Dear Oklahoma Friends and Neighbors:

Though elections can divide us, it is important to remember that we are all Oklahomans and Americans first. I am grateful for the work of states, like Oklahoma, that helped ensure this week’s midterm elections were not affected by foreign or domestic cybersecurity threats. Leading up to the election and during the long election day, the Department of Homeland Security was intensely protecting our election infrastructure, and I received updates all day about any potential threats. 

I continue to press my colleagues in the Senate and House and work with the Trump Administration toward a vote on my election security bill, the Secure Elections Act. I remain hopeful that we can work out any final details in the days ahead and bring this much-needed legislation to a vote in the Senate. We can and should have this legislation in place to help protect the integrity of our elections in 2020 and beyond.  

In late October and early November, I had the opportunity to meet with and hear from Oklahomans around the state to discuss tariffs and international trade, immigration, federal budget reform, health care, and issues facing veterans and their families. I am grateful to take these ideas back to Washington to come up with practical solutions that will benefit all Oklahomans.

UPDATE: Remaining Legislative Work in 2018

The 115th Congress will end in early January 2019, and the first session of the 116th Congress will begin with new faces from around the country joining us to work through the many legislative priorities Americans sent us to Washington to solve. In 2018, the Senate has worked diligently to confirm 84 federal judges, but work remains this year to process remaining Executive and Judicial Branch nominees.

Bills are also pending for Coast Guard authorities, criminal justice reforms, and a few minor changes to the tax law. Of course, Federal Fumbles, the annual report—and corresponding commonsense solutions—is also coming out from my office just before Christmas. Nothing says “Merry Christmas” quite like my detailed report on federal waste and inefficiency.    

We also have seven of the twelve appropriations bills that have not been approved yet. Currently, part of the federal government is funded through December 7, 2018, by a Continuing Resolution (commonly referred to as a CR). So, the final seven appropriation bills must be completed in the next month. 

For seven months, I have actively worked to reform the way Congress creates the budget. The outdated 1974 Budget Act has only worked as it was designed four times since its creation. The bipartisan, bicameral, 16-member Joint Select Committee on Budget and Appropriations Process Reform has the opportunity to present non-partisan recommendations of ways to fix the broken federal budget process. We will not have a better budget product until we have a better process. Please remain connected with my office to learn more about our work to hopefully bring practical, common-sense changes to our budget process. 

To hear more about my thoughts on reforming our federal budget process, please CLICK HERE to watch a video in which I discuss some of the issues.

Initial work will also begin on the new US/Mexico/Canada trade agreement. While the vote will probably be early next year, the review of the agreement will be over the next three months. There are also major problems with the increased tariffs on China for Oklahoma businesses and consumers. We need to resolve our problems with China in a way that punishes bad trade practices but does not damage our economy even more.  

UPDATE: Immigration

As we continue to monitor the group(s) of individuals coming to our southern border largely from Central America, I remain convinced that Congress’s lack of action for years has weakened our federal immigration policy. Congress has prevented our nation from fully securing our borders and has looked the other way as courts have complicated enforcement issues and reforms across multiple presidential administrations. Our border security personnel work hard to keep our borders as safe as possible, and we must ensure they have the resources and personnel they need to do their job. We should prevent illegal immigration and ensure legal immigration is safe and efficient and serves our national interests as often as possible. I remain committed to keeping families together whenever possible.

I am hopeful in the days ahead that we can break through the existing policy disputes preventing a bipartisan solution to the immigration issues we face.

Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue in Oklahoma City

I was honored to welcome Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue when he visited Oklahoma on October 31 to host a lunch and town hall with the Oklahoma delegation and tour agriculture sites in our state. His visit to our great state coincided with an announcement of new USDA grants, including one for St. Anthony Hospital, in time to expand opportunities for telemedicine in rural Oklahoma in Beaver, Blaine, Custer, Garvin, Harper, Kiowa, Lincoln, Major, McClain, Washita, and Woods Counties. 

To learn more about the USDA’s Distance Learning and Telemedicine grant program and opportunities, CLICK HERE. 

Rural healthcare options are very important to Oklahomans who live sometimes several hours from a major medical facility. Telemedicine gives doctors and patients a chance to utilize technology to provide preliminary diagnoses and help answer questions without requiring patients to drive hours to a clinic. Competitive federal grants offer health providers an opportunity to expand into new, and in this case remote and rural, areas, which will ultimately benefit more and more people in our nation. We should continue to seek to streamline healthcare-related federal grant programs to ensure we can utilize limited federal dollars on direct healthcare access, not multiple overlapping or misplaced grant programs.

