| A lifelong Nebraskan, Deb Fischer is the senior senator from Nebraska. Senator Fischer was first elected to the U.S. Senate in November 2012, becoming the first Nebraska woman elected to a full term and the first Nebraska state senator elected directly after service in the state legislature. She was reelected for a second term in 2018, and in November 2024, Nebraskans voted to send her back to the Senate for a third term. During the 119th Congress, she serves as deputy whip under Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), working to present the concerns of Nebraskans directly to Republican Senate leadership. She also serves on six important Senate committees- Armed Services, Appropriations, Commerce, Agriculture, Rules, and Ethics.
Senator Fischer believes the first duty of Congress is to defend the nation. As a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, she is committed to defending against growing threats to our homeland and our allies. She serves as Chair of the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, which focuses on America's nuclear triad and associated delivery systems, the emergence of space as a warfighting domain, and defending the nation against increasingly sophisticated missile threats. The subcommittee directly oversees two unified combatant commands- U.S. Strategic Command, headquartered at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, and U.S. Space Command.
Senator Fischer also serves on the Appropriations Committee, which helps shape the federal government's spending policies. This position ensures that Nebraskans have greater input into the programs and agencies that directly affect their lives. Senator Fischer is committed to leveraging this role to rein in irresponsible spending and benefit Nebraska.
As a member of the Commerce Committee, Senator Fischer continues to lead on issues related to our nation's infrastructure. Senator Fischer is particularly committed to improving roads, bridges, and broadband access, priorities dating back to her time in the Nebraska Legislature. She recently was appointed Chair of the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and Media which has broad jurisdiction over communications matters, including telephone, internet, satellite, broadcast, wireline and wireless broadband, spectrum management, and public safety communications.
Senator Fischer also sits on the Agriculture Committee. Her service on this committee is vital for Nebraska, and she knows agriculture is the economic engine of our state. Senator Fischer is a Nebraska cattle rancher with over 40 years of real-life experience working with agriculture producers and rural and economic development groups across the state. As Nebraska's voice on this committee, she works to cut regulations negatively affecting agriculture and open up new trade opportunities for farmers and ranchers.
Before her election to the U.S. Senate, Fischer served in the Nebraska Unicameral, representing the 43rd Legislative District from 2005 to 2013. During her time in the state legislature, she chaired the Transportation and Telecommunications Committee. She was also a member of the Revenue Committee, the Natural Resources Committee, and the Executive Board.
Born and raised in Lincoln, Nebraska, Senator Fischer attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and graduated with a degree in education. She and her husband, Bruce, have a ranching business in the Nebraska Sandhills. They have three sons and six grandchildren. |