The President has the authority to make appointments when the Senate is not in session, and, on January 4, 2012, during a pro forma session of Congress, President Obama appointed Sharon Block, Terence F. Flynn, and Richard Griffin to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). On January 25, 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that President Obama’s so-called ‘recess’ appointments to the NLRB were unconstitutional. Today, U.S. Representative Steve Womack (AR-3) introduced H... Read more

Congressman Steve Womack released the following statement in response to the cancelation of all self-guided White House tours due to sequestration: “President Obama proposed the “sequester” and, since it went into effect, has been hell-bent on making its implementation as painful as possible. Today, he announced that the White House will be shutting its doors to Americans visiting our nation’s capital. “The White House belongs to the American people, not President Obama. I suggest he spends more... Read more

Congressman Steve Womack (AR-3) released the following statement on the sequester: “America has a spending problem. Unfortunately, the President opted to take the easy route by refusing to make the real reforms and targeted cuts we need and, instead, let his sequester implement irresponsible, across-the-board cuts to discretionary and defense spending without addressing the true drivers of our deficits and debt: mandatory spending. “The conversation on spending is far from over, and we have a lo... Read more

Congressman Steve Womack today released the following statement in response to President Barack Obama’s sequestration remarks: “President Obama proposed the devastating, across-the-board spending cuts – known as the “sequester” – that disproportionately affect our service men and women by putting fifty percent of the $1.2 trillion cut on their backs. Today, he called on Congress to find a solution to the mess he created. The reality is House Republicans have already passed two bills to replace t... Read more

On April 5, 2012, the President signed the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act) into law. Among other things, the bill raised the shareholder registration threshold from 500 to 2,000 and increased the deregistration threshold from 300 to 1,200 for banks and bank holding companies. Unfortunately, the JOBS Act did not explicitly extend the thresholds to savings and loan holding companies (SLHCs). However, it was not the intention of Congress to treat SLHCs differently from bank and bank ... Read more

A bipartisan group of 53 Senators and Representatives today introduced a bill that resolves the differences between bills introduced in the Senate and the House of Representatives last Congress that would allow local brick-and-mortar retailers to compete more effectively against out-of-state internet sellers. The Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 would give states the option to require the collection of sales and use taxes already owed under State law by out-of-state businesses, rather than rely ... Read more

Congressman Steve Womack (AR-3) released the following statement in response to President Obama’s State of the Union address: “In tonight's State of the Union address, President Obama's call for bipartisanship and a smarter – rather than bigger – government stood in stark contrast to his actions during the first four years of his presidency. Unfortunately for him, those actions speak louder than his words. Under his direction and leadership, those four years have been plagued with unprecedented ... Read more

Congressman Steve Womack (AR-3) released the following statement regarding the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) announcement that it will suspend Saturday mail delivery, effective August 1, 2013: “Much like the federal government, the United States Postal Service has been hemorrhaging money for years. I commend USPS for making tough – but necessary – decisions to ensure a sustainable future and hope that Congress and the Administration will share USPS’s resolve to getting its fiscal house i... Read more

Building on President Obama’s efforts to help more students excel in math and science and his call for investments in a skilled American workforce, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Arkansas Congressman Steve Womack announced today that Southside High School from Fort Smith, AR, won the Arkansas High School Science Bowl on Saturday. Southside High School competed against 12 other teams from across the state in one of the nation’s regional competitions of the 23rd Annual U.S. Department of Ene... Read more

U.S. Senators Mark Pryor and John Boozman, along with Congressmen Rick Crawford (AR-1), Tim Griffin (AR-2), Steve Womack (AR-3), and Tom Cotton (AR-4), today sent a letter to President Obama and FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate supporting Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe’s request for a disaster declaration for Central Arkansas following severe December snow storms and widespread power outages. The full text of the delegation’s letter can be found below: We are writing in support of Governor Mike Bee... Read more