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Dear
Oklahoma
Friends
and
Neighbors,
Due
to
the
intensity
of
this
year’s
Senate
schedule,
I’m
not
home
nearly
enough
right
now.
Since
January
2,
I
have
only
been
in
Oklahoma
one
full
week.
As
Congress
continues
to
deal
with
multiple
policy
issues,
including
health
care
reform,
confirmation
hearings
for
the
Supreme
Court
nominee,
national
security,
and
regulatory
reform,
I
look
forward
to
hearing
your
thoughts
and
insights
on
the
needs
we
face
as
Oklahomans.
I
hope
this
e-newsletter
is
helpful
in
keeping
you
up-to-date
on
what
is
happening
in
the
nation’s
capital.
While
in
DC,
I’m
continually
looking
for
new
ways
to
connect
with
Oklahomans.
This
week,
I
hosted
my
first
Facebook
Live
Conversation
with
thousands
of
Oklahomans.
If
you
weren’t
able
to
join
us,
there
are
still
a
number
of
ways
to
reach
me:
by
phone,
mail,
or
email,
or
you
may
request
a
meeting
with
my
staff
in
the
state
or
DC.
Of
course,
if
you
are
in
DC
any
time
soon,
join
us
on
Wednesday
mornings
for
“Java
with
James.”
I
look
forward
to
connecting
with
you
in
the
days
ahead.
Obamacare
Repeal
&
Replace
In
the
last
Lankford
Letter,
I
walked
through
the
process
Congress
needs
to
take
to
repeal
and
replace
the
Affordable
Care
Act.
Last
week,
I
visited
the
White
House
to
discuss
with
the
Vice
President
and
White
House
legislative
staff
a
path
to
a
bill
that
provides
a
smooth
transition
to
lower
costs
and
better
coverage
options
for
all
Americans.
Everyone
on
our
team
continues
to
work
very
hard
to
stay
focused
on
the
priorities
to
protect
the
most
vulnerable,
keep
health
costs
down,
and
return
regulatory
authority
to
each
state.
Over
the
past
six
years,
healthcare
costs
have
skyrocketed,
many
physicians
have
left
their
medical
practices,
and
every
Oklahoman
has
fewer
choices
for
health
insurance.
While
there
is
tremendous
debate
on
what
the
answer
to
healthcare
will
be
in
the
future,
it
is
clear
we
cannot
continue
on
the
current
path.
When
the
House
of
Representatives
passes
its
version
of
healthcare
reform,
the
Senate
will
then
take
up
the
bill
and
make
its
changes.
If
you
have
specific
ideas
for
healthcare
reform,
please
send
me
your
ideas
at
Lankford.senate.gov.
CLICK
HERE
to
read
more.
Confirming
Neil
Gorsuch
for
US
Supreme
Court
This
week,
the
Senate
Judiciary
Committee
held
a
full
week
of
hearings
on
the
nomination
of
Neil
Gorsuch
for
the
Supreme
Court.
He
has
received
very
high
marks
in
his
testimony,
including
from
Oklahomans
from
both
parties.
The
committee
vote
is
scheduled
for
next
week,
which
will
allow
the
full
Senate
to
vote
on
his
nomination
in
two
weeks.
A
quick
history
lesson:
No
justice
of
the
Supreme
Court
has
ever
been
filibustered
by
either
party
in
the
history
of
the
nation.
Every
justice
has
had
an
up
or
down
vote
after
they
passed
out
of
the
Judiciary
Committee,
even
when
the
Judiciary
Committee
voted
not
to
recommend.
CLICK
HERE
to
read
more.
Russia
and
Our
Election
I
serve
on
the
Senate
Select
Committee
on
Intelligence.
We
work
year-round
on
oversight
of
our
intelligence
operations
around
the
world.
Several
months
ago,
we
began
investigating
Russian
interference
in
the
2016
US
elections.
This
is
a
bipartisan
committee
that
consistently
works
on
difficult
issues
of
national
significance.
While
there
has
been
quite
a
bit
of
drama
around
the
House
Intelligence
Committee,
the
members
of
the
Senate
Select
Committee
on
Intelligence
have
quietly
pressed
to
find
the
facts
and
answers.
Our
commitment
to
each
other,
and
to
the
nation,
has
been
to
follow
the
facts
wherever
they
lead,
without
jumping
to
conclusions
or
making
assumptions.
We
will
keep
you
informed
as
the
investigation
continues,
and
we
will
release
an
extensive
bipartisan
report
when
we
conclude
the
investigation.
