Today, the House passed the Senate amendment to H.R. 3762 - Restoring Americans’ Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act by a vote of 240 to 181. This bill eliminates funding to Planned Parenthood and dismantles the Affordable Care Act, effectively repealing the most important elements of Obamacare, amongst other provisions. Having already passed the Senate, H.R. 3762 will go to the President’s desk for signature. Congressman Steve Russell (OK-5) applauded this measure, saying, “The people have r...
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
On October 20, Congressman Steve Russell released Waste Watch No. 3, which pointed out ten examples of government misspending from recent years. Among the highest-dollar items featured in the report was the disproportionate rise in prescriptions for abuse-prone opioids over the past several years. This alarming increase has not only added to the financial burdens of the Medicare program, it points to the tragic rise in the epidemic of opioid abuse. Waste Watch No. 3 points out that patient satis...
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
Today, Congressman Steve Russell (OK-5), a member of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, is proud to release the second edition in his Waste Watch series. The July edition continues the pattern of highlighting ten instances where the federal government, despite what were perhaps good intentions, spent taxpayer funds in an unwise fashion. Some notable instances from Waste Watch No. 2 are the VA hospital that will cost five times its initial price estimate (more than the tallest “ultra...
Read more
U.S. Rep. Steve Russell has spent most of his adult life in the military. He’s proud of his service and clearly cares about the men and women who defend the United States. So his views regarding the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs deserve attention. “Talk about waste and fraud,” Russell, R-Oklahoma City, told The Oklahoman editorial board in a recent meeting. “I have come to the view that the VA can no longer be reformed.” He added, “I don’t know that you completely blow it up, but you blow ...
Read more
