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It was a great night out with my bride Cindy at the 18th Annual Langston University President’s Scholarship Gala. Langston University continues to educate the next generation of Oklahomans in some of the most sought-after, high-paying jobs. Keep up the great work!

Q & A over lunch with the Tulsa Chamber to talk through tax policy, international conflicts, and our economy. Our nation faces an enormous number of challenges; it’s time to pray and get to work.

It’s always a good day for something refreshing at Pops in Arcadia! In this case I also got to spend some time catching up with the Mayor of Arcadia, James Woodard, the Vice Mayor of Arcadia Marcus Woodward, and the Mayor of Luther, Terry Arps. 

One of my favorite moments as a US Senator is getting to welcome our newest US citizens. I recently spoke at our naturalization ceremony in Oklahoma City and was glad to connect with Director of the USCIS Oklahoma City Field Office Bruce Paulin, who helps new citizens begin to navigate all their important duties as Americans.

I was grateful to join this year’s celebration of the anniversary of the Geneva Consensus Declaration, which recognized the critical role of the family as the building block of society, honored the basic human rights of all women, and reaffirmed the inherent right to life for all people.

Hearts for Hearing in Oklahoma City and Tulsa offers some truly remarkable audiology services for hearing impaired kids and adults in our state. Cindy and I were grateful to get time to connect with these great folks and the families they serve. Thank you for all you do!

Dear Oklahoma friends and neighbors:

Daylight Saving Time ends this weekend and so does Bedlam. Half our state is going to get an extra hour to enjoy the win this weekend.

It certainly isn’t the most significant international issue right now, but time change is still annoying. Even though for most, “fall back” isn’t as hard as “spring forward,” Oklahoma families, especially those with young children, dread the “switch” of our clocks twice a year as Daylight Saving Time begins and ends. This Sunday, don’t forget to change the time on your microwave (if it doesn’t just say 12:00 all year already).

Several years ago, I sponsored a bill called the Sunshine Protection Act, which would keep us on the sunny side in the evenings by locking the clock on Daylight Saving Time. Congress voted to create the twice-a-year time change to save lamp oil during World War II. I think our nation is doing just fine on lamp oil now. We should vote to end time change weekend.

CLICK HERE to read more about my bill to lock the clock.

We’ll see if we can tackle the issue of locking the clock in the days ahead, but in the meantime, I want to update you on some of the national security issues we face and what we’re doing to address them.

Threats to the Homeland

This week, the Homeland Security Committee held our annual “Threats to the Homeland” hearing to talk about the foreign and domestic threats to American national security. During the hearing, I stayed laser-focused on the potential terrorist threats we face because of our wide-open southern border and the rise in antisemitism across our nation. We need to secure our border and help local law enforcement protect our Jewish friends and neighbors.

The witnesses at the hearing were Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and Director of the National Counterterrorism Center Christine Abizaid.

I reiterated to Secretary Mayorkas that at a hearing in April when I asked him if our immigration system was broken and being abused, he responded, “Senator, yes, the asylum system is broken, and our entire immigration system is broken. There is unanimity about that, and it is our continuing hope that Congress will reform a broken system…” Now in November, very little has been done to actually stop the flow of unvetted people into our nation.

One issue I continue to press about our wildly insecure southern border is specifically about the people being allowed into our nation known as “special interest aliens,” meaning we do not know their background except that they are from nations with known terrorism. In fact, we’ve seen 70,000 special interest aliens across our border in recent years—70,000 people from countries where terrorism is very prominent. We have also apprehended more than 150 individuals on our Terrorist Watchlist attempting to cross the border. That is more than the last five years combined. In most cases, Border Patrol tells me the Biden Administration is detaining the Terror Watchlist individuals, but their traveling companions are allowed to enter the country.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I imagine most terrorists aren’t traveling with their youth pastors. That process of selective admittance when a known terrorist is involved is irrational and unsafe.

Meanwhile Senate Democrats continue to say that Homeland Security just needs “more money” to solve the wide-open border they’ve allowed to happen. I repeat to them what I’ve said for years: more money will not solve our broken border security and immigration system. We need real policy changes.

