Dear Oklahoma friends and neighbors:

If you’re anything like my bride, Cindy, you are ready for warmer weather, sunny skies, and porch sitting. I hope you will use this time to get outside and enjoy our state’s beautiful parks and recreation areas and also use the extra hours of sunlight to volunteer with nonprofits in your community. As temperatures heat up, please be sure to check on vulnerable senior adults and neighbors to make sure they have ways to stay cool.

This Memorial Day weekend, take time to remember the heroes we’ve lost who gave their last full measure of devotion to their nation to protect our freedom, sometimes halfway around the world from their family and friends. This is a time to remember their sacrifice and find practical ways to serve their families and our nation. 

Hearing Ag Priorities Directly from Oklahomans

Last Friday, I brought my friend, Senator John Boozman of Arkansas, who is the lead Republican on the Senate Agriculture Committee, to Oklahoma for a discussion with leaders in the Oklahoma ag community to talk about Oklahoma priorities for the Farm Bill. Oklahomans sure have a lot “at steak” in this conversation. 

When the Farm Bill is written this fall, we want to make sure Oklahoma concerns are addressed. We met with Oklahoma farmers, ranchers, and nutrition specialists to hear their ideas on crop insurance, credit programs, crop & livestock risk mitigation programs, trade priorities, food & nutrition, drought prevention & conservation, and much more. We joined faculty and staff at Langston University to get first-hand knowledge of the University’s world-renowned goat-breeding program, and we visited Oklahoma State University in Stillwater to interact with some of the cutting-edge dairy and agronomy research leaders.

We also met with Oklahoma law enforcement to discuss the risks facing Oklahoma agriculture and national security from both illegal marijuana operations and the Chinese land ownership and influence in our state. I continue to press for my SOIL Act, which provides oversight and transparency for foreign purchases of US ag land that could threaten national security. If governments in Russia, China, and other adversaries are trying to buy US land, it’s not because they love America. We need rigorous oversight to make sure hostile nations are not purchasing our land for illegal activities or threats to our national security

CLICK HERE to learn more about Senator Boozman’s visit to Oklahoma.

CLICK HERE to learn more about my SOIL Act and why it’s needed.

Clear Skies for the FAA Reauthorization Bill

Oklahoma has a rich aviation history. We have a unique relationship with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) through the important work done at Oklahoma City’s Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center (MMAC), which is an essential part of a safe and
efficient national air space, coordinated by the FAA. The Aeronautical Center is home to the only FAA Academy which provides the initial training for air traffic controllers with centralized, standardized, and efficient training to about 20,000 students each
year. The Academy is also home to the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute that provides medical certification, research, education, and occupational health for the FAA.

This year’s FAA reauthorization bill, which I supported, directs the FAA to expand the air traffic control training in Oklahoma at MMAC, which will improve the safety of our national airspace by increasing the number of well-trained air traffic controllers in towers across the country. This bill leads us into the future of aviation, and I was proud to support it.

CLICK HERE to read more about the reauthorization bill.

Continuing to Clean Up after Storm Damage

The warmer weather and Oklahoma spring has brought severe weather, including tornadoes, damaging winds, hail, flooding, and more, to Oklahomans around our state. I know my family is ready for severe weather threats to end, but we are grateful for the rain in drought-stricken areas of the state. As I continue to work with FEMA and the Oklahoma Office of Emergency Management (OEM) to be sure our counties have the resources they need, please make sure the folks you know in affected areas visit Damage.OK.Gov to report damage to the OEM. Volunteers are still needed for cleanup and recovery efforts, so please remain engaged to help our friends and neighbors clean up and get up and running again. Don’t forget to keep watching the skies. We have more storms coming this weekend in many parts of the state. 

Challenging Senate Democrats’ Bogus Border Vote

This week, Senator Schumer forced a vote on a border bill that he knew would fail, just so he could attack Republicans and try to distract the American people from the past three years of failed border policies. As I have said over and over, our wide-open southern border is a huge national security risk, and we need to get it closed. The White House should enforce the law at least as much as President Trump (or even President Obama), but they refuse. Congress should also update our weak asylum law and dictate a much faster process of deportation for those who do not qualify for asylum (which is the vast majority of people crossing our border.) I have been clear that I am willing to
work with anyone on either side of the aisle to close the open border. The worst thing we can do about the problem is to do nothing, but that is what happened again this week. All talk, no action. CLICK HERE to watch my remarks on the Senate floor to call out Senate Democrats for this sham vote.

