By Sen. Kyle Loveless

First, before I begin, let me tell you a little about myself. I am a proud conservative, both socially, fiscally, and am a firm believer in the US and State Constitution. I have as a candidate been endorsed by the Oklahoma Conservative Political Action Committee (OCPAC) a few years ago, and this legislative session have written legislation that has been endorsed by the NRA, OK2A, and the Oklahomans for Life. As a freshman I do not know what my conservative index score will be, but looking back at the last couple of years, I would have on average gotten an 80 or higher if I were in office.

All those things aside, I believe that the American Indian Cultural Center and Museum (AICCM) when finished will be a good thing and will return more money to the state than was used in building it.

As conservatives and Republicans, we have heard the mantra, "Run Government Like a Business" -- well here is an instance where we should have government act more like a business.

Return on Investment

The taxpayers of Oklahoma will never get any return on investment UNLESS we finish the AICCM. An economic impact study was commissioned independently of the AICCM or their board and it showed $4 Billion dollars in new money from the economic development that will happen with the AICCM and the surrounding areas over the next 20 years. Now as a fiscal conservative, I seriously am a skeptic when I get projections of economic impact. So, lets cut it in half -- $2 Billion dollars versus the $150 million or so of state money. I still say it is worth it to finish.

No Other Realistic Options

I have had plenty of fellow conservatives tell me, well lets just stop building it. I don't believe that to be a conservative position that has any merit. The price tag for tearing down the facility and making that land viable -- will cost $32 million dollars. Another position that others have mentioned, let's just give it to the Native American Tribes and have them finish it. Again, then basically as a state we would be flushing over 70 million dollars away with no benefit to the state. I do not think that position is a conservative one either. Finally, in years past we have as a state asked private entities to raise half of the remaining cost and they did. If we do nothing this year the price tag goes up to $80 million.

The AICCM is also a perfect example of the federal government falling down on their responsibilities and Oklahoma having to pick up the slack.

Audit Was a Good Thing

I have had people ask me -- why finish it when it is such a waste of money or a boondoggle? Well, that is not accurate, and the audit shows it. As we have seen state Auditor Gary Jones does not hold punches if he has found waste or fraud, and in a ten year audit he found no waste, fraud or abuse. Let me repeat that, in a ten year period found no waste. His biggest concern was the level of development, calling it the Cadillac plan versus a less expensive plan. Again, that decision was made over fifteen years ago and to change now would add to the cost by having to change the mission of the AICCM and in all honestly, vital decision making and different visions of elected officials have caused the delays and additional costs.

Finally, the AICCM is something all Oklahomans will be proud of when it is finished. It will tell the story that when the federal government uprooted and displaced millions of Native Americans through the trail of tears, it made Oklahoma what it is today, and where we are going. To turn away now would basically be saying that we don't believe that our heritage and culture as a state is worth it, and I believe Oklahoma is worth it.