It’s hard to remember a time when the real meaning of Christmas was the same as what the world was celebrating. By and large, Christmas as we know it is about giving and receiving presents, Santa coming to town, and the commercialization that comes along with it. Somewhere along the way, we lost the true spirit of Christmas. Between giving the perfect gift and getting everything on our list, we forgot the real meaning of Christmas. Christmas—as it should be—got lost in the noise. Matthew 1:21 te... Read more

With the Christmas parades beginning and holiday decorations lining our towns, it is certainly beginning to look a lot like Christmas. For my family, Christmas means getting the whole family together to have good food, play games of tag in the yard, and generally, to just be together. Unfortunately, there are military families across the country that won’t have the chance to be together this Christmas. The men and women currently deployed around the world will dutifully be standing watch on Chri... Read more

By now, we all know that President Trump is a negotiator. At the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires last weekend, the president showcased his dealmaking skills in yet another trade negotiation on behalf of the American people. After the first round of U.S. tariffs, China targeted our agriculture products. One U.S. farm feeds 165 people annually in the United States and abroad. Oklahoma is home to over 77,000 farms on 34 million acres and plays a crucial role in food production for the country and in tur... Read more

The migrant caravan at our country’s southern border has taken a violent turn. The caravan of 8,500 individuals moving through Mexico have made several attempts to infiltrate our borders and attack law enforcement officers who are protecting law-abiding citizens. Many migrants are claiming asylum from the violence of their home countries. But some migrants are throwing rocks and bottles at law enforcement officers, rushing the border, and cutting border fences. This behavior is simply unacceptab... Read more

This week, families will come together from near and far to eat turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and plenty of pie. While we are surrounded by loved ones at the Thanksgiving dinner table, there are countless nonpartisan causes—aside from the taboo dinner table topic of politics—worthy of our time and thought. November is National Adoption Month. There are 585 children in Oklahoma in need of a permanent home this holiday season and another 8,314 children who are currently in the care of the Okl... Read more

Hands down, Thanksgiving is my favorite time of year. The November holiday allows us to be with our family without the stress of gift-giving or weeks of preparation trimming the tree and decking the halls. Family is one of the greatest gifts we are given in life and Thanksgiving allows us an opportunity to say thank you for the gift of family. National Adoption Month, celebrated each November, is the perfect reminder that every child needs a safe and loving family and every child deserves a perm... Read more

Alzheimer's Disease runs through both sides of my family with my great-grandparents, my grandparents, and my uncles all facing Alzheimer’s during their lives. When you have a loved one suffering from dementia, it can feel like they are slipping away one day at a time. Each year, I meet with advocates from the Oklahoma Alzheimer’s Association to discuss what we can do to put an end to this life altering illness. I met with them earlier this month to discuss what Congress can do to help. Everyone ... Read more

One of the greatest honors I have as a member of Congress is nominating individuals to our country’s well respected service academies. Attending a U.S. service academy is an invaluable experience that shapes young men and women into strong leaders and military officers. Nominations are available for the U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Air Force Academy, and U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. Our country’s service academies prepare young people to serve as commissioned officers in var... Read more

The Boston Globe released Senator Elizabeth Warren’s DNA test results this week. The analysis, done by a Stanford University professor, showed that Warren has somewhere between 1/64th and 1/1,024th Native American in her DNA. In 2014, American Journal of Human Genetics published a study detailing that “European-Americans had genomes that were on average 98.6% European, 0.19% African, and 0.18% Native American.” Senator Warren’s DNA results show she may have as little as 0.09% Native American blo... Read more

When any patient goes to the doctor, they can—and should—expect to receive the gold standard of treatment. However, one 40 year old law in desperate need of modernization is preventing doctors from providing the highest level of care to every patient that walks through their door. A bill I sponsored, H.R. 6082, the Overdose Prevention and Patient Safety Act, would ensure that doctors have access to all of a patient’s relevant medical information before treating them. Current law, often referred ... Read more