We have thousands of foreign nationals from nations like Syria, Mauritania (a hot-bed for terrorism), Pakistan, China, and Iran that have crossed our border since Biden took office. 

As I’ve said before, most of the people coming to our border come through the criminal cartels in Mexico. They are told how to claim “asylum,” which puts them in a process for consideration of their claims. However, we know very clearly that this system is being gamed for migrants to just say some words and get into the country. To give you some perspective on how much things have changed, in 2010 our nation had just over 21,000 people a year ask for asylum. Now, we have many times during the year when we have more than 21,000 asylum requests in a week.

This is a real national security threat from unfriendly countries all over the world. I have been on the phone and in direct meetings all this week to fight for an agreement to secure our border.

CLICK HERE to watch the video of my Q&A in the Threats to the Homeland hearing.

CLICK HERE to watch a video about my conversation with Secretary Mayorkas.

Continuing to Stand with Israel and the Jewish People

Antisemitism is on the rise worldwide. The Iran-backed terrorists of Hamas do not just hate Israel; they hate the Jewish people—and they’re not quiet about it.

The Israelis have every right to defend themselves against terror and to bring those who committed the October 7th attacks to justice. People may not know that Hamas has continued to fire thousands of rockets at Israeli civilians over the past few days, as they take international aid away from the civilians in southern Gaza to give to the Hamas fighters in the north. I remain in contact with the Israeli embassy to monitor whether any Oklahomans in Israel need help. It is impossible to not be moved with grief for the incredible loss of life since October 7 in Israel and Gaza because of the ruthless terrorism of Hamas.

CLICK HERE to watch my interview on CNN State of the Union with Jake Tapper to hear our conversation about the ongoing situation in Israel.

Hamas terrorists are very clearly backed by the dictatorial Iranian regime, which remains a major threat to security worldwide. Iranian-backed militias have attacked US troops more than two dozen times in the past few days, but the Biden Administration has basically just told them “don’t.” In the Middle East, strong words mean nothing. Strong action is required.

I demanded that Secretary of State Blinken also make it the official policy of the United States to freeze $6 billion in Iranian assets in the wake of Hamas’s deadly terrorist attacks on Israel. We cannot give the Iranian regime more money to prop up Hamas terrorists against Israel. Our legislation should also push the UN Security Council to designate Hamas as a terrorist organization, which I think many Oklahomans would be surprised to know is even necessary.

CLICK HERE to read about my letter.

The Senate unanimously adopted a bipartisan resolution to reaffirm US support of Israel, which I joined my colleagues to introduce. In addition to condemning Hamas as terrorists, we also need to unequivocally condemn any form of antisemitism in our nation, including on our college campuses. 

We have sadly seen universities like Cornell telling their Jewish students to just not go to their kosher cafeteria for their safety (instead of protecting the students and stopping the threats). Meanwhile at Columbia University, one professor praised the attacks on Israel by Hamas. A Stanford University professor was suspended after reportedly asking his Jewish students to sit in a corner, calling them “colonizers,” and downplaying the Holocaust. That’s to name just a few of the growing number of incidents. This has to stop.

I stand with the Jewish people and with Israel against antisemitism.

CLICK HERE to read about my bipartisan resolution—that received unanimous support in the Senate—that denounces antisemitism at institutions of higher education and pushes college and university leaders, administrators, and faculty to voice their opposition to antisemitism on campus. I also have a proposal to defund colleges and universities who are pushing antisemitism.

CLICK HERE to watch my interview with Fox Business Mornings With Maria discussing stopping antisemitism on college campuses. 

UPDATE: My Prevent Government Shutdowns Act

Last week I forced a vote on my Prevent Government Shutdowns Act, which would permanently take government shutdowns off the table and force Congress to stay in town until the work is done.

I offered the bill, which I have worked on for five years with Senator Maggie Hassan from New Hampshire, as an amendment to the appropriations bill on the Senate floor.

