August 18, 2002

Washington, D.C.-As I attend events in Oklahoma during this August congressional district work period, I'm often asked about the status of legislation introduced in this session of Congress.

I have the good fortune, by traveling home from Washington each week, of both seeing the debate on how legislation will improve constituents' lives, and talking to the very people that will benefit from the legislation back home in Oklahoma.

As I look back on our accomplishments, I reflect on the circumstances that faced us when we began the 107th Congress - a narrowly divided body and the anticipation of gridlock and very little else. That makes the work we've done to complete our priorities even more impressive, and it gives me hope that we'll continue that positive trend as we finish out the session this year.

When we began the 107th Session of Congress, we established many priorities - providing prescription drug coverage for seniors, making tax cuts permanent, and improving policies to strengthen our family farms, just to name a few. Little did we know that in addition to all of these priorities, terrorist attacks in the fall and corporate collapses in the winter would prompt us to create additional legislation that was needed immediately to address these crises.

Just two months ago, President Bush announced to the nation his vision of creating a Department of Homeland Security. When he announced his plans, the President asked Congress to pass legislation to create the department by the end of the year. Last month, the House of Representatives met the President's goal - we voted to create the Department of Homeland Security - and we did it months earlier than expected.

To strengthen our economy and restore consumer confidence, we passed a series of bills that reform corporate practices, and we made tax cuts permanent. The corporate reform bills will create tougher penalties for corporate crooks, improve accounting practices, and safeguard employees' retirement savings. This legislation will help to prevent scandals like Enron and WorldCom from occurring in the future.

The tax legislation we passed make the tax cuts from last year permanent. Under the current legislation, those tax cuts will expire in the next decade. But now the House has voted to make those tax cuts permanent, and we specifically repealed the death tax and the marriage penalty. We are now waiting for the Senate to also address the tax cuts so we can get this legislation to the President for his signature.

To improve the health and well-being of our citizens, the House passed Medicare modernization and prescription drug coverage for seniors, and passed a bill to assist the health care industry's nursing shortage. The Medicare bill will provide affordable, desperately-needed drug coverage for seniors. It is now pending in the U.S. Senate, where it awaits further action. The nursing shortage bill will increase scholarships and grants to improve nursing education and retention. Because the nursing shortage is especially significant in Oklahoma, I was a cosponsor of this bill. Now that the President has signed this bill into law, its incentives will improve this health care dilemma in our state.

Another important issue that Congress also is addressing is our nation's energy policy. Both the House and Senate have passed versions of an energy bill. Now we are working out the differences in the two bills in conference committee. As a member of the conference committee, I hope we will soon create a final version that both bodies can pass and send to the President for his signature.

These accomplishments will allow Sixth District constituents to see real improvements in how their government works for them. Our corporate accountability legislation allows the shareholder in Enid to have more trust in the numbers on the annual report she receives. The new Department of Homeland Security would give comfort to the family in Hollis that their government is doing everything possible to make them safe from future terrorist attacks. Our Medicare reform plan would give the senior citizen in Guymon lower costs for her prescription drugs. Our energy plan would give the trucker in Woodward less volatile fuel prices. And making the tax reforms we passed last year permanent would lower the tax burden for Sixth District taxpayers from Anadarko to Boise City.

By working diligently, the House of Representatives has made great strides in helping Oklahomans. As the final stretch of this legislative session approaches, I hope we can continue our productive pace.