Tulsa Chamber Backpedals, Apologizes To Inhofe

The Tulsa Metro Chamber plans to issue an apology Tuesday to U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe for what it called misinterpreting his remarks concerning a defense bill and a provision on gays in the military, according to a letter obtained by the Tulsa World on Monday night.

"In working with Senator Inhofe's staff, we now understand Senator Inhofe's remarks were made in an attempt to clarify a legislative matter associated with the repeal of the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy,'' Chamber President and CEO Mike Neal stated in the letter, which was intended for release as a Tulsa World letter to the editor on Tuesday.

"He provided examples of constituent communication in an effort to refute speculative fears about certain sections of the repealed National Defense Authorization Act.''

Neal said the chamber misunderstood Inhofe's message during an appearance at a chamber event last week. That misunderstanding, he wrote, led to a misrepresentation of Inhofe's intentions.

"Senator Inhofe is a steadfast supporter and champion of business issues and we apologize for misinterpreting his remarks,'' he wrote. "We appreciate all that he has done for the Chamber, Tulsa, Oklahoma and the Nation."

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Inhofe: Send More Troops To Afghanistan

Senator Jim Inhofe today called for the U. S. to send more troops to Afghanistan.

“Today marks eight years of sustained combat in Afghanistan, and it is important to reaffirm our commitment to victory there,” Inhofe said.

“At a time when the sacrifices of our American and allied forces in Afghanistan are increasing, we should give the utmost priority to listening to our commanders on the ground. We owe it to all those who have lost their lives, the thousands who are fighting there today, and all the families, to provide our forces with the adequate number of troops to accomplish the mission that they set out to do.”

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Obama Nominates Sandy Coats For Law Post

President Barack Obama has nominated Sanford Coats, son of University of Oklahoma Law School Dean Andy Coats, to be the U.S. attorney for the Western District.

"Sandy Coats has had an outstanding reputation in the U.S. Attorney's Office," said Congressman Dan Boren. "He is a wonderful public servant and has also been a personal friend for many years. I am confident that Sandy will do an excellent job for the citizens of the Western District."

Earlier this year, Boren, the only Democrat in the state's congressional delegation, and Governor Brad Henry, also a Democrat, made a number of recommendations for federal jobs in the Obama administration.

Senator Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., also supported Coats' nomination.

Coats has been an assistant U.S. attorney in the Oklahoma City office since 2004 and was chief of the Major Crimes Section from 2007 to 2008. From 1999 to 2003, he was in private law practice in Oklahoma City. He's a graduate of Tulane University and the University of Oklahoma law school. He clerked for Justice Marian Opala of the state Supreme Court.

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Noted Quote: Every Institution Under Attack

“Every institution that has made this country the greatest nation in the world is under attack." ~ U. S. Senator Jim Inhofe, speaking of the Obama Administration during a town hall meeting in Grove.

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Coburn, Inhofe Vote For Concealed Carry Proposal

Senators Tom Coburn and Jim Inhofe today voted in favor of a proposed federal law that would allow holders of concealed carry licenses to carry firearms in every state, but the measure failed by two votes despite winning a plurality. Sixty votes were needed; 58 senators voted for it.

Oklahoma now honors concealed carry permits from all states that have them and 31 states have honored Oklahoma's concealed carry laws.

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Inhofe Named To Senate Foreign Relations Panel

Senator Jim Inhofe has been appointed to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to fill the Republican vacancy left by former Senator Norm Coleman (R-Minn.).

Inhofe will become the ranking member on the East Asian and Pacific Affairs subcommittee, which deals with strategically important countries for the United States’ national security such as China, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, North Korea, South Korea, and others.

The appointment gives Inhofe an even stronger voice in America's foreign affairs.

Currently the Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Foreign Relations becomes Inhofe’s third committee.

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Study: Boren Backs Obama At 81% Level

Democratic Congressman Dan Boren backed President Barack Obama 81 percent of the time in the president's first six months in office, according to a new study that said Obama is on pace for the most successful presidential year in recent history in terms of congressional support. The study is reported in today's The Oklahoman.

Republican Rep. Mary Fallin had the second-highest score in the Oklahoma congressional delegation in presidential support this year. She backed Obama's position 50 percent of the time.

The scores were compiled by Congressional Quarterly, whose publications cover Capitol Hill and national politics.

But the measurements of presidential support were based on relatively few votes.

According to CQ, the president took a position on only 26 votes cast by the House and 37 cast by the Senate.