Unfortunately, most—but not all—Democrats opposed my amendment on the Senate floor, and it fell just a few votes short of the necessary 60 votes to pass and be included in the spending bill. This will not be the last opportunity to get my bill passed. I will continue to fight for fiscal sanity and for the millions of members in the military and federal workers who just want to do their job without interruption and waste.

CLICK HERE to watch my remarks on the Senate floor to bring up my Prevent Government Shutdowns Act for the vote.

KYITL

• Open Enrollment for Medicare Is Still Open – If you’re a senior adult or a family member caring for a senior adult, open enrollment for Medicare remains open through December 7. Several of the plans have significant changes this year. If you have a question or need additional information about which Medicare plan is right for you, please call the Oklahoma Insurance Department at 800-763-2828 or CLICK HERE to visit the OID website and learn more about Senior Health Insurance Assistance Programs.
• Checking Up on Medicare Advantage for Oklahomans – In a recent Senate Finance Committee hearing, I discussed some of the benefits of Medicare Advantage plans for Oklahoma seniors but also some of the challenges seniors face selecting, enrolling, and utilizing Medicare Advantage plans. I specifically highlighted the large volume of calls Oklahoma’s senior adults receive as advertisements for Medicare Advantage plans. You have let me know that you are inundated and “furious” about the number of marketing calls you receive. I hear you. I’m working to address the best ways to get Oklahoma senior adults information about plans available to them without being robocalled all day long. CLICK HERE to watch my Q&A.
• Shouldn’t school lunch be about kids eating? – The Biden Administration is bullying schools by cutting off the federal free and reduced breakfast and lunch program for children if the school will not change their policy to allow boys in the girls’ bathroom or locker room, even in elementary school. Even many people who may agree with President Biden’s progressive gender ideology (which I do not) understand that it is wrong to punish kids by taking away their food. I recently voted to try to prevent the US Department of Agriculture from retaliating against schools that do not comply with the Biden Administration’s progressive gender ideology. Unfortunately, in this Senate, our common sense resolution to disapprove of the regulation failed. CLICK HERE to read more about the resolution.
• Calling on Facebook to Stop the Flow of Fentanyl – I am demanding Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg put an end to the public sale of fentanyl precursor chemicals on Facebook and Instagram. Currently, social media users can find numerous posts advertising these chemicals with tag lines like “home delivery service” and “100 percent” custom clearance rate with just a click of a button. If this all seems bad to you as well, remember that China remains the principal source of US fentanyl and its precursors. CLICK HERE to read more about my letter to get this stopped.
• Calling on Biden to Reverse the “Don’t Say Dad” Rule – Sadly, I recently had to send a letter to address the US Department of Health and Human Services’ new proposed rule in which they want to eliminate “gender-specific” words like “paternity,” “mother,” and “father” from federal regulations guiding the Child Support Enforcement program. This is the Biden Administration’s latest attempt to erase biological sex from federal law. I’m standing against it. The is nothing wrong with the word Mom or Dad. CLICK HERE to read the letter.
• Modernizing Federal Employee Telework – The spouse of a Border Patrol agent working in the small town of Eagle Pass, Texas, or an airman in Altus, Oklahoma, might not be able to develop a career that fits their education or training, but they could work remotely for a federal agency. I recently introduced the Telework Reform Act to make it simpler for federal agencies to recruit strong candidates to remote work positions and improve federal telework processes and procedures. By re-thinking how the government uses remote work, we are encouraging federal agencies to hire in diverse communities across the country—instead of requiring our workforce to be centralized in Washington, DC. CLICK HERE to read more about my bill.
• Considering New Federal Court Nominees – In a few weeks, two new federal judicial nominees for the US District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma will get a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sara Hill and John D. Russell. Federal judge positions require lengthy interviews and negotiations between both Senators and the White House. It is a very tough process. Both candidates rose to the top of a long list of qualified individuals. I personally met with both of them and heard their commitment to the Constitution and strict rule of law. We must have judges that will follow the law, not try to make law from the bench. CLICK HERE to read more about Oklahoma’s newest federal judicial nominees.

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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