Photo Gallery

Connected with Oklahomans from all four corners of our state in a telephone town hall while in my Washington, DC, office this week. Great questions and great conversation about the direction of our state and nation.

Spent a wonderful Saturday afternoon celebrating the grand reopening of the Historic Big 10 Ballroom in North Tulsa with a packed house and great live music. I can’t wait to see how God uses this beautiful facility for music and mentoring in the coming days.

Heard from our friends from Lawton-Ft. Sill during their annual fly-in to Washington, DC. There are great things happening in southwest Oklahoma and at Ft. Sill because of their leadership and commitment to our national security.

In Altus recently for an update on the construction at Rivers Elementary School and to see the great work on the new off-base housing and KC-46 training. 

It is extremely valuable to listen to the perspective of our Oklahoma health insurance agents to hear their insight on bringing down the cost of Rx drugs and healthcare. 

It may look like the Oklahoma credit unions had me in the hot seat when they came to Washington, DC, last week, but we actually had a great conversation about the economy and the federal legislation affecting them and their members.

It was Bedlam in my office last week as student government leaders from OU and OSU came to talk about college affordability and access to mental health services for students. These are the leaders our workplaces are hoping to hire in the days ahead.

Community and business leaders from the Norman Chamber came to Washington, DC, to discuss how they’re planning for more water, better transportation, and new businesses in Norman.

The President’s leadership students from NSU in Tahlequah came to meet with me in Washington, DC, to talk about leadership and the direction of our nation. Great students from an important university that makes a difference for the future of our state.

I stood with leadership from nonprofits in our nation to challenge other Senators to help me pass my Charitable Act. Our families and our nonprofits are the true safety net in America. We need them strong.  

Dear Oklahoma friends and neighbors:

Spring break is finally here for students and their families around our state! Sadly, we’ve already seen rare severe weather affect our communities as well. It’s a little early to be sheltering from tornadoes, hail, and wind damage, but some of our families are already cleaning up their neighborhoods. Be sure you have your severe weather plan in place, and help out your neighbors as you’re able.

This weekend we will once again “spring forward,” and lose an hour of sleep. We also get to discover which smart devices change automatically and which clocks need our help. Hopefully your microwave is not blinking 12:00 year round. 

Every mom of young children hates this time of year when alarm clocks change, but her baby’s internal clock doesn’t change. That’s why I offered my Sunshine Protection Act to make daylight saving time permanent. It is well past time to get this bill to the President’s desk so we can take the stress, headaches, and annoying clock resets out of our lives. Arizona already ignores time change and so do countless other nations. It is past time to stop changing our clocks twice a year. 

CLICK HERE to read more about my Sunshine Protection Act to permanently avoid the “fog” of next week because everyone’s internal clocks are behind an hour.

CLICK HERE to watch my video about the Sunshine Protection bill.

Open Secrets

This week the Senate Intelligence Committee held a rare open hearing for an unclassified discussion on the threats we face from worldwide adversaries. I asked US intelligence officials about the ongoing threats we face from Iran, Russia, and China and how seriously we’re taking those threats.

Serving on the Intelligence Committee gives me the opportunity to see the bigger picture of national security threats we face and the diplomatic and defense initiatives we can use to protect Americans at home and our service members abroad. Our intelligence work supports the missions of our Oklahoma military installations and supports all of our national security personnel around the world.

CLICK HERE to watch parts 1 and 2 of my Q&A with national security leaders this week on Iran, the FBI’s leaked memo on targeting Catholics, China, TikTok, and more.

On the Senate floor, we voted on a resolution to block the District of Columbia city council’s irrational soft-on-crime decision that would have eliminated most mandatory sentences and reduced penalties for some violent offenses, including robbery and carjacking, even with crime dramatically on the rise in DC. The House of Representatives already passed the resolution to block the far-left DC city council decision. President Biden has even agreed not to veto the resolution. Washington DC is America’s city. We cannot have crime ignored in the seat of our nation’s government. 

CLICK HERE to watch my remarks on the Senate floor about why this resolution matters amid the terrible increase in crime in Washington, DC.

Addressing the Realities of Our National Debt & Broken Budget Process

Following a year of massive government overspending, our national debt is the most predictable crisis we face, yet President Biden continues to ask for more debt spending and more dramatic tax increases. This week, President Biden released his $6.8 trillion budget recommendations for fiscal year 2024. That is a record-amount of spending for any President—except for areas like border security where the President requested a decrease in overall spending. His budget also proposes to add over $17 billion in new federal debt over the next ten years. That means, even with his massive tax increases, his budget would spend more money and add more debt than any president in history. 

CLICK HERE to watch my video response to the President's budget proposal.

