All but two Oklahoma lawmakers vote against intelligence reform

(AP) _ Four members of Oklahoma's congressional delegation voted against legislation that would make sweeping reform of America's intelligence operations. <br/><br/>Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., and

Thursday, December 9th 2004, 6:13 am

By: News On 6

(AP) _ Four members of Oklahoma's congressional delegation voted against legislation that would make sweeping reform of America's intelligence operations.

Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., and West Virginia Sen. Robert Byrd, a Democrat, were the only senators voting against the measure.

In a prepared statement, Inhofe said that provisions he considered necessary were struck from the final version. Three had to do with tightening controls on the issuance of drivers' licenses and the others were related to identifying foreign visitors.

``While there were many provisions I agreed with, unfortunately there were also glaring omissions that were impossible to overlook and caused me to oppose final passage,'' he said.

Retiring Sen. Don Nickles was not present for the vote.

Reps. Frank Lucas, Ernest Istook and John Sullivan, all R-Okla., voted against the measure on Tuesday, while Reps. Tom Cole, R-Okla., and Brad Carson, D-Okla., supported the measure.

Cole was supportive of the measure, saying it ``proves that we are serious about legitimate and effective reforms that will improve our national intelligence operations and our domestic security.''