Group quizzes Rep. Sullivan
BY ALTHEA PETERSON World Staff Writer
Friday, November 30, 2007
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.
Pamela Cook of Tulsa said
she agrees with Sullivan and
that having more natural resources available would benefit national security.
"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
