In the News

In politics and policy, you win some and you lose some, and sometimes the best you can do is make a good point. Kevin Hern of Tulsa experienced all of that in a week of work in Congress

Staff Report, The Oklahoma City Sentinel

Washington, DC, September 23, 2022
U.S. Representative Kevin Hern, R-Tulsa, won some important policy victories in recent days, but being a Republican in the U.S. House run by Nancy Pelosi, he also lost some battles.
 
But the Tulsa Congressman is proving durable in pressing for conservative laws, while working with the majority Democrats where common ground is found.
 
Hern's office released the following statement on Thursday (September 22) after he voted against several bills that he asserts "fail to address the rampant crime plaguing American communities."
 
Rep. Hern voted ‘no’ on House Resolution 6448, House Resolution 8592, House Resolution 4118, and House Resolution 5768.
 
Hern said, in a statement sent to The Oklahoma City Sentinel, the debate controlled by Democrats "was purely political, meant to trick Americans into thinking Democrats care about law and order before a major election.”
 
He continued, “Meanwhile, they spent the last two years villainizing law enforcement and promoting ‘defund the police’. Their video just doesn’t match the audio. Our police officers need the support of their elected leaders to pass and enforce laws meant to keep communities safe. Until that happens, more funding is meaningless.”
 
Rep. Hern continued, “More money is almost never the solution. The rise in violent crime in cities across the nation are not a result of money problems; it’s a failure to enforce the law. Violent criminals are repeatedly released back on the street thanks to weak-on-crime, woke district attorneys and a toothless justice system.
 
"When criminals don’t fear the consequences of breaking the law, they will continue to break it. All the money in the world won’t stop crime from happening in a city where the law is not enforced.”
 
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Rep. Kevin Hern participated in several days of markup in the Ways and Means Committee early in the week.
 
Multiple Hern priorities received votes during the markup, including Hern-sponsored legislation covering global tax policy and access to health care services, and Hern-supported programs to reauthorize a maternal health program and efforts to restructure the benefits public servants like police officers, teachers, and firefighters receive.
 
Rep. Hern’s H.Res. 1269, introduced in July, instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to provide models and reports about the effect of global tax agreements on the economy; specifically, its effects on U.S. tax revenue.
 
Democrats blocked the resolution from advancing to the House floor on a party line vote.
 
(https://hern.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=639)
 
Congressman Hern is a "co-lead" on Democrat Representative Dan Kildee’s House Resolution 8885, a bill simplifying access to mental health care services for Americans by requiring health care providers to maintain an active list of in-network providers, including whether the provider is accepting new patients.
 
The bi-partisan H.R. 8885 passed Committee earlier this week and then went to the House floor.
 
Rep. Hern voted in favor of House Resolution 8876, "The Jackie Walorski Maternal and Child Home Visiting Reauthorization Act." Named after the late Rep. Jackie Walorski, R-Indiana, this bill reauthorizes the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program, including new oversight and accountability measures he encouraged.
 
The measure passed with strong bipartisan support.
 
Rep. Hern is a cosponsor of Ranking Member Kevin Brady’s House Resolution 5834, the “Equal Treatment of Public Servants Act,” a bill to repeal the Windfall Elimination Program and replace it with what he and other advocates believe is a fair formula to ensure present and future beneficiaries receive the benefits they deserve and paid into.
That bill was rejected by Democrats.