Lankford Update On Spending Showdown
Congressman Lankford’s office sent this email late Wednesday night.
Dear friends and neighbors in central Oklahoma,
Tonight, the House and Senate passed a bill to fund the federal government through January 15 and extend the debt ceiling until February 7. The bill also included provisions for back-paying our furloughed federal employees, forcing a bicameral conference committee on the budget and a “certification” process for the Affordable Care Act subsidies. Though I could not support the final version of the bill, I have respect for those who did vote for it. This was a most difficult decision because of the long government slowdown and impending debt ceiling. In the final days of this crisis, the options for significant budget reform and serious alterations to the Affordable Care Act continued to decline. I ultimately could not vote for the bill tonight, as it did not change our debt trajectory or provide relief from the central federal controls in the Affordable Care Act. I did not come to my decision on this vote lightly.
Oklahomans had mixed reactions to our recent situation, and we heard from all sides of the debate. Many of you contacted my office asking me to do everything I can to protect you from the harmful effects of the healthcare law, which I can assure you, the rest of our delegation and I will continue to work on. Our office has been flooded with calls and emails detailing increased healthcare premiums, lost access to your doctor, changes in your employee health options, the outright loss of the insurance plan you liked, and countless other consequences of the new law. Many of you also contacted my office asking me not to allow the United States to default on its financial obligations, and I share your concern. And many of you wrote and called me, asking me to end the government shutdown as quickly as possible and support the Affordable Care Act. I am grateful to all of you for your heartfelt input, and I encourage you to always feel free to share your opinions, as it allows me to better represent the Fifth District.
The slowdown of the federal government caused added turmoil for many Oklahoma families. I am glad we found a resolution to allow our federal employee families to return to work. However, as long as we maintain the current budget process without reforms, these families will continue to face the possibility of a shutdown. For that reason I authored a bill called the “Government Shutdown Prevention Act” which, if passed, will permanently fix the appropriations process and do just what the title of the bill says – prevent any future government shutdowns. I hope that’s a goal on which we can all agree.
I agree with the President that we have to get out of governing from crisis to crisis, but I also believe that we will not get out of crisis mode until we seriously commit to debt reduction. Our nation fights like a married couple that constantly argues when they have too much debt. We are divided as a country because our debt problems are serious and the solutions are difficult.
In the days ahead, we can and should work together to get our nation’s fiscal house in order. I look forward to the conversation and to working on long-term, rather than short-term solutions to the many issues facing our nation. There are more difficult issues in front of us. Please continue to pray for our nation and share practical solutions to our debt and divisions. Though we do not all agree, we are still, “one nation, under God, indivisible…” In seasons like this, it is good to recommit ourselves to serving each other and our nation.
This morning, the Oklahoman printed an op-ed that I wrote about these ideas. If you would like more of my thoughts on this topic, I have included it below.
In God We Trust,
James Lankford
Member of Congress