Dear Oklahoma Friends and Neighbors,

Last week, I was able to visit with folks in Woodward, Guymon, Balko, Burlington, Shattuck, Fairview, Okarche, Watonga, Slapout, and Stroud. People shared their thoughts on trade and tariffs, the Supreme Court, a new Space Force, the border wall, Washington dysfunction, North Korea, the Veterans Choice Act, and of course the Russia investigation.

I am grateful to everyone who takes the time to share their perspective with me and my staff in person, on the phone, or in an email. Whether we agree or disagree on a topic, I appreciate respectful and thoughtful discussion on the important issues we face. Our nation is better when we take the time to listen to each other’s ideas.

Last weekend, I was also honored to represent our state at Senator John McCain’s funeral at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. I continue to pray for comfort for his wife, Cindy, his children, and his many friends around the world. Earlier this week, Arizona appointed John Kyl to take John McCain’s place in the Senate, and our own Senator Jim Inhofe became the new chairman of the Armed Services Committee.

Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh

For the past week, the nation has seen the theater surrounding the Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Judge Brett Kavanaugh. I have met personally with Judge Kavanaugh. He is a brilliant legal mind and is committed to his family and the law. I do not serve on the Judiciary Committee that is hosting hearings this week, but I have tracked the debate as I worked this week on appropriations, Intelligence issues, and election security. Late in the week, I spoke with one of my Democratic colleagues on the Judiciary Committee who expressed their impression of Judge Kavanaugh as a great husband, dad, youth basketball coach, homeless shelter volunteer, and very sharp legal mind. Although they did not agree with his high view of the law, they respected him as a judge and they were impressed with his sharp intellect.

There are a few questions that have come up over and over as the nomination hearing has progressed—are there more documents to read about Judge Kavanaugh, and is the process being rushed? 

The Senate Judiciary Committee postponed the hearing until all documents from his time at the White House were released. Judge Kavanaugh's hearing started 57 days after his nomination was announced. This is one week longer than Senators had for Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, and Gorsuch. As of Monday, the Judiciary Committee had received 480,000 pages of records, 457,400 which are available on their website for the public to access today. It is far more than has ever been turned over before for any Justice. In fact, this confirmation hearing has publicly released more pages of documents than the past five confirmations combined. If you would like to read any of the almost half-million pages of documents, they are all available online on the Judiciary Committee website. CLICK HERE to visit the website. 

There is no question that Judge Kavanaugh is qualified and well prepared to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. By the end of September, I anticipate that he will have moved past the Judiciary Committee to the full Senate for an up or down vote before the fall court session begins October 1.

CLICK HERE to read my statement after meeting with Judge Kavanaugh. 

Secure Elections Act

After a year of work and edits, my bill to guard the reliability of our election systems from foreign interference continues to make positive progress toward full consideration in Congress. The state of Oklahoma is among the nation’s standard-setters for how to conduct a secure election with trustworthy results states can audit.

There are clear lessons we can learn from the 2016 attempted Russian interference. A foreign power did not get to the election systems last time, but we should be better prepared next time they try. States need election officials with security clearances, clear lines of communication with federal law enforcement in case there is a question, and the ability to audit their election results with a paper back-up ballot or receipt. Election security is not a partisan issue; it is a democracy issue.

I will continue to engage on this important issue with my colleagues, outside groups, and the White House to seek solutions to strengthen our nation’s election security and find ways to protect our institutions from future foreign interference.

For more information on the Secure Elections Act, CLICK HERE to watch a recent speech I gave on the Senate floor. Or, CLICK HERE to listen to my recent podcast where I discuss the bill and ways to help states protect elections. To read the full bill text, CLICK HERE.

UPDATE: Trade

The President continues to make progress on trade negotiations. President Trump announced on August, 28, 2018, that the US and Mexico had reached a tentative deal on the renegotiated North America Free Trade Agreement (formerly NAFTA but now known as the United States-Mexico Trade Agreement). In order to get a final deal completed this fall, it is important to work out any disagreements with Canada to get the best agreement for the American people and North America. 

To understand how important this is to Oklahoma, Canada is our #1 trade partner and Mexico is # 2. Our Oklahoma economy is very connected to our neighbors to the north and south. To read more about the recent trade announcement and my work to improve trade negotiations on behalf of Oklahomans, please CLICK HERE. 

