U.S. Rep. Kevin Hern told a Tulsa Regional Chamber audience Wednesday that Oklahomans need to get serious about education.

“If we don’t figure out our education situation, not only in Oklahoma but in America, we’re not going to have a great state,” Hern said. “We’re not going to have a great America.”

“…None of us in this room are proud about our 50^th ranking in education.”

Hern, who serves Oklahoma’s 1^st District, was special guest at the Chamber’s Congressional Forum at DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Downtown.

Participating in a dialogue moderated by Chamber Chair Bill Knight, Hern spent close to 35 minutes touching on topics that included such as tariffs, interest rates and the Russia-Ukraine war.

In terms of education, the congressman said he hopes Oklahoma can make strides similar to those made in Mississippi, which he said went from “dead-last” to 13^th in fourth-grade reading proficiency.

“That’s because leadership in Mississippi made that a priority, not politics but educating students,” Hern said. “…Universities across America, higher-ed and education need to get back to educating children and get out of the political world…. Teachers want to teach.”

Asked about President Trump’s propensity for tariffs, Hern said he likes them used as a bargaining tool, not as a weapon.
“I’m all for getting people to the table because you have to get them to the table to negotiate,” he said. “You can’t negotiate over emails, ‘snail’ mail, Zoom calls. It’s just impossible. As long as the President is using these for negotiations, I’m all for it.”

Talking about interest rates, the congressman said he admires the work done by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, remembering a conversation he had with him three years ago, when there were 11 million job openings and five million people seeking work.
“You’ve seen that gap close,” Hern said. “There are always going to be unemployment or un-employable situations. But I think the chairman’s done a pretty fantastic job in a very difficult environment, not necessarily because of his monetary policy but he’s had to put up with a terrible fiscal policy of the Congress.”

Turning to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Hern said certain economic factors are keeping that in play, adding that the European Union buys three times as much energy from  Russia than it gives in support to Ukraine.

“Unless the E.U., China and India stop buying oil and gas from Russia, this war will never end,” he said.

Hern closed on a patriotic note, saying other countries are jealous of the upward mobility possible in the United States.

“Anybody in America can become something,” the congressman said. “That’s the opportunities we have. I can assure you 60 years ago in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas, a guy like me with no running water and no indoor plumbing never dreamed that he could meet the president of the United States or sit in the White House or make policy for all Americans, regardless of party.”

“We have a special place. We need not to destroy it. We need to respect it. We need to respect our disagreements. It’s still the greatest place in the world to be. That’s why so many people want to come here.”