Press Releases
Lankford, Colleagues Demand Answers on IRS’s Inappropriate Treatment of Religious Nonprofit Seeking Tax-exempt Status
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - Senators James Lankford (R-OK) and Ben Sasse (R-NE) led a letter to Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration J. Russell George requesting a review of the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) processes for making tax-exempt status determinations, and the apparent failure of quality controls in the case of the Christians Engaged religious organization. Lankford and Sasse were joined in sending the letter by Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND), John Barrasso (R-WY), Mike Braun (R-… Continue Reading
08.16.21
Lankford, Colleagues Demand Oversight of Lack of ICE Arrests of Criminal Illegal Aliens Under Biden Administration
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator James Lankford (R-OK), lead Republican on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Government Operation and Border Management, joined Senators Josh Hawley (R-MO) Rick Scott (R-FL), Ron Johnson (R-WI), and Rand Paul (R-KY) to send a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas requesting critical information on US Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) record of arresting and deporting illegal immigrants during t… Continue Reading
08.12.21
Lankford Calls Out Biden for Harming US Oil Independence
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator James Lankford (R-OK) issued the following statement after the White House urged OPEC+ to ramp up crude production to counter the spike in oil prices: "A year ago, when the national average for gas prices was lower, and our government sent a strong signal to American producers that we wanted them to maintain our own energy independence. America relied only on our producers and American jobs for oil. Today, gas prices continue to rise, and President Biden has asked Russi… Continue Reading
08.12.21
Lankford, Cotton, Harris Lead Colleagues to Demand Justice for Conscience Rights of Health Care Workers
WASHINGTON, DC - Senators James Lankford (R-OK) and Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Rep. Andy Harris, M.D. (R-MD) led a bicameral group of Senators and Congressmen in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Xavier Becerra demanding answers on why the Department of Justice (DOJ) dropped a lawsuit against the University of Vermont Medical Center (UVMMC), which has received federal funds from HHS since 1998, for forcing a nurse to assist with an abortion … Continue Reading
08.11.21
Lankford, Lee, Jacobs Demand Biden End Unconstitutional Eviction Moratorium
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator James Lankford (R-OK) joined Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) and Congressman Chris Jacobs (R-NY) to lead a bicameral letter to President Biden calling for the Administration to change course and end its unconstitutional eviction moratorium. The letter is signed by 29 members of Congress. "We strongly oppose the Biden Administration's latest eviction moratorium issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This latest action is plainly unconstitutional and will… Continue Reading
08.11.21
Lankford a ‘No’ on Democrat’s Reckless Tax and Spending Spree
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today issued the following statement for his opposition to the Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Resolution: "In 2017, Republicans passed the single largest tax cut for Americans, and we watched the economy take off. Now, Democrats are in control, and they're trying to pass a huge tax increase on American families and small businesses, which will certainly slow our economy. Democrats' $3.5 trillion wish list on new entitlements, climate change, and amnest… Continue Reading
08.10.21
Lankford Protects Lives of the Unborn, Successfully Prevents Taxpayers from Being Forced to Fund Abortions
CLICK HERE to watch Lankford's remarks on YouTube. WASHINGTON, DC - Senator James Lankford (R-OK) this evening offered an amendment, which he introduced earlier today, to the Democrats' $3.5 trillion Fiscal Year 2022 budget to prohibit the use of taxpayer dollars for funding of abortions and abortion-related discrimination. The amendment ensures that the budget will comply with the long-standing Hyde Amendment, which bars the use of federal dollars to pay for abortion, and the Weldon amendment,… Continue Reading
08.10.21
Lankford Prioritizes Protection of the Unborn During Budget Debate
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today introduced an amendment to the Democrats' partisan budget resolution to prohibit the use of taxpayer dollars for funding of abortions and abortion-related discrimination. The amendment ensures that the budget will comply with the long-standing Hyde amendment, which bars the use of federal dollars to pay for abortion, and the Weldon amendment, which protects health care providers who refuse to participate in abortion from discrimination. "We … Continue Reading
08.10.21
Lankford Opposes Massive $1.2 Trillion “Infrastructure” Bill
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today voted to oppose the massive $1.2 trillion tax-and-spend spree masquerading as an "infrastructure" bill. Lankford has consistently raised his concerns with the overspending in this bill and the proposed $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation the Senate will move to later today. Lankford raised a budget point of order before final passage of the "infrastructure" bill to make the case that this bill will add billions to the debt and is paid for with… Continue Reading
08.10.21
Lankford, Colleagues Want to Hold China Accountable for Air Pollution
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator James Lankford (R-OK) joined Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and 18 senators to send a letter to President Biden urging the Administration to oppose the European Union's (EU) unilateral implementation of a carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) and to instead work with developed countries on policies targeted at the largest greenhouse gas emitters like China. "Your Administration should safeguard US commercial interests and oppose the EU's unilateral action. The United … Continue Reading