In his State of the Union address, I hoped President Biden would present a plan to address the overspending that has spiked inflation and put us on a fiscal cliff. Instead, inflation remains high, grocery bills and rent are high, and Oklahomans, particularly those on a fixed income, are trying to figure out how to make every dollar go further and further. Instead of more spending, I believe we should make sure government is doing what it needs to do so Americans can keep more of their own money, rather than sending it all to Washington, DC, for Biden’s wish list. We should talk about our real fiscal reality, not the fiscal fantasy, so we can have an honest national conversation about next steps. 

Meanwhile the Biden Administration’s plan to spend billions cancelling student debt and saddle future generations with more federal debt was under consideration by the US Supreme Court last week. Everyone likes “free money,” but debt is not actually free. Someone has to pay. President Biden is trying to give away almost half a trillion dollars while our nation is already facing well over a trillion dollars in one-year deficit spending and is a few months away from a debt ceiling crisis. We await a decision from the Court on whether it was legal for the President to cancel this debt in the first place. I think we should address college affordability, but we should not eliminate one person’s debt and force future generations to pay it.

I have multiple proposals to change how our government budgets (or doesn’t budget), ways to bring more spending transparency, and ways we can reduce federal spending. Overspending has to stop. I am not letting this go.

The Charitable Act

We’ve seen it time and time again in our state with severe weather and other areas of need. Families, churches, and nonprofits are the first safety nets Oklahomans turn to when they need immediate help. Government simply can’t fill all the emergency needs as quickly as our families, local churches, nonprofits, and charities. Oklahomans and anyone in our nation who wants to donate to charities, houses of worship, religious organizations, and other nonprofits of their choice should be able to deduct that donation from their federal taxes at a higher level than the previous $300 deduction.

Last week, I introduced my charitable giving bill to give taxpayers who do not itemize their tax return a below-the-line deduction for charitable giving on federal income taxes valued at up to one-third of the standard deduction. This year, that’s around $4,500 for an individual filer and around $9,000 for married joint filers.

Any amount an individual or family can give helps our nonprofits and charities. Families should be allowed to give to the needs in their community and have a tax write off for their donation. The more we give locally, the more we can help the most vulnerable in our communities.

CLICK HERE to learn more about my charitable giving bill.

CLICK HERE to read testimonials from some of the thousands of nonprofits who support my bill.

The Chaos on the Southern Border Is Bringing More Illegal Drugs to Oklahoma

Our southern border remains in chaos, even though there are obvious solutions to the border crisis. We are the United States of America; we could stop the flow of human trafficking and drug trafficking across our border, if this Administration would actually try. 

Tragically, the state with the second-largest increase in drug overdose deaths in our nation last year was Oklahoma, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to a recent Journal Record report, fentanyl and meth have led to more than half of the overdose deaths in our state. Fentanyl deaths rose 454 percent from 2017 to 2021. One pill can kill. 

Dangerous international cartels profit millions of dollars per day manufacturing pills and meth that destroy our families. We must help law enforcement keep these dangerous drugs off the street by closing the gaps in the border wall, enforcing our laws, and implementing new technology to monitor our border. 

I continue to work with law enforcement on how we can keep social media from making drug and human trafficking worse as well as how we can stand up for law enforcement as they serve along our border. I brought Border Patrol Union leader Brandon Judd as my guest to the state of the union address last month. Neither of us were shocked that President Biden barely mentioned our chaotic border in his over one hour address. 

CLICK HERE to watch a video of Brandon Judd and me discussing the situation on our southern border and all the ways the Biden Administration is choosing not to enforce the law on our southern border.

