The Oklahoman - No Shortage of Issues to Occupy Oklahoma's Newest Senator

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By The Oklahoman Editorial Board

Lankford believes making a real dent against ISIS requires replacing Bashar al-Assad as president of Syria, something the Obama administration has foregone.
Iran presents another foreign policy challenge. Unlike many of his colleagues, Lankford believes the United States should engage diplomatically with Iran. However, he also said he's concerned Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry want a nuclear agreement so desperately, they will settle for one that they know Iran will violate. "They keep talking about the snap-back sanctions. You're not going to be able to snap those back," Lankford said.

Energy's role

Energy plays a role in national security. The United States is getting closer to exporting its natural gas. The next hurdle will be lifting the 1970s-era ban on crude oil exports, something Lankford said isn't a slam dunk with all Republicans in the Senate.

"I talk to them about the geopolitical issues, because that's really what they contemplate more than the jobs or the prices," he said. "The difference between Russia providing natural gas and oil to the Ukraine and eastern Europe, and the United States providing it, is tremendous. The geopolitical power of providing energy is similar to the geopolitical power of providing arms to a country. You're very dependent long term on that country … when you have an arms relationship. An energy relationship is just like that. You're very dependent on that relationship and you're going to work hard to make sure it works. We should have that as a possibility."

Same-sex marriage ruling

Closer to home, Lankford said he'll be interested to see where the Supreme Court's ruling on same-sex marriages leads. A Southern Baptist and former longtime director of the Falls Creek Youth Camp in southern Oklahoma, Lankford is concerned religious colleges and universities may soon be put to the test.

As an example, he said two married gay students could apply for married student housing at a religious university. If the request is denied, "there will be an army of attorneys that will challenge their nonprofit status, their Pell grants and their ability to get student loans," he said.

"One of the funding mechanisms of the Affordable Care Act is federalizing most student loans, so there's almost no privately funded student loans. So if your school is a private institution and loses nonprofit status, and you can't get any student loans through private donors or foundations, and you can't get Pell grants, you just killed that school."

Lankford continued. "The Supreme Court has to answer the same question they just answered in gay marriage: Is there a constitutional right to the free exercise of religion in America, yes or no? I believe that's pretty clear: There's a constitutional right to the free exercise of religion. … By the way, I think a gay citizen in America is an equal citizen in America. But once it gets pushed to that level, we'll have to see where Americans respond and what happens and what the courts decide, because that won't take long to get tested."

There is much going on in Washington. Oklahomans can rest assured that their freshman U.S. senator is staying on top of it and, where possible, working to make a positive difference.

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