Jim Inhofe is a life-long conservative who has consistently fought for the values of greater freedoms, a strong national defense, a smaller federal government, and less government intrusion into the lives of the American people. Through his years of public service as a member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, minority leader of the Oklahoma Senate, mayor of Tulsa, congressman from Oklahoma’s First Congressional District, and now in his present role as Oklahoma’s senior U.S. Senator, Jim has honorably served Oklahoma.
National Journal named him the top Conservative in the Senate for 2009, saying he was the only one with a perfect conservative voting record that year. He was recently voted the “Most Outstanding Conservative U.S. Senator” by Human Events Newspaper and the top conservative by the American Conservative Union. He repeatedly receives various awards and recognitions from organizations like the National Taxpayers Union, the National Rifle Association, Americans for Tax Reform, the Center for Security Policy, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to name a few. In 2009, the American Farm Bureau honored him with their highest honor, the “Golden Plow Award”.
At a time when government spending has run amuck in Washington, Jim has fought for common sense Oklahoma values of less spending and a more limited government. He fought against the $700 billion TARP bailout, the $787 billion so-called stimulus bill, and other government bailouts. Jim is a reform-minded leader, and he has actively sought to reduce government spending. For decades, he has been a proponent of a Balanced Budget Amendment. He has also provided leadership on the spending issue by introducing the Honest Expenditure Limitation Program (HELP) Act. The HELP Act was one of the first pieces of legislation aimed at reducing government spending, and during the 2010 election, the principles first outlined by Jim’s bill became part of the Republican platform on government spending.
As the top Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, Jim has led the fight against overreaching government regulations, especially global warming taxes. Fighting for Americans and for those scientists who have been shut out and muzzled by the establishment, he began questioning the politics about Global Warming in 1997 as the Chairman of the Clean Air, Wetlands, Private Property, and Nuclear Safety Subcommittee. In 2003, when he became Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, he relentlessly pursued the truth, saying on the Senate Floor that Global Warming is the “greatest hoax ever perpetrated against the American people.” His steadfast opposition led to the defeat of global warming taxes in the Senate that would impose energy taxes on all Americans. His work also gave a voice to disenfranchised scientists who, until the recent Climategate scandal, had largely been silenced.
In his leadership position on the EPW Committee, Jim played a key role in passage of the 2005 Highway Bill, shepherding the important legislation through the U.S. Senate. By doing so, he ended Oklahoma’s status as a ‘donor state’ ensuring Oklahoma receives its fair share of tax-payer dollars for its own roads and bridges. This historic legislation also lessened the federal bureaucracy over highway trust funds by returning the decision-making process back to the states.
Protecting the country and providing a strong national defense is the most important job of the government, and Jim has long made this his top priority. As a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), Jim has gained a reputation as an expert on defense and national security issues. Having travelled overseas on many occasions to visit with the members of our Armed Forces and gain first-hand knowledge of the challenges they face, he has been a tireless advocate for providing greater resources, the necessary equipment, and proper training to our military personnel.
As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Jim has advocated for a common sense approach to supporting our allies, protecting the sovereignty of the United States, and promoting individual rights and freedoms around the world.
Jim is one of few active pilots in Congress, and has logged over 10,000 flight hours. He is the only Member of Congress in history to fly an airplane around the world.
Jim grew up in Tulsa and graduated from the University of Tulsa with a degree in economics. He served in the U.S. Army and has been a small businessman working in aviation, real estate, and insurance for over 30 years. He has been married 51 years to his wife, Kay, and they have four grown children and twelve grandchildren.
His years of service have been marked by the plain-spoken nature in which he speaks his mind, and by the courage he has demonstrated in standing for what is right – even when he is the only one.
