WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today voted to override the president’s veto on S. 2040, the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), which had previously been agreed to in the Senate by voice vote on May 17 and agreed to in the House by voice vote on Sept. 9. The legislation clarifies previous law to allow families victimized by terrorism to seek justice in U.S. courts against those... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, praised the $5.2 million Department of Energy (DoE) grant awarded to the Ground Water Protection Council in Oklahoma. “I applaud the Ground Water Protection Council for being awarded this $5.2 million federal grant, showing that states are the best regulators of energy within their borders,” Inhofe said. “The Ground Water Protection Council has been... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, today praised the City of Bristow for being awarded an Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant of $1 million in August and a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grant of $3.4 million on September 20 for the construction of a new runway at Bristow Airport. “I applaud the City of Bristow for being awarded these federal grants that... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), a member of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption, today met with and congratulated Heather and Johnny Gibson of Guthrie, Okla. for being recognized at the Adoption Institute’s annual “Angels in Adoption” event. The Gibsons have adopted eight of the children they have fostered since 2012 and remain in contact with two others that have been reunited with their biological dad. “It is a great privilege to... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), participated in a SASC hearing Thursday where, during his time of questioning witnesses, Gen. Mark Milley, chief of staff of the U.S. Army, warned that our nation’s military would experience “significant risk” if faced with an additional contingency to our current operations against ISIL. In the hearing, Inhofe asked for an honest assessment from the... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, praised the Senate passage of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2016, which passed with a strong bipartisan vote of 95 to 3and includes a number of provisions supporting Oklahoma’s priorities. “With strong bipartisan support, the Republican-led Senate has once again moved an economy-boosting infrastructure bill with... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), today released a statement on the upcoming anniversaries of the terrorist attacks on September 11 in 2001 and 2012, remembering the men and women who lost their lives and honoring our first responders and our service members who have and continue to fight the War on Terror: “September 11 is a somber day of reflection for America. We pause to remember the 2,977... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today voted for the Military Construction (MilCon) and Veterans Affairs (VA) Appropriations conference report for fiscal year 2017, H. Rept. 114-640, which includes emergency funding to address the Zika virus outbreak, and for the Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2017. Both appropriations bills were blocked by Senate Democrats and would provide funding for our nation’s... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement today regarding the Obama administration’s announcement that it has facilitated its single-largest transfer of terrorist detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba: “The Obama administration’s decision to facilitate its largest transfer of Gitmo detainees is about one thing only – garnishing the legacy of an outgoing president.... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) today praised the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) selection of the University of Oklahoma (OU) to be a lead university for the new Air Transportation Center of Excellence for Technical Training and Human Performance (COE). COE will conduct research and development on technical training for air traffic controllers, aviation safety inspectors, engineers, pilots and technicians. Established as a public-private partnership with top-tier... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement on North Korea’s launch of two medium-range ballistic missiles today: "North Korea’s missile launch is yet another example that Kim Jong Un and the Pyongyang regime threatens the entire Asia-Pacific region and is a direct threat to U.S. national security interests. Kim Jong Un has clearly been... Continue Reading »
TULSA, Okla. — U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement regarding the passing of Maj. Gen. John Rossi: “Maj. Gen. Rossi was known among his colleagues for his charisma, loyalty and love for his country. While stationed at Fort Sill, Maj. Gen. Rossi and his family embraced the Oklahoma community, and his leadership was recognized with the Distinguished Service Medal award. My thoughts and prayers are... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today voted for the Military Construction (MilCon) and Veterans Affairs (VA) Appropriations conference report for fiscal year 2017, H. Rept. 114-640, which includes emergency funding to address the Zika virus outbreak, and for the Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2017. Both appropriations bills were blocked by Senate Democrats and would provide funding for our nation’s... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Jim Inhofe and James Lankford and Congressman Steve Russell (R-Okla.) today introduced legislation in their respective chambers, S.3217 and H.R. 5785, that would ensure the continued safety of our nation’s airways by eliminating an unintended barrier to the hiring and retention of full-time Air Traffic Controller (ATC) Instructors. Specifically, the bill would remove a financial penalty for instructors willing to work full... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) today praised final passage of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) conference report, H.Rept. 114-669, which authorizes funds to address the nationwide prescription opioid and heroin epidemic. The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 92 to 2, and now heads to the president’s desk to be signed into law. “I applaud Congress for working together on a bipartisan solution to help communities across... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) today praised final passage of H.R. 636, the FAA Extension, Safety, and Security Act of 2016, which passed the Senate by a vote of 89 to 4 and now goes to the president’s desk to be signed into law. “The FAA extension provides the aviation community with necessary stability over the next year and sets into motion important reforms to improve safety and security for air travelers,” said... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), cosponsored the Taking Responsibility Using Secured Technologies (TRUST) Act (S.3135), which would revoke former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s security clearance as well as the security clearances of Sec. Clinton’s colleagues at the State Department who exhibited extreme carelessness in their handling of classified information. The TRUST Act also expresses the... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) and a member of the Senate General Aviation Caucus and the Senate Pilot’s Caucus, spoke Sunday at the sixth annual Oklahoma Aerospace Breakfast during the Farnborough International Airshow. The event was sponsored by the Oklahoma Business Roundtable, the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, the Broken Arrow Chamber of Commerce, the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, the... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) today released the following statement on the shooting in Dallas, Texas, Thursday evening that targeted police officers, killing five: “My prayers are with the Dallas community impacted by Thursday’s unspeakable violence and with the families of the police officers that were killed. Our country was founded on freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly and our government was established so that these freedoms,... Continue Reading »
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Jim Inhofe, senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today voted to advance the Defense Appropriations bill in the Senate. Democrats blocked the legislation 50 to 44 on a cloture vote, which requires a 60-vote threshold to move to debate and to amend the legislation. “I voted to begin debate and to amend the Defense Appropriations bill, but once again Democrats are playing politics with military funding and blocked progress on this vital... Continue Reading »