Photo Gallery

Cindy and I volunteered with the family, friends, and neighbors of our friends in Seminole and the surrounding area this morning to help with cleanup efforts.

The Altus/Ft. Sill Chambers came to Washington, DC, to keep our congressional delegation informed —now that the people’s Capitol is finally reopened to the public. By the way, if you ever get an invitation to the Altus Quail Breakfast in DC, clear your schedule to be there.

The Greater Oklahoma City Chamber “fly-in” brought their members’ concerns and questions to the Oklahoma delegation in our nation’s capital recently.

I met with an engaged and compassionate group of students with the Students for Life organization who came to hear my conversation at the OU Student Union with the leader of Students for Life of America, Kristan Hawkins, about how we plan to support mothers and life in a post-Roe America.

These Christian Heritage Academy students finally got to see the seat of our government and learn about our history as a nation. I was glad to be able to welcome them to Washington, DC, and invite them to see our beautiful Capitol inside and out.

Glad to get out to Sulphur, America to connect and have some Q&A on the issues facing businesses in south-central Oklahoma.

The Oklahoma Pork Council visited my office in Washington, DC, recently to talk through what our Oklahoma producers are looking at to help make sure they can continue to supply their quality pork products as smoothly as possible to feed Oklahomans, the nation, and the world.

Prayed in my Washington, DC, office for and with Coach Joe Kennedy who brought his case before the Supreme Court in April to stand up for his right to silently kneel and pray in public. We are both optimistic the Court will uphold our First Amendment right.

I visited Oklahoma City’s Kimray manufacturing facility to get a tour of their floor and visit with workers, and find out what we need to do to address supply chain issues to get their goods to market faster and with fewer obstacles.

The Durant Chamber visited my office in Washington, DC, to talk to me about the latest in business development in southeast Oklahoma and how we can encourage more and more growth in this innovative and growing community.

The optometrist community in Oklahoma is strong, and they are watching out for Oklahomans and their vision needs. I continue to be impressed with their engagement and their attention to how we can ensure quality eye care for Oklahomans and the nation.

Being able to welcome these students from Tulsa’s Metro Christian Academy to the Capitol in Washington, DC, was a delight. I’m glad they finally got to see their Capitol building and learn about how important our democracy is.

Dear Oklahoma friends and neighbors:

Well, spring is officially here, including severe weather. Thank you to all the neighbors helping neighbors as we serve each other. 

To all the high school and college graduates—congratulations! This is a big month for many families across the state as they watch their loved ones walk across the stage. It is work to finish a degree at any level, enjoy the moment. And don’t forget to give Mom an extra-big hug this weekend as we celebrate her love and sacrifice. Cindy and I are certainly grateful for our moms, especially this weekend. 

Cindy and I had an opportunity to check on Seminole and the surrounding communities this morning to be with them as they begin storm damage clean up. It's a painful mess. We stopped to pray with people who have lost a great deal, we encouraged the first responders, and we put on our work gloves (like every other Oklahoman that sees a need) and helped clear debris. We will continue to work together to get our beautiful community back to normal as quickly as possible. 

As I travel the state to meet face to face, listen to Oklahomans during telephone town halls, and read our posts on social media, I continue to hear the frustration over rapidly rising energy prices, sky-high inflation, free speech censorship, fears of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the open-border policy of the Biden Administration, the bad Iran nuclear deal, national security threats from nations like China, and much more. People are worried about the direction of our nation. That is why we stay so focused on solving the challenges we face.

The Price of Everything Is Up

This week, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by a half-point to attempt to fight off rapidly growing inflation. Higher borrowing costs mean you buy a smaller house for the same amount of money. High interest rates do slow down the economy, but every home buyer, car buyer, small business owner really feels the pain quickly. We need lower prices, not less purchasing power.

Inflation has rapidly accelerated for the past 15 months much of it fueled by rising energy prices. I questioned Energy Secretary Granholm this week to confront the Administration on their energy policies that raise the price of everything. We need more energy in America, of all types, to keep prices low and keep America’s economy growing since so much of inflation is energy (by the way, the March inflation rate for gasoline was 48 percent). Unfortunately, during my conversation with the Secretary, it was like we were talking past each other. CLICK HERE to watch my questions with Secretary Granholm. 

