WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 -- Rep. Steve Womack, R-Arkansas, ranking Republican member of the House Budget Committee, issued the following budget digest on Feb. 11: What is the President's Budget Request? Yesterday, the Trump Administration submitted its formal budget request for fiscal year (FY) 2021 to Congress. While Congress holds the power of the purse, historically the President's budget request kicks off the congressional budget process in both the House and the Senate, serving as a starting po  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 14 -- Rep. Steve Womack, R-Arkansas, ranking Republican member of the House Budget Committee, issued the following budget buster: On January 29, 2020, House Democrats unveiled their first infrastructure and transportation proposal. The outline calls for a $760 billion investment, over the next five years, for projects ranging from transit, to air travel, to water. While both sides of the aisle agree that investments in our nation's infrastructure should be a priority, Democrats  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 -- Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colorado, issued the following statement on Feb. 10: In addition to the $28 million investment in the Arkansas Valley Conduit from the Bureau of Reclamation, $8 million in funding has been included in the president's FY 2021 budget proposal. Congressman Ken Buck released the following statement in response to the huge win for rural communities in southeast Colorado: "After years of work with the administration, $8 million in additional funding for the Ar  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 15 -- Rep. French Hill, R-Arkansas, issued the following statement: Congressman French Hill (AR-02) released the following statement after introducing H.R. 5888, which allows the Secretary of the Treasury to waive counterproductive voting mandates at the International Financial Institutions (IFIs) on a case-by-case basis. "The International Financial Institutions are subject to legislative mandates that dictate which projects and policies the United States can endorse. "For   more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 14 -- Rep. French Hill, R-Arkansas, issued the following news release: Congressman French Hill (AR-02) announced that two members of his staff have been selected as fellows in the 116th Congress Stennis Emerging Congressional Staff Leaders Program. "I am proud of Anna Wilbourn and Matt Karvelas for pursuing this opportunity to better serve central Arkansas," said Congressman Hill. "As a former business owner and current congressman, I know the positive effect that well-trained  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 -- Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Colorado, issued the following news release: Congressman Scott Tipton (CO-03) announced a huge victory for the Arkansas Valley Conduit and communities in Southeastern Colorado. "For years, the Arkansas Valley Conduit has been left out of the president's annual budget proposal, but after several calls, letters and in-person meetings with the Bureau of Reclamation, the Arkansas Valley Conduit is back in the president's budget request," Tipton said. Pr  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 13 -- Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Arkansas, issued the following news release: U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) introduced the Trillion Trees Act, legislation that would plant 1 trillion trees globally by 2050 and incentivize the use of wood products as carbon sequestration devices. U.S. Reps. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Rob Wittman (R-Va.), Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), Andy Barr (R-Ky.), Pete Stauber (R-Minn.), Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), Steve Stivers (R-Ohio), Don Bacon (R-Neb.) and Dav  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 -- Rep. Steve Womack, R-Arkansas, ranking Republican member of the House Budget Committee, issued the following statement after the Office of Management and Budget released President Trump's budget request for fiscal 2021: "First, I applaud President Trump for putting forward a budget proposal. For the second straight year, House Democrats have failed to produce a budget. That is not leadership. "The President's budget includes deficit reduction measures -- $4.6 trillion be  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 -- Sen. Michael F. Bennet, D-Colorado, issued the following statement in response to President Trump's budget proposal: * * * - Bennet Welcomes Investment in Arkansas Valley Conduit, Warns Deep Cuts to Critical Programs Will Hurt Coloradans * * * "After signing a tax cut into law that handed out millions to the wealthiest of Americans and exploded deficits by almost $2 trillion, President Trump is proposing deep cuts to critical programs that affect children, seniors, and  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 -- Sen. John Boozman, R-Arkansas, issued the following news release: United States Senator John Boozman (R-AR) and a group of his colleagues are urging the Trump Administration to push for increased market access for U.S.