One of the most salient messages delivered Wednesday by U.S. Sen. James Lankford at the Chamber’s Congressional Forum originated from his recently released book, “Turnaround: America’s Revival.”

It centered on the counterproductivity of rage.

“We’ve become a nation in which our signature emotion is anger,” Lankford said. “I’ve yet to meet somebody that can tell say they make their best decisions when they’re angry.

“…Right now, you get social media clicks and you get praise and you end up in the 24-hour news cycle if you are the loudest and angriest person in the room. That doesn’t help us as a country. We need to solve all our problems, and that involves bringing the dialogue up and the volume down.”

Lankford spoke about his work in Washington D.C. and fielded questions before about 250 people at the Hyatt Regency Tulsa Downtown, tackling such issues as federal government overspending, tariffs and tax rates.

Congressional Forums provide opportunities for the northeast Oklahoma business community to hear directly from members of the state's federal delegation. 

Adding another reference from his book, Lankford urged Wednesday’s audience to stop thinking that elected officials are the only avenue for change.

“I have so many people I talk to that say, `I elected that person. They are going to take care of it. I don’t have to do anything,” the senator said. “Well, that’s not American. We all are engaged, in our church, in nonprofits, in local communities volunteering at our schools.

“The reason America has been so strong historically is because every American has an opportunity to be able to serve their fellow Americans in practical ways and we do it.”

Lankford spent considerable time talking about the federal budget, which is expected to grow by $2 trillion this year.

 “We have to do something about it,” he said. “We have to find a way to be able to reduce spending.

“…We have to able to go back to individual programs and say what is required by law. If it’s now required by law, we should turn that down. If it’s something we’ve added on since COVID, we need to take a look at that… These are things that every family does, every business does on a regular basis.”

Lankford reminded the crowd that under President Clinton, federal jobs were reduced by 400,000.

“Granted, President Clinton did that in seven years,” he said. “President Trump is trying to do that in seven weeks. But we are long overdue for reevaluation. The last time we had a balanced budget, where we were receiving the same amount we were spending, was under President Clinton.”

On the litany of tariffs that President Trump is imposing, Lankford said the nation must bring down global trade barriers. He cited examples such as Australia, which prevents American beef from coming into that country, and India, which has high barriers blocking American goods.

“This crowd knows I’m not a big fan of tariffs; I’m just not,” he said. “But tariffs are a very effective negotiating tactic to be able to say you need to come to the table.”