During this Congress, Speaker Pelosi and her leadership team seem to have forgotten the importance of following the proper legislative process so that the final product is a thoughtful and successful bill. By refusing to follow regular order, the Speaker has crammed one bill after another across the House floor, forcing votes on legislation before most members have even had an opportunity to read it. | Read More »
One trillion, four hundred twenty billion dollars. It’s an astounding number. It’s more than the entire economy of India and enough to give every man, woman, and child in the United States $4700. It is also our country’s federal budget deficit for 2009. That means that in the fiscal year 2009, which runs from October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2009, the federal government spent | Read More »
Last year, following a dramatic price spike in gas prices and very vocal call by the American people to increase American-made energy, Congress and then-President George W. Bush ended a decades-long ban on offshore drilling. Even though the Department of the Interior has jurisdiction over our coasts, Congress had used its power to spend to eliminate offshore drilling by restricting the funds necessary to develop | Read More »
No one can deny that our health care system has problems that need to be addressed. There are those in this country who are without insurance, who are underinsured, and who go without necessary – and sometimes lifesaving – treatments each day. In a country like the United States, this is frustrating to see and we can no longer continue to accept it. But the | Read More »
Recently, the Obama Administration and Speaker Pelosi have joined many of their colleagues to call for yet another “economic stimulus” package, like the one passed in February of this year, as a means to encourage economic growth. As a reminder, the first “economic stimulus” package cost the American taxpayers a whopping $789.5 billion. And since that money needed to be borrowed, the interest drove the | Read More »
There has been a growing sense of frustration in this country over the rising cost of health care, and this problem has recently been compounded by our ailing economy as Americans are losing their jobs and struggling to make ends meet. I know there are many families in Oklahoma who currently do not have health insurance- making one sick child a potential family crisis. I | Read More »
Since the birth of our nation over 220 years ago, the principle of civilian government oversight of our armed services and intelligence agencies has been the backbone of our national defense. For example, the Joint Chiefs of Staff report to a civilian: the Secretary of Defense. In addition, each branch of Congress has a Select Committee on Intelligence. American intelligence agencies are required to report | Read More »
In one of his first acts in office, President Barack Obama signed an executive order demanding the closure of the terrorist detention facility at Guantanamo Bay by the end of the year. However, he failed to explain any type of plan as to how the base would be closed, including what would be done with the prisoners within. There was immediate backlash from both sides | Read More »
Wind-generated electricity is key to our future success of energy independence. Oklahoma has long played a role as one of the country’s largest energy producing states. And with the recent uptick in alternative energy, Oklahoma is once again leading the charge. Currently, we are the 9th largest producer of wind power in the United States, generating 689 megawatts each year which powers around 200,000 homes. | Read More »
As most of you are aware, each year I host 50 town halls spanning the 32 counties in the Third Congressional District. These have long been one of my favorite traditions. I begin each meeting with a brief introduction and an update of current legislation under consideration in Washington as well as other hot button issues of the day. I then open it up to | Read More »
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