The Federal Energy Information Administration recognizes we will need more oil, gas, and coal for the next 30 years before there is a significant transition to other forms of energy. If the Biden Administration keeps preventing energy companies from getting permits, getting loans to expand or building infrastructure, prices will keep going up, up, up. More energy decreases the cost of everything. Less energy increases the cost of everything. It’s just math.

Supreme Court Opinion Leak and Supporting Life in Our Nation

This week, a leaked draft opinion from the US Supreme Court was authenticated by the Chief Justice of the United States. I am glad the Court is launching an investigation into the source of this unprecedented leak that the Chief Justice called a “betrayal” of the Court. The person responsible should be held accountable for his or her actions that will devastate trust on the Court for decades to come.

In the draft, Justice Alito offers the majority opinion of the Court and says the Constitution “does not prohibit the citizens of each State from regulating and prohibiting abortion.” If the final decision reads like the early draft, the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision from the court would be overturned which would return abortion decisions to the people, like it was the first 200 years of our nation. That does not mean abortion ends in America, but it does allow each state to make a decision on how they will protect the life of each child in their state.

I have cautioned everyone this week, the leaked document is only a draft copy written months ago. We do not know which way the Court will finally decide until the final decision is released. But if the decision stands as-is, this is truly a historic moment in our nation to protect the lives of all people, no matter how small or young. Our nation rightly looks back at other historic decisions from the Court that overturned slavery, ended segregation and assured the rights of women to vote. Time will tell, but this decision could stand out in the future as the moment when millions of children across multiple states were given an opportunity at life, instead of being destroyed because they were “inconvenient.”

Even after the final decision comes down from the Court, we should not withdraw from respectful conversations about the value of every child, the responsibility of every parent (men included) and the engagement of every community to honor life.

CLICK HERE to read more on the Supreme Court leak in this case.

CLICK HERE to watch my Facebook Live update with my support for this draft document.

Who Needs a Federal Office to Tell Them What the Truth Is?

Late last week, we learned that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has assembled a “working group” to assess “disinformation” and help find ways to stop it. They also selected a leader for the Board that widely spread disinformation on social media in the past when she called the 2016 Russia hoax factual and the Hunter Biden laptop story fiction–in case you were not following the news, the opposite was true on both.

I asked DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas personally about the Disinformation Board this week, CLICK HERE to watch my Q&A with him. Oklahomans don’t need partisan truth police or the President’s team censoring information to “protect” us.

DHS wants us to entrust the organization that cannot control our border with the ability to control our speech. No tax dollars should fund this ridiculous and flagrant attempt to undermine our First Amendment. CLICK HERE to read more about my bill to cut off all funding for the “Disinformation Board.”

UPDATE: Protecting the Second Amendment

I remain a strong advocate of our Second Amendment right, and my team and I are always keeping our eyes open for sneaky efforts to keep law-abiding citizens from owning and possessing firearms. We have seen the Administration introduce new, dark-of-night federal gun regulations, small anti-Second Amendment statements in huge bills, proposed “guidance” that Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) tries to turn into law, and more.

Senator Ted Cruz and I introduced a joint resolution of disapproval to prohibit President Biden’s ATF from expanding the definition of a “firearm” under federal law to not only mean a complete product but also its individual parts. The parts are included in a weapons parts kit, which the Biden Administration has labeled as “ghost guns” to scare people. Many of the kits are actually made to recreate Revolutionary War muskets and other collectable guns. It is already illegal for criminals to own guns whether they have a manufacturer’s serial number or not. More excessive federal regulations do not make law-abiding citizens safer or make criminals less dangerous.

CLICK HERE to read more about our work to protect law-abiding gun owners from these overreaching regulations.

I introduced the Pistol Brace Protection Act, which would gut an upcoming final rule by the ATF by exempting pistol braces from regulation under the National Firearms Act (NFA). The bill stops the ATF from being able to reclassify firearms under the NFA, and guarantees that law-abiding gun owners will not have to register, destroy, or surrender their pistol brace. CLICK HERE to learn more about the bill.

I continue to call on the ATF to provide answers on their actions that prevent law-abiding citizens from creating and owning sound suppressors. CLICK HERE to learn more about sound suppressor overregulation. I sent a letter to the ATF about their use of secret internal guidance to push new regulations. This secret guidance has been used to justify the seizure of lawfully owned property, which is unacceptable and unconstitutional. CLICK HERE to read more about how I’m working to stop “guidance” from being used as if it were law.

