Press Releases
Lankford, 19 Colleagues Want to Stop Dangerous Sanctuary Cities
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Senators James Lankford (R-OK) and Ted Cruz (R-TX), along with 18 of their colleagues, introduced the Stop Dangerous Sanctuary Cities Act. Often, sanctuary cities prohibit their law enforcement officers from cooperating with federal immigration authorities. This bill would allow local law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration authorities and would pull taxpayer-funded grants to sanctuary cities. Senators Bill Hagerty (R-TN), John… Continue Reading
03.31.23
Lankford, Colleagues Work to Overturn Biden’s Rule on Endangered Species Act
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) with Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) led 17 of their colleagues in introducing a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to retain the regulatory definition of habitat within the Endangered Species Act (ESA). By defining habitat, this CRA will provide clarity and transparency to landowners and businesses in Wyoming and throughout the west. Senators John Barrasso (R-WY), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Markwayne Mullin… Continue Reading
03.31.23
Lankford Challenges Biden’s Reckless Student Loan Schemes
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – US Senators James Lankford (R-OK), Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), John Cornyn (R-TX), Joni Ernst (R-IA), and over 30 colleagues introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to overturn President Biden’s student loan cancelation scheme, which would transfer up to $20,000 in student loan debt per borrower onto taxpayers, costing an estimated $400 billion. The CRA would also end the pause on student loan payments, which costs taxpayers … Continue Reading
03.30.23
Lankford Defends Oklahomans From High Drug Prices
CLICK HERE to watch Lankford’s Q&A on YouTube. CLICK HERE to watch Lankford’s Q&A on Rumble. WASHINGTON, DC – Long-time advocate for practical solutions that bring down the cost of prescription drugs, Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today participated in a Senate Finance Committee hearing entitled, “Pharmacy Benefit Managers and the Prescription Drug Supply Chain: Impact on Patients and Taxpayers,” in which Lankford discussed the ways pharmacy… Continue Reading
03.30.23
Lankford Helps US Job Creators in the Uncertain Economy
WASHINGTON, DC – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today introduced the Accelerate Long-term Investment Growth Now (ALIGN) Act, which would make permanent a provision in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) that allowed businesses to fully expense new investments (machinery, equipment, etc.) in the year of purchase. That provision currently began to phase out in the federal tax code starting at the end of 2022 and expires at the end of 2026. Lankford is joined in introducing the bill by Sen… Continue Reading
03.30.23
Lankford Pushes to Protect Oklahoma Farmland from Foreign Nationals
WASHINGTON, DC – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today introduced the bipartisan Security and Oversight of International Landholdings (SOIL) Act, along with Senators Jim Risch (R-ID), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Michael Bennet (D-CO), in order to provide oversight and transparency of purchases of US agricultural land that threaten national security. On the heels of a successful rejection of allowing more marijuana growth in the state, Lankford continues to respond to concerns from… Continue Reading
03.29.23
Lankford Stands Firmly Against Biden’s Waters of the US Overreach
WASHINGTON, DC – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) issued the following statement today after voting to stand against the Biden Administration’s Waters of the US (WOTUS) rule. The Senate voted on a Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval of the rule, which passed in a vote of 53 to 43. “Oklahomans want clean, safe water. But President Biden’s new Waters of the United States rule is not about clean water; it’s all about federal control of almost every inch of… Continue Reading
03.29.23
Lankford Rejects Attempt to Remove US Capability to Combat Terrorism
WASHINGTON, DC – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today issued a statement following efforts to remove two Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMF). The vote passed by 66 to 30, which will repeal the 1991 and 2002 authorizations regarding Iraq. “Only a few days after Iranian militants targeted and killed an American contractor in Syria, this vote sends a signal of American retreat, rather than American resolve. The Iranian regime is a thr… Continue Reading
03.28.23
Lankford Challenges Biden’s Unconstitutional Attack Against Religious Student Groups
WASHINGTON, DC – Senators James Lankford (R-OK) and Tim Scott (R-SC) along with Congressman Tim Walberg (R-MI) and their colleagues are introducing the Equal Campus Access Act of 2023 to ensure that religious student organizations will not face discrimination on college campuses. “On America’s college campuses, freedom of expression is under attack. Colleges need to remain an open arena for debate, discu… Continue Reading
03.28.23
Lankford Warns of Chinese-Owned Farmland in Oklahoma
CLICK HERE to watch Lankford’s remarks on YouTube. CLICK HERE to watch Lankford’s remarks on Rumble. WASHINGTON, DC – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today spoke on the Senate floor about the need to protect US farmland from foreign, particularly Chinese, ownership, after an alarming increase in foreign land ownership over the past decade in Oklahoma, which appears to be due in part to an increased presence of international criminal organizations surrounding mari… Continue Reading
03.24.23
Lankford, Menendez Want US Trade, National Security Objectives Aligned
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Senator James Lankford (R-OK), who serves on the Senate Finance Committee with jurisdiction over trade, today was joined by Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a member of the Senate Finance Committee, to introduce the American Economic Diplomacy Act that would ensure the Annual Trade Agenda aligns with, reflects, and advances American foreign policy and national security objectives. For decades, Administrations in both parti… Continue Reading
03.23.23
Lankford Calls out US Trade Rep for Failing to Bring New Trade to US
CLICK HERE to watch Lankford’s Q&A on YouTube.CLICK HERE to watch Lankford’s Q&A on Rumble.WASHINGTON, DC - In a Senate Finance Committee hearing today, Senator James Lankford (R-OK) questioned US Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai about the Biden Administration’s lack of trade priorities. Lankford also pressed Ambassador Tai on the Biden Administration’s ongoing negotiations with Japan and the European Union to bypass “Buy American” requirements and provide subsidies t… Continue Reading
03.22.23
Lankford, Mullin Demand Answers on US Domestic Energy Permitting Data Discrepancies
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today joined Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) and five of their Republican colleagues in sending a letter to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) demanding answers on the discrepancies found within BLM reports for approved Applications for Permits to Drill and requesting further information on current permitting data. In the letter to BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning, the Senators also stress the importance of domestic energy production to meet… Continue Reading
03.22.23
Lankford Presses HHS Secretary on Drug Prices and Missing Migrant Children
CLICK HERE to watch Lankford’s Q&A on YouTube.CLICK HERE to watch Lankford’s Q&A on Rumble.WASHINGTON, DC - Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today questioned Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra in a Senate Finance Committee hearing to discuss President Biden’s fiscal year 2024 budget proposal as it relates to HHS. Lankford pointedly asked Becerra what is being done about pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) as they continue to push to keep their status… Continue Reading
03.17.23
Lankford, Thune Introduce Regulatory Reform Bill
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - Senators James Lankford (R-OK) and John Thune (R-SD) introduced the Regulatory Transparency Act, legislation that would hold the Biden administration accountable by requiring federal agencies to conduct a more transparent and objective analysis of the impacts proposed regulations have on the economy. The bill would also require agencies to justify the regulation and consider less burdensome ways of meeting the measure’s goal. “There are thousands of federal regulations t… Continue Reading
03.17.23
Lankford Joins Resolution Supporting Hong Kong Citizens
WASHINGTON, DC - Senators James Lankford (R-OK), Jim Risch (R-ID) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ), joined 37 colleagues in introducing a resolution condemning Beijing’s destruction of Hong Kong’s democracy and rule of law in addition to its political persecution of Jimmy Lai and other pro-democracy advocates. “The Chinese government has weaponized its Hong Kong ‘national security law' to control the press, imprison dissenters, and restrict internet access. The people of Hong Kong deserve freedom—n… Continue Reading
03.16.23
Lankford Says Attempts to Manipulate the Constitution to Force Equal Rights Amendment into Existence Needs to Stop
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator James Lankford (R-OK) joined Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) and their colleagues to introduce a resolution that affirms Congress has no authority to declare the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) ratified as part of the Constitution.“The Equal Rights Amendment was not ratified by the necessary number of states, and the timeframe to ratify it has long passed,” said Lankford. “Equal rights for all people is a basic American value already guaranteed by the Constitution.… Continue Reading
03.16.23
Lankford Spars with Treasury Secretary over Billionaire Bailout Paid by Oklahoma Community Banks
CLICK HERE to watch Lankford’s Q&A on YouTube.CLICK HERE to watch Lankford’s Q&A on Rumble.WASHINGTON, DC - In a Senate Finance Committee hearing today, Senator James Lankford (R-OK) questioned Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen about the Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank full bailout for billionaires, including the potential for bailing out foreign investors in China, and how Oklahoma’s community banks and taxpayers will be on the hook for a bank failure they had nothing to do… Continue Reading
03.16.23
Lankford, Sinema Continue to Push GSA to Get Out of CBP’s Way in Securing the Border
WASHINGTON, DC- Senators James Lankford (R-OK) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), Ranking Member and Chair of the Senate Homeland Security Subcommittee on Government Operations and Border Management, sent a letter to General Services Administration (GSA) Administrator Robin Carnahan asking for information as the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) prepares for the end of Title 42 on May 11, 2023. Earlier this year, Lankford and Sinema introduced a bill to give the Commissioner of CBP the authority to … Continue Reading
03.15.23
Lankford Pushes Back on Medicare Advantage Proposals That Risk Care Disruptions, Premium Hikes for Senior Adults
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator James Lankford (R-OK) joined Senate Finance Committee Republicans, led by Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-ID), to urge government health officials to take steps to prevent adverse outcomes for patients who rely on Medicare Advantage (MA), following a February 2023 proposal from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). In a letter to US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra and CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, the… Continue Reading