A key Congressional committee this week finally held a long-awaited hearing on customer service problems with the Social Security Administration (SSA). Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee had been pushing for such a hearing for months, and on Tuesday, the Ways and Means subcommittee on Social Security convened it. “We are holding this important hearing today to spotlight… Read more »

Ongoing customer service issues at the Social Security Administration have finally gotten bad enough that U.S. lawmakers decided to do something about it — but it might be a while before you see any significant improvements. Congress held a hearing on May 19 to identify ways to fix the SSA’s customer service fix problems, which mainly boil down to interminable wait times on the phone… Read more »

Many people who have dialed the Social Security Administration’s toll-free number during the Covid-19 pandemic have faced long wait times. In an effort to alleviate the customer service issues, Congress this week held a hearing to identify ways in fix the problems. The issues are something leaders on both sides of the aisle are hearing from constituents about regularly, according to… Read more »

WASHINGTON - On the day that gas prices hit a new all-time high in the United States — $3.47 per gallon, according to AAA — President Biden acknowledged that families are hurting and said he wanted Americans to know that he is taking inflation very seriously. "I know that families all across America are hurting because of inflation," Biden said to reporters at the White House. "I come… Read more »

US Congressman Kevin Hern called into our Bartlesville Radio Studios on Thursday for our monthly podcast. The Congressman first addressed how the U.S. economy’s GDP  shrunk by 1.4% in the first quarter. According to Hern, in addition to other economic and inflationary pressures, diesel prices are now the highest they have ever been in America. Congressman Hern said the southern… Read more »

Representative Kevin Hern (OK-01) co-led a bipartisan letter with Democrat Rep. Brad Schneider (IL-10) and nine additional members of the House Committee on Ways and Means to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.  The letter highlights the Members’ concerns with Treasury’s final Foreign Tax Credit regulations and urges Sec. Yellen to continue working with companies and stakeholders to… Read more »

FIRST LOOK: A bipartisan group of 10 House tax writers is urging the Treasury Department to be more open to business concerns about final foreign tax credit regulations released late last year. The 10 lawmakers told Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen that they appreciated that foreign tax credits, in which companies can get a tax break for income taxes paid to other countries, are a… Read more »

Members of Congress urged the Treasury Department to be “mindful” of how new rules on foreign tax credits could hurt U.S. companies, and to work with them in implementing the much-criticized rules. Treasury should issue guidance to help companies apply the new rules, and “continue its engagement with industry to inform its understanding of the potential downstream impacts,” the… Read more »

Representative Kevin Hern (OK-01) released the following statement in response to today’s report that the United States’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP) shrank at a 1.4% annual rate during the 1st Quarter of the 2022 Fiscal Year. “This is the Biden economy,” said Rep. Hern.  “After 14 months of aggressive spending and a dwindling economy, there is no one left… Read more »

U.S. Congressman and Arkansas Tech University alumnus Kevin Hern returned to his alma mater on Wednesday, April 20, and shared his life story as an example of the American dream come true. "America is about opportunity," said Hern. "Chase your American dream. No matter where you came from, you can achieve anything you want to work hard enough to do. It doesn't matter where you went to… Read more »