Praying with Coach Kennedy and “Taking a Knee” for Religious Liberty

In April, the Supreme Court heard the case of Kennedy v. Bremerton School District. Coach Kennedy, from Washington State, finally had his chance to defend his constitutional right to freely practice his faith when his silent prayer after football games caused the school to fire him. Though Coach Kennedy is not from Oklahoma, I reached out to him years ago when this case first arose and my office helped write an argument to the Supreme Court because this is such an important case for religious expression for any person in the country.

If Coach Kennedy can be fired for silently praying at the end of a football game, then a teacher also could also be fired for silently praying over her meal at lunch, having a Bible on his desk, or wearing a crucifix necklace, hijab, or yarmulke.

The morning after the Supreme Court arguments, Coach Kennedy came by to pray for me in my office (taking a knee just like he did after the high school football games he used to coach). I am proud to stand up for the First Amendment rights of every American to live their faith, change their faith or have no faith.

CLICK HERE to read more about my amicus brief in his case and how I’m standing with the Coach who kneels.

UPDATE: Title 42 and the border

After the highest year on record for illegal crossings this past year and 221,000 “encounters” of border crossers in March, I continue to press the Biden Administration to secure our border, enforce our laws, and ensure our law enforcement have what they need to actually close Biden’s wide open southern border. Last month, the Border Patrol reported more than 66,000 people crossed the border that they could see, but could not get to because their agents were so overwhelmed with other arrests. Every month the border gets more chaotic as more drugs and more people from all over the world flood into the country.

This week, I directly questioned Department of Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas about his proposed disinformation board and the crisis along the border.

CLICK HERE to watch my Q&A with Secretary Mayorkas on what’s being done (or not done) to secure our border.

Most people who illegally cross our border turn themselves in at the border and request asylum, but the vast majority of them do not qualify. They come to America for job opportunities or to connect with family already in the country, neither of which is a legitimate claim of asylum under our laws. The hundreds of thousands of false asylum claims have overwhelmed the system so legitimate asylum claims cannot get into the court and false claimants are allowed to stay in America for six to eight years as they await their hearing. This situation is bad enough, but the Biden Administration is forming a rule that could make it even worse. CLICK HERE to read more about my resolution to stop the latest Biden proposal for immigration.

It’s not just me that thinks the border is in chaos. Five Democratic Senators have recently joined me on my bill to stop the Administration from lifting Title 42 at the border until they have a plan to stop illegal immigration. I continue to lead the charge to push back on the Biden Administration’s disastrous plans to revoke the pandemic-related Title 42 authority as early as May 23. CLICK HERE to watch my remarks at a recent press conference on the DHS “plan” to replace Title 42 that isn’t actually a plan to do anything but accelerate illegal immigration.

CLICK HERE to read more about my bill to stop the Administration from lifting the Title 42 authority on the border which will create even a bigger illegal flow.

I was recently joined on my podcast, The Breakdown with James Lankford, by former Acting US Secretary of Homeland Security and expert on border security, Chad Wolf, about how we can actually accomplish border security. CLICK HERE to watch the episode. You can subscribe to my podcast, The Breakdown with James Lankford, on SoundCloud, iTunes, and Spotify.

