Media

Bloomberg - Erik Wasson

A proposal to switch to a two-year fiscal cycle is pitting House appropriators and Budget Committee members against a majority of House members, some of whom who have argued the current annual process is ineffective and wasteful.

The fight over two-year budgeting comes as the House embarks on a rewrite this year of the 1974 Budget Act, which governs the annual spending process.

Tulsa World - Randy Krehbiel

First District Congressman Jim Bridenstine said Tuesday he is cosponsoring legislation to block a portion of President Barack Obama’s gun initiative intended to include information about Social Security recipients prohibited from possessing firearms for mental health reasons in the background check system.

The Oklahoman - Chris Casteel

President Barack Obama, fighting back tears over lives lost in mass shootings, said Tuesday he will require more gun sellers to conduct background checks.

Obama's move to "clarify" current law on background checks is the centerpiece of the executive efforts he announced at the White House to reduce gun violence.

NewsOK Blog - Chris Casteel

Members of Oklahoma's congressional delegation on Tuesday blasted President Barack Obama's proposals to increase background checks for gun buyers by expanding those who would be defined as gun dealers under federal law.

Obama made a tearful pitch at the White House to take action to stop mass shootings, urging Congress to fund more federal agents to police gun sales and legislation to ensure mentally ill people can't purchase guns.

As congressional lawmakers return this week to get things done for the American people they were elected to represent, there is a lot of hope that this year will be different. In particular, there’s great optimism that it will be a year marked not by governing from crisis to crisis but instead governing by regular order.

The Oklahoman - Stephen Prescott, M.D.

For the sake of Oklahoma's energy sector, let's hope the New Year brings a bump in oil and gas prices. But even if that doesn't happen, there are still plenty of economic silver linings to be found in the state.

In particular, the ongoing development of the bioscience sector has helped diversify our state's — and particular Oklahoma City's — economy. For 2016, here are five bioscience success stories that should just keep getting better.

Making cancer history

National Journal - Rachel Roubein

Wristbands that track your daily activity. Kits that can purportedly analyze your genetics. Smartphone apps that track your daily intake of protein, sugar, and carbs.

It’s the age of “precision medicine,” as doctors and patients look to leverage vast amounts of individualized information available to fight diseases in a way they’ve never been able to before—with treatments that take into account environment, life-style, and even genes.