A bipartisan group of House lawmakers released a $66.3 billion foreign aid and border package Friday that backers hope will be an alternative to the Senate-passed national security supplemental. The newly unveiled legislation includes military-only assistance for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan — a departure from the $95.3 billion bill championed by senators that also has money designated… Read more »

Bacon and Colleagues Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Protect U.S. Farmland From Foreign Ownership Washington – Today, Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE-02) along with Reps. Mark Alford (R-MO-04), Michael Bost (R-IL-12), Salud Carbajal (D-CA-24), Henry Cuellar (D-TX-28), Brad Finstad (R-MN-01), Ashley Hinson (R-IA-02), Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA-06), Dan Newhouse (R-WA-04), and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA-19)… Read more »

Back in the Cold War years, the Soviet nuclear threat compelled the Strategic Air Command to keep an EC-135 command-post plane airborne continuously — for 29 years. SAC called the plane “Looking Glass,” because its communications systems mirrored the ones on the ground at SAC’s Offutt Air Force Base headquarters. A general officer on board could launch nuclear weapons even if the… Read more »

The senior enlisted leaders for each military service, including the top noncommissioned officer in the military, will testify in front of Congress at the end of the month about quality-of-life issues for troops -- a raft of recently exposed problems including squalid living conditions, subpar dining facilities and access to health care. The leaders will appear before… Read more »

OMAHA — Local World War II hero Charles Jackson French will soon have his name on a naval vessel. The U.S. Navy announced last week that an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer will be named after French. Construction of the ship is set to begin in 2026, with delivery in 2031.  One of Charles Jackson French’s nephews, Roscoe Harris, speaks to a crowd of more than 50 who… Read more »

North Platte’s downtown Federal Building would be named for the late U.S. Rep. Virginia Smith of Chappell under bills introduced Thursday by Nebraska’s congressional delegation. Sen. Pete Ricketts of Omaha and current 3rd District Rep. Adrian Smith of Gering introduced bills in their respective houses of Congress to name the former 1964 post office building at 300 E. Third St. the… Read more »

Republicans in the House of Representatives and Senate railed over the Department of Defense not publicly disclosing Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin‘s hospital stay this week until Friday. The Pentagon announced late Friday that Austin had been at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for much of the week, beginning on Monday and finally… Read more »

Republicans are demanding answers from the Department of Defense after learning about Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's hospitalization that was kept hidden for days.  GOP lawmakers are calling on Austin to testify or even be ousted from his position over reports that the Pentagon waited several days to inform top officials that the Biden staffer was in the hospital.  Late… Read more »

Congress directed the Air Force and Space Force in the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act to define their future force. The call to action aims to force the services to fully articulate their long-term vision and needs—perhaps justifying increased funding.   Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), a retired Air Force brigadier general and ISR pilot, introduced that 2050… Read more »

Bacon Appointed by House Leadership to International Leadership Office  Washington – Rep. Don Bacon (NE-02) has been appointed by Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise to the Congressional Office for International Leadership (COIL), which administers the Open World program. Open World is a ten-day program where members of Congress engage with their constituents… Read more »