Two of the top three Republican candidates for United States Senate have released financial disclosure forms early, ahead of the Tuesday primary. One won’t.

Republican Deb Fischer, a state senator from Valentine, says the financial disclosure forms required of candidates should be released prior to the deadline, which happens to be Tuesday, primary election day. Fischer is calling on all Republican candidates of United States Senate to release the forms prior to May 15th.

“And if we don’t have that transparency on candidates available to voters before the primary, that’s not right. That’s not the way that we should be operating,” Fischer tells Nebraska Radio Network.

Fischer has released her report.

Jon Bruning, the state Attorney General, says he has released financial disclosures every year since 1995, when he first won election to public office. Will he release this year’s report early?

“They’ve already got mine,” Bruning replies. “I released it on May 15th of last year and I’ll realize it on May 15th of this year.”

Don Stenberg, the state Treasurer, released his in March.

Click here for Federal Election Commission candidate financial webpage.

AUDIO: Brent Martin reports [:50]

Deb Fischer talks to a voter during campaign stop/Photo courtesy of Fischer campaign

State Senator Deb Fischer wants to make the leap from Lincoln to Washington.

Fischer, a state senator from Valentine, says she’s no career politician, which she counts as a plus in the Republican primary for United States Senate.

“People are tired of a career politician. We need to change the type of person that we send back to Washington. If we don’t change the type of person we send back, we’re going to end up with the same failed policies that we’ve seen,” Fischer tells Nebraska Radio Network. “We’re over $15 trillion in debt. That’s not going to be addressed unless we change the type of person we send back.”

Fischer wants the federal health care law approved by Congress and signed into law by the president two years ago repealed if the United States Supreme Court doesn’t rule it unconstitutional. She says the focus needs to shift from the current debate on health insurance toward a better outcome for health care. Fischer says the country needs to rethink the issue and try to determine what is best for the patient.

“I think we need to decide how we are going to provide for accessible and affordable health care. What is that going to look like? We should be looking at the financing of it, of course, but we need to look at the delivery and the outcome, too,” according to Fischer.

Fischer believes that most of the health care issues that have been debated in Washington would be better left to the states to decide. She says the Nebraska legislature has a good record of addressing health care concerns raised by the state’s residents.

The federal government, according to Fischer, has a limited role to play in spurring economic growth. She says that the best thing the federal government can do to spur job growth is to get out of the way and allow small businesses to create jobs.

“Small businesses are the economic engine in Nebraska and also in the country. In order to do that, the federal government needs to back off some,” Fischer states.

Fischer says two things can help right away: reduce regulations and reform the tax code. Fischer says there has been tremendous regulatory overreach by the federal government, demonstrated in the Labor Department’s ruling on child labor of the farm, a ruling it back off of after it sparked a firestorm of controversy. She accuses the Obama Administration of creating uncertainty that has stunted job growth.

Fischer touts herself as a staunch conservative that believes in a limited government.

“There are 44 job training programs within nine agencies at the federal level. Is that necessary?” Fischer asks. “We’ve just seen such an expansion of government and such an overreach of government that we need to eliminate those programs.”

Fischer says the federal government needs to focus on the core business of government and allow the states and the private sector to handle the rest.

The leading candidates in the Republican primary are Fischer, Jon Bruning and Don Stenberg. Also on the ballot are Pat Flynn, Spencer Zimmerman and Sharyn Elander.

AUDIO: Brent Martin reports [:45]

Mitt Romney speaks in Omaha/Tom Stanton photo

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, during a stop in Omaha today, accused President Barack Obama of falling back on failed liberal policies.

Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, gave brief remarks at Rick’s Café Boatyard after attending a private fund-raiser at the Omaha Hilton. The fund-raiser, hosted by Gov. Dave Heineman, reportedly raised more than $800,000, a record for a political fund raising event in Nebraska.

Romney told supporters gathered at Rick’s that the country is going in the wrong direction.

“I’m concerned about where we’re headed with this president,” Romney said. “The governor said he’s a nice guy. The problem with the president is that his policies are a throwback to the liberal ideas of the past and those ideas didn’t work in the past, they sure haven’t worked in the last four years and they’re not going to work in the future.”

