Energy

Last Friday, Congressman Steve Russell (OK-5) introduced H.R. 1623, a bill to repeal the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Incentive Program (ATVM). The ATVM is a $25 billion loan program, created in 2007 with the Energy Independence and Security Act, to assist car manufacturers in producing more fuel-efficient passenger vehicles. Of the $25 billion appropriated, $16.6 billion is left in the fund, and the last completed loan was issued in March 2011. In a Government Accountability Offi... Read more

Congressman Steve Russell (OK-5) issued the following statement congratulating Scott Pruitt on being confirmed as the new Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): “I congratulate Scott Pruitt on his confirmation to lead the EPA. I can’t think of a better person for the job. The rest of the country is about to learn what we in Oklahoma have known for a long time. Administrator Scott Pruitt is a leader with tremendous knowledge and appreciation for the Constitution, as well as ... Read more

(CNSNews.com) – Rep. Steve Russell (R- Okla.) released the sixth installment of his ongoing Waste Watch series on Monday, showing 10 instances of government waste totaling around $139 billion in taxpayer money. Some of the spending items detailed in the report include a Pentagon Task Force that spent $150 million on lavish, rented villas in Afghanistan with flat-screen TVs in each room; $356 million on a computer system that does not work; $34 million spent by the U.S. Department of Agriculture ... Read more

Congressman Steve Russell (OK-5), a member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has released Waste Watch No. 5. Waste Watch is Congressman Russell’s ongoing investigation and periodic publication that highlights agencies, programs, and cost overruns that are a drain on the American taxpayer. To date, Waste Watch has highlighted roughly $90 billion in wasteful government spending. Congressman Russell has been able to affect change including being the lead Republican co-sponsor... Read more

President Obama is opening up about his proposal to add a $10 per barrel oil tax when he presents his budget to congress next week. "It's right to do it right now when gas prices are low," he said at the White House on Friday. "They'll be low for quite some time to come." The plan, which would be phased in over a five-year period, would generate $20 billion a year. "Some of that revenue can be used for transportation and some of the revenue for investments in basic research needed for the energy... Read more

Today, the House of Representatives passed the FY 2016 Omnibus, by a bipartisan vote of 316-113, to fully fund the federal government through the fiscal year ending on September 30, 2016. Congressman Russell (OK-5) spoke about his vote in favor for the Omnibus saying, “For perhaps the first time since 2009, we finally have been able to push back on the president’s harmful policies on national security and our economy. While the spending measure had several things lacking, it had many major wins.... Read more

FBI stats show violent crimes down last two years OKLAHOMA CITY – The terrorist shootings in San Bernardino, Calif., prompted U.S. Rep. Steve Russell to deliver a strong pro-gun message 48 hours before President Barack Obama demanded tougher gun control laws. During a Friday evening interview, Russell told Red Dirt Report, “Now is not the time to talk about disarming our citizens or the terrorists win.” Russell contends terrorist acts are occurred at “soft targets” where victims are not allowed ... Read more

Today, Congressman Steve Russell (OK-5), a member of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, continued his tradition of examining questionable spending practices with the third edition of Waste Watch. Like the previous two publications, the October edition focuses on ten examples of government spending that may have been well-intentioned, but ended up wasting taxpayer funds. Some notable instances of federal mismanagement from Waste Watch No. 3 include the nearly half a billion dollars s... Read more

Congressman Steve Russell (OK-5) offered this statement on the passage of the FY 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (270-156): “I am proud of the work the conference committee has put in to pass the FY 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Specifically, in a bipartisan fashion, we have agreed to authorize $604 billion dollars for the Department of Defense to protect our vital national security interests and provide our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines the tools they need to ... Read more

Congressman Russell issued this statement following the news that Chesapeake Energy will be undergoing layoffs in Oklahoma City: “It is saddening to learn of the news coming from our energy sector, and that hard working people will lose their jobs through no fault of their own. The oil and gas energy sector is a cornerstone of the Oklahoma work force, and I wish the President would change his draconian policy on oil and gas exports. “It is vital that our Republic opens up its prohibition on exp... Read more