CLICK HERE to watch my floor speech.

Last Monday, I released the third volume of my government waste and solutions report, Federal Fumbles: 100 ways the government dropped the ball. This year’s report lists $473.6 billion in wasteful and inefficient federal spending.

During 2017, Congress and the Administration have made some progress rolling back wasteful spending and a number of harmful and burdensome regulations from previous Federal Fumbles reports. The nation’s $20 trillion national debt will continue to increase until we implement spending cuts, government reforms and focus on creating a healthy economy.

The 100 “Fumbles” are simply examples of the larger problem of government oversight and duplication.

Here are a few examples from Federal Fumbles:

The National Science Foundation awarded a grant last year to study the services provided to refugees who relocated to Iceland. Now I'm sure the country of Iceland would like to know how it's going for refugees, and maybe even the UN would like to know, but I'm a little stunned that the National Science Foundation used American tax dollars to study refugees in Iceland.

The IRS has had multiple issues, which my office has tried to identify in Federal Fumbles. Several years ago, we noticed that the IRS was rehiring employees they had fired. The employees were fired for reasons such as they weren't paying their income taxes or the employees were using their position to spy on other Americans and pull up their tax information for their own interests. Well, these actions are—and should be—reason for termination at the IRS. The concern, however, is the IRS started rehiring those same people. I don't know many companies that fire somebody only to later change their minds and rehire them. But apparently, the IRS has become proficient at that. We identified this problem several years ago. The IRS said they would stop it, so we checked in last year. Guess what? The IRS is still rehiring employees they have fired, some whom even had their files stamped “Do not hire."

A federal grant was awarded to a local community theater in New Hampshire to help pay for their performance of “Doggie Hamlet,” an outdoor presentation that involves a group of people yelling and singing at a group of sheep and sheepdogs. For the record, the production does not include one line from Shakespeare’s, Hamlet. If the great folks in New Hampshire want to pay for a performance of “Doggie Hamlet,” I have no problem with it. But Oklahomans should not be forced, through federal tax dollars, to pay for it.

As in previous reports, Federal Fumbles includes commonsense examples of ways to limit spending and fix government inefficiency. I hope you’ll take the time to look at the report—unless you already have high blood pressure. If you see examples of waste in the federal government, please do not hesitate to share them with my office. CLICK HERE to watch the press conference. CLICK HERE to access the report.

Push to Reform Senate Rules

This has been a very slow year for Senate confirmations. For previous Presidents, their nominations were always allowed to go through a thorough, yet rapid, confirmation. But this year has been different. The Senate has confirmed 252 nominations this year, compared to 413 of President Obama’s nominations in his first year and 481 of President Bush’s nominations in his first year. There are over 4,000 positions for the President to fill. If we maintain the current pace, it will take us 11 years to confirm all of the President’s staff.

We need to change the Senate rules governing the confirmation process. For the past five months, I have talked to both Republican and Democratic members of the Senate to negotiate a rule change on nominations. My proposal to limit debate time (after nominees have been approved in committee) will be debated next week in the Senate. It is my hope that we can get the Senate working again for the American people.

CLICK HERE to watch a speech I gave on the Senate floor earlier this year on the need to reform the Senate rules. CLICK HERE to read an op-ed that I wrote for the Wall Street Journal.

Keeping You in the Loop

• This week, my Chief of Staff Greg Slavonic was asked to serve as the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Manpower and Reserve Affairs. Before Greg was my chief of staff, he served 34 years in the Navy, rising to the rank of Rear Admiral. He will be a tremendous asset to the Pentagon, but he will be missed by our team and our state. Greg’s new position will require Senate confirmation, so it will be more than a month before he transitions to his new role. CLICK HERE to read more.
• On Tuesday, I, along with my colleagues Senators Grassley, Cornyn, Tillis, Cotton, and Perdue, introduced the SECURE Act. This bill will fix the issues with our nation’s border security and immigration system. This is not the final bill; it was designed to be the first step to begin discussion on commonsense solutions to DACA and the issues related to illegal immigration in America. To read more, CLICK HERE. To watch my floor speech, CLICK HERE.
• Last week, the Senate passed the RESPECT Act, which I co-sponsored. This bill will repeal several outdated, offensive federal laws against Native Americans, including unenforced laws currently in place that subject Native Americans to forced labor or to the removal of Native American children from their homes to attend boarding schools without the consent of the parents. CLICK HERE to read more.
• Over two decades ago, a large bipartisan majority in Congress asked the President to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Then earlier this year, the Senate unanimously voted again to encourage the President to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. For decades, the Office of the Prime Minister, the Knesset, the Supreme Court, and most other government offices in Israel have been located in Jerusalem. This week, President Trump acknowledged what is obvious: Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. CLICK HERE to read more.
• During the past few days, I have worked with several of my Senate colleagues and the President to develop a plan for the future of ethanol. The federal ethanol mandate raises prices on gasoline for every Oklahoman. It is not too much to work toward a diversity of fuels, a clean environment, and lower prices.
• Last month, I sent a letter to the Trump Administration about the ongoing renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). We encouraged US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to quickly finish his negotiations so America can continue to sell our products across North America. To read the letter, CLICK HERE.
• Before Thanksgiving, the long-awaited Museum of the Bible opened its doors in Washington, DC. Along with Senators Cornyn and Coons, I introduced a bipartisan Senate resolution to recognize the grand opening. I encourage every Oklahoman to visit the museum to see some of the world’s most breathtaking treasures. CLICK HERE to read more.