08.08.21
Lankford Warns Infrastructure Bill is Not Paid for and Will Add Billions to the Debt
CLICK HERE to watch Lankford's budget point of order on YouTube. WASHINGTON, DC - Senator James Lankford (R-OK) this evening raised a budget point of order before final passage of the "infrastructure" bill to make the case that this bill will add billions to the debt and is "paid for" with budget gimmicks. The final vote for the bill could happen later tonight. Lankford has consistently raised his concerns with the overspending in this bill and the proposed $3.5 trillion "budget" resolution. L… Continue Reading
08.07.21
Lankford Stops Biden from Releasing Migrants in Oklahoma
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator James Lankford (R-OK) successfully blocked President Biden's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office from opening a "surge overflow temporary facility" at the Great Plains Correctional Institution in Hinton, Oklahoma, that would have been used to process migrants who crossed the border illegally and release them into Western Oklahoma. Twenty-four hours after Lankford spoke on the Senate floor and contacted Department of Homeland Security (DHS) leadership directl… Continue Reading
08.06.21
Lankford, Colleagues Do Not Want Women to Have to Register for the Draft
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator James Lankford (R-OK) joined Senators Mike Lee (R-UT), Steve Daines (R-MT), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Josh Hawley (R-MO), and Marco Rubio (R-FL) to introduce a resolution expressing that the Senate should not pass legislation mandating the registration of women for the Selective Service System. "Our all-volunteer military is the finest fighting force the world has ever known," said Lankford. "Women have shown they are more than capable of fully serving in our Armed Forces, a… Continue Reading
08.04.21
Lankford Opposes Nominee to Lead ICE as Biden Fails to Address Border Security Issues
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today voted to oppose the nomination of Mr. Ed Gonzalez to be the Director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) when his nomination came before the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. "I have serious questions with the reports from Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers that the Biden Administration is 'handcuffing' law enforcement, pushing the 'catch-and-release' policy, and ignoring the enforcement of some rep… Continue Reading
08.03.21
Lankford Pushes Nominee on Congress’ Authority to Make Laws in Light of Increasingly Activist, Progressive Biden Nominees
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 Committee hearing to consider several nominations for the Departments of Energy and the Interior. Lankford's questions to Cynthia Weiner Stachelberg, a nominee to serve as Assistant Secretary of the Interior (Policy, Management, and Budget), centered on her previous remarks made while working at the Center for American Progress opposing … Continue Reading
07.30.21
Lankford, Colleagues Push Back Against Biden’s Plans for WOTUS Replacement
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator James Lankford (R-OK) joined Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and their colleagues to introduce legislation that would codify the Trump-era Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR) in light of the Biden Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) promising to replace the NWPR with a new rule that goes even further than the Obama-era Waters of the United States (WOTUS) Rule. If the NWPR is replaced, the EPA could go as far as regulating … Continue Reading
07.30.21
Lankford, Inhofe Lead Letter Urging US Fish and Wildlife to Extend Comment Period for Proposed Lesser Prairie Chicken Listing Rule
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator James Lankford (R-OK) joined Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK) to lead a letter to the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) urging them to extend the public comment period for the proposed rule seeking to list two Distinct Population Segments (DPSs) of the lesser prairie-chicken (LPC) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by at least six months. The original public comment period was set for August 2, 2021. However, this week, the FWS announced an extension of the deadline until … Continue Reading
07.30.21
Lankford, Colleagues Demand to Know More about Federal Employees’ Taxpayer-funded Union Time
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator James Lankford (R-OK), lead Republican on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Government Operations and Border Management, sent a letter to 54 federal agencies to gain additional information about the use of taxpayer-funded union time by federal employees. Lankford was joined in sending the letters by Senators Richard Burr (R-NC), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Rand Paul, MD (R-KY), Mitt Romney (R-UT), and Mike Braun (R-IN). In May 2018 President … Continue Reading
07.30.21
Lankford, Colleagues Urge SCOTUS to Overturn Roe v. Wade
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator James Lankford (R-OK) joined an amicus brief signed by more than 220 members of Congress supporting the state of Mississippi in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which presents the Supreme Court with the opportunity to overturn Roe v. Wade. "The right to life is the most fundamental human right," said Lankford. "The government has the responsibility to honor the gift of life at every stage, born or unborn. Unlike other Supreme Court precedents, our cultur… Continue Reading
07.29.21
Lankford, Johnson, Paul, Scott and Hawley Demand Chairman Peters Hold Biden Administration Accountable, Serve Subpoenas to Get Answers for the American People
WASHINGTON, DC - On Thursday, Senators James Lankford (R-OK), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Rand Paul (R-KY), Rick Scott (R-FL), and Josh Hawley (R-MO), all members of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, wrote a letter to the Committee Chairman Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) regarding letters sent to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in which they invoked a statute requiring… Continue Reading
