In the News

Hill named to panel overseeing virus aid Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette 04/18/2020 As a member of a newly created Congressional Oversight Commission, U.S. Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., will help monitor up to $500 billion in covid-19-related relief funds that are earmarked for business loans, loan guarantees and other investments. That money, which was part of the $2.2 trillion… Read more »

Lawmakers Demand To Know Where Business Stimulus Funds Are Going The Huffington Post 04/18/2020 Democratic senators have fired off a letter demanding to know basic details about where billions of dollars in business stimulus funds from America’s Treasury have been paid. The Trump administration has so far stonewalled on information about recipients of its massive stimulus… Read more »

Spending Overseers Are Sidelined as Stimulus Checks Roll Out InvestorsHub 04/18/2020 The federal government is spending $2.2 trillion to aid American businesses and households in response to the coronavirus outbreak. But efforts to keep an eye on how the money is being spent are off to a slow start, in part because of the pandemic itself. As the Trump administration distributes… Read more »

U.S. bailout watchdog vows to scrutinize share buybacks, dividends Fox Business 04/17/2020 An official charged with overseeing how the U.S. government handles $500 billion in bailout funds said on Friday he will also monitor how companies use the cash, including for share buybacks, dividends and staff compensation. Bharat Ramamurti, who was named this month as a member of the… Read more »

Trump unveils 3-phase revival plan Arkansas Democrat Gazette 04/17/2020 President Donald Trump gave governors a road map Thursday for recovering from the economic pain of the coronavirus pandemic, laying out "a phased and deliberate approach" to restoring normal activity in places that have strong testing and are seeing a decrease in covid-19 cases. "We're starting our life… Read more »

UAFS among universities to receive funding Southwest Times Record 04/17/2020 U.S. Sens.John Boozman and Tom Cotton—along with Congressmen Rick Crawford, French Hill, Steve Womack and Bruce Westerman—recently announced emergency grants to support post-secondary students and institutes of higher education impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The University of Arkansas - Fort… Read more »

St. Joseph senior to attend U.S. Military Academy The Log Cabin Democrat 04/17/2020 A local high school senior was accepted to attend the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in New York. Elijah Bailey, a senior at St. Joseph High School, will start in the fall after receiving confirmation that he was accepted. “This is a highly competitive appointment,” Kristen Piraino,… Read more »

Pelosi, McConnell name picks to serve on coronavirus oversight panel Politico 04/17/2020 Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have tapped two fellow lawmakers as their picks to a five-member congressional commission tasked with overseeing the Trump administration's implementation of the massive new coronavirus relief effort. Pelosi, who announced her… Read more »

As $2 trillion in coronavirus aid starts to flow, oversight still lags PBS 04/17/2020 Congressional oversight of about $2 trillion for the coronavirus crisis began to take shape Friday as two more members were added to a special panel, bringing to three the total number of people tasked with monitoring how the money is spent. Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey and Arkansas Rep. French… Read more »

GOP Rep. French Hill named to coronavirus oversight committee The Hill 04/17/2020 House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) announced Friday he had selected Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.) to serve on the five-person committee charged with overseeing the Trump administration’s efforts to salvage the economy. Hill, a third-term GOP lawmaker, is the second appointee to the… Read more »