THE TRAGEDY IN TULSA

Thank you to the Tulsa Police Department and local first responders for their swift action yesterday. I have no doubt their heroic response saved countless lives. My heart remains heavy with grief for those who lost loved ones and for the entire St. Francis community. Please join Christie and me in prayer.

The unprecedented leak of the draft Dobbs v. Jackson opinion is beyond dangerous. It was an attack on democracy, and we must fight to never have this type of obstruction to the rule of law happen again. This week, I joined Rep. Mike Johnson's (LA-04) Leaker Accountability Act. In the wake of this leak, there has been some debate regarding whether the leaker committed a criminal offense. This bill would make it a crime to knowingly share confidential information from the Supreme Court, and it would be punishable by a fine, up to five years in prison, or both. Click here to read more.

AMERICA RUNS ON DIESEL

President Biden finally admitted to what hard-working Americans have known for months: record high gas prices are a direct result of his Green New Deal agenda.

What the president referred to as an “incredible transition” away from fossil fuels is his direct attack on our domestic energy production that has resulted in record high gas prices and hundreds of dollars’ worth of additional energy costs per month for families across the U.S.

More recently, the spotlight has been on diesel costs and it’s for good reason. Over the past year, diesel costs have risen 75 percent. This is not just an issue for consumers who fill their vehicle tanks, but for producers, shippers, and truckers too.

The entire U.S. economy runs on diesel. Whether powering our container ships from overseas, moving the trucks that collect goods at ports and distribute them to warehouses and stores, enabling farmers who plow their land and grow our food, or helping construction workers build public infrastructure and our family homes, diesel has more of an impact on the economy than one may think. And the record cost of diesel today will only raise the price of goods and worsen inflation across the U.S.

While our producers, shippers, and truckers are also navigating the burdens of supply chain interruptions, increased production costs, greater regulation, and fresh labor shortages, it’s a nightmare that they have to navigate this too. Oklahoma is home to so many who are dealing with the effects of this crisis firsthand, as it’s threatening the livelihood and stable jobs that some have worked for years to achieve. 

And despite the fact that President Biden’s decision to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve has not helped to lower gas prices whatsoever, his administration is considering tapping into the emergency diesel reserve too. There would be no need to use our emergency supply if we simply turned to our domestic producers.

Rather than point fingers at Putin, the pandemic, or oil executives, Democrats should reconsider the legislation that caused this pain in the first place. It’s past time for Congress to get out of the way and allow our domestic production to thrive.

THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION ADMITS TO INFLATION MISTAKES

This week, President Biden's Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen finally admitted to the American people that she misjudged the threat of inflation. Now that she has said this, it's time for the Biden Administration to address this crisis and stop the reckless spending. In an opinion piece published by the Wall Street Journal, the White House blamed the Federal Reserve for the rise in cost of living, failing to admit to any wrongdoing by the president or the Democrat party. The Biden blame game continues.

REGULATION IS CRIPPLING OUR DOMESTIC PRODUCERS

While President Biden and the Democrats in Congress are setting lofty climate goals, they are simultaneously crippling our domestic producers' ability to meet them. For example, the president's burdensome regulation has forced our producers to turn to the Communist Party of China for critical minerals to support his electric vehicle agenda. Though the minerals can be found in the U.S., new regulatory red tape has caused the wait periods for permits to skyrocket, therefore leaving our producers at the mercy of our adversaries. On Friday, I sent a letter to President Biden calling out the ways his regulation is hurting our energy independence and pressing for passage of my Stop NEPA Expansion Act which would solve this. Click here to read the letter.

Thank you for reading my weekly e-newsletter! You can stay in touch by visiting my Facebook and Twitter pages and as always, don’t hesitate to contact me if I can help in any way. Watch