-grown rice during negotiations with the United Kingdom (U.K.) for a new trade agreement. In a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, the senators note that prior to 2007, the U.K. was one of the largest export destinations for American rice  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 -- Sen. John Boozman, R-Arkansas, issued the following weekly column: I use the word "certainty" a lot when discussing economic issues. That's because the most important thing Washington can do to help our economy grow is promote policies that allow our job creators to make decisions with certainty. I learned this lesson well before I arrived in Washington. Fresh out of optometry school, I joined with my brother to start a family business that would ultimately become a majo  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 14 -- Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, issued the following joint statement with Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland: Following reports that the U.S. Department of Justice has brought charges of racketeering and stealing trade secrets against the Chinese telecommunications company Huawei, U.S. Senators Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) released the following statement: "The Huawei indictment exposes its plot to undermine America's economy and security on behalf of the Ch  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 -- Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, issued the following statement on the Trump administration's counterintelligence strategy: "The updated counterintelligence strategy rightly broadens its focus to the pervasive economic threats we face. "Our adversaries don't differentiate between government and commercial targets, and we shouldn't either. Those who steal intellectual property shouldn't be allowed access to any free market."  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 -- Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, issued the following statement after the Justice Department filed lawsuits against California, New Jersey, and King County, Washington for their sanctuary cities policies: "American cities should be sanctuaries for U.S. citizens, not criminal aliens. "I applaud the Justice Department for taking steps to enforce our immigration laws, despite resistance from local officials who value liberal immigration practices over the safety of their own c  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 13 -- Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, issued the following statement after the U.N. Human Rights Council issued a boycott, divestment and sanctions movement blacklist designed to punish certain companies that do business with Israel: "The UN Human Rights Council persecutes Israel while it protects the world's worst tyrants. "It ought to investigate the crimes of its own members instead of obsessing over the Jewish State. "U.S. federal and state governments should fully enforce  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 -- Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, issued the following news release: Senators Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), Bob Menendez (D-New Jersey), Ed Markey (D-Massachusetts), and Cory Gardner (R-Colorado) introduced a resolution honoring the life of Dr. Li Wenliang, the Chinese doctor who first identified the severity of the coronavirus outbreak in China late last year and sought to warn the government about the potentially devastating impact of the disease. Dr. Li succumbed to the coronavi  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 -- Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, issued the following news release: Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) and Congressman Jim Banks (R-Indiana) yesterday sent a letter to Attorney General Bill Barr requesting the Department of Justice investigate that the Chinese Communist Party-owned propaganda outlet, China Daily, for repeated violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). The letter cites the political activities of China Daily and the CCP's financial support of the pu  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 -- Sen. James M. Inhofe, R-Oklahoma, issued the following news release: U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) announced that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers granted an additional $13.45 million in new funding for operations and maintenance (O&M) of the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System in their FY20 Work Plan, which was released, bringing the total allocation for O&M for FY20 to $85 million system-wide. This is a $7.2 million increase over FY19 O&M funds. Inhofe pra  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 13 -- Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, issued the following news release: Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) joined Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee) in introducing legislation that delivers tough financial consequences to states that flout federal immigration enforcement and harm public safety and national security. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota), Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia), Kelly Loeffler (R-Georgia), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), and Mike Rounds (R-South Dakota) are  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 15 -- Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, issued the following news release: Senators Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) and Marco Rubio (R-Florida) along with Senators Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee), and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) yesterday introduced the Financial Defense of Industrial Contractors (FDIC) Act, which would combat political discrimination by some of the largest banks operating in the United States against federal contractors, including those which operate f  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 -- Sen. Bob Menendez, D-New Jersey, ranking Democratic member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statements with Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, Ed Markey, D-Massachusetts, and Cory Gardner, R-Colorado: * * * - Recognizes the Chinese doctor who first identified the severity of the coronavirus outbreak and sought to warn the government about the potential devastating impact * * * Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 -- Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colorado, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO) announced he secured $28 million of funding for the Arkansas Valley Conduit (AVC) project last week, which will be provided by the Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation's Fiscal Year 2020 work plan. What they are saying about Senator Gardner's successful efforts to secure funding for the Arkansas Valley Conduit: "The AVC is a critical piece of infrastructure tha  more