Every year Americans celebrate holidays to honor our great country, veteran’s, and military. Sadly, many people often overlook a day of observance dedicated to the one worldwide symbol of freedom and democracy -- the U.S. Flag. Since adopted by the Continental Congress, the stars and stripes have stood by our military’s side fighting in wars, hanging up in schools and public office building, and at every sports game we turn to her when singing our national anthem, yet we seem to have forgotten its importance and vitality. In the spirit of Flag Day and honoring our stars and stripes, I want to ... Read More »

In 1984, Congress authorized the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act, which seeks to provide secondary and postsecondary students with the education and skills they need to succeed in the workplace. Since 1984, the Perkins Act has been reauthorized twice, the last time being in 2006, making the most recent update a decade old. This act authorized a range of career and technical education (CTE) programs, stretching from health care to information technology to mechanical construction. The best programs allow students to work toward certifications and apprenticeships while sti... Read More »

Zika was first discovered in 1947 in Uganda, but it has recently spread through South and Central America. The virus itself is passed primarily through mosquito bites, although other forms of transmission have been seen. Symptoms of the virus are mild illness, including fever, rash, joint pain, and red eye. It has been linked to serious birth defects, most noticeably microcephaly in babies of mothers who were infected with the virus while pregnant, and unfortunately, there is currently no cure. Much is still unknown about the disease, but we do know that so far, eight Arkansans have been infec... Read More »

Congress is currently in a District Work Period, which gives us time to stay close to home and have in-depth interactions with our constituents across our district. However, once Congress resumes session in Washington, we will have some necessary work to complete. A new fiscal year begins on October 1st, and before then, we must pass an Appropriations package that keeps the necessary functions of our government running. As an Appropriator, I am proud of the progress we made this year – all twelve of the Appropriations bills passed the full Appropriations Committee. Starting with Military Const... Read More »

You may have heard that on July 14th, after years of debate on the issue, the House passed S.Amdt. 4937 to S. 764, a bill regulating Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) labeling. The compromise, which was considered must-pass legislation by food manufacturers and farmers alike, sets guidelines for just how far a state can go in requiring certain labeling in grocery stores in that state. The urgency in passing a bill of this nature was created by Vermont passing its own state law on mandatory food labeling, which went into effect this month and would have required food manufacturers across the ... Read More »

I was honored with a performance by the SkyMeadow Fine Arts Orchestra in Yellville on January 19, 2016! What a talented group of kids. Read More »

By now, you have likely heard of the finalization of what the Obama Administration has dubbed the “Clean Power Plan” to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from new and existing power plants. Given the drastic effects this plan will have on the state of Arkansas, in this week’s newsletter (which you can sign up to receive here), I needed to offer my perspective on what I like to call an all-of-the-above energy plan and what Congress has done to address overreach by this Administration in the energy sector. Just over one year ago, on June 2, 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), u... Read More »

If you are anything like me, Ukraine was not on your list of top U.S. foreign priorities before the events of 2014. However, with Russia annexing Crimea while continuing to send troops and weapons to Ukrainian separatists, it’s become important to pay attention to Ukraine in the interest of our nation’s safety and security. For these reasons, I decided to update you on the situation in Ukraine and the steps Congress is taking to aid the Ukrainian people in this week’s newsletter (which you can sign up to receive here). For the sake of review, Ukraine shares its eastern border with Russia and i... Read More »

I’ll be the first to tell you that education has not always been a focal point in Congress, but it is increasingly becoming one of the most critical domestic issues facing our country. As such, in this week’s newsletter (which you can sign up to receive here), I wanted to share my views on education reform and update you on the work Congress is doing to improve and strengthen our education system. America continues to decline globally when it comes to student achievement; we rank 20th in science and 27th in math out of the 34 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countr... Read More »

For the past seven months, the 114th Congress has been hard at work on the issues facing America. But there still is much to be done. In this week’s newsletter (which you can sign up to receive here), I thought I would bring to your attention one of the bills I hope will join the 49 that have been signed into law so far this Congress – and that’s the Opioid Addiction Treatment Modernization Act (H.R. 2872), which Congressman Larry Bucshon, M.D. (R-IN-8) and I introduced on June 24, 2015. The United States is in the midst of an opioid overdose epidemic. Fueled by the dramatic increase in the us... Read More »