Senator Lankford Awarded Legislator of the Year by Agricultural Retailers Association

WASHINGTON, DC – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today received the Legislator of the Year award from the Agricultural Retailers Association for his work to make commonsense regulatory reforms and efforts to streamline the federal rulemaking process. Lankford serves as the chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management. As Chair, Lankford has held hearings and introduced regulatory reform legislation such as the Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act, which requires that agencies fully consider the impact regulations have on small businesses, and the Truth in Regulations Act, which ensures the proper use of guidance documents, to protect small businesses and retailers in Oklahoma and across the country from costly, unnecessary, and duplicative regulations. 

During the past Congress, Lankford also held multiple hearings on federal agency abuse of regulatory guidance, including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s attempt to limit the sale of long-standing ag products, like common pesticides and fertilizers. Regulations such as these impact farm budgets and increase costs for the consumer. 

“It’s an honor to be recognized by the Agricultural Retailers Association,” said Lankford. “The work our agricultural community does every day to feed, clothe, and support our nation never ends. Farmers and ranchers respect the land, their neighbors, and the rules. But they want the rules to be fair, and they want their voices to be heard. Regulators that live their lives on concrete should listen to the insight of families who live on the soil before they make policy decisions about agriculture. Our Oklahoma farm communities rely on their local agricultural retailers to meet their farm business needs. In this never-ending work, agribusinesses should not have to battle their federal government over-burdensome regulatory guidance. We need more commonsense reforms, like the Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act, so we can continue to allow individuals to serve others without government intrusion.”

Previous recipients include Senators Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Thad Cochran (R-MS), John Thune (R-SD), Tom Carper (D-DE), Kay Hagan (R-NC), Congressman Frank Lucas (R-OK) and Patrick Meehan (R-PA). The Agricultural Retailers Association is a non-profit trade association that represents the interest of agricultural retailers and distributors across the US on legislative and regulatory issues.

###