Oklahoma’s five-member congressional delegation joined the loud Republican chorus denouncing the $1.75 trillion Build Back Better package passed almost entirely along party lines by the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday morning.
“There’s not much that hasn’t already been said about this absolute train wreck of a bill,” said 1st District Rep. Kevin Hern. “This bill is not only bad policy, it’s dangerous.”
While the 2,000-page budget reconciliation bill is the source of furious passion on all sides, it faces an uncertain fate in the Senate even though it will not require the usual 60 votes to bring it to the floor.
Supporters say the bill would benefit working- and middle-class Oklahomans by extending the temporary $300-per-month child care tax credits and offering additional child care assistance, expanding free public preschool and cutting taxes for low-wage workers.
People are also reading…
It also includes substantial investments in clean energy.
“President Biden and Democrats took a monumental step to once again deliver for the middle class,” said Oklahoma Democratic Party Chairwoman Alicia Andrews.
“No thanks to a single Republican in the House, including our own Oklahoma congressional delegation, the Build Back Better Act will lower costs for working families, create good-paying jobs and cut taxes.”
Opponents contend that it is inflationary and too expensive and will fuel unacceptable growth in the federal bureaucracy.
“This bill changes the foundation of our country,” 2nd District Congressman Markwayne Mullin said. “Each provision included in this legislation is an item from the far-left’s socialist wish list. At a price tag of $1.75 trillion, plus the $1.2 trillion so-called infrastructure package, this level of spending will saddle Americans with debt for generations to come.
“Our country is already suffering from record high inflation — spending trillions more is the last thing we should be doing.”
Hern called it the largest expansion of the U.S. government in history.
“It amounts to a giant, unprecedented leap towards socialism, abandoning American job creators and leaving hardworking taxpayers to cover the bill,” he said.
U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas of Oklahoma’s 3rd District said the bill does not address pressing issues on which Republicans and Democrats largely agree.
“Instead of addressing our country’s urgent crises — like skyrocketing inflation or a crippled supply chain — (congressional) Democrats are instead seizing on the opportunity to ram through a transformational agenda that millions of Americans never asked for nor wanted,” Lucas said.
“But as bad as this bill is, what is most telling is what this bill fails to address, and that is the current emergencies actually facing our nation,” said the 4th District’s Rep. Tom Cole. “Democrats continue to do nothing to deal with the border crisis, nothing to address rising inflation, nothing to help small businesses get their workers back and nothing to address the looming threats America and our allies face abroad.”
On Twitter, 5th District Congresswoman Stephanie Bice referred to her earlier comments on the House floor, when she blamed President Joe Biden and Democratic policies for higher food costs at Thanksgiving time.
Featured video: Watch President Biden sign the infrastructure bill into law
Redistricting in Oklahoma: Follow the coverage
About the special session
Lawmakers on Friday sent six redistricting bills to Gov. Kevin Stitt following a weeklong special session.
The bills include new maps for the 101 House districts, 48 Senate districts and five congressional districts, and temporary adjustments to residency and party registration requirements.
The federal and state constitutions require redistricting every 10 years.
Click here to read more.
Proposal for 1st Congressional District would drop Washington County, add Sapulpa
Oklahoma’s 1st Congressional District would continue to consist mostly of Tulsa County but would lose Washington County and most of Wagoner County while picking up Sapulpa and eastern Creek County under a redistricting proposal released by a legislative committee.
“After hearing public comment, people seemed to view Sapulpa as more of a suburb or associated with Tulsa than Bartlesville is,” said Redistricting Committee Chairman Ryan Martinez, R-Edmond.
Oklahoma Watch: How the incarcerated skew political representation while being unable to vote
The pool of eligible voters in districts with large prisons is considerably reduced, an expert says, giving constituents in those areas more say in state government considering the population-counting issue.
“I don’t like that they are technically included because they can’t give a benefit,” said Jessica Janes, a 32-year-old small business owner and former teacher who ran as a Republican candidate for House District 18 in 2018. “They’re not in a position to vote, so I don’t want an empty body without a say in what’s going on.”
Randy Krehbiel
Staff Writer
I have been with the Tulsa World since 1979. I'm a native of Hinton, Okla., and graduate of Oklahoma State University. I primarily cover government and politics. Phone: 918-581-8365
