In the News

Arkansas Tourism Ticker: Tourism tax revenue up 5.7% in first six months of 2019 Talk Business & Politics 9/16/19 There is no recession in Arkansas’ travel and tourism industry. The sector continues to see gains in growth, with the state’s 2% tourism tax revenue between January and June up 5.7% compared with the same period in 2018. January-June hospitality tax collections… Read more »

Brawner: Why one ex-con is ‘proud of the man that I have become’ Times Record 9/15/19 Less than a year ago, Terrance Knowlton was in a Wrightsville prison for dealing drugs. Now, he says, “I’m proud of the man that I have become today.” How did he get from there to here? Partly thanks to Shorter College. Knowlton, 30, made bad choices in life and ended up selling drugs out… Read more »

U.S. Rep. Hill’s bill would offer grants for ex-inmates at HBCUs Talk Business & Politics 9/09/19 U.S. Rep. French Hill, R-Little Rock, says historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) can be “a key arrow in the quiver” for helping prisoners re-enter society successfully, so he’s hoping to redirect $5 million in Department of Justice grants toward programs run by those… Read more »

Hill aims to make Arkansas a national model for Opportunity Zones The Ripon Advance 08/12/2019 U.S. Rep. French Hill (R-AR) is working to ensure that his home state becomes a national model for the implementation of Opportunity Zones, which are designed to attract companies and businesses to invest in economically distressed communities. “Ultimately, my vision is that together,… Read more »

Arkansas: the land of OZ August 5, 2019 Talk Business and Politics A top White House official on Monday (Aug. 5) said that policymakers in Little Rock and across Arkansas already have a “green light” to seek private investment for distressed, low-income areas across the state to take advantage of so-called federal Opportunity Zones (OZs) approved by Congress in late 2017. Ben… Read more »

White House staffers in Little Rock KARK 08/05/2019 White House staffers in Little Rock on August, 5 to discuss opportunity zones in the capitol city. Mayor Frank Scott Junior, US Representative French Hill and others hosted the DC visitors spending the day talking more on how to take advantage of these opportunity zones. It is all apart of a special tax incentive for private… Read more »

  WASHINGTON NEWS IN BRIEF: Human Services gets Fleece Award Arkansas Democrat Gazette August 4, 2019 U.S. Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., has awarded his Golden Fleece Award to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services after questioning the agency's oversight of welfare funds. The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families -- or TANF -- block grant program, which dates to… Read more »

Facebook’s currency plan makes fintech a tough sell in Congress   Roll Call 07/30/2019 Some members are conflating disdain for Facebook with other, more vital fintech innovation, Schweikert says Members of Congress who support the development of new financial technologies say their job might have gotten tougher after Facebook announced its plan to issue a… Read more »

$10.5M grant to aid in Arkansas rail line's restoration By ADG WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Department of Transportation is awarding a $10.5 million grant to help pay for the Southeast Arkansas and Northeast Louisiana Multimodal Freight Corridor Improvement Project, officials from both states announced earlier this month. Transportation… Read more »

Budget bill splits Arkansans: Westerman, Crawford among Republicans in opposition   July 26, 2019 Arkansas Democrat Gazette  WASHINGTON -- Members of Arkansas' all-Republican House delegation split Thursday over whether to support the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019, which lifts spending $320 billion above existing law over the next two years. U.S. Rep. Steve Womack of… Read more »