We Can Find Some Common Ground

Hello again, everybody! Few have been as critical as I have of decisions made by House Speaker Chris Benge. He got that criticism the old-fashioned way: he earned it.

His decision to deny even a vote to the autism insurance bill will go down as one of the most ill-advised and unfortunate decisions ever made by any Speaker of the House. That decision hurt families struggling to care for autistic children.

These Oklahoma families deserved better, and I will continue my fight for them. Despite our profound disagreement on the autism issue, it appears the Speaker and I will agree on another issue. Read more…

I hope everyone had a great Labor Day! I had the chance to see some friends from both high school and college. I also took time to appreciate all the efforts that have been put forth over the years by America’s workforce. We have some of the safest workplaces in the world and our employees have better opportunities for health care than many other nations where I have had the chance to visit. We still have a ways to go for much of the country, but things like the Insure Oklahoma program have made a great difference here in Oklahoma.

With information provided directly from their website ( http://www.oepic.ok.gov/ ), this describes the Insure Oklahoma program:

“In April 2004, Senate Bill 1546 authorized the Oklahoma Health Care Authority to develop a program assisting adults, 19 to 64 years of age, who do not exceed 185% of the federal poverty level, with either (1) a portion of their private health plan premiums, or (2) the purchase of a state sponsored health plan operated under the state Medicaid program. After conducting a study of the uninsured in Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA) developed viable, realistic, and effective strategies to cover the uninsured through the Oklahoma State Planning Grant (HRSA grant).” Read more…

The People Are Excited

By Rep. Jason Murphey

Since last Saturday, as I have gone door to door visiting with my constituents, I have seen a new excitement in the eyes of the people as they are once again hopeful that maybe, just maybe, with Governor Sarah Palin’s help there might actually be a chance of substantive changes in our government. The people are once again excited about voting and about the prospects for change. I have not seen this type of excitement since I went door to door in 2004 when Dr. Coburn was on the ballot.

I received this email from a constituent who has historically not been very politically involved but was willing to write me a very well written email about how excited she is at Palin’s nomination. Read more…