Senator Brogdon Takes “No Strings Attached” Fight to the OK Transportation Commission
Tulsa, OK, ¬- March 30, 2009 – In response to Governor Henry’s refusal to give back any federal stimulus dollars that come with federal mandates, Senator Randy Brogdon has taken the “No Strings Attached” fight to the Oklahoma Transportation Commission.
“Governor Henry has decided to take the easy route and use his ‘Bank of Congress’ Visa Card to pay for $229 million worth of road projects,” said Brogdon. “That’s why I am calling on the Oklahoma Transportation Commission to vote against spending one cent of stimulus dollars that comes with ‘strings attached’ until the State Legislature has an opportunity to vote on accepting these funds.”
When asked why he has directed his action toward the Oklahoma Transportation Commissioners, Brogdon replied, “Simply put, they are our last hope in preventing Oklahoma from being bogged down with additional federal mandates.”
Brogdon continued, “Even though Governor Henry has chosen to bypass the legislative process in accepting these funds, Oklahoma law still requires all road projects be approved by the Transportation Commission. And they have the right to vote ‘no strings attached’.”
Brogdon continued, “I completely understand that we need our roads repaired. And if we received this money with ‘no strings attached’ I would be the first one to applaud Governor Henry for securing this revenue.”
“But the truth is, Governor Henry and the Oklahoma Transportation Commission will be mortgaging our future if they approve the use of these funds,” said Brogdon. “And we will be creating our own fiscal crisis when the balloon payment on these Federal Stimulus dollars comes due.”
When asked to respond to the mayors and legislators who say that these stimulus funds come from the federal taxes of Oklahomans, Brogdon replied, “The bigger question is why are so many of Oklahoman’s tax dollars ending up in Washington in the first place,” replied Brogdon. “Instead of bickering over the crumbs at the Congressional table, we need to work together to keep more of our bread at home.”
Randy Brogdon is the State Senator for District 34 which covers Northeastern Tulsa County and portions of Rogers County. He and his wife of 37 years, Donna, currently reside in Owasso, OK. For more information about Randy Brogdon, please visit www.RandyBrogdon.com.Press Contact:
David Tackett
918-894-7929
