Budget committee members named
Leaders in the House and Senate have named members of the General Conference Committee on Appropriations. The group will help draft the budget for the next fiscal year. Speaker of the House Rep. Chris Benge, R-Tulsa named 15 Republicans and seven Democrats to the committee. Senate President Pro Tempore Sen. Glenn Coffee, R-Oklahoma City named 13 Republicans and 10 Democrats to the committee.
Coffee said budget plans could be presented to Gov. Brad Henry as early as Monday. The state …
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Fear and Loathing at Town Meetings
“People are uneasy and maybe a little angry.”
That was Rep. Dan Boren’s observation about the mood of people in his eastern Oklahoma congressional district.
A couple of hours after he made that comment, Sen. Tom Coburn told me this:
“People are fearful and angry.”
Coburn made that comment before I told him what Boren had said.
Both were back in Oklahoma for the two-week Easter break and they, along with other members of the congressional delegation, traveled around the …
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Coffee's response to Senate Dems request
April 28, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
STATEMENT FROM PRESIDENT PRO TEM GLENN COFFEE
“The Democrats, while claiming to want to avoid a distraction, continue their persistent drive to try and create distractions. Today’s letter from the minority caucus is nothing more than their attempt to distract from the good news of progress we are making under Republican leadership in the State Senate.
“Once again, the minority caucus is resorting to the lowest
…
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Letter from Senate Dems calling for Coffee to resign
Senate Democrats on Tuesday asked for additional information from Senate President Pro Tempore Sen. Glenn Coffee regarding his taxes and finances and then called for his resignation if he didn’t provide it.
Here’s the text of the letter the 22-Senate Democrats sent to Coffee on Senate letterhead:
April 28, 2009
Dear Senator Coffee:
One month ago, the Democratic Caucus Chair asked, that you release information to the Senate and Public to clear up questions about your income tax problems.
Despite significant …
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Inhofe, Top Aide on TMZ
Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, and his chief of staff, Ryan Thompson, are “featured” on the web site TMZ.…
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Obama and the Media
A new study from the Center for Media and Public Affairs says President Barack Obama has received more favorable early coverage than his immediate two predecessors.
Here’s the press release:
The media have given President Obama more coverage than George W. Bush and Bill Clinton combined and more positive coverage than either received at this point in their presidencies, according to a new study by researchers at George Mason and Chapman Universities. But the study also finds that Mr. Obama’s …
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Inhofe and Geithner
In a speech on the Senate floor last week, Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, said he has stopped blaming former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson for the financial bail-out that has kept AIG and some big banks awash in federal funds. Inhofe said he now blames current Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who was the head of the New York branch of the Federal Reserve Bank when the bail-out was proposed and approved.
This story in the New York Times shows how close …
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Obama Greets Gators
President Barack Obama hosted the national champs at the White House today. I post this for motivational purposes:
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
TO THE 2008 FOOTBALL NATIONAL CHAMPION
FLORIDA GATORS
East Room
3:50 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: All right. Well, this is not The Swamp that you’re used to, but D.C. is built on a swamp, so welcome to Washington, D.C., and welcome back to the White House. I know at least that the — some of the upperclassmen have …
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Stimulus Money for National Parks
Considering some of the eye-popping numbers that have been associated with the $787 billion stimulus bill, the money allotted for national parks in Oklahoma seems downright modest.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced $750 million worth of projects, and Oklahoma will get $592,000 of that.
The Chickasaw National Recreation Area in Sulphur will receive $551,000 to repair restrooms, trails and a nature center.
The Washita Battlefield National Historic Site, near Cheyenne, will receive $41,000 to replace the fence along the park’s …
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English Only, Tort Reform…all in one day
After a marathon meeting of the Senate that included some of the most substantial bills of the session, a few Senators had one thing in mind: steak.
As if session on Wednesday wasn’t meaty enough. It’s deadline week, and that’s usually when things get squirrely…and progress is made.
On Wednesday, senators defeated a bill that would have allowed voters to decide if attorney contingency fees should be capped. They approved an omnibus tort reform bill that now goes to conference …
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