment at the federal level."

Drones filibuster

See also: Rand Paul filibuster of John Brennan's CIA Nomination in March 2013

On March 6, 2013, Senator Rand Paul (R) led a 13-hour filibuster of President Obama's CIA Director nominee, John Brennan. Paul started the filibuster in order to highlight his concerns about the administration's drone policies. In particular, Paul said he was concerned about whether a drone could be used to kill an American citizen within the United States border, without any due process involved. Paul and other civil liberties activists have been critical that President Obama did not offer a clear response to the question. A total of 14 senators joined Paul in the filibuster -- 13 Republicans and one Democrat.

According to the website Breitbart, Fischer was one of 30 Republican senators who did not support the filibuster.

The day after the filibuster, Attorney General Eric Holder sent a letter to Paul, responding to the filibuster. Holder wrote, "Does the president have the authority to use a weaponized drone to kill an American not engaged in combat on U.S. soil? The answer to that is no."

Committee assignments

U.S. Senate

2013-2014

Fischer serves on the following Senate committees:

• United States Senate Committee on Armed Services
  • Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
  • Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support
  • Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities
• United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
  • Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security
  • Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance
  • Subcommittee on Competitiveness, Innovation, and Export Promotion
  • Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet
  • Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security
• United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
  • Subcommittee on Water and Wildlife
  • Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure
  • Subcommittee on Superfund, Toxics and Environmental Health
• United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
• United States Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

State Legislature

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Fischer served on these committees:

• Revenue
• Transportation and Telecommunications, Chair

2009-2010

In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Fischer served on these committees:

• Natural Resources Committee
• Transportation and Telecommunications Committee

Elections

2012

See also: United States Senate elections in Nebraska, 2012

Fischer won election to the U.S. Senate in 2012. Fischer defeated Bob Kerrey (D) and Russell Anderson (I) in the general election. She defeated Jon Bruning, Sharyn Elander, Pat Flynn, Don Stenberg and Spencer Zimmerman in the May 15 Republican primary. She had been trailing in the polls heading into the primary. Outside groups spent more than $2 million on advertising, with more than $1 million going into attack ads against Bruning.

U.S. Senate, Nebraska, General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Deb Fischer	57.8%	455,593
	Democratic	Bob Kerrey	42.2%	332,979
Total Votes				788,572
Source: Nebraska Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

US Senate - Nebraska Republican Primary, 2012
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Deb Fischer	6.7%	79,941
Jon Bruning	58.6%	701,067
Don Stenberg	30.2%	361,727
Pat Flynn	4.3%	51,413
Spencer Zimmerman	0.1%	1,601
Sharyn Elander	0.1%	1,294
Total Votes		1,197,043

2008

On November 4, 2008, Fischer won re-election to the 43rd District Seat in the Nebraska Senate unopposed.

Nebraska State Senate, District 43 (2008)
Candidates		Votes
Deb Fischer		13,756

Issues

Endorsements

On September 21, 2011, Fischer announced that the following thirteen State Senators in the Nebraska Unicameral have endorsed her candidacy for the U.S. Senate:

• Greg Adams
• Brad Ashford
• Kathy Campbell
• Mark Christensen
• Abbie Cornett
• Galen Hadley
• Thomas Hansen
• John Harms
• Lavon Heidemann
• Bob Krist
• Dave Pankonin
• Pete Pirsch
• John Wightman

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Fischer is available dating back to 2012. Based on available campaign finance records, Fischer raised a total of $5,253,975 during that time period. This information was last updated on April 24, 2013.

Deb Fischer's Campaign Contribution History
Year	Office	Result	Contributions
2012	U.S.Senate (Nebraska)		$5,253,975
Grand Total Raised			$5,253,975

2012

Above is a breakdown of funds for the 2012 election, according to source.

Fischer won election to the U.S. Senate election in 2012. During that election cycle, Fischer's campaign committee raised a total of $5,253,975 and spent $5,146,461.

United States Senate, 2012 - Deb Fischer Campaign Contributions
Total Raised	$5,253,975
Total Spent	$5,146,461
Total Raised by Election Runner-up	$5,818,391
Total Spent by Election Runner-up	$6,116,555
Top contributors to Deb Fischer's campaign committee
Senate Conservatives Fund	$83,584
Elliott Management	$29,413
Hawkins Construction	$20,000
Tenaska Energy	$18,250
Pinnacle Bancorp	$15,500
Top 5 industries that contributed to campaign committee
Leadership PACs	$318,534
Retired	$159,927
Commercial Banks	$105,050
Agricultural Services/Products	$86,650
Health Professionals	$83,500

2008

In 2008, Fischer collected $68,927 in donations.

Her five largest contributors in 2008 were:

Donor	Amount
Nebraska Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors	$2,500
Nebraska Chamber Of Commerce and Industry	$2,244
Nebraska Association of Nurse Anesthetists	$2,000
Nebraska Realtors Association	$1,500
Nebraska Farm Bureau	$1,500

Analysis

Lifetime voting record

See also: Lifetime voting records of United States Senators and Representatives

According to the website GovTrack, Fischer missed 0 of 96 roll call votes from Jan 2013 to Apr 2013, which is 0.0% of votes during that period. This is better than the median of 1.7% among the lifetime records of senators currently serving.

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Contact information

Sen. Deb Fischer
District 43
Room 1110
P.O. Box 94604
State Capitol
Lincoln, NE 68509
Phone: (402) 471-2628
Email: dfischer@leg.ne.gov

Personal

Fischer (née Strobel) has been married to Bruce Fischer since 1972; they have three children. She is a part-time rancher by trade.

External links

Suggest a link

• Official U.S. Senate website

• Social media:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
• Biographies:
  • U.S. Congress
  • Wikipedia
• Political profiles:
  • GovTrack
  • OpenCongress
  • Project Vote Smart
  • Roll Call
  • CongressMerge
• Financial:
  • FEC
  • OpenSecrets.org
  • Follow The Money
• Interest group ratings:
  • Project Vote Smart
• Issue positions:
  • On The Issues
  • Project Vote Smart
• Legislation:
  • Congress.gov
• Public statements:
  • Project Vote Smart
• Voting record:
  • Project Vote Smart
  • Washington Post
• Media appearances:
  • C-SPAN
• Media coverage:
  • Washington Post

References

Political offices
Preceded by Ben Nelson (D)	United States Senate - Nebraska 2013-present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by -	Nebraska State Senate District 43 2005–2013	Succeeded by Al Davis