Pastor Andrew Brunson Released from Turkey and Returned to the US

On October 12, 2018, I was overjoyed to welcome Pastor Andrew Brunson and his family when he was finally able to return home to the US following his release from Turkish custody. Dr. Brunson endured two years of imprisonment and house arrest for completely unjust charges. I am grateful this long journey ended with the Brunson family able to begin the next season of their life reunited on American soil. 

Turkey is a long-time US ally, and we have worked to maintain our partnership over the last two years while pushing for Pastor Brunson’s release. Turkey and the US have many areas of agreement and some areas of disagreement, but it was unexplainable why Turkey would hold an American citizen to negotiate any differences we have between our countries. Countries cannot use hostage American citizens as bargaining chips.  

To read more about our work to bring Pastor Brunson home, CLICK HERE. To watch my interview on his return home, CLICK HERE.

Two Oklahomans Selected for the 400 Years of African-American History Commission

The Department of the Interior honored two Oklahomans, Mr. Hannibal Johnson and Dr. Myron Pope, by selecting them to participate in the 15-member 400 Years of African-American History Commission. Established through bipartisan legislation on January 8, 2018, the panel will help coordinate the commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans to the English colonies in 1619. We should study and learn from our history, the good, the bad, and the ugly.  

CLICK HERE to read more.  

Keeping You in the Loop

• Congratulations to Vance AFB for sweeping all five of the fiscal year 2018 Air Education Training and Command awards, demonstrating their true commitment to excellent service to our nation’s airmen and women!
• Congratulations to Americom Technologies Group in Owasso and Mayhew Technology Solutions in Edmond on their selection for the HIRE Vets Medallion Program Demonstration Award established by the US Department of Labor! Thank you for your dedication to recruit, retain, and employ Oklahoma veterans.
• On October 30, I had the opportunity to visit and learn more about Light of Hope Ministries in Catoosa. Their simple, straightforward mission is to help families who not only struggle with addiction itself but with the life difficulties that surround addiction and recovery. I was honored to hear from volunteers and workers there who do their part to support those struggling with addiction. If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, please seek help. There are good neighbors in Oklahoma who are willing to help you find hope and recovery. To learn more about Light of Hope Ministries, CLICK HERE.
• On October 25, 2018, I sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin about the Department’s policies and procedures to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs). The letter follows charges filed on a Senior Advisor within the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) for the unauthorized disclosure of SARs and the conspiracy to make unauthorized disclosures of SARs, both of which carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison. CLICK HERE to read the letter. 
• I was honored last week to receive the Guardian of Small Business award from theNational Federation of Independent Business. With small businesses responsible for two-thirds of the job growth in America, it is vital we appropriately address their priorities. CLICK HERE to read more.
• Last week, I had an opportunity to tour Amazon’s new 60,000 square-foot delivery facility in Oklahoma City. This new facility will help local customers get their packages faster. Our state will feel the economic benefit of Amazon as it provides options for customers and expands the local job market. More than 460 part-time and full-time employees work and innovate at this delivery facility. Amazon anticipates the creation of more than 1,500 total full-time jobs in Oklahoma by the end of 2019. CLICK HERE to read more. 
• At the end of October, Whirlpool announced it would expand its Tulsa facility by investing $55 million to help streamline operations at the existing facility. The expansion will help create more than 100 new jobs in the Tulsa area and help Whirlpool continue its important work in our state. Business expansion demonstrates our nation’s strengthening economy and improving business environment, which ultimately helps our communities and provides jobs to people in Oklahoma. Congratulations, Tulsa, and thank you, Whirlpool, for continuing to invest in our state. To learn more about Whirlpool’s expansion in Tulsa, CLICK HERE. 
• The Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs’ (ODVA) Oklahoma Veterans Commission named Sallisaw as the location for the newest veterans’ center in Oklahoma. The new veterans’ center will reportedly provide nursing care opportunities for up to 175 veterans in our state. I am grateful for the diligent work of ODVA to find and select this new site to help improve access to care for our veterans. Congratulations, Sallisaw, on your selection as the new site. To learn more about healthcare and other options for our state’s veterans, please CLICK HERE to visit the ODVA’s website.

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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