First District Congressman Jim Bridenstine said Tuesday he is cosponsoring legislation to block a portion of President Barack Obama’s gun initiative intended to include information about Social Security recipients prohibited from possessing firearms for mental health reasons in the background check system. “The president plans to prohibit certain Social Security recipients from legally owning firearms,” Bridenstine said in a release. “In response, I will cosponsor legislation to prohibit the So... Read more

First District Congressman Jim Bridenstine brought House Science Committee Chairman Lamar Smith of Texas to Tulsa on Friday. Publicly, they talked mostly about how bad the Obama administration’s environmental regulations are. Privately, at a dinner with area manufacturers Friday night at the Tulsa Air and Space Museum & Planetarium, they planned to discuss putting the “space” back into Tulsa’s aerospace sector. “We’ve been talking about a burgeoning space industry, with private commercial compan... Read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Wednesday night the U.S. House passed, by a vote of 359 to 64, Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which would replace No Child Left Behind. Reps. Markwayne Mullin, (R-OK-2); Frank Lucas, (R-OK-3); Tom Cole (R-OK-4); and Steve Russell, (R-OK-5) voted for it. Reps. Jim Bridenstine, (R-OK-1); voted against it. Congressman Bridenstine said, “ESSA expands the role of the federal government by creating a program for pre-school managed by the Department of Health and Human Service... Read more

It was not until two months ago — as the war against the Islamic State was over a year old — that the Pentagon and the State Department began regular high-level planning meetings to make big decisions on how to defeat the terror army in Iraq and Syria, the nation’s top military officer told Congress on Tuesday. One such momentous decision was to finally begin striking at the main source of the Islamic State’s financing — the columns of oil trucks heading to the black market — a cash flow that ha... Read more

House Republicans who have served in the military are urging the Joint Chiefs of Staff to seek legal guidance before following any orders from the President Obama to transfer detainees from Guantanamo Bay to the United States. In letter Monday, Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan) and 15 of his veteran colleagues, told the Joint Chiefs to seek appropriate legal advice, prior to executing any order from the president. “It is of great concern to us that President Obama may be considering ordering a transfer o... Read more

Not every member of the armed forces who served overseas received a warm reception when they came home. The Tulsa City Council wanted to make sure that local veterans got the recognition they deserve. Mayor Dewey Bartlett, City Council members and U.S. Rep. Jim Bridenstine joined about 30 veterans, many of whom served during World War II and the Korean War, for a gathering Tuesday at American Legion Post No. 1. Each veteran received a certificate of a proclamation in honor of their service. Bri... Read more

Republican Oklahoma Congressmen Jim Bridenstine and Markwayne Mullin each released statements following the decision by the White House to reject the application for the Keystone XL Pipeline. Rep. Jim Bridenstine says, "Beyond the positive economic benefits and job creation, Keystone XL Pipeline is an important link in ensuring United States energy security. President Obama has once again made a decision, for political purposes, that undermines America's national security." Rep. Markwayne Mullin... Read more

Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology officials announced Friday the launch of a new aviation maintenance program designed to allow members of the U.S. armed forces to get a head start on a civilian career before exiting the military. The program is the first of its kind to be approved by the Federal Aviation Administration and is designed to fill a specific need with respect to people who are transitioning out of the military, said Peter Harris, CEO of Spartan Education Group. The progr... Read more

Using words such as “abhorrent,” “disgusting” and “dumbfounded,” 13 Republican lawmakers who have served in the military in Iraq and Afghanistan excoriated President Obama on Thursday for vetoing a defense policy bill over an issue they say isn’t even in the bill. “We’re not vetoing the National Defense Authorization Act because of some policy difference that relates to defense but because we want more spending on social programs, we want more spending for the EPA, for the IRS, for name your pro... Read more

The new ozone regulations handed down by the Environmental Protection Agency could end industrial development in many parts of the country, a former agency official told Congress Thursday. Jeffrey Holmstead, a partner at Bracewell and Giuliani and a former assistant administrator for the EPA's Office of Air and Radiation, warned members of the House Science, Space and Technology committee that the new National Ambient Air Quality Standards for ozone could mean a drop in industrial investment. Ho... Read more