Dear Oklahoma friends and neighbors:
February went by fast, didn’t it? I spent multiple weeks this month fighting for the DHS funding and traveling around Oklahoma including our state Capitol, Watonga, Del City, Lawton, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Enid, and Edmond to talk through what’s happening in our nation’s capital but also to hear from veterans, local faith leaders, students, first responders, economic development leaders, aerospace tech innovators, and more.
Our state continues to see frequent fire danger warnings, and we have already had some devastating wildfire activity in in the northwest part of our state. As we all know, March is on its way, which means the uninvited guest of severe weather will show up again. I worked to create a resource for the moment when natural disasters and emergencies strike our families and neighborhoods. Your first points of contact in a disaster are those provided by our Oklahoma Office of Emergency Management, run by Director Annie Vest and her great team of professionals. My guide provides the federal resources and partners available to us when it moves from local to national and we have a federal disaster declaration.
CLICK HERE to view my office’s “Navigating Federal Disaster Assistance” document.
As we rapidly approach storm season, The Department of Homeland Security, which includes FEMA, the Coast Guard, TSA, along with ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), remains shut down. Democrats in the Senate continue to block the funding bill so they can protest ICE operations and protest President Trump, even though ICE is only a very small part of the Department of Homeland Security, and ICE funding was actually provided in last summer’s reconciliation bill. So ICE is not even impacted by the shutdown but FEMA, TSA, and our cybersecurity operations are massively impacted. I continue to work and pray for a resolution so we can pay the 250,000 Homeland Security professionals who are mostly working without pay right now.
State of the Union Recap
President Trump’s State of the Union address was long, informative, and inspiring. He rightly acknowledged that this year marks the 250th year since the Declaration of Independence was signed. He recognized our remarkable beginning and clearly articulated the role America plays on our globe. We still have a very bright future ahead of us as we work to form a more perfect union.
His speech focused on the ways we have succeeded in leveling off prices in many areas and bringing down prices on eggs (down 60%), gas (down by more than half), and mortgage rates. Even though there is still more work to do to get our economy going, we currently have the highest number of people working in our country that we’ve ever had. He also talked about the prosecution of crime across the US and the drop in crime rates in key areas, including Washington, DC, where our Oklahoma National Guard are directly assisting while on deployment right now. He talked about his tremendous work to close our border from illegal immigration, boost our economy, and dramatically reduce the illegal fentanyl pouring into our nation.
He also talked about foreign policy like Venezuela and Iran, which remains the largest state-sponsor of terrorism in the world and is now working to rebuild their nuclear weapons program at break-neck speed. That’s a problem for us and the entire world. He made crystal clear that Iran will not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon.
The longest State of the Union address to date had much more in it than I can write in this e-newsletter, but to learn more, you can watch my quick video rundown of the speech late Tuesday night after it concluded.
CLICK HERE to watch my video reaction to President Trump’s State of the Union address to Congress.
The Newest Installment of my Federal Fumbles Government Waste Book
It’s Federal Fumbles season again. This 9th edition of my government waste book looks at the spending and inefficiencies that leave many Oklahomans scratching their heads about what Washington is doing with their money and why government is not working properly. There are brow-raising research projects, dollars sent overseas with little oversight, fraud in food programs, shutdowns that cost billions, and more.
Fumbles is about more than making the penalty calls; it also lays out the playbook for me and my team to fix the waste. From cracking down on COVID fraud, to untangling a disaster relief system that runs through more than 30 agencies, to stopping programs that waste money, and passing my Prevent Government Shutdowns Act.
Fumbles also highlights touchdowns like the Working Families Tax Cut Act, which made permanent reforms like my Charitable Act and ALIGN Act, to help families and small businesses, increase the number of child care facilities in our state, provide teachers with a new education tax break, and allow farmers to keep more of their own money. Federal Fumbles is about transparency, accountability, and making sure taxpayers know someone is fighting for them.
CLICK HERE to watch a short highlight reel of this year’s Federal Fumbles and read the full report.
What is going on with Iran?
If you have watched any news lately, you have seen a huge American military build up in the Middle East focused on stopping the terrorist supporting Iranian regime. The regime has re-started their nuclear weapons program, continued to fund terrorist groups all over the world, tried to assassinate American leaders, and chanted “Death to America” in their streets.
Sometimes we forget that Americans don’t just live inside our 50 states. Around a million Americans live and work in the nations around Iran, including the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Bahrain, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, and many more. We cannot forget that the Iranian regime trained thousands of Shia militants to attack and kill American forces in Iraq, carried out the bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut and recently attacked our ships at they pass by Yemen.
The President sent his negotiating team to Geneva to find a diplomatic solution to the rising threat from Iran. Clearly, a diplomatic solution would be far better than military action. Millions of Iranian people continue to protest against their government, even when it means they could face torture or death at the hands of their totalitarian leaders. This is a very difficult situation for President Trump and his team. I continue to receive regular intelligence briefings on the situation, and I will keep praying for peace and our Armed Forces as the President works to protect Americans, whereever they may live and work.
Traveling to Mexico for Spring Break? Here’s what you need to know:
If you (or someone you know) are thinking about traveling to Mexico for Spring Break or in the future, please read this.
I cannot say strongly enough that the US State Department does not recommend travel to most areas of Mexico at this time.
It is unsafe and lawless in many states in Mexico because the criminal cartels have overrun the government, particularly along the US southern border and in the state of Jalisco. If you decide to go to Mexico anyway, please sign up for the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) with the US State Department. STEP is a free service to allow US citizens and nationals to enroll their trip abroad so the Department of State can accurately and quickly contact them in case of an emergency in that country. Once you are signed up, you can get updates about health, weather, safety, and security for your destination; plan using information from the local US embassy, and maybe most importantly, help the embassy or consulate contact you if there's an emergency.
Please also be sure to keep my office phone numbers on you in case you need assistance while you are abroad. You can call (405) 231-4941, (918) 581-7651, or (202) 224-5754. If you leave a voicemail, we will return your or your family member’s call when we return to the office.
CLICK HERE to sign up for STEP for upcoming travel.
Helping Our Families Stay Alert about Potential Scam
Scammers are tragically on the rise, and they are coming after everyone. My office is hearing from an increasing number of folks who are victims or likely victims of scams. Fraudsters are robbing people of thousands of dollars by impersonating celebrities, real-life government officials, and more. These scammers are sophisticated and efficient. No one who is a scam victim or a potential scam victim should feel embarrassed or like they “should have known better.” These scammers are using tech, social media, AI, and more to convince virtually anyone to hand over money. Scams range from people impersonating law enforcement, to LinkedIn accounts wanting to connect with you on a possible job interview, to imposters from the IRS, Social Security Administration, Department of Justice, and more.
The best thing to do is guard yourself, your digital information, and the information of your family carefully. If something sounds fishy, it probably is. There are multiple places to report scams, particularly if the scammer is attempting to impersonate a federal official.
CLICK HERE to report a scam or an instance of fraud to the Federal Trade Commission.
On March 6, the Social Security Administration is holding a “slam the scam” event to attempt to get information out to stop scammers and fraudsters before they steal your money or your personal information.
CLICK HERE to read more about Social Security’s Slam the Scam initiative.
You can contact my office at any time if you think you may be or have been a victim of a scam, and we can help look into it for you. We will also continue to report scams regarding federal imposters and help connect Oklahomans with resources and/or law enforcement. |