Rejecting the World Health Organization

I recently sent a letter to President Biden calling for his Administration to withdraw their support for two international agreements being considered at this month’s World Health Assembly (WHA). The agreements would grant more authority to the dysfunctional World Health Organization (WHO) and potentially weaken United States sovereignty, which I stand firmly against. No president can bind Americans to an international agreement single-handedly. I continue to watch this situation closely, as I have for several years. CLICK HERE to read more on my work to stand against the WHO.

Protecting and Expanding Rural Health Care in Oklahoma

Access to quality rural health care is a significant issue for Oklahoma. Of the 4 million Oklahomans, 2 million live in rural areas so we know the critical need for access to timely and affordable health care in remote parts of our state. We’ve seen several rural facilities close over the last few years. In fact, one report shows that about a third of Oklahoma’s rural hospitals are at risk of closure. That is significant. In a recent Senate Finance Committee hearing, I discussed solutions for health care delivery to rural parts of our state, and how we can expand access where its needed most while maintaining existing facilities. CLICK HERE to watch more of my Q&A from the Senate Finance hearing.

Raising Awareness of China’s Attempts to Influence US Elections

I serve on the Senate Intelligence and Homeland Security Committees, and I remain concerned about foreign entities like Russia and now China attempting to interfere in our elections and elections around the world. In a recent Homeland Security Committee hearing, a national security official told me that China is taking actions including bankrolling candidates they prefer, using deepfake technologies to generate content, collecting polling data to determine targets for them, conducting social media influence operations, and more. This is a serious issue, and we are working with our national security officials to ensure we keep any and every other nation out of our elections. CLICK HERE to watch my Q&A in the hearing.

Protecting AM Radio

Emergency alerts save lives, and AM radio ensures drivers can hear them as soon as possible. If you’re on a road trip, in a tractor, or driving to work, you shouldn’t be blocked from accessing news, music, sports, or weather because of the kind of car you drive. The AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act will keep AM radio in cars across America by requiring automakers to maintain AM broadcast radio in their new vehicles at no additional charge. There’s no reason for getting rid of AM radio in cars as we add other types of services, so we’re making sure the Biden Administration’s push to do that is unsuccessful. You may never use AM radio, but if a storm hits and knocks out cell and broadband service in your area, you will be glad that old school AM radio is still there to give you emergency information. CLICK HERE to read more about the bill.

Stopping Tax Credits for Expensive Electric Vehicles

The Biden Administration loves giving Americans’ hard-earned tax money away to his preferred voters. The latest examples are his tax breaks for luxury electric vehicles and free charging stations. I recently introduced a bill to end the federal electric vehicle and charging stations tax credit to stop taxpayer money from propping up the purchase of luxury electric vehicles for high-income individuals and corporations. I’m not against electric vehicles, but we don’t need to subsidize them with federal tax dollars as our debt continues to skyrocket. CLICK HERE to read more about my bill.

Continuing to Stand Against Antisemitism

As the co-founder of the Senate’s Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, I remain very concerned with escalating antisemitism in the US and around the world. We all need to do our part to end antisemitism and protect all Americans’ freedom to have any faith they choose and to freely practice that faith. CLICK HERE to watch my remarks on the Senate floor recently to talk about legislation I support to stand against antisemitism and keep our college and universities free and safe for Jewish students, faculty, and staff.

Protecting Charitable Donor Privacy

Nonprofits and their donors are an essential safety net for our communities, providing food, housing, and care to those who need it most. Oklahomans shouldn’t worry about their identities being made public after they donate to a charity. Millions of donors want to do something good without needing to be recognized for it, and we should honor their privacy as they care for others. I introduced a bill to address the unlawful disclosure of data identifying donors who contribute to nonprofit organizations. My bill would help nonprofit organizations better protect the identities of their donors by reinforcing existing privacy protections and increasing the penalties for disclosure of sensitive taxpayer data. CLICK HERE to read more about my bill. 

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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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