Today, U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) applauded the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) for downlisting the American burying beetle (ABB) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), from endangered to threatened. “Downlisting the American burying beetle from endangered to threatened is the right call and the first step to total delisting,” said Inhofe. “Since it was listed over 30 years ago, the population of the ABB has made a resurgence – dramatically expanding the areas that are... Continue Reading »
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) joined Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and a group of 18 Republican senators in urging U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Stephen Hahn to exercise the FDA's authority to classify the abortion pill Mifeprex (or mifepristone) as an "imminent hazard to the public health" that poses a "significant threat of danger," a classification that would result in the removal of this pill from the U.S. Market.In the letter to Commissioner Hahn, the senators wrote:"It is by... Continue Reading »
Today, U.S. Sens. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) led a bipartisan group of over 20 of their colleagues in sending a letter to the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) urging them to fully implement two aviation workforce grant programs authorized in the 2018 FAA Reauthorization bill that invest in and expand the development of the next generation of aircraft pilots and maintenance technicians. As the Senators note in their... Continue Reading »
Yesterday, U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) applauded an announcement by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross that the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding $1.9 million in CARES Act Recovery Assistance grants to capitalize and administer Revolving Loan Funds (RLFs) that will provide critical gap financing to small businesses and entrepreneurs adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic across Oklahoma.“This additional $1.9 million in community grants from the... Continue Reading »
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement today praising U.S. troops for their efforts to de-escalate after Russian Forces breached the deconfliction arrangement in Syria on Tuesday and condemning Russian forces and President Putin for Russia’s continued aggression: “I’m very proud of the professionalism and bravery of the U.S. soldiers on the ground in Syria for the restraint they showed when confronted by aggressive... Continue Reading »
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) led a letter to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (U.S. GAO) requesting a report on EPA’s regulatory process for regulating methane emissions from oil and gas operations— with the intention of shining light on EPA’s regulatory process. As small producers face higher regulatory burdens, he also specifically highlights the disproportionate impact these regulations have on small producers compared with large producers.Inhofe was joined in sending the letter by... Continue Reading »
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), along with 30 senators, has cosponsored the Paycheck Protection Small Business Forgiveness Act, bipartisan legislation introduced by Sen. Cramer (R-N.D.).“The PPP program is working. In Oklahoma alone, the program has helped hundreds of thousands of employees retain their jobs through loans to small businesses, but expensive and time consuming paperwork still looms. I want our small businesses to be able to focus on safely reopening, not government paperwork and... Continue Reading »
Today, U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) applauded U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross for announcing that the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding $4.2 million in CARES Act Recovery Assistance grants to 11 EDA Economic Development District organizations across Oklahoma to update economic development plans and fortify programs to assist communities in responding to the coronavirus pandemic.“Oklahomans have shown strength and a sense of community in the face of this... Continue Reading »
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) joined U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, in sending a letter to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to urge the Department to continue providing flexibilities to schools and sponsoring organizations for school meals and child nutrition. “As the school year begins, the challenges brought on by the COVID emergency persist. We encourage continued use of the child nutrition program waiver... Continue Reading »
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) joined Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-05) this week in sending a bicameral letter to the Acting Administrator for the US Agency for International Development (USAID) John Barsa to urge him to protect American taxpayer dollars during the coronavirus pandemic from funding pro-abortion lobbying or advocacy efforts in other countries via the United Nations (UN) in violation of the Siljander Amendment, which prevents State... Continue Reading »
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), senior member of the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, praised EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler for finalizing new methane rules – finally replacing the unnecessary and burdensome Obama-era regulations on methane emissions standards. “These new rules are the right call—they provide clarity and appropriate oversight that follows the Clean Air Act without punishing regulations. The Obama-era methane rules were nothing more than a big government... Continue Reading »
Bipartisan legislation to commemorate Route 66 introduced by U.S. Sens. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) passed the Senate. The Route 66 Centennial Commission Act (S. 1014) will establish a centennial commission in preparation for the 100th anniversary of Route 66, which begins in Chicago and continues through six other states, including Oklahoma, before ending on the Pacific Coast of California. The bill now heads to the U.S. House of Representatives for... Continue Reading »
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) joined Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) and more than two dozen senators in calling on the U.S. Department of Treasury to investigate Planned Parenthood’s abuse of the taxpayer-funded Paycheck Protection Program, and separately calling on the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to expand its ongoing investigation of Planned Parenthood in the wake of new evidence of criminal activity. In a letter to Treasury, Inhofe and his colleagues requested the Special... Continue Reading »
U.S. Sen Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas (OK-03), Governor Kevin Stitt and Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture Blayne Arthur today applauded the Trump Administration announcement that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing more than $29 million to provide broadband service in unserved and underserved rural areas in Oklahoma. This investment is part of the $100 million in grant funding made available for the ReConnect Pilot Program through the CARES Act.“All of... Continue Reading »
Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas), ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, and Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.), ranking member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, made the following statement on the need to include the Department of Defense’s funding request in the next COVID response bill: “As in any crisis, the... Continue Reading »
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today questioned Lucas Polakowski, nominated to be Assistant Secretary of Defense (Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Programs) about the appropriate role of the Department of Defense in creating the Nuclear National Security Administration’s budget each year.Inhofe: I can’t think of anyone who’s in a better position to assess what we need for NNSA than you and the background you have and you bring to this committee,... Continue Reading »
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, gave opening remarks this morning at a hearing to consider the nominations of: Mr. Jason Abend to be Inspector General of the Department of Defense; Mr. Bradley Hansell to be Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Intelligence & Security); Mr. Lucas Polakowski to be Assistant Secretary of Defense (Nuclear, Chemical & Biological Defense Programs); and Mr. Louis Bremer to be Assistant Secretary of Defense (Special... Continue Reading »
Yesterday, U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) spoke on the Senate floor in support of the action taken by President Donald Trump and local and federal law enforcement in response to over sixty days of violent demonstrations in Portland, Oregon. As prepared for delivery: I want to start by doing something that has become a little controversial. It shouldn’t be, and the fact that it is reflects a sad time in our nation’s history. So here it is: To our nation’s police, sheriffs and... Continue Reading »
U.S. Sens. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and James Lankford (R-Okla.) joined U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) this week in introducing a bill to allow critical infrastructure project proponents to continue relying on the nationwide permit (NWP) program in light of recent court decisions. Along with Inhofe and Lankford, cosponsors on the bill include Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Thom... Continue Reading »
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, questioned witnesses this morning at a hearing to consider the nominations of: Dr. John Whitley, to be Director, Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation, Department of Defense; Shon Manasco, to be Under Secretary of the Air Force; Michele Pearce, to be General Counsel of the Army; and Liam Hardy, to be Judge, Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. Inhofe: Mr. Whitley, we’ve talked about this document several times,... Continue Reading »
