Press Releases
Senator Lankford Praises Oklahoma’s Beauty Ahead of August Work Period
CLICK HERE to watch Lankford's floor speech. WASHINGTON, DC - Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today spoke on the Senate floor about his plans for the upcoming August work period while the Senate is not in regular session. To encourage others to visit Oklahoma, he praised a number of specific locations he has been and will go in the state during his travels to connect with constituents and hear perspectives on the work before the Senate. Lankford plans to engage in a number of public events throu… Continue Reading
07.30.19
Senators Introduce Pro-Life Legislation to Save Human Embryos
WASHINGTON, DC - Oklahoma Senators James Lankford (R-OK) and Jim Inhofe (R-OK), along with Senators Roger Wicker (R-MS), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Steve Daines (R-SD), and Joni Ernst (R-IA) introduced the Patients First Act, which would promote stem cell research without the creation, use, destruction, or discarding of human embryos. "Human life is sacred at every stage, regardless of a person's size or degree of dependency," said L… Continue Reading
07.30.19
Lankford Subcommittee Examines Improvements to Federal Workforce Hiring
WASHINGTON, DC - The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management, under the chairmanship of Senator James Lankford (R-OK), today held a hearing to examine "Solutions to Improve Federal Hiring." The witnesses at today's hearing included Government Accountability Office (GAO) Strategic Issues Team Director, Yvonne D. Jones, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Chief Human Capital Officer, Angela Baily, and Department of Veterans Affairs Ass… Continue Reading
07.30.19
Senator Lankford Questions Acting CBP Commissioner
CLICK HERE to watch Lankford's Q&A. WASHINGTON, DC - Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today questioned Acting US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Mark Morgan in a Homeland Security Committee hearing about the causes of some of the overcrowding issues at our southern border facilities. Morgan identified that funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is currently inadequate. Lankford also questioned Morgan about the current legal loophole in our system caused by the F… Continue Reading
07.30.19
Senators Lankford, Hassan Applaud Passage of Bill to Improve Federal Government’s Customer Service
WASHINGTON, DC - The Senate passed the Federal Agency Customer Experience (FACE) Act of 2019, a bipartisan bill, introduced by Senators James Lankford (R-OK) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH), to better assess and improve the customer service experience for Americans dealing with federal agencies. "Attention to customer service is an important part of improving the federal government's interaction with the public it serves," said Lankford. "The commonsense, bipartisan, bicameral FACE Act gives federal a… Continue Reading
07.26.19
Senator Lankford on the Frontlines of US-Mexico Border
CLICK HERE to view the video OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - Senator James Lankford (R-OK) released a video to show his trip to the US-Mexico border on Sunday. During the video, Lankford outlines the care that Customs and Border Protection is providing, how Mexican cartels are manipulating loopholes in US immigration laws to smuggle people into the country, a ride-a-long with CBP, and solutions needed to address the crisis at the border. On Sunday, July 21, 2019, Lankford toured the Rio Grande Valley se… Continue Reading
07.25.19
Senators Lankford, Hassan Continue Work to End Government Shutdowns
WASHINGTON, DC - Yesterday, Senators James Lankford (R-OK) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) discussed their bipartisan legislation to end government shutdowns on a conference call with members of Fix the Debt, an organization that brings together Americans on both sides of the aisle to promote fiscal responsibility. Lankford and Hassan discussed their bipartisan Prevent Government Shutdowns Act, which would prevent future shutdowns by providing automatic funding to keep the government open and keep Mem… Continue Reading
07.25.19
Senator Lankford Introduces Two More Bipartisan Bills to Lower Prescription Drug Prices
WASHINGTON, DC -Senator James Lankford (R-OK) joined Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) to introduce a package of bipartisan bills to lower the price of prescription drugs. Lankford and Cassidy introduced the Transparency for Pharmacists Act and the Right Price for Medicare Act with Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Steve Daines (R-MT), John Tester (D-MT), John Kennedy (R-LA), and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV). "These important bipartisan drug price transparency bills represent first steps to actua… Continue Reading
07.25.19
Senator Lankford Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Cut Costs of Prescription Drugs
WASHINGTON, DC - Senators James Lankford (R-OK), John Kennedy (R-LA), Jon Tester (D-MT), Bill Cassidy M.D. (R-LA), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Steve Daines (R-MT), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), and Roger Wicker (R-MS) introduced the bipartisan Phair Relief Act to lower drug costs for seniors and improve financial certainty for community pharmacies. "The Phair Relief Act gives us the chance to resolve in law many of the issues we've de… Continue Reading
07.24.19
Senator Lankford Stresses Support for Border Agents after Trip to US-Mexico Border