Keeping You in the Loop

• Addressing our skyrocketing national debt – I released my Federal Fumbles government waste report last week detailing our debt problem and giving solutions to address our $30 trillion national debt. CLICK HERE to learn more about volume six of my government waste report and watch my video introduction. CLICK HERE to download the Federal Fumbles book (but watch your blood pressure as you read it).
• Reducing Prescription Drug Costs – I’m continuing to push the federal government to do their part to reduce prescription drug costs in our nation. I recently urged the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to move forward quickly with review of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) proposed rule to lower out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for seniors by bringing so-called pharmacy direct and indirect remuneration (DIR) fees under control. This is a big step in reducing drug costs for senior adults in our nation. Just this week, CMS finalized the rule to stop the “retroactive” DIR fees, which is another step toward reducing prescription drug prices. CICK HERE to read more on my work to keep this moving.
• Standing up for OK military families – I was grateful to have the opportunity to stand up for Oklahoma military families by providing oversight on the companies that provide housing on our military installations in a recent Homeland Security Committee hearing. I specifically asked a panel of military housing experts about needed changes to housing on Tinker and Altus Air Force Bases and why there has yet to be lasting solutions to address the aging facilities. CLICK HERE to watch my Q&A.
• Supporting the First Amendment – The Supreme Court unanimously ruled this week that religion is welcome in the public square in Shurtleff v. City of Boston. The Supreme Court ruled that Boston violated the First Amendment by refusing to fly a group's Christian flag in front of city hall despite flying various other groups' flags. Government should treat everyone equally under the law. This is a great victory for further preserving Americans’ First Amendment rights.
• Protecting Taxpayers from being Forced to Pay for Abortions – I recently introduced a resolution of disapproval to overturn the Biden Administration’s 2021 Final Rule on the Title X Family Planning Program, which reversed the Trump Administration’s 2019 Protect Life Rule that required family planning locations that receive federal tax dollars to be physically and financially separate from abortion providers. The 2019 rule did not reduce Title X funding, it simply redirected money to providers that do not perform or promote abortions as part of their “family planning” practices. Federal tax dollars should be used to help children, not take their life. CLICK HERE to read more about our resolution.
• Pushing Back on the Growing Iran nuclear threat – It is rumored that the Biden Administration is considering lifting sanctions on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and they are planning on ignoring the missile technology of Iran to try to get a new nuclear deal. This is a huge mistake. There is no reason for Iran to have a nuclear capable missile if they are promising not to create a nuclear weapon. The IRGC is also the key exporter of terrorism out of Iran, we should not lift our sanctions on their terror funding. After weeks of work behind the scenes, we were able to secure enough Democratic votes in the Senate to pass my amendment to challenge the Biden Iran nuclear negotiations. We must demonstrate strength through decisive action, not weakness through negotiating with terrorist regimes. CLICK HERE to read more about my motion. Just to be clear, the people of Iran are not the problem, they live under the thumb of a regime that sponsors terrorism and limits their economic opportunities. I look forward to the day when the people of Iran can live free from the oppression of their leadership.
• Stopping Biden’s COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate – I’m continuing to stand with our service members against Biden’s vaccine mandate and the Department of Defense’s refusal to acknowledge the science of natural immunity. I working on getting the exact number (which we believe is high) of the number and nature of military discharges for not receiving a COVID vaccine, even if they had natural immunity or a religious accommodation request pending. I’ve already successfully started a full audit from the Department of Defense Inspector General on the Department’s process for providing religious exemptions for the vaccine. This is important oversight to be sure our military members are not left without support or protection of their constitutional rights in this process. CLICK HERE to read more. Senator Cruz and I also released a bill this week to make sure members of the military that were forced to leave because of their choices on the COVID vaccine receive an honorable discharge.
• Expanding School Choice – To protect Oklahoma parents who want to see more choices in their children’s education, I demanded the Department of Education reconsider their proposed rules redefining the Charter School Program, which would strip parents ability to choose the best school for their child. CLICK HERE to read my letter.
• Banning Russian Oil, Sanctioning Russia – I voted to impose an embargo on Russian energy products and suspend normal trade relations with Russia and Belarus in response to Moscow’s ongoing aggression with the people of Ukraine. Sadly, 10.6 million Ukrainians have been displaced due to Russia’s war crimes. I also secured language in the bill that ensures the President is not able to reverse the oil embargo unless an agreement is reached for Russia to withdraw all forces and cease hostilities toward Ukraine. CLICK HERE to read more about the bill. I also had a long conference call with the leadership of USAID to provide oversight on American humanitarian aid that needs to get to Ukraine to prevent mass starvation in that war torn country.
• Protecting Oklahoma Taxpayers – I questioned IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig to get an update on the hiring processes at the IRS for more agents to serve Oklahomans filing their taxes, answer their questions, and address amended returns. Rettig told me the IRS is benefitting from direct-hiring authority, which I called for previously, at several facilities, including the Kansas City processing facility, which directly impacts Oklahoma. I remain engaged with IRS leadership on the phone and in writing about how to ensure Oklahomans get their taxes processed in a timely and fair manner. CLICK HERE to read more.
• Calling out Google’s Censorship of Conservatives – Put this in the “too ironic” category… I recently reached out to the Chief Executive Officer of Google, Sundar Pichai, regarding YouTube’s removal of videos from the Conservative Political Action Conference’s (CPAC) channel. YouTube, which is owned by Google, censored from its platform my panel at CPAC on internet censorship. That is irony. CLICK HERE to read about my push for answers from Google.
  

In God We Trust,

James Lankford
United States Senator for Oklahoma

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