Government News

Government News

Weeding Process Continues At Capitol
The first major deadline of the legislative session has now passed with work on House bills in the chamber completed on March 15.

March 22, 2012
DHS Reforms Advance
This week was the last one for House bills to be considered in their chamber of origin, and we took up several major issues.

Among the most important were measures reforming the Department of Human Services.

March 15, 2012
Annual GAO Report Exposes More Duplication in the Federal Budget, Less Responsibility Coming Out of Washington
Members of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, Chairman Joseph Lieberman (ID-CT), Ranking Member Susan Collins (R-ME), and Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK) released the following statements today regarding the second annual Government Accountability Office (GAO) report identifying ongoing duplication and areas for costs savings throughout the federal government.

February 28, 2012
Roberts Seeks Local Control on Meth Issue
Legislation filed by state Rep. Sean Roberts would allow local communities to impose ordinances designed to reduce meth crime.

House Bill 2802, by Roberts, would allow towns to decide if the meth ingredient pseudoephedrine should require a prescription.

February 24, 2012
Lawmakers Focus on Meth Problem
The challenge of combating methamphetamine was a major focus of lawmakers this week. Two significant bills were voted on in House committee. One failed, and one progressed.

February 23, 2012
Coburn, Burr Unveil Plan to Save Medicare, the Seniors’ Choice Act
Today, U.S. Senators Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK) and Richard Burr (R-NC) unveiled the Seniors’ Choice Act, a legislative proposal to help America’s seniors by building a stronger, more sustainable Medicare program through immediate and longer-term reforms, many rooted in long-standing, bipartisan ideas. Non-partisan experts have warned the current Medicare program is facing insolvency due to unsustainable growth, and the Seniors’ Choice Act would fix its shortcomings so that it remains a viable option for seniors participating in the program now and for future enrollees.

February 16, 2012
Fallin highlights more cuts to Oklahma income tax
Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin provided more details of her plan to cut the personal income tax for all Oklahomans during her State of the State address to lawmakers on Monday, but had few specifics on how she plans to pay for the ambitious proposal.

February 6, 2012
Lawmaker seeks spending limit on Okla. Legislature
An Oklahoma lawmaker is pushing legislation that would place new constitutional limits on state spending.

Republican state Rep. Elise Hall of Oklahoma City says that Oklahoma's public sector could grow too fast without more spending limits.

January 27, 2012
Dr. Coburn Releases New Report on Wasteful Government Spending in 2011:
U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK) today released a new oversight report, “Wastebook 2011” that highlights over $6.5 billion in examples of some of the most egregious ways your taxpayer dollars were wasted. This report details 100 of the countless unnecessary, duplicative and low-priority projects spread throughout the federal government.

December 20, 2011 1 Photo
House unveils DHS strategy
House Speaker Kris Steele and a bipartisan group of five representatives today unveiled the first steps of a strategy to reform the Oklahoma Department of Human Services.

The House’s aggressive, four-pronged strategy is designed to improve DHS through significant study of and potential reforms to governance structure, agency structure, personnel policy and resource allocation. The plan is in response to a shared desire between House members, agency officials and other stakeholders to improve delivery of services by DHS, particularly for children in state custody.

October 19, 2011
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April 20, 2011 1 Photo 1 Link

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