CLICK HERE to watch Lankford's floor speech. WASHINGTON, DC - Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today offered a speech on the Senate floor detailing his oversight trip to the southern border on July 21. Lankford began his speech by telling the story of a three-year-old migrant boy who was found at the US-Mexico border alone after he was used to smuggle people over the border by the cartels, and the only information available about the child when he was apprehended by Border Patrol was a name and ph… Continue Reading
07.24.19
Senator Lankford Bills Promoting Government Transparency Pass Committee
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator James Lankford's (R-OK) bipartisan, bicameral government transparency bill, The Taxpayers Right-to-Know Act (S. 2177), passed out of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) today. The bill would require the federal government to make public the details, costs, and assessments related to every federal program. Currently, taxpayers send their hard-earned dollars to Washington and never really know how they are used, where they go, and the effective… Continue Reading
07.24.19
Countdown to Ending Government Shutdowns
by By Senators James Lankford (R-OK) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH)
It's a sad but true reality: Congress functions best on a deadline. In theory, when Congress established the annual budget and appropriations process in 1974 it gave itself a number of deadlines to set a budget and fund the government. The problem is Congress has only met those deadlines four times since 1974. You've probably seen the "Countdown to Shut Down" clocks on the major news networks as the nation waits impatiently for Congress to fund the government, usually in late September or right… Continue Reading
07.23.19
Senator Lankford Attends White House Meeting on Turkey
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today issued the following statement after he met with President Trump at the White House on Turkey sanctions: "Several years ago, the United States sent a clear message to our ally, Turkey, that they cannot have both the F-35 and a Russian air defense system. Turkey is a NATO ally, and we have a strong history of peacekeeping efforts in the region and economic partnership. It is disappointing that they chose to turn to Russia and neglect their all… Continue Reading
07.23.19
Senator Lankford Works to Protect Seniors from Abuse
CLICK HERE to watch Lankford's Q&A. WASHINGTON, DC - Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today participated in a Senate Finance Committee hearing entitled, "Promoting Elder Justice: A Call for Reform," at which he questioned Ms. Megan H. Tinker, Senior Advisor for Legal Review at the Office of Counsel to the Inspector General for the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and Mr. John E. Dicken, the Director of Health Care at the US Government Accountability Office (GAO). Lankford's Q… Continue Reading
07.23.19
Lankford Letter: SPECIAL EDITION, Southern Border Tour
CLICK HERE for the July 23, 2019, Lankford Letter.… Continue Reading
07.22.19
Lankford Visits US Southern Border
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator James Lankford (R-OK) toured the Rio Grande Valley sector of the southern border, near McAllen, TX, with Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials. Lankford requested the tour in order to provide oversight of facility conditions and operations and further assess the areas Congress needs to address in law in our immigration, asylum, and detention procedures. Lankford toured the Hidalgo Port of Entry, which is a… Continue Reading
07.18.19
Senators Lankford, Hassan, Johnson, Sinema, Ernst Introduce Taxpayers Right-To-Know Act
WASHINGTON, DC - Senators James Lankford (R-OK), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Ron Johnson (R-WI), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), and Joni Ernst (R-IA) today introduced the bipartisan, bicameral Taxpayers Right-To-Know Act (S. 2177), which would require the federal government to make public the details, costs, and assessments related to every federal program. Currently, taxpayers send their hard-earned dollars to Washington and never really kn… Continue Reading
07.18.19
Senator Lankford Discusses His Bipartisan Bill to Avert Government Shutdowns
CLICK HERE to watch Lankford floor speech. WASHINGTON, DC - Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today discussed on the Senate floor the need for Congress to take up his bipartisan Prevent Government Shutdown Act to avoid any needless future government shutdown drama, keep federal workers working, and ensure Congress and the White House remain at the negotiating table to resolve federal funding issues until the job is done. The Prevent Government Shutdowns Act is a simple, effective solution to g… Continue Reading
07.18.19
Senators Lead Call for Implementation of Operation Safe Return
WASHINGTON, DC - Senators James Lankford (R-OK), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Doug Jones (D-AL), Rob Portman (R-OH), John Barrasso (R-WY), Mike Enzi (R-WY), and John Cornyn (R-TX) sent a letter to President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, Acting Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kevin McAleenan, and Attorney General William Barr to urge the implementation of Operation Safe Return-a pilot program using existing law and authorities to rapidl… Continue Reading
07.17.19
Senator Lankford Responds to White House Statement on Turkey Accepting Russian S-400
WASHINGTON, DC - Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today issued the following statement after the White House announced they would not allow for the purchase of US F-35 by Turkey after they obtained the Russian S-400 air defense system: "When I first introduced a bill in April 2018 to stop the transfer of the F-35 to Turkey, it was the hope that they would change direction and not partner with Russia. Unfortunately, Turkey has ignored multiple warnings and they will have to face the consequences of… Continue Reading
