Scott Kleeb in 2008 Nebraska Senate Debate between Mike Johanns & Scott Kleeb
On Health Care:
Shouldn’t phase out adult mental health care services
Kleeb accused Johanns of “zeroing out” the mental health budget during his tenure as governor, when the state phased out adult mental health care services at the regional center in Hastings and began doing so at the regional center in Norfolk.
Johanns said that Kleeb was “simply wrong” and that neither he nor state lawmakers would have allowed that to happen.
Kleeb quickly took aim at Johanns during his opening statement, criticizing the former governor for his role in phasing out the
state’s regional centers. In 2004, Johanns supported a proposal to develop more community-based programs for the mentally ill. As part of that plan, lawmakers lessened the roles of the regional centers and spent the money from institutional treatment
on community-based mental health services.
Johanns responded that more than $26 million was budgeted to help with the transition. “We would never have gotten a bill passed with that idea. It would (have been) just cruel beyond cruel,” said Johanns.
Source: 2008 Nebraska Senate Debate reported in Omaha World-Herald
Oct 7, 2008
On Health Care:
Give all taxpayers access to federal coverage like Congress
Johanns took aim at Kleeb’s repeated promise to give all taxpayers access to the federal health care coverage provided to Congress and other federal employees.
Johanns said that was a “nice sound bite,” but said it would cost the nation $480 billion.
Kleeb responded that at a time when government was spending billions to rescue
Wall Street, he thought the federal government could help insure the uninsured. It is estimated that about 200,000 Nebraskans lack health insurance, Kleeb said.
Kleeb also argued that Nebraskans already pay for the uninsured, whose medical bills are passed down by hospitals and doctors to other consumers. “We actually can afford it because we’re paying it,” Kleeb said.
Source: 2008 Nebraska Senate Debate reported in Omaha World-Herald
Oct 7, 2008
On Budget & Economy:
Bush & Johanns created current failed policies
Kleeb frequently tried to link Johanns to failed policies in Washington and Lincoln. Kleeb said the only way to change the status quo was to elect new candidates like him. “The greatest risk we have is that nothing will change,” said
Kleeb, who blamed the nation’s budget deficit, energy troubles and economic woes on the Bush administration, which once included Johanns.
Source: 2008 Nebraska Senate debate reported in Omaha World-Herald
Sep 16, 2008
On Government Reform:
Johanns wastefully spent $20M studying crawdads in Australia
Kleeb blamed the nation’s budget deficit and economic woes on the Bush administration, which once included Johanns. One example, Kleeb said, of wasteful spending under Johanns was $20 million spent on travel by USDA employees. That expense included a
trip to Australia to study crawdads.Johanns said if Kleeb were serious about changing the leadership, he should campaign against Washington veterans like U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa. “I doubt he’ll do that,” Johanns said.
Source: 2008 Nebraska Senate debate reported in Omaha World-Herald
Sep 16, 2008
On Health Care:
Alternative community treatment not adequately funded
The candidates clashed over Johanns’ record as governor in closing state psychiatric institutions in Hastings and Norfolk to shift treatment to nonhospital community settings.
Kleeb called that failed leadership because alternative community treatment was not adequately funded, leaving authorities with no place to house mentally ill people taken into custody.
He cited allegations of inhumane treatment of residents of the Beatrice State Developmental Center.Johanns said Kleeb made a “major mistake” by calling the Beatrice center a “mental health” facility because it treats the developmentally disabled.
He said the policy change allowed Nebraska to access millions in additional federal dollars, allowing 9,000 more people to receive mental health services.
Source: 2008 Nebraska Senate debate reported in Omaha World-Herald
Sep 16, 2008
On Budget & Economy:
Return to pay-as-you-go spending
The state of the nation’s economy was an issue. “We need to return to pay-as-you-go spending. Which means what we do in our family budgets everyday and that means not spend more money than we have,” Kleeb
said. “Grow the economy, pull back on spending and good things are going to happen,” Johanns said. “And if you sustain that over a period of time you will not only balance the budget but just as I did as mayor you can actually start to rebuild that.”
Source: 2008 Nebraska Senate debate reported in Lincoln News
Aug 24, 2008
On Energy & Oil:
Always a supporter of ethanol; along with solar & wind
Johanns claimed Kleeb was quoted as saying that “corn based ethanol will not be a part of our future.” Johanns noted that new breakthroughs in corn genetics will soon bring a 40% increase in the yield of dryland corn, making corn-based ethanol even more
viable.Kleeb claimed he was misquoted and has “always been a supporter of ethanol.” However, he believes the country also needs to develop other “green” energy solutions, such as solar, wind and other technologies such as cellulosic ethanol production
Source: [Xref Johanns] 2008 Nebraska Senate debate
Aug 24, 2008
On Energy & Oil:
Supports Warner-Lieberman Climate Security Act
Republican Mike Johanns, Democrat Scott Kleeb and Green Party candidate Steve Larrick all discussed the important issues of energy, climate change and renewable fuels - although most of the sparks flew between
Johanns and Kleeb. The biggest clash between the two came over the proposed Warner-Lieberman Climate Security Act, which Johanns opposes and Kleeb supports.
Source: [Xref Johanns] 2008 Nebraska Senate debate
Aug 24, 2008
On Homeland Security:
We have forgotten how to use diplomacy
“We need to scale down the dialog of anger toward the rest of the world. I think that the invasion of Iraq was based on false premises,” Larrick declared. “We have tremendous potential to actually use diplomacy in ways even Ronald Reagan used that we
have forgotten now, and the current administration has forgotten,” Kleeb said.
“We should never negotiate with rogue nations without preconditions. You squander the prestige and the power of the American presidency when you do that,” Johanns said.
Source: 2008 Nebraska Senate debate reported in Lincoln News
Aug 24, 2008
On Jobs:
Johanns left Secretary of Agriculture job & let down farmers
Kleeb accused Johanns of letting down the agriculture community when he left his job as Agriculture Secretary. “It troubles me that our number one industry is agriculture and that our
farmers and ranchers didn’t even get a two weeks notice before the secretary quit on them,” Kleeb attacked.
Source: 2008 Nebraska Senate debate reported in Lincoln News
Aug 24, 2008
On Principles & Values:
Always keep Nebraska’s interest first
We need to make sure that the next senator from the United States from Nebraska will always keep Nebraska’s interest first, Kleeb said. “Focus on your small towns--I did it as governor; I did it as secretary,” Johanns said.
Source: 2008 Nebraska Senate debate reported in Lincoln News
Aug 24, 2008
On Tax Reform:
Supports $1B in tax funds for research on celluosic ethanol
Johanns said, “Scott said corn-based ethanol will not be a part of our future. I could not disagree more.”“I don’t know why, as Secretary of Agriculture, he urged the president to veto the Farm Bill, which included $1 billion of research for
celluosic ethanol,” Kleeb countered.
Johanns said he makes no excuses for vetoing the bill. “I would do it again. You put a tax increase in a farm bill I will veto it just like I vetoed the state budget when they boxed it up with tax increases.”
Source: 2008 Nebraska Senate debate reported in Lincoln News
Aug 24, 2008
Page last updated: Dec 02, 2018