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James Lankford on Government Reform
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Introduced Prevent Government Shutdowns Act
Since 2013 the federal government has experienced 4 shutdowns that cost the taxpayer nearly $4 billion. Congress' failure to do the core aspects of their job shouldn't drive our nation more into debt and cause lapse in essential services.
To force Congress to do their job, James introduced the Prevent Government Shutdowns Act that keeps programs funded at existing levels and requires members of congress to stay in D.C. until a funding agreement is reached.
Source: 2021 Oklahoma Senate campaign website JamesLankford.com
, Jun 21, 2021
For the People Act makes voting easy, cheating easy
Lankford went after S. 1--the For the People Act--and the Equality Act, saying the former "makes voting easy, cheating easy, and verifying elections impossible" and the latter a violation of religious liberty. S. 1 is a wide-ranging election
reform bill that includes some provisions already in Oklahoma law, but others that are not. It generally loosens restrictions on registration and voting, and opponents say it infringes on the states' constitutional mandate to oversee elections.
Source: Tulsa World on 2022 Oklahoma Senate race
, Jun 20, 2021
Opposed bipartisan commission on Capitol insurrection
Lankford said he will vote against the House-backed formation of an independent, bipartisan commission to examine the Jan. 6 pro-Trump insurrection. Lankford said the proposal passed with bipartisan support in the House is too "political."
"I think it's a bad idea," Lankford said. "The commission they say is going to end by December -- there's absolutely no way that commission would end by December. It would go on for years and years and they would stretch it out for political reasons."
Source: Public Radio Tulsa on Jan. 6 2021 Insurrection
, May 27, 2021
Urges states to repeal bans on funding of religious schools
There are 37 states in the United States, including my own, that have specific language in their constitution that requires them to discriminate against people of faith. The Blaine amendment was written during a time of anti-Catholic
fervor in our nation of more than a century ago. That language needs to go. and if you are a state legislator, clear that bigoted language out of your state constitution.
Source: Remarks by Senator Lankford at the 2021 CPAC Conference
, Feb 26, 2021
Extend indefinitely pledge against earmarks
In 2010, House Republicans pledged not to request any earmarks for one year. That pledge should be extended indefinitely and the earmark process should be abolished from the House rules unless there are significant reforms to the earmark process.
Stop spending so much money! Stop spending what we do not have! The reason the federal government does not have enough money is because it is doing too many things. My grandparents would NEVER have said, "Things are tough, so I think I will make it
easier on me by making it tougher on my grandchildren." But that is exactly what current Washington leaders are doing. Federal government policies should not encourage more personal or national debt.
We must also stop the rapid acceleration of federal
regulation to encourage business owners to hire more employees and invest more money. Until we have less federal spending and more private sector hiring, we will not grow our economy and pay down our debt. [Source: jameslankford.com/category/spending ]
Source: Vote-OK.org profile for 2016 Oklahoma Senate race
, Dec 17, 2010
Member of House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform.
Lankford is a member of the House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform's government-wide oversight jurisdiction and expanded legislative authority make it one of the most influential and powerful committees in the House. The Committee serves as Congress' chief investigative and oversight committee. The chairman of the committee is the only committee chairman in the House with the authority to issue subpoenas without a committee vote.
| Subcommittee | Chair | Ranking Member |
|---|
| Federal Workforce, U.S. Postal Service and Labor Policy Dennis A. Ross (R-FL) Stephen Lynch (D-MA) |
| Government Organization, Efficiency and Financial Management | Todd Platts (R-PA) | Ed Towns (D-NY) |
| Health Care, District of Columbia, Census and the National Archives |
Trey Gowdy (R-SC) | Danny K. Davis (D-IL) |
| National Security, Homeland Defense and Foreign Operations | Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) | John F. Tierney (D-MA) |
| Regulatory Affairs, Stimulus Oversight and Government Spending | Jim Jordan (R-OH) | Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) |
| TARP, Financial Services and Bailouts of Public and Private Programs | Patrick McHenry (R-NC) | Michael Quigley (D-IL) |
| Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and Procurement Reform | James Lankford (R-OK) | Gerry Connolly (D-VA) |
Source: U.S. House of Representatives website, www.house.gov 11-HC-OGR on Feb 3, 2011
President Trump not guilty of inciting insurrection.
Lankford voted NAY removing President Trump from office for inciting insurrection
GovTrack.us summary of H.Res.24: Article of Impeachment Against Former President Donald John Trump:
The House impeached President Trump for the second time, charging him with incitement of insurrection. The impeachment resolution accused the President of inciting the violent riot that occurred on January 6, when his supporters invaded the United States Capitol injuring and killing Capitol Police and endangering the safety of members of Congress. It cites statements from President Trump to the rioters such as `if you don't fight like hell you're not going to have a country anymore,` as well as persistent lies that he won the 2020 Presidential election.
Legislative Outcome:
Bill introduced Jan 11, 2021, with 217 co-sponsors; House rollcall vote #117 passed 232-197-4 on Jan. 13th (a YES vote in the House was to impeach President Trump for inciting insurrection); Senate rollcall vote #59 rejected 57-43-0 on Feb. 13th (2/3 required in Senate to pass; a YES vote in the Senate would have found President Trump guilty, but since he had already left office at that time, a guilty verdict would have barred Trump from running for President in the future)
Source: Congressional vote 21-HR24S on Jan 11, 2021
Voted NO on two articles of impeachment against Trump.
Lankford voted NAY Impeachment of President Trump
RESOLUTION: Impeaching Donald Trump for high crimes and misdemeanors.
ARTICLE I: ABUSE OF POWER: Using the powers of his high office, Pres. Trump solicited the interference of a foreign government, Ukraine, in the 2020 US Presidential election. He did so through a course of conduct that included- Pres. Trump--acting both directly and through his agents--corruptly solicited the Government of Ukraine to publicly announce investigations into a political opponent, former Vice President Joseph Biden; and a discredited theory promoted by Russia alleging that Ukraine--rather than Russia--interfered in the 2016 US Presidential election.
- With the same corrupt motives, Pres. Trump conditioned two official acts on the public announcements that he had requested: (A) the release of $391 million that Congress had appropriated for the purpose of providing vital military and security assistance to Ukraine to oppose Russian aggression; and (B) a head of state meeting at the White House,
which the President of Ukraine sought.
- Faced with the public revelation of his actions, Pres. Trump ultimately released the [funds] to the Government of Ukraine, but has persisted in openly soliciting Ukraine to undertake investigations for his personal political benefit.
These actions were consistent with Pres. Trump's previous invitations of foreign interference in US elections.ARTICLE II: OBSTRUCTION OF CONGRESS:- Pres. Trump defied a lawful subpoena by withholding the production of documents sought [by Congress];
- defied lawful subpoenas [for] the production of documents and records;
- and directed current and former Executive Branch officials not to cooperate with the Committees.
These actions were consistent with Pres. Trump's previous efforts to undermine US Government investigations into foreign interference in US elections.
Source: Congressional vote ImpeachK on Dec 18, 2019
Page last updated: Dec 24, 2021