Border
Security
Earlier
this
week,
the
Homeland
Security
and
Governmental
Affairs
Committee,
on
which
I
serve,
held
a
hearing
with
field
officers
from
Customs
and
Border
Patrol
(CBP)
and
Immigration
and
Customs
Enforcement
(ICE).
They
spoke
openly
about
the
challenges
they
face
enforcing
immigration
law,
the
physical
threats
they
deal
with,
the
long
hours
they
work
at
the
border,
the
low
morale
among
agents,
and
the
need
for
greater
support.
They
have
a
very
difficult
law
enforcement
task.
Our
staff
has
already
started
working
on
ways
to
help
them.
If
you
are
interested
in
working
for
ICE
or
CBP,
these
agencies
are
looking
for
great
officers
to
join
them
in
reinvigorating
their
important
work.
Get
more
information
by
CLICKING
HERE.
NW
Oklahoma
Wildfires
Two
weeks
ago,
I
was
able
to
visit
Harper,
Woodward,
and
Beaver
Counties
to
see
the
damage
caused
by
the
wildfires.
It
was
devastating
to
witness
first-hand,
but
very
encouraging
to
see
communities
coming
together
to
support
those
directly
affected.
Since
then,
additional
wildfires
have
burned
through
the
northeastern
part
of
the
state.
Last
week,
I
spoke
on
the
Senate
floor
to
bring
awareness
to
the
Oklahoma
wildfires.
I
want
the
Senate
and
the
nation
to
know
there
was
a
fire
as
big
as
the
state
of
Rhode
Island
burning
in
NW
Oklahoma,
and
many
people
haven’t
heard
of
it.
We
will
walk
through
this
together.
To
watch
my
remarks
on
the
Senate
floor, CLICK
HERE.
Regulatory
Reform
Earlier
this
month,
I
introduced
five
bills
that
will
improve
the
federal
rulemaking
process
so
it
works
better
for
all
Americans.
My
goal
is
to
improve
the
process
for
how
regulations
are
made
by
instituting
greater
transparency
and
accountability,
no
matter
who
the
president
is.
These
bills
focus
on
improving
current
issues
with
the
regulatory
process
by
providing
clear,
concise
regulations,
allowing
public
engagement
sooner,
curbing
the
abuse
of
agency
guidance
documents,
and
forcing
agencies
to
analyze
the
total
impact
regulations
have
on
small
businesses.
Congress
needs
to
update
the
way
regulatory
process
works
in
order
to
protect
Americans
from
burdensome
regulations
that
stifle
job
growth
and
raise
prices
on
consumers.
The
bills
I
introduced
are:
Early
Participation
in
Regulations
Act
of
2017,
Better
Evaluation
of
Science
and
Technology
Act,
Truth
in
Regulations
Act
of
2017,
Providing
Accountability
Through
Transparency
Act
of
2017,
and
the
Small
Business
Regulatory
Flexibility
Improvements
Act.
To
read
more
about
each
bill, CLICK
HERE.
Taxpayers
Right
to
Know
Act
Last
week,
the
Senate
Committee
on
Homeland
Security
and
Governmental
Affairs,
of
which
I’m
a
member,
discussed
my
bill,
the
Taxpayers
Right
to
Know
Act.
As
you’ll
recall,
the
bill
will
require
federal
agencies
to
make
public
the
details,
costs,
and
performance
metrics
of
every
federal
program
that
has
a
budget
greater
than
one
million
dollars.
Currently,
Americans
do
not
have
access
to
this
information.
We
are
one
step
closer
to
passing
the
bill
since
the
committee
unanimously
approved
it.
In
January,
the
House
passed
the
bill
unanimously
and
the
next
step
will
be
for
the
full
Senate
to
vote
on
it.
To
read
more, CLICK
HERE.
Intelligence
Committee
Trip
to
Middle
East
Last
weekend,
I
traveled
to
Israel,
Lebanon,
and
Jordan
with
several
other
members
of
the
Senate
Select
Committee
on
Intelligence.
The
purpose
of
the
trip
was
to
evaluate
regional
anti-terrorism
efforts,
conduct
oversight
of
intelligence
programs,
and
visit
key
allies
in
the
fight
against
terrorism.
Most
Americans
will
never
meet
our
men
and
women
serving
around
the
globe,
who
monitor
international
terror
cells
and
activity
to
ensure
America
remains
safe.
It
is
important
that
terrorists
are
identified
and
defeated
in
the
Middle
East
before
they
bring
the
fight
to
our
homeland.
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