When Congress votes, our lives change. Often, the changes are small and go unnoticed. Lately, however, federal policy has reached down to affect nearly every American. Rising prices, another war, more tax breaks for the wealthy, and fewer services. Congress can both create and solve these problems. I advocate for progress over more of the status quo.

We hear it all the time: “Campaigning is expensive.” While that is a true statement, there is very rarely a follow-up to this statement to show why and how it is expensive to campaign for public office. Let’s dive into the realities and numbers involved.

Oil. One of the world’s most critical resources. Oil produces gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, plastic, nylon, asphalt, and so much more. The world consumes roughly 37.5 billion barrels of oil per year. 

I have twice sworn an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, once when I enlisted in the United States Army and again when I became an attorney. That oath carries no expiration date. It is the reason I wrote this, and it is the reason I am asking you to read to the end.

This did not happen by accident. It happened by choice, in a clear sequence, by an administration that promised to lower costs and raised them instead. Here is the part they would rather you not sit with for too long: the same government that built this mess has the power to end it. Not the president. Congress. The authority has been sitting in the Capitol the entire time.

Water. Land. Electricity. The modern world requires these. Humans require water to survive; farmers and ranchers need it for agriculture; and industry uses it to produce goods and value.

Ground beef prices rose 9% in July from a year ago, while beef steaks rose 9.6%. Higher beef prices are good for U.S. cattle producers, allowing them to fetch higher prices for each head of cattle sold on the market. Conversely, U.S. consumers suffer from higher beef prices, which drive up grocery prices nationwide.

I worked as a Public Defender, and I want to tell you about a hallway. Every courthouse in Oklahoma has one. It is the hallway outside the courtroom where protective orders get heard. You learn to recognize the women who are sitting in it. They arrive early and sit facing the door. Often, they have a folder with photographs in it, text messages printed out, and a police report. You can sometimes hear them rehearsing what they are going to say to a judge they have never met about the worst thing that has ever happened to them.