Oklahoma congressional delegation comments on SNAP funding, Be A Neighbor program

Oklahoma Delegation Statement Regarding SNAP Funding and Be a Neighbor Support Services 

Oklahoma (Oct. 30th) – On Saturday, November 1st, 2025, approximately 700,000 Oklahomans will not receive their SNAP benefits. Despite falling into the category of mandatory funding, due to the government shutdown, SNAP contingency funds are not legally available to cover SNAP costs.

We understand that this abrupt pause to SNAP funding may impact many of our constituents, and we wish to assist you during this time. To this end, we recommend that anyone struggling with food scarcity utilize the Oklahoma Human Services’ Be a Neighbor program. Be a Neighbor was started by Governor Stitt in 2018 to help Oklahomans with their food, clothing, and housing needs by providing a comprehensive database of local organizations equipped to support families. 

Oklahoma congressmembers vote for, comment on 'One Big Beautiful Bill'

All five of Oklahoma's members of the U.S. House of Representatives joined both U.S. Senators in voting for the 'One Big Beautiful Bill' this week, with the House passing the mega-measure by a vote of 218-214.

Comments from each of the Representatives below:

New Tulsa VA Medical Center to be named after late U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe

New VA Hospital in Tulsa, under construction (image source)

Lankford, Mullin Honor Legacy of Senator Jim Inhofe by Securing His Namesake for New Tulsa VA Medical Center

WASHINGTON, DC (Nov. 19th) – The Senate unanimously passed a bill introduced by Senators James Lankford (R-OK) and Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) to name the new Veterans Administration (VA) 75,000-square-foot, 58-bed medical-surgical hospital in Tulsa the James Mountain Inhofe VA Medical Center in honor of the life and legacy of the late-Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe, who tirelessly served our military, veterans, and their families for his entire public service career. Lankford helped ensure the hospital received funding to commence construction in 2020 and helped ensure the skyrocketing inflation of the last three years did not interrupt the construction schedule with additional unforeseen costs. Representative Kevin Hern (R-OK) is introducing companion legislation in the House of Representatives. 

Bice, colleagues urge National Weather Service to address and plan for outages

Bice Urges the National Weather Service to Address and Plan for Outages

Washington, D.C. (May 23rd) - Today, Congresswoman Bice (R-OK) led a letter with 7 of her colleagues, to Director Kenneth Graham of the National Weather Service (NWS). The letter expresses concerns on reported outages pertaining to radar data, the Automated Surface Observing System, and transmitters of NOAA Weather Radio.  

“On multiple occurrences this year, some of NWS life-saving services, including radar data, the Automated Surface Observing System, and transmitters of NOAA Weather Radio, have been reported as nonfunctional for extended periods of time,” stated the Members. “These outages have impacted NWS Weather Forecast Offices and the public at large, removing critical tools for observation and communicating severe weather.  

OK Congressional delegation asks Navy to name ship in honor of Checotah's heroic WWII sailor Paul Henry Carr

This is such a great idea. A year ago, I read 'The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors' by James D. Hornfischer (highly recommend), which focuses on an major but lesser-known naval engagement in the Pacific during WWII, the Battle off Samar (part of the larger Battle of Leyte Gulf). 

Oklahoma had several native sons who received the highest military honors for their gallant service during this unequal conflict between a lightly armed/armored American naval task force ("tin cans") and the biggest, baddest ships the Japanese navy had afloat - including the battleship Yamato, heaviest ever built and with the largest guns ever placed on a ship. Checotah's Paul Henry Carr is one of those heroes; you can read more about him here, here, and here (Muskogee's Ernest E. Evans was another).

Lankford Leads Oklahoma Congressional Delegation to Request US Navy Ship Naming to Honor Oklahoma WWII Sailor

WASHINGTON, DC – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today led the Oklahoma congressional delegation in a letter to Secretary of the United States Navy Carlos Del Torro to recommend the naming of a new Constellation-class frigate in honor of Oklahoman Paul Henry Carr, from Checotah, Oklahoma, who gave his last full measure of devotion to our nation aboard the USS Samuel B. Roberts (DE-413) during the Battle of Leyte Gulf in World War II.

Oklahoma delegation applauds new House Speaker

After three weeks, quite a bit of intrigue and several false-starts, the U.S. House of Representatives once again has a Speaker at the helm, Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA). Oklahoma's congressional delegation is supportive and complimentary of their chamber's new leader.

