Weekly Columns

Recently, in a prime time address delivered at West Point, President Obama finally announced his long awaited plan for a new strategy in Afghanistan. I believe the President made a compelling case for why it is absolutely critical that America defeat al Qaeda and prevent its capacity to threaten America and our allies. The men and women of the Armed Forces are fighting a battle on multiple fronts against an increasingly sophisticated enemy. Providing additional manpower and resources to our troops is vitally important as we move forward.

This week Speaker Pelosi and her liberal allies in Congress began the final push for their massive government takeover of our health care system. And in so doing, they made it abundantly clear that they either aren't listening to the American people, or they simply don't care what we have to say.

In August I held a series of public town hall meetings and met with doctors, nurses and other health professionals in special health care forums. During those meetings, an overwhelming majority of attendees expressed deep concerns with H.R. 3200, the now infamous health care bill introduced in the House. Congress went back to work in early September and the House version of the health care bill was virtually dead-on-arrival. The Senate, however, is dealing with its own version, introduced recently by Senator Max Baucus.

Last week President Obama and his liberal Democratic allies in Congress announced plans for a government takeover of America's health care industry. This plan will cost more than a trillion dollars and will be paid for by tax increases and costly mandates on small business owners and by cuts to Medicare. And if you are among the over 250 million Americans who currently have health insurance, get ready for big changes.

This week Congress is gearing up to consider a troop funding bill. This legislation, an emergency War Supplemental, will provide the resources needed by the men and women serving in the Armed Forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. But members of House leadership have taken the military funding bill and piled on an additional $108 billion for the International Monetary Fund (IMF). I believe that if Congressional liberals want to spend $108 billion on a global bailout, they ought to put it up for a vote independently.

Most Americans agree that our country must do more to achieve energy independence and to produce cleaner sources of energy. There are steps we need to implement over time to change the way we use energy and reduce our use of some types of carbon-based fuels. But if a radical proposal being organized by the President and liberals in Congress becomes law, American families and businesses will see tax hikes, skyrocketing energy costs and fewer jobs.

Our nation's troubled financial industry has spurred calls for greater transparency, tougher accounting rules and greater oversight by federal regulatory agencies. Given what we now know about the irresponsible - and sometimes criminal - behavior of the executives of many of these institutions, such calls are justified. But there is another, larger, more powerful and less transparent institution that continues to operate in relative secrecy, and that is the Federal Reserve.

During the past two weeks I hosted a series of town halls throughout the Fourth District. These meetings were an important opportunity for me to listen, take questions and provide answers directly to my constituents. While the questions were diverse, a sizable number of them revolved around policies that the President has proposed or implemented since taking office. Many Oklahomans are deeply concerned over the President's out of control spending, as well as with his apparent neglect of our nation's military.