Immigration, earmarks and energy drilling are among the questions.

U.S. Rep. John Sullivan faced questions Thursday about whether Oklahoma's House Bill 1804 is really working, why Oklahoma isn't looking to capitalize more on oil and natural gas resources, and whether earmarked spending will come to an end in Washington.

About 60 people attended the Americans for Prosperity town hall meeting with the Oklahoma Republican at Hardesty Regional Library.

Sullivan said some representatives are afraid that denying earmarks designated by appropriations committees will result in reduced funding and support for their districts.

He said earmarks and out-of-control spending have "got to stop," and one solution he proposed is to term-limit appropriations members.

"They say a lot of this: 'You don't want to make the appropriations committee mad, you don't want to be known as one of those guys,' " Sullivan said.

Jason Carini of Catoosa said he appreciated how Sullivan spoke against earmarks.

"Most of our money is wasted, and I pay too much taxes, so it's hard to pay bills," he said.

Sullivan said he supports drilling for oil in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge and exploring ways to expand refining capacity to combat dependency on foreign oil.

"We must not stop production and drilling of gas and oil, and we can do it in an environmentally good way," he said.

"When we have natural resources we can tap into, we should do it," she said.

Sullivan said he applauds the efforts of Oklahoma's House Bill 1804 to stop illegal immigration but criticized the federal government for not acting on the issue as well.

"People say they're leaving the state, leaving Oklahoma, and they should," Sullivan said. "If we give every illegal alien legal status, you'll have 12 million people that don't speak English in low-income jobs. They will get all the social benefits. Everyone's taxes in this country would go up. I don't think Americans would be willing to do that."

Tim Phillips, president of Americans for Prosperity, said he appreciated both Sullivan and Oklahoma Republican U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn for fighting government waste and earmarks.

"(Sullivan) is one of the true fighters for economic freedom," Phillips said. "(Coburn) has the kind of courage you need to start a movement."

Americans for Prosperity, which sponsored the meeting, is a conservative, grass-roots group that has a platform of reducing taxes and limiting government.

Althea Peterson 581-8361
althea.peterson@tulsaworld.com