One notable issue on which Fallin backed the president and broke from the majority of her party was on the bill allowing the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco.

Among Oklahoma Republicans, Congressman Frank Lucas had the lowest presidential support score, at 27 percent. The others: Senator Tom Coburn, 33 percent; Congressman Tom Cole, 38 percent; Senator Jim Inhofe and Congressman John Sullivan, both 43 percent.

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Inhofe Named To AF Academy's Board Of Visitors

Senator Jim Inhofe, a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has been appointed to the Air Force Academy's Board of Visitors.

The board considers issues such as morale, discipline, curriculum, instruction, equipment, fiscal affairs and academic methods and prepares reports for congressional committees and Pentagon officials on the academy's operation.

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Inhofe Spokesman Lands Bixby Manager Post

It's reported today that Blu Hulsey, a spokesman for Senator Jim Inhofe and the former town coordinator in Skiatook, will be named today as the new city manager of Bixby effective July 1st.

Hulsey is being named to the position less than a month after the previous city manager resigned after a dispute with the City Council.

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Inhofe Says No To Sotomayor Nomination

Senator Jim Inhofe said today he'll vote against confirming U.S. Circuit Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the U. S. Supreme Court.

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Inhofe Names New Communications Staff

Senator Jim Inhofe today announced the addition of a new communications staff in his Washington office.

The new staff includes Communications Director Jared Young, and Deputy Press Secretary Kathryn Heisten. Both are native Oklahomans.

Young re-joins the Inhofe office after having previously served as Communications Director at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a non-profit think tank in Washington that researches defense policy. Young served in a variety of communication positions with Inhofe and the Inhofe-chaired Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee from 2001 to 2003. After leaving the EPW Committee, he spent 10 months in Iraq from 2003 to 2004 as a Senior Press Officer and the Director of the International Press Center for the Coalition Provisional Authority.

Born and raised in Midwest City, Young has held communications positions with the Heritage Foundation, the Mitt Romney Commonwealth PAC, and in the private sector as a communications consultant. He recently finished a Masters Degree in International Relations from the University of Oklahoma.

Heisten is being promoted from within the Inhofe office for the second time since she joined the staff in 2007. Initially a Staff Assistant, she was first promoted to Legislative Correspondent where she helped Inhofe communicate with constituents on a variety of issues such as finance and banking. Born and raised in Tulsa, Heisten graduated cum laude from the University of Oklahoma and received a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.

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Inhofe Reacts To Sotomayer Nomination

Senator Jim Inhofe said today he has "cause for great concern" about comments made by President Obama's nominee for the U. S. Supreme Court, Appeals Court Judge Sonia Sotomayer.

“Of primary concern to me is whether or not Judge Sotomayor follows the proper role of judges and refrains from legislating from the bench. Some of her recent comments on this matter have given me cause for great concern. In the months ahead, it will be important for those of us in the U.S. Senate to weigh her qualifications and character as well as her ability to rule fairly without undue influence from her own personal race, gender, or political preferences.”

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Fallin, Inhofe Ask Questions In Behenna Case

Jim Myers of the Tulsa World's Washington Bureau reports today that Senator Jim Inhofe and Congresswoman Mary Fallin have taken an interest in the case of Army Lt. Michael Behenna of Edmond, convicted by a military tribunal of killing a suspected Al Qaida member in Iraq.

Meyers write, "An Oklahoma family that believes their son did not receive a fair trial before being convicted of murdering an Iraqi detainee has turned to the state's congressional delegation for help.

"In a letter to members of the delegation, the mother of 1st Lt. Michael Behenna said the prosecution improperly withheld evidence that might have helped her son.

"'I witnessed at that trial the most egregious Brady and discovery violation I have ever seen,' said Vicki Behenna of Edmond. 'The disclosure violation and prosecutorial misconduct cut to the heart of Michael's trial, his truthfulness, and has undermined our confidence in the integrity of the military justice system.'"

Read the story at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=12&articleid=20090524_16_A15_WASHIN292967.

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Boren Co-sponsors Military Voting Act

Congressman Dan Boren, D-2nd District, a Member of the House Armed Services Committee, joined Congressman Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) today as the lead Democratic co-sponsor of H.R.2393, or the Military Voting Protection Act of 2009.

By allowing the U.S. Postal Service to express-ship troops’ absentee ballots, the legislation would help ensure the ballots are delivered to local election offices back home in time to be counted.

