Not all Cowboy fans went to Oklahoma State. Sen. Jim Inhofe flew his orange plane to Stillwater on Saturday morning. The Tulsa alum was wearing a black OSU polo and heading to tailgate for homecoming. Inhofe, a Republican, assumed office in 1994 and is a ranking member of the Committee on the Environment and Public Works, as well as a member of the United States Senate Armed Services Committee. He flew in from South Dakota, where he was helping campaign for a Republican senate hopeful, Mike Rounds. Rounds, a former governor, has been polling about 15 points ahead. But a “disgruntled Republican” is running against Rounds as an independent, Inhofe said. Inhofe serves on the Committee on Environment and Public Works. If elected, Rounds will be on the committee. The two have already started working on legislative goals. One of those goals is passing a transportation reauthorization bill, which finances roads and highways. Gasoline taxes feed the fund this bill uses, the Highway Trust Fund. “There was a time ... we always had a surplus,” Inhofe said. “For obvious reasons, it’s changed.” Popular alternative engines, like ones that use electricity or compressed natural gas, are becoming more popular. There’s now a $15 billion shortage. This could be a problem. Without a longterm bill like the one Inhofe hopes to pass in May, the U.S. Department of Transportation might not be able to appoint funds to state departments of transportation. This could lead to canceled projects, like updating obsolete bridges in Oklahoma and the widening of I-40, which runs through Oklahoma City, and I-44, which runs through Tulsa. Although worrisome, the highway issue is not at the forefront of Inhofe’s agenda. “My major concern right now is what the president has done to our military,” he said. “It’s a killer.” There have been $487 billion in cuts, which have resulted in few arms — like the F22 fighter jet — and cuts in staff. “Under (Barack) Obama’s sequestration, we would have the smallest ground forces since 1940, the smallest fleet of ships since 1915, and the smallest tactical fighter force in the history of the Air Force,” Inhofe said in a statement. The money once being used for military equipment and personnel is being siphoned to other projects now. “$120 billion (is going) into global warming,” he said. “A lot of ... students probably like that idea.” Inhofe is public about his belief that global warming is natural, not man-made. The senator is up for reelection this year, running against an underdog democratic candidate, Matt Silverstein. CBS News polls predict Inhofe will receive more than 60 percent of the vote on Nov. 4.
Posted on: Mon, 27 Oct 2014 11:18:10 +0000
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