Keeping You in the Loop

• Honoring George Washington’s Farewell Address to the Nation – The tradition of annually reading George Washington’s Farewell Address to the Nation in the US Senate began in 1893. The Senate selects one of its members, alternating parties, to read the historic 1,641-word national challenge on the Senate floor. I had the honor of being the first Oklahoma Senator to deliver George Washington’s 1796 Farewell Address this year. CLICK HERE to watch my recitation of his historic admonition to future generations to choose unity over division, avoid debt, maintain our faith in God, and be careful in foreign alliances. His words are perfect for our current situation. For the record, I did not wear a powdered wig and tall white socks to read George Washington’s address, but I might should have.
• Pushing for Solutions for our Veterans, Service Members, & Their Families –  I am prioritizing the key issues important to our service members, veterans, and their families by introducing four legislative solutions that can pass Congress and get signed by the president. One of my bills helps military spouses have a career with multiple federal agencies through remote work opportunities, so they can build a career even when they move with their spouse. Another bill modernizes military installation service contracts for custodial and other services to make sure contract terms keep up with inflation. I also have two defense hiring bills to make sure many open civilian positions can be filled through direct hire and ensure we can get rid of the lengthy six-month waiting period when hiring retired veterans. These are just some of the areas we can and should fix. CLICK HERE to read more about all these bills.
• Hearing Music Again at Historic Big 10 – Cindy and I recently joined a packed crowd in North Tulsa at the grand reopening of the Historic Big 10 Ballroom to hear live music again and learn the history and future of this great venue that hosted greats like Etta James, the Temptations, Count Basie, and more. I appreciate everyone who came together to renovate the Historic Big 10 and those who came out to celebrate and pray for God’s blessing on the families and entertainers coming in the future. It was especially moving to hear about A Pocket Full of Hope and the mentoring and creativity they spark in students across North Tulsa. CLICK HERE to watch my speech on the Senate floor to commemorate the event.
• Stopping the Green New Deal Investment Push – Americans want their retirement savings to be non-political. Is it too much to ask for the federal government to stop messing with people’s retirement savings? The latest initiative from the Department of Labor encourages retirement investors to push seniors into Environment, Social, and Corporate Governance or “ESG” investments where the fees are higher and the returns are lower, but the politics line up with President Biden’s philosophy. If Oklahomans want to invest with ESG or any other personal priorities they have, they can, but the Administration shouldn’t pressure retirement investors to put hard-working Americans’ money into funds they don't want or agree with. CLICK HERE to read more.
• Protecting Women and Girls in Sports – It’s sad that in the United States of America in 2023 women and girls still have to fight for their right to equally participate in sports. Every week it seems like women and girls face new challenges from biological males competing in their sports and depriving them of privacy in spaces like school bathrooms and locker rooms. I introduced a bill to focus on respecting the dignity of women and girls across the nation through the protection of Title IX, and I will push for its passage through Congress. CLICK HERE to read more about the bill.
• Protecting Americans’ Second Amendment Rights – The ATF’s latest attack on pistol braces undermines the right to bear arms for disabled veterans and is a clear example of overreach. ATF cannot state that pistol braces are legal one year and then suddenly determine they have to be destroyed, submitted, or permitted by the ATF a few years later. ATF claims that the adaptive braces for disabled individuals now constitute a violation of federal law. In a “friend of the court” brief last week, I urged the court considering this rule to defend the Constitution and uphold the Second Amendment from the ATF’s arbitrary decision on pistol braces. CLICK HERE to read more about my “friend of the court” brief.
• Stopping “Woke” Ideology for Our Schools, Military, and Service Academies – I recently introduced a bill to prevent federal funding from going to schools that teach critical race theory and prevent similar woke ideology from being taught in any Department of Defense institution, including our prestigious service academies. Our military should focus on preserving our national security, not leftist propaganda. The US military is the best trained, most diverse, and most moral fighting force in the world. DOD should not be in the business of promoting woke culture. This has to stop. CLICK HERE to read more about my bills to get the promotion of woke ideology out of our schools and out of our military/service academies.
• Standing Against Planned Cuts to Medicare at Rural Hospitals – I sent a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to ask that they continue to allow rural hospitals to compete for and retain high-quality staff by increasing reimbursements to help boost wages at certain rural hospitals. The pandemic has disrupted a normal review time period for this program, so it hasn’t been possible to fully evaluate how effective it’s been. Without action, Medicare payments to these hospitals will reduce after September 30, 2023. My colleagues and I are demanding more time for these rural hospitals. CLICK HERE to read my letter.
• Protecting Life & Preserving Women’s Health Care Access – I introduced a bill to give states the authority to exclude abortion providers like Planned Parenthood from receiving state Medicaid funds. Women must have access to quality health care, but many states, like Oklahoma, want to invest their federal Medicaid dollars in health care that saves lives. That shouldn’t be controversial. States should have the right to decide that Medicaid funds will not support an abortion provider’s bottom line. CLICK HERE to read more about my bill to protect women’s health care while refusing to allow federal dollars to pay for abortion.
• Countering Russian & Iranian Aggression – Iran poses a direct threat to the US and our allies. I introduced two bills, the DISRUPT Act and the STOP Iran Act, which are critical to countering Iran and demonstrating to our adversaries that we will no longer allow Iran to promote terrorism. CLICK HERE to read more about these important bills.
• Ending Tax Subsidies to Professional Sports Stadiums – I can’t figure out why we ever started allowing federal tax subsidies to help pay for stadiums, and I certainly don’t think we should keep doing it. Oklahomans should not be forced to pay for new professional sports stadiums in New York and California with our federal tax dollars when veterans need better access to care, our federal interstate highways need upkeep, and our debt is skyrocketing past $31.5 trillion. Local taxes should pay for local stadiums. I introduced a bill to provide an opportunity to cut irresponsible federal spending and refocus our priorities on our constitutional tasks and responsibilities, not sports stadiums. CLICK HERE to read more about my bill to stop subsidizing sports stadiums.

In God We Trust,

James Lankford
United States Senator for Oklahoma

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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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