As political tensions rise throughout the nation, Oklahoma lawmakers are addressing each state and nationwide issues, from financial uncertainty to well being care reforms and tax cuts.
Throughout a latest episode of Your Vote Counts, Senator Avery Frix and Consultant Suzanne Schreiber shared insights into the urgent points affecting Oklahomans, emphasizing that federal issues are dominating conversations on the native stage.
“I had a city corridor a few week in the past, and we had two occasions the folks that we sometimes have at these city halls,” Schreiber mentioned. “They needed to learn about what’s happening with the layoffs, is their veterans’ well being care nonetheless going to be good, how are they going to take care of Medicaid and Medicare modifications, and the way are they going to handle their households.”
Though state lawmakers don’t immediately deal with federal points, Frix famous that they’re in shut communication with Oklahoma’s congressional delegation.
“You already know, the place we’re at in our nation is we have now over $36 trillion in debt, and we have now to do one thing,” Frix mentioned. “I help President Trump and Elon Musk’s effort to attempt to make our authorities extra environment friendly, lower out that waste, fraud, and abuse.”
One key subject making its means by means of the Oklahoma legislature is well being care reform, with a bipartisan invoice geared toward reducing out-of-pocket prices for sufferers.
“Our invoice collectively permits folks to make use of that [cash] worth, and it goes towards their deductible somewhat than having to pay the contracted worth,” Schreiber defined. She cited her personal expertise with an angiogram, the place the money worth was considerably decrease than the insured worth.
The legislative session can also be seeing main structural modifications, together with management shifts and new processes for transferring payments by means of committees. Frix highlighted a rising urge for food for a tax lower within the Senate, a problem that has been closely debated lately.
“As I’m going out and speak to people in my district, we hear from people which can be hurting from inflation,” Frix mentioned. “We all know that occasions are robust, they usually want some aid. And that is a method that we will do it.”
Schreiber additionally pointed to the state’s childcare disaster as a significant subject beneath dialogue.
“We handed a invoice off the ground with nice majority this week with superb bipartisan help,” she mentioned. “We’ll proceed to work on that youngster care subject for our companies, our employers, and our households who actually need that.”
Because the session strikes ahead, lawmakers are balancing tax lower discussions with the necessity to put money into important providers equivalent to well being care and schooling.
“There’s sturdy conversations concerning the tax lower, and I believe there’s additionally some conversations about what we have to put money into,” Schreiber mentioned. “Do we have now the cash to do a tax lower and that?”
With nationwide politics persevering with to overshadow state affairs, Oklahoma lawmakers stay centered on native options whereas maintaining a tally of Washington’s impression.
