WANTED: Bipartisan Infrastructure Package

Much of our infrastructure in Arkansas and throughout the country is overdue for an update and I have a well-established record of advocating for and helping advance bipartisan legislation to accomplish that. I remain ready to do that in a wise and cost-efficient way because infrastructure investment is a priority. The president recently released a plan that claims to rebuild America’s crumbling infrastructure, but instead it includes hundreds of billions of dollars for projects and partisan priorities that cannot realistically be described as infrastructure and raises taxes to pay for these special interest agenda items.

If President Biden is serious about passing bipartisan infrastructure legislation, he should look to the successful example of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Our committee has produced countless pieces of bipartisan infrastructure-related legislation, which can and should be the basis for any infrastructure proposal.

Just weeks ago, my committee colleagues and I unanimously passed the Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act. Last Congress, we unanimously passed America’s Transportation Infrastructure Act to provide resources and long-term certainty for states and local governments to build safer and more modern highways, railways and bridges.

In a speech Wednesday, I expressed the need to use this foundation to begin a commonsense, bipartisan infrastructure bill so we can update and modernize our nation’s traditional infrastructure needs, as well as make investments in our water systems, energy grid and broadband deployment. 
 

Extending Flexibility for School Meal Programs

On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it will continue providing flexibility to schools so they can serve healthy, nutritious meals in a manner that meets the needs of students learning in the classroom and virtually. The COVID-19 pandemic has created many challenges to ensuring students have access to healthy food. We must continue to help schools overcome hurdles to supporting students’ nutrition needs by reducing the burdens they face. 

I’ve been traveling around Arkansas visiting with school nutrition leaders to better understand the barriers to meeting the nutritional needs of students. As a leader on the Senate Agriculture Committee, I’m bringing their suggestions to Washington so we can integrate their input as we craft modernized child nutrition programs.

Supporting American Energy Independence 

Congressional Democrats rolled out their latest edition of the Green New Deal this week. We have an obligation to cut emissions and move our energy consumption toward renewable sources, but the Green New Deal fails to achieve this. This partisan proposal will raise costs, grow government and hurt Arkansans, especially those who can least afford higher prices and new mandates. The president’s agenda has attacked smart energy production like the Keystone XL Pipeline and threatens the bottom line of Arkansans. I recently wrote about the need to adopt an all-of-the-above energy strategy that utilizes our nation’s wind, solar and nuclear capabilities to keep costs low. Read the column published in the Washington Times here.

Removing expired, unused and unnecessary opioids from our homes

The Arkansas Take Back program decreases the availability of unnecessary prescription drugs by allowing all of us to properly dispose of expired and unneeded medication. Research has found that most opioid abusers get their drugs from friends and family, often lifting pills from a familiar medicine cabinet. Removing them from homes helps reduce experimentation and overdoses.

Saturday, April 24 is the next Arkansas Take Back Day. Hundreds of locations across Arkansas and many law enforcement agencies host temporary drop-off sites to make it easy and convenient to dispose of prescription medication properly. We all have a role to play in this effort. Arkansas Take Back is an easy way each of us can do our part. Find a site closest to you.

Recognizing Arkansas Veterans

In the latest edition of ‘Salute to Veterans,’ honoring the service and sacrifice of Arkansans who served in uniform, we highlighted Benton Army veteran Damon Helton who served in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

During his four years of military service Helton deployed five times. He recalls the discipline and effectiveness of the Army Rangers and the positive influence his military training has provided in his civilian life.   

Following military service, he discovered a passion for agriculture, which allowed him to mentally and emotionally recover from the side effects of war. Helton is a member of the Farmer Veteran Coalition of Arkansas. With his farm and various business ventures, he is very active in the veteran agriculture community. Still, no matter how busy he is, Helton always has time to help a fellow veteran.

Helton shared his memories of military service for the Veterans History Project.

Protecting Yourself from Scams

Arkansas ranked 8th in the nation for the number of identity theft incidents in 2020. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), our state reported more than 17,400 incidents, often involving fraudulent use of government documents and credit cards. Nationwide, the FTC received more than 2.1 million consumer fraud reports in 2020. The top fraud was imposter scams, accounting for nearly $1.2 billion in losses. Government and business imposter scams also topped the frauds related to COVID-19, many connected with Economic Impact Payments. Learn what to look for so you can avoid becoming a victim of identity theft and other scams.

Connecting on Social Media

Stay up to date with what I’m doing for Arkansans via social media. You can find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.