Oklahoma's congressional delegation applauds passage of NDAA with conservative priorities

Read below for comments from each of Oklahoma's five members of the U.S. House of Representatives following passage of the National Defense Authorization Act. Reps. Hern and Brecheen, for their part, point out many conservative victories in the amendment process of this military funding measure.

Lankford leads delegation in challenging HHS withdrawal of health grants because of OK's strong pro-life laws

Lankford Leads Delegation Letter to HHS Challenging Withdrawal of Health Care Grants Because of Oklahoma’s Strong Pro-Life Laws

WASHINGTON, DC (June 1st) – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) is leading the Oklahoma congressional delegation on a letter to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra for suspending the $4.5 million Title X Family Planning grant awarded to the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH). HHS is suspending this funding over the OSDH’s refusal to refer for abortions.

Oklahoma delegation splits on debt ceiling increase vote

On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to raise the debt limit by roughly $4T (trillion with a t) through January 2025 by a vote of 314-117 (165 Democrats and 149 Republicans in favor, 71 Republicans and 46 Democrats opposed). The U.S. Senate approved the measure on Thursday with a 63-36 vote (46 Democrats and 17 Republicans in favor, 31 Republicans and 5 Democrats opposed).

Among Oklahoma all-GOP delegation, Sen. James Lankford and Reps. Kevin Hern (1st District) and Josh Brecheen (2nd District) voted against it. Sen. Markwayne Mullin joined the moderate wing of the Senate GOP in supporting the measure, as did Reps. Frank Lucas (3rd District), Tom Cole (4th District), and Stephanie Bice (5th District) in the House. 

Below are statements from those members who have issued them since the vote (Hern appears to be the only one without a public comment).

39 of Oklahoma’s 48 State Senators urge NO Vote on SQ 820

39 of Oklahoma’s 48 State Senators Urge NO Vote on SQ 820

(February 28th) A group of 39 State Senators representing voters all across the state released a letter today urging Oklahomans to reject State Question 820.    Those 39 Senators represent more than 81% of Oklahomans. 

“I always appreciate it when I know where an elected official stands on important issues, so I wanted to make my voice heard.  I told a few colleagues I was going to speak out and quickly found out that they wanted their position known as well,” said Senator Lonnie Paxton. 

“On this topic especially, it is easy to speak out because passage of this state question would be disastrous to Oklahoma,” Paxton continued. 

Rep. Cole tapped to chair powerful House Rules Committee, Rep. Lucas leading Science, Space, and Tech

Oklahoma's two most senior members of the United States House of Representatives have been tapped to head up House committees. Rep. Tom Cole (OK-04) will chair the powerful House Rules Committee, while Rep. Frank Lucas (OK-03) will chair the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee.

Lankford, Bice call for transparency, communication in DOJ investigation of OKCPD

Lankford, Bice Call for Transparency, Communication in DOJ Investigation of Oklahoma City, OKC Police Department

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (Jan. 9th) – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) and Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-OK-05) sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland after the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced in November an investigation into the state of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, and the Oklahoma City Police Department (OKCPD).

Inhofe only member of OK's DC delegation to vote for mega-spending bill

UPDATE: read my follow-up post, His last hurrah: Inhofe stuffs omnibus bill with $498M in earmarks

True to form, Congress continues spending America into oblivion with the latest in a very long line of omnibus mega-spending bills. Also true to form, the measure passed with some Republican support. Of Oklahoma's all-GOP delegation, only U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe in favor.

In the Senate, 18 Republicans voted for the omnibus bill, 29 were opposed, and 3 were absent. In the House, 9 Republicans were supportive, 200 were opposed, and 4 were absent.

Below are comments from both Oklahoma Senators and all five Representatives. Inhofe's comments, along with his touting of over half a billion dollars in earmarks that he procured in the omnibus bill (apparently the second most of all senators). Inhofe definitely loves him some earmarks and pork spending. Nothing like going out with a bang, right? Good riddance.

Bice, other OK Reps blast Biden's $300B student loan giveaway

Congratulations, America! You just got put on the hook $300,000,000,000 (300 billion dollars) in free college for other people. The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School estimates the plan will cost each taxpayer in America $2,100.

Below are statements from four of Oklahoma's members of Congress, slamming the move by President Biden.

Reps. Bice, Sherrill introduce bipartisan 'Protecting Families from Fertility Fraud Act'

Bice, Sherrill Introduce Bill in Response to "Our Father" Documentary

Washington, D.C. (August 17th) — After watching the Netflix documentary, "Our Father," Congresswoman Stephanie Bice (R-OK) and Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) introduced H.R. 8600, the Protecting Families from Fertility Fraud Act. This legislation would establish a new federal crime for knowingly misrepresenting the nature or source of DNA used in assisted reproductive procedures and other fertility treatments. This new crime sets a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and includes fines and mandatory restitution to victims.

