Opinion

There’s been a lot of debate about how to best provide tax relief for Oklahomans. One way the Senate is working to accomplish this is through the formation of the bipartisan Tax Reform Working Group that has been analyzing and thoroughly researching our state’s complex tax system, including tax credits and other incentives, for the past nearly two years.

E arlier this month, eight House Republicans joined with every House Democrat to oust the former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, for the first time in American history. As I warned then, this disastrous move plunged the House, Republicans’ ability to function as a majority and the United States into chaos. Now, not only are we less than 20 days from a critical government funding deadline, but major world events occurred during our turmoil including Hamas’ launch of the deadliest attack on Israel in 70 years and other Iran-backed terrorist groups attack on U.S. facilities in the Middle East. Now that the House has elected a Speaker, it is high time for this body to get back to work.

Executive Director Oklahoma Watch

This is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, an issue that sadly and, often times, silently plagues many in our local communities. According to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI), there are around 25,000 reports of domestic violence annually in our state.

While the United States’ adversaries such as China and Iran are bolstering their oil production, the United States, under the direction of the Biden Administration has significantly reduced energy production here at home and has sold off more than 40% of our oil stocks in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).

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One of our greatest responsibilities as legislators is to protect our most vulnerable citizens, including our children. Ten years ago, Oklahoma implemented the Pinnacle Plan to reform our child welfare system as part of a class action lawsuit settlement. This March, it was announced that Oklahoma Human Services had achieved substantial and sustained progress and didn’t require further monitoring, but the agency remained committed to achieving positive momentum.

Compromise for the good of all

The most meaningful contribution the United States could make to Ukraine’s war effort is to restore American energy independence and increase our exports to countries currently dependent on adversaries for oil and gas. And yet, President Joe Biden is doing the opposite, undermining U.S. energy independence and giving Russian President Vladimir Putin a crucial assist.

A-to-F letter grades are a longstanding way of signifying academic achievement. That’s why some school officials now fight to get rid of grades for both students and schools.

Between meetings and events in the district and work at the Capitol, I’ve had a busy schedule in recent weeks. We’re currently focused on getting through the dozens of interim studies that were approved this year. These provide us more time to fully research important, complicated issues than we have during the four-month regular legislative session.