Weekly Columns

Over the last several weeks in Oklahoma, I’ve had the opportunity to listen to my constituents and learn about what issues concern them the most. I’ve had a very full schedule traveling across the district for meetings with local chambers of commerce, visits with community leaders and officials, tours of local businesses, interviews with local media and some firsthand updates on severe weather damage. Each week, I also hosted town hall meetings, where I invited my constituents to join me for a legislative update and participate in a forum to ask questions and talk with me directly.

Throughout the month of August, I’ve had a full schedule traveling across the Fourth District, which has given me the opportunity to engage with my constituents in a variety of settings. Whether brought together by a town hall meeting, chamber of commerce gathering or scheduled visit to a local business, it comes as no surprise that an issue of common concern is the future prosperity of Main Street. Due to an increasingly burdensome regulatory environment, many who work for or own a small business fear for its survival.

Over the last few weeks in town hall meetings and other visits across the Fourth District, I’ve heard my constituents voice their concerns about a variety of issues. But by far, the common issue that troubles the vast majority is the proposed nuclear deal negotiated with Iran by the Obama Administration. Like many of my constituents, I am disturbed by what I’ve heard, seen and learned about the agreement. With a vote expected in Congress next month, I remain strongly opposed to approving the deal.

For decades, Social Security has brought peace of mind to generations of American retirees and disabled citizens. From that first paycheck and onward into every stage of working life, Social Security is an investment program that has served tens of millions of American workers. But as we are all too aware, the program’s ability to keep the same promise to future generations of American workers is in grave danger.

Without question, the recent release of several undercover videos showing the cold-hearted, profit-driven and suspicious back-room realities at Planned Parenthood have shocked and horrified the vast majority of Americans. For those who have watched the videos or opted only to read about the horrors contained therein, the stomach-churning conversations and horrific images reveal a dark industry that not only claims the precious lives of unborn children but shamelessly sells their aborted remains.

In Congress, the majority of the last several months have been dedicated to legislative work in our nation’s capital. Since the swearing-in of the 114th Congress at the beginning of this year, I am pleased to report that there have been numerous legislative accomplishments that reflect the views and values of the American people and those I was elected to represent.

Following two years of negotiations that have included missed and extended deadlines, the P5+1 announced this month that a deal with Iran has been reached regarding its nuclear program. This deal comes at the insistence of the legacy-starved Obama Administration that has already taken dangerous missteps in its foreign policy. I remain very concerned about the concessions made to Iran in the deal and the implications for the safety and security of America and our allies, including our greatest friend in the region: Israel.

Five years ago this month, President Barack Obama signed into law a bill that vastly restructured the American financial system. Brought about in response to the financial crisis and resulting recession in the last decade, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was presented as the means to protect consumers, encourage recovery and ensure financial stability in the future. Instead, the reality of Dodd-Frank has meant more rules and government regulators, fewer jobs created, slowed recovery and less American opportunity.