Politics

The Obama administration issued a veto threat for the multi-year farm bill set for consideration by the U.S. House this week. The statement says the bill cuts too much from the food stamp program and not enough from subsidies to farmers. Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Cheyenne, is the chairman of the...

Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, secured $100 million for construction at Oklahoma military bases in the defense bill approved last week by the committee. According to Inhofe, the bill includes about $71 million for construction and...

The Washington Post reported today that President Barack Obama’s upcoming trip to Africa will cost between $60 million and $100 million.…

In a speech on the House floor Tuesday, Rep. Jim Bridenstine, R-Tulsa, accused President Barack Obama of a “gross misallocation” of funds, saying the administration spends 30 times more on climate change research than on weather research. Bridenstine, a freshman, did not give specifics...

Rep. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma City, responded Monday to statements by Rep. Elijah Cummings , D-MD, that the investigation into the IRS targeting of conservative groups is solved and that the House Oversight Committee should move on. Lankford is a member of the committee. “The American...

Freshman Rep. Markwayne Mullin, R-Westville, took issue with President Barack Obama saying last week that all members of Congress had been briefed about the National Security Agency’s harvesting of phone and Internet records. “To be clear, I was never briefed on any NSA plans or efforts to...

President Barack Obama addressed reporters in California on Friday morning about reports that the administration has been gathering millions of phone records and tapping into the servers of huge Internet companies for its investigations of suspected terrorists. “When I came into this office,...

Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, and Rep. Jim Bridenstine, R-Tulsa, comment on the decision by the U.S. Navy to name one of its Littoral Combat Ships the U.S.S. Tulsa Inhofe: “(Navy) Secretary (Ray) Mabus called to inform me that he has chosen to name one of the Navy’s new Littoral Combat Ships...

As Americans learned more this week about the kinds of records being obtained by the U.S. government, some have noted that the Patriot Act, first passed after 9/11, is at the root of some of the authorities claimed by the Obama administration. In 2011, Congress approved legislation to renew...

Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Muskogee, who has been hounding federal agencies for years about the money they spend on conferences, says the U.S. Treasury Department failed to disclose millions of dollars in such costs last year when he asked for a department breakdown. The Department gave him only...

Oklahoma would receive an estimated $35.5 million in the first year of President Barack Obama’s proposed Preschool for All program, according to administration figures released Tuesday. The president championed preschool programs in his State of the Union address earlier this year and used...

U.S. Supreme Court justices on Thursday are scheduled to consider whether to accept the case of 1st Lt. Michael Behenna, the Edmond native who is serving a 15-year sentence for unpremeditated murder in a combat zone. Behenna killed an Iraqi man who had been linked by Army intelligence reports to...

According to a poll released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center , there was high interest in the tornadoes that struck Moore last week.…

Rep. Tom Cole, R-Moore, who has been walking the streets of his tornado-stricken hometown for the past week, plans to attend his scheduled town hall meetings in Ada and Lawton this week. The Ada meeting is scheduled at noon, on May 30, at the Estep Center on the campus of East Central...

President Barack Obama visited the beaches of New Jersey on Tuesday to assess the region’s recovery from Hurricane Sandy last October. Obama, who toured parts of tornado-ravaged Moore on Sunday, mentioned Oklahoma in his remarks in New Jersey: “Part of the reason I wanted to come back here...

Oklahomans in Washington, DC, raised $11,300 last week to benefit Oklahoma tornado victims through the American Red Cross. The Oklahoma State Society hosted a fundraiser with the University of Oklahoma Capital Area Alumni Club, the University of Tulsa DC Alumni Club and Oklahoma State...

Rep. Tom Cole, R-Moore, whose hometown was struck by a deadly tornado a week ago, penned this column about the tragedy: Facing tragedy, hardship and disaster is not new for the people of Oklahoma, especially those living in my hometown of Moore. While residents in my community lived through...

At a briefing at the Pentagon on Friday, the Air Force’s top two leaders noted the losses to some airmen at Tinker Air Force Base from last week’s deadly storms and praised the efforts of airmen and sailors to help with the storm response and clean-up. Here are comments from Air Force...

Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, gave the Republicans’ national weekly address on Saturday morning. Most weeks, the remarks are highly partisan. But in the wake of last week’s deadly storms in Oklahoma, Republicans in Congress chose Inhofe to talk about recovery in the Sooner State. The transcipt...

By Wednesday night: _ More than 400 federal personnel were on the ground in the impacted area, including teams that are working directly with families and individuals who were affected by the tornadoes. _ More 2,200 individuals impacted by the tornadoes had registered with FEMA for direct...