Oklahoma’s third district Congressman Frank Lucas – R held a town hall forum yesterday at the Collins Ballroom in Sapulpa. The forum was open to the public and garnered a moderate audience of constituents from both Creek and Osage county. Lucas has served since 2003, having previously represented the 6th district from 1994 to 2003.
Prior to opening the floor to the public, Lucas spoke about the ongoing process of organizing and filling the executive branch. Lucas serves as the Vice Chair of the Agriculture committee, Vice-Chair of Science committee and is part of the Financial Services committee.
He was quick to note he is not an appropriator. “One of the big issues the House is working on while the Senate is undergoing confirmations, is the question of what to do with ACA or Obamacare,” said Lucas. “The president believes he was elected with a mandate to make dramatic changes. The majority of the House and the Senate believe that. But here is what I believe: the process is still ongoing. The process is going to be a lot more difficult than anyone thought.”
“If you just turn it off,” he continued, “you might have as many as 32 million people without health insurance. And all of the changes that have occurred in the insurance delivery system, if you turn it off instantly you don’t have a way to protect those people.”
Lucas touched on the two schools of thought that inhabit the current healthcare debate. One being, that some conservatives think when you turn off Obamacare that you have to turn off all the revenue streams that are going into it. “If you do that you don’t have a way to address the people who are going to be left exposed,” said Lucas. “Even if the funding stream is kept there, how do you meet the needs of all those folks?”
“It isn’t going to happen overnight,” he said. “It is going to take some time to sort this out.”
Lucas’ next topic was tax reform, something he encouraged his constituents to pay close attention to as it could be the first major tax bill since 1986 and the most dramatic set of potential changes since 1954 when Eisenhower was president.
“The question comes down to, how do you make the country more competitive with the rest of the world, industry-wise?” Suggestion has been made by lowering the number of deductibles so the tax can spread out amongst the base by lowering the rate. The most controversial part of this ideology so far is the 20 percent tax on imports.
Lucas noted that many competitive countries use a Value Added Tax (VAT) and for a number of years, “eaten our lunch” in international competition because while the VAT puts an incredible tax on all manufactured goods in a number of those countries, selling the product outside of the country, garners most or all of that tax returned. “The Ways and Means committee’s main argument being that we cannot compete in that realm, we need to have a way to balance that out. And that is where the import tax comes in,” said Lucas. “We’ve been operating at a huge disadvantage and that is why you’ve seen industry disembarking this country. And you have to turn it around and at the very least, have a fair playing field to re-balance.”
Lucas outlined goals for the upcoming year, “So basically the administration needs to get itself put together, ACA, appropriations and addressing the tax issues. If we can get that done in 2017, it will be an amazing set of accomplishments.”
As floor opened to constituents, David Nelson of Sapulpa was the first to address Medicare and Social Security concerns. “Where do you stand on this?” Nelson asked. “I will tell you that my vote on you, will depend on how you vote on Social Security and Medicare.”
“That’s reasonable,” said Lucas. “The gentleman is exactly right, President Trump, very straightforward in the campaign, said ‘leave those alone’. I personally don’t see anything dramatic happening to either program.”
“As we’ve lived under tyranny the last eight years, I have a question,” said Joe Palmer, a member of Oklahoma’s 2nd amendment rights group. Palmer went on to question changes in the Affordable Care Act. “It took my wife three months to get re-insured. We were fined $450 for three months, even though she had no health problems. Is there anything we can change?”
“The only thing I can say with certainty is, because they are so extremely popular, even though they cost money, the provision and existing law that allows you to keep your children on until they are 26, I don’t expect that to change,” said Lucas. Other language Lucas felt would not be altered refers to pre-existing conditions. “The penalty for being without, I am under the impression that is one of those things that goes away.”
“I wake up everyday scared to death of what President Trump is going to do to us next,” said Sapulpan Lynn Belcher. “I wonder what you are going to do to look into what role Russia played in our Presidential election.”
At first dodging the question directly, Lucas said, “You have three distinct entities, and you can’t tell me they are not watching each other, that’s good. We don’t ever want a super intelligence agency.”
When prodded by several other attendees to answer, Lucas said, “I have confidence and faith in the intelligence committee in the United States House, Homeland Security who has primary jurisdiction for looking into these things, and then you have the same committees over on the Senate side watching these processes.”
Lucas said he would not consider backing an independent investigation without “justifiable cause.”
Applause rang throughout the gallery after Democrat Fran Redding urged Lucas to continue the process of improving the Affordable Care Act, “I know people who are benefiting from it today. Take that away from them and they will be without insurance. We know there are things that need to be fixed about it but don’t make it drop dead. Keep it going.” Lucas went on to reiterate that he believed insurance for pre-existing conditions would be included in the new provisions he expected to see next week. “I can’t say with certainty until it comes out, but again, understand, the good things cost money and whatever the ultimate solution is, you have to have a way to pay for it. My personal perspective is, you cannot turn off the revenue streams until you know what the solution is. You have got to have something to work with.”
Constituent Chuck Tredhill, a 5-acre landowner, brought up horrendous concerns about e-coli in his stream and Oklahoma’s Department of Environmental Quality’s refusal to uphold state statute. “I am disgusted with the State Government,” said Tredhill. Land surrounding his property was purchased and divided into half acre lots. The sewage disposal systems considered did not account for a wet weather creek that flows through the property. “The sewage water sprays into this creek which then flows onto my property. The e-coli in the creek, has been at times, 10 to 12 times the amount allowable by state law, and goes far outside the bounds for human contact,” said Tredhill.
DEQ investigator, Michelle Lampkin allegedly told Tredhill, “I don’t need to test your water, I can tell by looking if your creek has e-coli, and your creek does not.”
Tredhill has spent upwards of $125,000 for independent testing that says otherwise.
“I’ve tried to go to all of my representatives, who are of course Republicans like me,” he says, “but I get no help from anybody.” Tredhill’s legal counsel informed him that he could not make the DEQ enforce laws they don’t want to enforce. “I suggest you hire better legal counsel, there should be a way, but I am not an attorney, to compel the courts to enforce the law,” said Lucas. He then asked Tredhill to draft a letter and “remember you have different levels of jurisdiction and ways to address this issue.”
American jobs, agriculture, mass deportation, immigration law enforcement, NATO, the national debt were also discussed.
