Press Releases

Washington, DC—July 1, 2021....This week, Congressman Steve Womack (AR-3), a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee—where he serves as the Ranking Member of the Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) Subcommittee and also sits on the Defense and Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) Subcommittees—introduced and supported multiple amendments to revise currently unworkable appropriations bills.

Congressman Womack said, “The majority’s out-of-control spending and partisan riders make it certain that these bills won’t be signed into law as written. They are fiscally reckless, endanger our national security and military, and fail to responsibly safeguard taxpayer dollars. Every amendment I proposed and supported was focused on improving these deeply flawed packages. The new fiscal year is nearly 90 days away—and we are no closer to fulfilling our constitutional duties. I strongly urge my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to reverse their partisan posture and work in good faith to produce bipartisan legislation that can pass both chambers.”

Amendments Rep. Womack proposed or supported throughout the week include, but are not limited to:

• Safeguarding Taxpayer Dollars: This amendment would prevent the distribution of unnecessary federal aid to states and local governments, many of which have budget surpluses, to save billions of taxpayer dollars from being wasted and prioritize fiscal responsibility.
• Pro-Life Protections: These amendments would defend the sanctity of life by restoring the long-standing prohibitions on the use of Federal Employee Health Benefits and District of Columbia local funds for abortion.
• Preventing Wasteful USPS Spending: This amendment would remove funding for a USPS pilot program for postal banking. The Postal Service needs to focus on its core mission of delivering reliable, affordable, and universal physical mail, not expanding into areas where it doesn’t have expertise.
• Holding Iran Accountable: This amendment would hold Iran, the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, accountable by prohibiting the Treasury Department from weakening sanctions against this rogue regime.
• Protecting Small Businesses: This amendment would protect small businesses from new, unnecessary, and burdensome Securities and Exchange Commission disclosures not material to their business.
• Cutting Red Tape: This amendment would safeguard an executive order implemented by President Trump, which cut down on unruly federal regulation by requiring the repeal of two regulations for every new regulation implemented.
• Supporting Arkansas Farmers and Producers: This amendment would stop a misguided attempt to restrict poultry plant line speeds, which would disrupt our protein supply chain and negatively impact Arkansas producers.

Unfortunately, the Democrats rejected a majority of these commonsense reforms on party-line votes. Womack will not support these bills until problematic provisions are removed and the unworkable spending levels are amended.

Congressman Steve Womack (AR-3) has represented Arkansas’s Third Congressional District since 2011. He is a member of the House Appropriations Committee.

womack.house.gov

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