Senator Jim Inhofe is a Senate co-sponsor of the legislation.

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Inhofe Joins Effort To Help Military Voters

Senator Jim Inhofe, a ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, is a co-sponsor of the Military Voting Protection Act of 2009 introduced today by Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas).

The legislation attempts to reduce delays in the current absentee voting process for overseas troops by allowing the U.S. Postal Service to express-ship their completed absentee ballots to local election offices.

The bill amends the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act of 1986 (UOCAVA) and ensures that the ballots are delivered to the appropriate state election officials by the jurisdiction’s statutory deadline, while safeguarding voter privacy and ballot secrecy.

The bill would apply to all regularly scheduled general elections for federal office, beginning with the November 2010 election.

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Inhofe Files Official English Bill

Senator Jim Inhofe today introduced the National Language Act of 2009, legislation that calls on the federal government to preserve and enhance the role of English as the national language.

It clarifies that there is no entitlement to receive federal documents and services in languages other than English, unless required by statutory law, recognizing decades of unbroken court opinions that civil rights laws protecting against national origin discrimination do not create rights to government services and materials in languages other than English.

Inhofe’s bill would make English the national language of the United States government, a status in law it has not previously had. Furthermore, the legislation clarifies that there is no entitlement to receive federal documents and services in languages other than English, unless required by statutory law.

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Poll: Henry's Job Approval Hangs High

From www.tulsaworld.com ~ Gov. Brad Henry remains popular with Oklahomans despite his support of President Barack Obama and his positions on issues such as voter identification and official English.

In a survey of 318 likely voters by Oklahoma City-based SoonerPoll.com, two-thirds said they approve of Henry's job performance. That puts the second-term Democrat slightly ahead of the state's two U.S. senators, Republicans Jim Inhofe (62 percent) and Tom Coburn (60 percent).

The poll found that 66.3 percent of respondents say they approve of the job Henry is doing. Another 28.9 percent say they disapprove and 4.7 percent say they were neutral.

In the same poll, 83 percent said they favor requiring photo identification to vote and 86 percent said they favor making English the official language.

Last month Henry vetoed a photo ID bill, and the Republican-led Legislature is trying to circumvent Henry by taking an official English referendum directly to the voters.

The poll was conducted April 23-26 and has a margin of error of 5.5 percentage points.

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Noted Quote: Obama's Gun Control Agenda

“The idea that American-manufactured firearms are responsible for the growing violence in Mexico isn’t grounded in reality, but the Obama Administration is using this violence as justification to require stricter licensing requirements and markings on firearms by U.S. manufacturers. The majority of the gun violence that is occurring in the drug wars in Mexico is the result of assault weapons, including fully automatic versions, which aren’t even available for sale in the United States. Many of these weapons are coming from other countries in Central and South America and deserters from the Mexican military. I am strongly opposed to placing more stringent requirements on U.S. gun manufacturers, especially when the evidence shows that they are not the problem. This is an instance of the Obama Administration using alternative means to place greater regulations on the manufacture and sale of legal firearms in the United States. I believe that my colleagues in the United States Senate understand this to be the case and will do as they have for the last 10 years and not ratify this treaty (Inter-American Convention Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, and Other Related Materials).” ~ U. S. Senator Jim Inhofe

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Senators Blast Napolitano 'Extremism' Report

Oklahoma's two U. S. senators and five others today blasted Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and the department's report on "Rightwing Extremism."

Senators Jim Inhofe and Tom Coburn joined David Vitter (R-La.), Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) in sending a letter to Napolitano expressing serious concerns about the release of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) report entitled “Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment.”

“I was shocked to learn that this report classifies the brave men and women returning home from combat and operational deployments around the globe, who have been honorably defending our country, as potential terrorists,” Inhofe said.

“As a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, I am especially proud of our soldiers returning home and I find it extremely regretful that they have been subjected to such an insult by this report. Furthermore, I find it reprehensible that within this report Americans who hold certain beliefs regarding issues such as immigration, the Second Amendment, and abortion fall under the report’s broad generalization of rightwing extremists, and are therefore considered a potential threat. I believe this report to be very offensive to many Americans.”

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Inhofe Opposes Deputy AG Nomination

Senator Jim Inhofe today expressed his strong opposition to the nomination of David Ogden to be United States Deputy Attorney General.

In a speech on the Senate Floor, Inhofe outlined his opposition, noting that Ogden has repeatedly represented the pornography industry and its interests, and supports using taxpayer money to fund abortions.

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