Earnest, funny and always engaging, U.S. Sen. James Lankford delivered a behind-the-curtain overview of Capitol Hill on Thursday at the Tulsa Regional Chamber’s first Congressional Forum of the year.

Touching on everything from the government shutdown to tax policy to artificial intelligence, Lankford spent close to 40 minutes speaking and answering questions before a crowd of about 280 people at the Hyatt Regency Downtown.

Of immediate concern for many, the legislator said, is the partial government shutdown, which is causing 250,000 federal workers to go unpaid.

Lawmakers are divided over funding for the Department of Homeland Security because of the sometimes-deadly tactics deployed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Regarding deportation arrests, Lankford said 70 percent of people going through removal proceedings have some level of criminal history, but he added that “we, as Americans, should treat all people with dignity and respect.”

“That’s who we are. That’s what we do. But we’re also a nation that is under law, and that law is important to us. We should maintain that balance…We’re walking through that conversation as a nation right now…”

Lankford spent considerable time highlighting less-publicized portions of the Working Families Tax Cut Act, a law enacted in 2025 that is designed to lower taxes for people and small businesses, allowing for more take-home pay in 2026.

The senator said there are provisions in the bill that double the tax credit for businesses that offer child care and that allow for teachers to write off classroom supplies they purchase.

“We feel like that is a huge gain for our classrooms and for our teachers across our entire country,” Lankford said.

On the economic front, he said, trade agreements brokered by the United States have for the first time resulted in Australia buying American beef and Bangladesh purchasing American wheat.

But other aspects of international business, the senator said, need tweaking, such as taxing companies that move their manufacturing equipment into the United States.

“I don’t want to tell somebody please come but when you do, we’re going to hit you as hard as I can on the way,” Lankford said. “I don’t think that’s welcoming.

“I’ve been very focused with the administration on saying if a company wants to expand, add new manufacturing equipment or move from another country to here, we should welcome them and welcome the jobs and not punish them for coming. I think we’re very close to finally getting that resolved.”

Acknowledging the benefits of artificial intelligence, Lankford said it’s important to examine the technology through a morality lens.

“I’m concerned about a 12-year-old talking to a box asking for advice, rather than to a parent, rather than to a teacher at a school, rather than to a trusted youth pastor,” he said. “It is a very real issue for us as a culture.

“(AI) is going to make our businesses more efficient. It’s going to make our national security better and more efficient. But it also is a threat to our culture that we better pay attention to, and I don’t think I’m understanding that.”

At the end of the program, Lankford was asked what the founding fathers would think of the United States as it approaches its 250^th birthday.

“They would be proud of what we have become,” he said. “We are the leading economy and the leading force for good in the world. We lose track of that because we’re Americans.”

The lawmaker reminded the audience that the United States is the oldest constitutional democracy in the world.

“This whole idea about freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, this whole idea about the Second Amendment, those were radical ideas at the time,” Lankford said. “So, I’d think they’d be rather impressed that it not only has survived but thrived.”