Romney accused the president of falling back on liberal policies that contend the country can borrow money without consequences.

“But, now, this president has put in place some $5 trillion of debt and if he’s in office for another four years, we’ll have about another $4 trillion and that’s something we’re not going to pay back. My generation will be long gone. It’s these young kids and kids coming out of school today who are going to pay that. It’s unacceptable. It’s bad economics. It’s bad policy. I think it’s immoral for us to pass those burdens on to our kids,” Romney stated.

Romney said the country must take advantage of all the energy resources at its disposal. He made passing reference to support for the Keystone XL pipeline.

“This is an inventive nation and if we have a government and leaders who take advantage of our resources and draw on the patriotism and the innovative spirit of the American people, we will continue to lead the world and be that shining city on the hill,” Romney said. “I’m committed to it. I know how to do it. I’ll get it done with your help. Give me your vote on Tuesday. Give me your vote in November. We’re taking back the White House and taking back America.”

Romney, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul are on the Republican presidential primary ballot in Nebraska to be held Tuesday.

Tom Stanton of KFAB contributed to this report.

AUDIO: Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speech in Omaha. [12:30]

Don Stenberg greets voters/Photo courtesy of Stenberg campaign

State Treasurer Don Stenberg pins his hopes for United States Senate on a long career as a conservative.

Stenberg says his life-long devotion to conservative principles should appeal to Republican voters during Tuesday’s primary.

“We’ve seen too many people go to Washington that talk conservative in their home states and, then, we they got to Washington they forgot why they were there,” Stenberg tells Nebraska Radio Network. “Based on my record, Nebraskans can be sure that I’ll vote as conservatively in Washington as I talk in Nebraska.”

Stenberg questions the conservative credentials of Republican front-runner Jon Bruning, saying that Bruning, the state Attorney General, has been inconsistent in his views. Stenberg has criticized Bruning both in debates and his advertising campaign.

Stenberg has been harshly critical of the health care overhaul approved by Congress and signed into law by President Obama in 2010. He says he hopes that the Supreme Court will strike the law down, but if it doesn’t he will vote to repeal it if elected to the Senate. Stenberg insists it isn’t a health care issue.

“The issue is health insurance and how to pay for it. So, what we need to do is focus on making health insurance affordable,” according to Stenberg.

Stenberg says there are a variety of things Congress can do to make health insurance more affordable. He advocates allowing insurance companies to sell across state lines to increase competition and providing more flexibility to write policies. Stenberg, who is the former state Attorney General, also advocates tort reform to lessen the need for doctors to order additional tests as a protection against lawsuits. He adds that consumers should be allowed to create health savings accounts and purchase health insurance with high deductibles to keep costs down.

Stenberg complains that Congress vastly exceeded its constitutional authority when it enacted health care, essentially forcing all Americans to purchase health insurance.

Limited government is a theme consistently struck by Stenberg. He says the federal government does have a role to play in the economy, but it’s a limited role. Stenberg points to the $787 billion economic stimulus plan pushed by the president and approved by Congress.

“It totally failed. In fact, by taking money out of the private sector along with the new increased regulations of the Obama Administration have led to a very slow recovery,” Stenberg says. “I think what we need to do is cut back on federal spending so that that frees up dollars for the private sector.”

The private sector is the key, according to Stenberg.

“What the federal government can do is create a climate that encourages and supports individual initiative and free enterprise,” according to Stenberg. “That includes lower corporate tax rates, rolling back the heavy burden of federal regulation on businesses all across the country.”

Stenberg suggests the federal government should radically reduce its spending, not just to balance the federal budget, but to free up money for use by the private sector. He supports Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky’s blueprint to reduce the federal budget over the next five years. Stenberg says that while he doesn’t agree with all aspects of it, he calls it a “bold plan”.

The leading candidates in the Republican primary are Stenberg, Bruning and state Sen. Deb Fischer of Valentine. Also on the ballot are Pat Flynn, Spencer Zimmerman and Sharyn Elander.

AUDIO:  Brent Martin reports [:45]