Productive August

Ordinarily, August is a time when the US House and Senate do not schedule regular votes or floor activities to give Senators and Congressmen an opportunity to return to their home states and districts and hear directly from constituents. Earlier this year, however, I joined 15 of my fellow Senators to send a letter to Senate Majority Leader McConnell to request that we utilize the traditional in-state August work period and other available time to continue to work through the appropriations and confirmation processes. We must keep working until the work is done to avoid another “Omnibus” spending bill and to get the President’s nominations done. In August, the Senate was able to pass six appropriations bills (in addition to three that passed earlier this year), the most in one year since 1988, and we confirmed 17 judges—one of which was Judge Charles Goodwin of Oklahoma—and 26 other Executive Branch nominees. There is still work to be done in both of these areas, but we were able to make significant progress. This week, we added to our progress by confirming 8 more district court judges and 9 other nominations.

One of my top priorities is to reform our federal budget and appropriations process so that it actually functions for the American people and our government. I have mentioned in previous enewsletters that 16 (8 Republicans and 8 Democrats) of us are attempting to fix the broken budget process by this November. Change is very difficult in Congress since most Members are more comfortable with the familiar process, even when it is a bad process. So, success is not guaranteed, and even if we do succeed, it will take years to implement the changes. But, I am determined to create a proposal that could get our fiscal house back in order. In August, I recorded a quick video to discuss some of these issues and the much-needed work to solve them, CLICK HERE to watch.

Senate Intelligence Committee Open Hearing on Cybersecurity

This week, the Senate Intelligence Committee held a rare open Committee hearing to discuss foreign influence on American social media platforms. The Committee continues to work to ensure our social media platforms take action to fight fake and malicious accounts that seek to tamper with our national conversations. To watch a video of my Q&A, CLICK HERE.

Keeping You in the Loop

• Last week, I had the distinct honor to introduce fellow Oklahoman, Dr. Kelvin Droegemeier, at his US Senate confirmation hearing to become the next Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy. His confirmation process is ongoing, and I look forward to being able to consider his nomination on the Senate floor soon. CLICK HERE to watch my testimony.

• Yesterday, I introduced a bill, the Palestinian Assistance Reform Act (PARA), to provide better and more direct assistance to the Palestinians in need, while promoting long-term US foreign policy objectives in the region. To read more about my bill, CLICK HERE.

• Recently, the US District Court for the District of South Carolina ruled against the Environmental Protection Agency’s two-year delay of the Clean Water Rule (also known as Waters of the US or “WOTUS”). The decision is a setback for Oklahomans who believe the onerous rule is too vague and could require federal regulation of even the tiniest bodies of water in yards, farms and ranches in our state. Judicial challenges to this rule continue to move forward to reverse this overreaching rule and its harmful effects on potentially anyone. 

• I testified in August, before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the US response to cybersecurity threats from around the world to our nation’s universities, infrastructure, and social media. CLICK HERE to watch my testimony. 

• During a recent Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hearing, I questioned Administration officials to understand if our government can track the care and safety of unaccompanied minors from other nations (also known as UACs) when they are placed in the homes of people not legally present in the US. Though they are not citizens, they are children, and our government can and should ensure their humane treatment and process them safely and efficiently. There have been many problems over the past decade when children have been placed in the homes of family members not legally present in the United States. CLICK HERE to watch my Q&A. 

• I am honored to receive the highest Senate rating for the 2017 National Taxpayers Union (NTU) Taxpayer’s Friend Award for supporting lower taxes, limited government, and economic freedom. Last year, Congress voted to provide much-needed tax relief to Oklahomans and the nation by lowering tax rates for the middle class, simplifying tax rates for every American, and changing the business tax climate. When Congress supports lower taxes, limited government, and economic freedom, we support what is good for Oklahomans and their success. I have worked to eliminate wasteful spending, cut taxes, and fix the broken budget process, but there is still more work to be done. Congress needs to continue to focus on reducing our national debt and addressing our runaway deficits; we can start by reforming our budget and appropriations process.

• In late August, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced proposed changes to hours of service (HOS) regulations. The FMCSA held a public hearing on the proposed changes on August 24, 2018.

• Our economy continues to surge! In August jobless claims continue to hover around historic lows, and the national unemployment rate remains at its lowest in two decades. The US GDP rose to 4.2 percent, the largest single-quarter growth in years. The new tax law is already working to help our economy grow by allowing Americans keep more of their hard-earned money to invest in their families, homes, and communities.

Stay Connected! 

If you would like more information on these topics or any other legislation currently before the US Senate, please do not hesitate to call my DC office at (202) 224-5754. My Oklahoma City office can be reached at (405) 231-4941 and my Tulsa office at (918) 581-7651. You can also follow me on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram for updates on my work in Congress.

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