OK members of Congress blast Democrats' Inflation Expansion Act

Get ready for the onslaught of 87,000 new [some armed?] IRS agents, along with more inflation. Comments from each of Oklahoma's 5 U.S. Representatives on the appalling legislation below:

Bice introduce legislation to address infant formula supply shortage

Bice, Feenstra Introduce Legislation to Strengthen and Stabilize Domestic Infant Formula Supply

WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 12th) – Yesterday, amid a crisis-level infant formula shortage in the United States, U.S. Reps. Stephanie Bice (R-OK) and Randy Feenstra (R-IA) introduced the Formula Act, which is legislation that would direct the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to establish and communicate to Congress clear standards by which it domestically regulates infant formula. These standards would in turn be applied to foreign infant formula to allow formula imports and support domestic manufacturers.

Currently, the United States does not import foreign infant formula because the FDA does not have interchangeable standards in place to regulate foreign formula to ensure it complies with U.S. health code and regulations. By codifying standard regulations for infant formula, this legislation would allow America to safely import foreign infant formula to complement domestic production, particularly during times of severe shortage like American families are now facing.

“Over the last 6 months, we’ve seen shortages for infant formula skyrocket to nearly 40%,” said Rep. Bice. “This is why I introduced the Formula Act with my friend Rep. Feenstra. This legislation is critical in combating formula shortages that are negatively affecting millions of American families. This problem has quickly evolved into a crisis. The House of Representatives should immediately take up this legislation.”

“The infant formula shortage is dire in Iowa, threatening babies who rely on formula for their health and development,” said Rep. Feenstra. “That’s why I introduced the Formula Act with my friend Rep. Bice to ensure that the FDA has clear, consistent standards in place to regulate foreign infant formula so that we can import supplies when domestic production fails to meet demand. Iowa families deserve to be able to easily buy infant formula at fair prices without worrying if the shelves are fully stocked. This is a distressing problem, and I am committed to finding a solution.”

Click here to read more about the Formula Act in the DailyWire’s article.

Congresswoman Bice Introduces 'IRS Customer Service Modernization Act'

As one of those "lucky" taxpayers caught in the IRS backlog for well over a year... I say, get it done, Congresswoman!

Bice Introduces 'IRS Customer Service Modernization Act'

Washington, D.C. (April 7th) – Today, Congresswoman Stephanie Bice (R-OK) introduced the bipartisan IRS Customer Service Modernization Act along with the support of Representatives Rogers (R-AL), Meijer (R-MI), and McCormick (D-FL). This legislation would require the Secretary of Treasury to create an action plan within 60 days of enactment to complete the following: quarterly goals and benchmarks to allow zero backlog by Dec. 31, 2023, technical upgrades to improve processing times of tax returns, strategy to improve recruitment and retention rates at the IRS, improving taxpayer in-person meeting access to the Taxpayer Advocate Service and IRS, rapid identification of math errors and immediate notification of the taxpayer, and technological improvements to the IRS website for more efficient customer service. As of Dec. 31, 2021, there were still 6 million unprocessed individual returns, and in FY21, the IRS only responded to 11% of the 282 million phone calls by a customer service representative.

Elected officials react to Biden's State of the Union

I'm going to echo U.S. Sen. James Lankford's comment about President Joe Biden's State of the State address last night: "Well, that was interesting."

It was pretty standard Biden-fare, which means it was generally disastrous from delivery to content. And what on earth was going on with Nancy Pelosi? She was behaving rather more bizarelly than normal.

Following his speech, members of Oklahoma's Washington delegation, plus Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell, emailed out their responses. I'm posting them below in the order I received them: Cong. Hern, Cong. Lucas, Lt. Gov. Pinnell, Cong. Bice, Sen. Lankford, Sen. Inhofe, and Cong. Cole:

Elected officials react to Inhofe's retirement announcement

Sen. Jim Inhofe's announcement of his pending retirement will likely trigger an avalanche of candidacies in the Senatorial special election and subsequent open seats causes by the race. We'll continue to watch things as they develop.

Following are statements from Oklahoma's congressional delegation, as well as Gov. Stitt (who has said he is "fully committed" to his gubernatorial reelection campaign) and Lt. Gov. Pinnell: