Press Releases
Lankford, Rick Scott, Colleagues Want Investigation Into Vetting and Processing of Migrants at Southern Border
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - Today, Senator James Lankford joined Senators Rick Scott (R-FL), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Rob Portman (R-OH), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Mike Lee (R-UT) in introducing the Upholding the Law at Our Border Act. This legislation would require the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security to investigate the vetting and processing of migrants apprehended along the southwest border and to ensure that all laws are being upheld. Lankford said, "I… Continue Reading
11.18.21
Lankford Shares Oklahomans’ Stories of How Biden’s Vaccine Mandates Have Already Impacted Them and Their Families
CLICK HERE to watch Lankford's remarks on YouTube. WASHINGTON, DC - Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today brought Oklahomans' personal experiences grappling with President Biden's harmful vaccine mandates that have negatively impacted federal employees, federal contractors, members of our military, health care workers, and companies with 100 or more employees. Yesterday, Lankford was glad to see that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) suspended implementation and enforcement… Continue Reading
11.18.21
Lankford Wants Answers From Biden Administration On Exemptions from Vaccine Mandate
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator James Lankford (R-OK) sent a letter to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Acting Director Shalanda Young to seek answers on guidance to agencies providing employees the opportunity to seek both medical and religious accommodations under the vaccine mandate. The letter follows an announcement by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration that it would suspend the implementation and enforcement of Biden's vaccine mandate for private employees. Lankford wr… Continue Reading
11.17.21
Lankford Presses ICE, CBP, GSA on Surge of Illegal Immigration at US Southern Border Ports
CLICK HERE to watch Lankford's Opening Remarks Q&A on YouTube. WASHINGTON, DC - Senator James Lankford (R-OK), the lead Republican on the Homeland Security Committee's Subcommittee on Government Operations and Border Management, today participated in a hearing entitled, "Federal Government Perspective: Improving Security, Trade, and travel Flow at the Southwest Border Ports of Entry." The hearing witnesses included representatives for US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration a… Continue Reading
11.17.21
Lankford Celebrates Victory for Private Businesses Against Biden’s Vaccine Mandate as OSHA Suspends Enforcement
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator James Lankford issued the following statement after the Occupational Safety and Health Administration suspended implementation and enforcement of the Biden Administration's vaccine mandate for private employers after a ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit blocked the measure last week: "This win for workers is long overdue as many of us have pushed back hard for months against Biden's unconstitutional vaccine mandate," said Lankford. "The Fifth Circui… Continue Reading
11.17.21
Lankford Exposes HHS Leaked Memo Seeking to Strip Americans’ Religious, Conscience Protections
WASHINGTON, DC- Senator James Lankford (R-OK) issued a statement after a leaked memo from the Department of Health and Human Services seeks to repeal certain protections for religious freedoms and directly calls out Members who have been outspoken of HHS' mishandling of conscience and religious freedom protections. The leaked memo from HHS states, "Groups who share the prior Administration's broad view of the application of RFRA or who will interpret this action as an indication that the Depart… Continue Reading
11.17.21
Lankford Continues to Call Out Communist Chinese Government for Privacy Abuses, Blacklisting Social Scores for Chinese Citizens
CLICK HERE to watch Lankford's Q&A on YouTube. WASHINGTON, DC - Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today participated in Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), on which he serves as a commission, hearing entitled, "Techno-Authoritarianism: Platform for Repression in China and Abroad." Lankford's questions focused on the communist Chinese government's misuse of data and how American companies can better protect themselves, ongoing privacy concerns, and China's use of a "social score"… Continue Reading
11.17.21
All 50 Republican Senators Challenge Biden’s Vaccine Mandate for Businesses, Vote to Happen Early December
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today joined Senator Mike Braun (R-IN) and all 48 of their Senate colleagues to file a formal challenge against President Biden's vaccine mandate under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), which is the official process for Congress to eliminate an Executive Branch rule. This move to overturn President Biden's vaccine mandate for private employers is now guaranteed a vote on the Senate floor. The rule was transmitted to the Senate on November 16th, se… Continue Reading
11.16.21
Lankford Presses on How Biden’s Policies Will Hurt US Energy Costs
CLICK HERE to watch Lankford's Q&A on YouTube. WASHINGTON, DC - Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today participated in a Senate Energy and Natural Resources hearing to discuss the impact of the Biden Administration's policies on traditional energy taking an abrupt backseat to unpredictable renewables, particularly while Americans are already feeling the effects of rising inflation and projected skyrocketing costs to heat homes this winter. Lankford's Q&A with energy leaders and economists… Continue Reading
11.15.21
Lankford Concerned Mayorkas’ Testimony Contradicts New DHS Initiative
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today sent a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas after evidence surfaced that contradicted the testimony Mayorkas gave while Lankford questioned him during a Senate Homeland Security hearing in September 2021. Mayorkas testified that ICE would enforce the law and deport individuals who received a "Notice to Report" but did not report to ICE. Recent reporting on a new DHS initiative called Operation Horizon shows that ICE is n… Continue Reading
11.10.21
Lankford Celebrates Veterans Ahead of Veterans Day
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today issued the following statement ahead of Veterans Day: "The price of freedom is never free. Our veterans guard our freedoms in ways most Americans will never understand. Anywhere you travel in Oklahoma, you will find gratitude for the women and men who wore the cloth of our nation. This Veterans Day, we pause and say thank you to our veterans and remember our Gold Star families whose loved ones paid the ultimate sacrifice in service to our … Continue Reading
11.10.21
Lankford Keeps Wins Coming for Service Members’ and Veterans’ Health Care
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today announced another big win for veterans' health care after the Defense Health Agency (DHA) shared that in January 2023, the Agency will provide an electronic process for patients to request reimbursement for prescriptions filled at any non-network pharmacy, which will make it much easier for veterans to get their prescriptions paid for through TRICARE. "When an Oklahoma veteran shared their idea for a more efficient way of filing prescripti… Continue Reading
11.10.21
Lankford, Braun Demand Answers on Biden’s Vaccine Mandate
WASHINGTON, DC - Senators James Lankford (R-OK) and Mike Braun (R-IN) today sent a letter to Vice President Kamala Harris to determine whether the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has formally submitted its November 5th rule to Congress, which is a requirement in the timeline under the Congressional Review Act process to formally disapprove of a federal rule. Last Thursday, Lankford and Braun co-led more than 39 Senators to move to disapprove and nullify President Biden's v… Continue Reading
11.09.21
Lankford Continues to Call Out Communist Chinese Government for Atrocities Against Uyghurs
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today issued the following statement after the Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) released its report entitled, "To Make Us Slowly Disappear: The Chinese Government's Assault on the Uyghurs." In January, the State Department under President Trump issued a determination that the Chinese Communist Party is committing crimes against humanity and genocide against Uyghurs and Musli… Continue Reading
11.08.21
Lankford Pushes Biden to Increase Digital Trade in Indo-Pacific
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - Senator James Lankford (R-OK) joined all Senate Finance Republicans in a letter to President Biden requesting that the Administration begin digital trade negotiations with our allies and partners in Asia. "[D]uring your Administration, the United States continues to sit on the sideline," the Senators wrote. "Our refusal to get into the game to set the rules for trade in the Indo-Pacific encourages potential partners to move forward without us and ensures China will hold the … Continue Reading
11.05.21
Lankford, Cruz Urge President Biden to Ease Energy Prices Before Winter
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - Senators James Lankford (R-OK) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) led 17 of their Senate colleagues to send a letter to President Biden describing the actions that the Administration can take to ease energy prices and reduce energy shortages this winter. Solutions proposed by the senators include lifting the ban on oil and gas lease sales on federal lands and waters, accelerating Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and Army Corps permitting and improving interagency coordination to … Continue Reading
11.05.21
Lankford Will Not Settle for $450,000 Payments to Illegal Border Crossers
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - Senator James Lankford (R-OK), the lead Republican on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Government Operations and Border Management, introduced a bill to stop the ongoing settlements between the US government and illegal migrants who were separated from their families at the border, some of which will be reportedly awarded as much as $450,000 per person and more than $1 million per family. Lankford's bill would disband the Interagency Tas… Continue Reading
11.05.21
Lankford Joins Republican Colleagues to Block Taxpayer-funded Payments to Illegal Migrants
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - Senator James Lankford (R-OK) joined Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) to introduce an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 to block President Biden's reported plan to spend upwards of a billion dollars to provide $450,000 per person in taxpayer money for settlements for illegal immigrants. "The Biden Administration absurdly wants to pay a $450,000 settlement to some illegal border crossers who were arrested at the border and separated from th… Continue Reading
11.05.21
Lankford Turns Oklahoma Veteran’s Frustration with TRICARE into a Win for Veterans
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - After hearing from an Oklahoma veteran who wanted an easier process for getting his prescription drugs paid for at the pharmacy, Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today announced a major victory for veterans' health care after CVS stated they will rejoin the TRICARE network for prescription drugs, which will make processing claims for prescription drugs simpler and more efficient for Oklahoma veterans. This change will take effect on December 15, 2021. Lankford heard from an Okl… Continue Reading
11.04.21
Lankford, Colleagues Target Absent Federal Workforce, Urge Return to Work
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator James Lankford (R-OK) joined Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) and 41 senators in a letter to the heads of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the General Services Administration (GSA), and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to request immediate action to transition federal workers back to in-person operations. In the letter, the senators cite the "widespread lack of responsiveness and accessibility across the federal government on account of current agency work … Continue Reading
