Dear Oklahoma friends and neighbors: Our beautiful state is trying to decide if it is winter or spring. I hope you can get out to enjoy the beautiful weather before it’s 100 degrees soon.
There is more going on in Washington, DC, than I could possibly include in this month’s enewsletter, so how about some highlights? In February, the U.S. Senate worked long days and nights to finish hearings and one-on-one meetings with President Trump’s nominees. We have now confirmed more nominees faster than any Senate in the last 25 years.
Last week, the Senate “enjoyed” an all night “vote-a-rama.” Any time a partisan budget bill comes to the Senate floor, the Senate rules allow for unlimited amendments. Democrat Senators brought amendments every few minutes, all night, until 4:30 a.m. the next day to try to slow us down. However, Republican Senators stayed at our desks and voted down every amendment since they were all designed to prevent us from giving more money to border security and national security. After the allnight amendment votes, the Senate passed a budget resolution that starts the process of cutting out wasteful spending and passing a new tax law.
Once again, I released my annual Federal Fumbles book the week after the Super Bowl. We have highlighted and worked to get rid of government waste for years. This year’s Federal Fumbles: A Playbook for DOGE, highlights specific examples of waste, duplication, and wildly inappropriate uses of our tax dollars like payments to the Taliban in Afghanistan and transgender comic books in Peru. If you have ideas about how to reduce government waste, send them to us. We all need to pitch in to balance our federal budget and get rid of taxpayer fraud and waste.
Meetings with Oklahoma Legislators and Other State Leaders Since we did not have votes on Presidents' Day, I spent the day at our state Capitol meeting with Gov. Stitt and members on both sides of the aisle in our state legislature. We talked about federal projects in Oklahoma, stopping foreign purchases of agricultural land, border security, the budget process, and the essential work our legislators do to help our state.
I also talked about how we can support our military bases and the important work the FAA does every day to train the next generation of air traffic controllers at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City. After the tragic crash at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport a few weeks ago, our work to train more air traffic controllers is even more important.
We even talked about the agonizing exercise of switching from Daylight Saving Time back to Standard Time and then back to Daylight Saving Time four months later. Most Oklahomans I talk to are ready to get rid of “Spring Forward.” I support sticking with what is currently Daylight Saving Time, so we have more sunlight in the evenings for kids to play outside, throwing a frisbee with the dogs, and enjoying a porch swing or a patio. But even if you prefer longer mornings on Standard Time, almost everyone I talk to hates the “switch” from one to the other twice a year. I have a bill to “lock the clock” that I will once again work to get passed, so we can stay in Daylight Saving Time year-round. I have many other bills and issues I am determined to solve in Washington, but time change often creates some interesting conversations this time of year. By the way, 'Spring Forward' is coming again on March 9.
The State of the Union Is March 4!
Next Tuesday, President Trump will deliver his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress. In his first two months in the White House, he has already dramatically decreased illegal crossings at our southern border, opened up new U.S. energy production, rolled back some of the Biden Administration’s most outrageous executive actions including government- wide DEI requirements and compelling every school to allow male athletes in women’s sports.
I expect the President to lay out a vision for the next year in our nation including increased national security, decreased crime, and balanced federal budgets. I hope he addresses his ideas to unleash American energy, reduce our spending and debt, and bring people together to solve our federal tax issues before they expire at the end of this year.
Get your popcorn and tune in Tuesday night. I will be sitting on the front row, but unfortunately, they will not let me bring in any popcorn.