Senator Lankford Honored by National Federation of Independent Business as “Guardian of Small Business”

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today received the “Guardian of Small Business” award from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) in Edmond, OK, for his strong voting record in support of small business.

“With small businesses being responsible for two-thirds of the job growth in America, it is vital their needs and priorities are taken into account,” said Lankford. “I’m honored to be recognized by the NFIB as a Guardian of Small Business. During the last two years, we’ve seen a significant reduction in these regulatory burdens, which has helped small businesses drive economic growth around Oklahoma and the country.”

“The NFIB Guardian of Small Business Award is presented to Members of Congress who truly vote as champions of small business,” said NFIB President and CEO Juanita D. Duggan. “Those who earn this recognition in the United States Senate have been staunch supporters on the issues that are crucial to the success of small business, like tax cuts, regulatory reform, and lower healthcare costs. They are the representatives small business owners can count on as advocates in Washington, and we’re proud to award these lawmakers the recognition they earned for the 115th Congress.”

The Guardian of Small Business Award is the most prestigious honor the NFIB gives Members of Congress in recognition of their efforts to support small business issues. NFIB is Oklahoma’s leading small-business association. The NFIB Oklahoma Leadership Council, an advisory board comprised of NFIB members, voted to present the award to Lankford for supporting small-business issues in Congress.

Lankford introduced the Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act to require federal agencies to analyze the full impact of proposed regulation on small businesses during the rulemaking process, and the Taxpayers Right to Know Act, a bipartisan bill that would require the federal government to make public the details, costs, and performance metrics of every federal program that costs more than $1 million.

Lankford chairs the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform and Federal Management. As chairman, he introduced regulatory bills to improve the process of how regulations are made by facilitating greater transparency and accountability in the federal rulemaking process.