n a marathon session, the U.S. Senate rejected 19 health care-related pieces of legislation Wednesday and Thursday, culminating in a budget resolution that sets the stage for repealing Obamacare. Now the action moves to the House and, eventually, state capitols. The evening, known by some as “vote-a-rama,” ended at 12:05 a.m. CST with a 51-48 vote on a resolution that sets forth the budget for fiscal year 2017 and sets budget levels for fiscal years 2018-26. Republicans are using the budgetary p...
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Two members of Arkansas' congressional delegation got new committee assignments Friday as House officials divvied up key positions. Other members were given promotions or learned they'd be taking on new tasks during the 115th Congress. U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford, a Republican from Jonesboro, was added to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence by its chairman, Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif. Also Friday, Rep. Bruce Westerman, a Republican from Hot Springs, was appointed to the House Transpo...
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Today, House Committee on Financial Services Member Congressman French Hill (AR-02) and House Ways and Means Committee Member Congressman David Schweikert (AZ-06) introduced H.R. 531, the S-Corp Access to Crowdfunding Act. The 2012 JOBS Act made it easier for small businesses to raise capital by expanding Regulation A and through crowdfunding, allowing companies to more easily raise relatively small amounts of capital from a number of investors. However, restrictions placed on S corporations (S...
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Today, after the House of Representatives voted to give Retired General James Mattis a waiver exempting him from the law that requires a seven-year waiting period for retired military officers to serve as Secretary of Defense, Congressman French Hill (AR-02) released the following statement: “Voting to grant this one-time waiver to General Mattis was not a decision that I took lightly. However, given the uniqueness of the current situation—never before have we been engaged in the same conflict ...
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Today, the House of Representatives passed S. Con. Res. 3, the Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2017, which provides reconciliation instructions to facilitate action on the repeal of Obamacare. Following passage of the bill, Congressman French Hill (AR-02) stated: “As Speaker Ryan and President-elect Trump have stated, we will not repeal Obamacare without a viable replacement. Today, we set the path to move forward with an open and transparent process to repeal Obamacare and r...
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Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 78, the SEC Regulatory Accountability Act. H.R. 78 would make the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) rulemaking process more accountable by enhancing its cost-benefit analysis requirements and requiring the SEC to revisit its rules after implementation to ensure they are actually achieving their intended purposes. Following passage of the bill, Congressman French Hill (AR-02) stated: “While the SEC has made positive strides toward its econo...
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Donald Trump’s point man on financial regulation probably won’t be joining the incoming administration, at least not initially. Paul Atkins, widely viewed as a top candidate for a powerful regulatory perch at the Federal Reserve, has told people he intends to stay at his consulting firm, Patomak Global Partners, according to people familiar with the matter. A former member of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr. Atkins has had a key role on Trump’s transition team, helping to recommend re...
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Now that the dust has settled from the Nov. 8 elections, it’s time for Washington effectively govern. While pundits, pollsters, data experts and many others may have had a differing opinion on the election outcome, House leadership has been actively preparing for a Republican victory. This year, House Republicans began unveiling our “better way” agenda, essentially a blueprint for what Congress and a potential Trump White House could set out to achieve. Since taking over, Speaker of the House Pa...
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Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5, the Regulatory Accountability Act of 2017. H.R. 5 is a continuation of House Republicans’ push to limit the administration’s ability to unilaterally create rules and regulations that would have significant impacts on the economy. Following passage of the bill, Congressman French Hill (AR-02) stated: “Just last week, I gave the entire Obama Administration the Golden Fleece Award for their last minute effort to enact six more unnecessary regulatio...
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Now that the dust has settled from the Nov. 8 elections, it’s time for Washington to effectively govern. While pundits, pollsters, data experts and many others may have had a differing opinion on the election outcome, House leadership has been actively preparing for a Republican victory. This year, House Republicans began unveiling our “better way” agenda, essentially a blueprint for what Congress and a potential Trump White House could set out to achieve. Since taking over, Speaker of the House...
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