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US Senator for Oklahoma James Lankford called in to Bartlesville Radio this week for his monthly check-in.

 

Lankford and fellow Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe along with Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) to reintroduce the Sunshine Protection Act, legislation that would make Daylight Saving Time (DST) permanent across the country. The Senators were joined by Senators Roy Blunt (R-MO), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Rick Scott (R-FL), and Ed Markey (D-MA) in the reintroduction.

 

Fifteen states—Arkansas, Alabama, California, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Maine, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming—have passed similar laws, resolutions or voter initiatives, and dozens more are looking. 

 

The legislation, if enacted, would apply to those states who currently participate in DST, which most states observe for eight months out of the year. Standard Time, from November to March, is only observed for four months out of the year. The bill would simply negate the need for Americans to change their clocks twice a year. Many studies have shown that making DST permanent could benefit the economy and the country.

 

DST begins this Sunday, March 14, and lasts until Sunday, November 7.  

 

Our conversation then covered the new COVID-19 Relief Bill, which Lankford opposes,  saying in part: ““The chaotic process that took place over the last week is further proof that this bill was not ready and not right. Congress came together five times over the past year in a bipartisan way to address the needs of Americans who have been affected by this health pandemic. There was no reason we couldn’t do that again except that Democrats wanted to load up this bill with non-COVID items.”

 

Congress has passed five bipartisan bills in the past 12 months related to the COVID-19 pandemic that target relief to those who need it most. All five bills had the normal language that prevents the use of taxpayers’ dollars to pay for abortions. But, now Democrats have determined that this partisan COVID bill should direct American tax dollars to abortions. Funding during a pandemic should save lives, not take lives. Abortion funding should not be in a COVID-19 pandemic bill. This shouldn’t be controversial.

 

The House passed the bill earlier this afternoon and it will be signed by President Biden later this week.

 

Last month, Senator Lankford wrote to the CDC to clarify guidance for vaccinated Oklahomans, particularly seniors in senior living homes, on how they could return to normal.

 

The CDC released guidelines for vaccinated Americans earlier this week but failed to address guidelines specifically for this community. 

 

Lankford express his frustration in this tweet.

 

Senator Lankford introduced legislation to incentivize charitable giving. Lankford said: In the last year, we have seen the powerful impact that nonprofits and houses of worship have on our communities and how they continue to help our neighbors in the toughest times. They are the local safety net when families need an extra hand. In a world that has changed significantly in the last year, we have seen more than ever the need to encourage giving to local nonprofits and houses of worship to support their selfless service to those in need.

 

The Universal Giving Pandemic Response and Recovery Act permanently expands and extends the current deduction for charitable giving.

 

Lankford successfully secured extensions of the $300 deduction in the December COVID relief bill and in the CARES Act last May. 

 

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