In the News

Colorado lawmakers support bill to protect Air National Guard fighter squadrons

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Colorado lawmakers are part of a bipartisan effort to protect the nation’s Air National Guard fighter squadrons. This spring, six house members, including Democratic Rep. Jason Crow and Republican Rep. Doug Lamborn introduced the Fighter Force Preservation and Recapitalization Act. The goal of the bill is simple: ensure a minimum number of Air National Guard squadrons. Without…

To stay employed, military spouses continue to battle their highly-mobile lifestyles

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The same challenges in federal retirement processing have been around for years. Reliance on a paper-based system, insufficient staffing and incomplete applications. Those remain the top three barriers to getting federal employees’ retirement applications processed on time. A new report from the Office of Personnel Management's Office of Inspector General said the agency must…

Bacon emphasizes importance of farm bill as lines get longer at Omaha food banks

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OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - Many people may not have paid much attention to a vote by federal lawmakers just a few days ago, which extended the 2018 farm bill. But with the growing need for help with food in the Omaha metro, there are some who are keeping a close eye on and educating others about the importance of the multi-year legislation. The line around San Andres Lutheran Church in South…

New bill offers career flexibility to military spouses employed by federal government

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Emmalee Gruesen considers herself a “a unicorn” among military spouses working for the federal government. She’s been able to keep steady employment as a program analyst with the Navy over the last eight years despite four moves with her husband, a naval officer. Instead, many military spouses have been forced to resign their federal jobs because of their spouses’ transfers, losing out…

A new bill will guard against lethal letters in US prisons

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On March 17, 2022, a Bureau of Prisons employee was diligently inspecting the day’s deliveries in the mailroom of USP Thomson, a federal prison in Illinois. As the officer sorted through hundreds of packages and letters addressed to inmates, he began sweating and feeling short of breath. Soon, he was vomiting and had to be rushed to a nearby hospital. Tests revealed the officer had…

Restoring 'Doomsday' Plane Ensures US Response To Adversary’s Nuclear Attack Is Annihilation: Congressman

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Years later, Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) again knows the sentinel’s loneliness, his repeated calls to restore the Air Force’s Cold War Era “Looking Glass” program unheeded. But that may be changing. During a Nov. 15 House Armed Services Committee review of a congressional commission’s report assessing the nation’s nuclear forces, fears surfaced that potential adversaries—namely…

Facing The Future | Strategies for Fiscal Sustainability in a Divided Congress

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This week on Facing the Future we heard from three members of Congress who took part in a virtual discussion on November 13 titled, “Working Toward a Sustainable Fiscal Future in a Divided Congress.” The three congressmen, Don Bacon (R-NE), Jared Golden (D-ME), and Scott Peters (D-CA) were recipients of The Concord Coalition’s 2023 Economic Patriot Award, which is given for…

Bacon sponsors bill maintaining lower student-to-teacher ratios for DOD schools

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U.S. Department of Defense Education Activity (DODEA) schools around the world would be able to maintain current student-to-teacher ratios through the 2029-2030 DODEA academic year under bipartisan legislation sponsored on Nov. 8 by U.S. Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE). The Success for Military Connected Students Act, H.R. 6287, which is cosponsored by U.S. Rep. Jeff Jackson (D-NC), would extend…