1. United States
2. Neb.
3. Letter

Dear Senator Ricketts, Senator Fischer, and Representative Bacon, As a Nebraskan deeply concerned about the direction of our country, I am writing to express my disappointment in your support for the 2025 GOP budget, which prioritizes tax cuts for the wealthy while slashing essential services for working families, rural communities, and vulnerable populations. Senator Ricketts, with an estimated net worth of $180.5 million, you are among the wealthiest members of Congress. Senator Fischer and Representative Bacon, your estimated net worths of $4.83 million and $1.71 million, respectively, also place you well above the average American household. Yet, you all support a budget that disproportionately benefits the ultra-wealthy while cutting Medicaid, food assistance, and rural healthcare programs that many everyday Nebraskans rely on.  The so-called “Big Beautiful Budget” includes sweeping tax cuts that overwhelmingly benefit the top 1%, while proposing deep reductions to Medicaid and other safety net programs. These cuts will devastate rural hospitals, limit access to care for low-income families, and strain already underfunded public services across Nebraska. The budget also grants the executive branch unprecedented discretion over federal spending, raising serious concerns about transparency and accountability. Representative Bacon, your public statements suggest you support the budget because it preserved military funding. While national defense is important, it should not come at the expense of healthcare for children, seniors, and people with disabilities. Senator Ricketts, your framing of the vote as a binary choice between a shutdown and passing this budget blatantly ignores the possibility of negotiating a more balanced, humane alternative. Senator Fischer, your silence on your vote is equally troubling. Nebraskans deserve to know why you supported a budget that will fundamentally reshape the social contract in favor of the wealthy and powerful. You’re all supporting policies that deepen inequality and harm the very people you were elected to represent. Nebraskans need leaders who fight for working families, not just people in your privileged tax brackets.