Dear Friends,
I am proud of the House’s work this week on behalf of Arkansas families. From comprehensively combating the opioid crisis to giving Arkansas farm families more security to calling for compassion through families on the border to be kept together, we showed that we are getting our work done for Americans and on a bipartisan basis.
Families Belong Together
As I have said repeatedly, I believe that families detained on the border while crossing into the United States should be kept together in a humane and coordinated effort and should not be separated while their cases are being adjudicated. On Thursday, I joined 41 of my colleagues in the House in a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to ensure these families are kept together and requesting clarity on current practices.
Since coming to Congress, I have shown my agreement with many central Arkansans that our immigration system is broken and in urgent need of repair. For the past year, Congress has been working on legislation that keeps families together, secures our borders, and finds an equitable solution for children in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, while supporting legal immigration for those wishing to come to America right way.
That’s why I support House bills that provide immediate relief for separated families and provide much-needed resources, including manpower, technology, and structures to protect American citizens. I support the ‘four pillars’ of immigration reform outlined earlier this year by the president, namely, providing an equitable solution for DACA children, funding border security enhancements, ending the diversity lottery system and better focusing family based immigration, and moving to a more merit-based system. During my four visits to our southern border over the last three years, I learned that these are the minimal components needed to improve our immigration system – and that much more needs to be done.
Tackling the Opioid Crisis
Families across Arkansas and the United States are being torn apart by drug addiction - especially opioid addiction – and a hopelessness that is permanently disrupting lives.
On Monday, I hosted a summit entitled “Opioids in Our Community: Resources and Stories in Central Arkansas.” It featured citizens from across Arkansas and the United States to talk about the opioid crisis and how important it is for parents and families to coordinate with teachers, medical professionals, and federal, state, and local government officials and to remain vigilant.
I welcomed Arkansas Surgeon General Dr. Greg Bledsoe, Arkansas Drug Director Kirk Lane, Regional Administrator for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Commander Karen Hearod, Quality Assurance Manager for Mems Mack Hutchison, Arkansas PTA President-Elect Melinda Kinnison, Central High School Nurse Sheila Thrower, Jim Bell of Quapaw House, and parent Suzanne Kellar McCarty.
I want to give a special thanks to Suzanne for bravely sharing her story with us. Her son, Nate, struggled with opioid addiction and eventually died after an overdose. She's using her family’s tragedy as a way to help other families who have loved ones struggling with opioid addiction. Suzanne said that parent awareness is vital and that no one should be alone through the journey because without outside help, engagement, and action, more families will lose a loved one.
Click HERE to watch my interview on THV11 following the Opioid Summit.
I took this information back with me to Washington as we completed a two-week session, in which we passed over 50 bills to address the epidemic. These bills included increasing evidence-based treatment, calling for an end to irresponsible prescribing of opioids for pain treatment, and ensuring necessary changes to medical privacy laws.
Standing with Arkansas Farm Families
Agriculture is Arkansas’s number one economic industry, and I was proud to support the passage of the farm bill to give security and assistance to Arkansas’s and the nation’s farmers.
I was pleased that this bill included much-needed reforms including adding a work or education requirement to the food stamp program for able-bodied adults. Work – whether participating in a qualified volunteer program, training program, or a job – bears the fruits of dignity, pride, and responsibility. Our economy is growing more rapidly and there are more work and training opportunities.
Providing this incentive will offer a chance for upward mobility from welfare to work, dependence to independence, and ultimately poverty to prosperity. I commend Chairman Conaway of the House Agriculture Committee for his leadership and his colleagues on their hard work on this bill, and for taking a great first step in ensuring our vital SNAP program is more accountable and effective for those that need it most.
Mobile Office Hours
My team was hard at work this week traveling to all seven counties in central Arkansas to assist you with passports, veteran benefits, and any other issues with federal agencies in locations closer to you and your family.
Pictured: Director of Military & Veterans Affairs / Deputy District Director Thomas McNabb assisting Mrs. Lisa Vaden at the Wooster Mobile Office.
We look forward to hosting additional mobile office hours in central Arkansas. I am committed to serving you and I welcome you to contact my office at (501) 324-5941 if you are in need of assistance or go to my website at hill.house.gov.
Thank you for taking time to keep up with the work I'm doing on your behalf.
Sincerely,
Representative French Hill |
