Dear Friends,
Happy Father’s Day to my father, Jay, whose values and wisdom I seek to pass on to my son, Payne, and my daughter, Liza, each and every day.
On Friday, I celebrated the 182nd birthday of the great state of Arkansas. Our state offers an awesome place to live, work, and play. As a tenth generation Arkansan, I am extremely proud to call Arkansas home. Happy birthday to the Natural State!
Tackling the Opioid Crisis
Arkansans across the state are being impacted by the Opioid Crisis. In 2016, 335 Arkansans died from an opioid overdose. During that same year the United States lost more people to prescription drug overdoses than those killed in the Vietnam War. So far this Congress, we have passed more than 70 bills to combat this crisis and implement preventable measures to protect Arkansans and Americans from drug abuse, including 29 bills that passed the House this past week.
On Thursday, I spoke with Liz Wheeler on One American News about a bill I introduced to to step up penalties for fentanyl traffickers and provide necessary resources to track illegal shipments. One gram of fentanyl is approximately the amount in a Sweet ‘N Low packet, which is enough to kill 500 people.
We can’t let another Arkansas family be devastated by this crisis, and this bill, coupled with a community-wide effort, will help fight this epidemic.
Watch my interview HERE.
Young Arkansans Serve Our Nation
Last weekend, I had the chance to congratulate 10 students who will be representing central Arkansas at the U.S Air Force Academy, U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and the U.S. Naval Academy. I am proud of their decision to serve our country as leaders in the armed forces and I wish them the best of luck as they start this new adventure. Wishing the best to Jackson, Hannah, Spencer, Easton, Max, Christopher, Miles, Addie, Adrianna, and Jackie!
Great News for Hardworking Arkansans!
Since we passed tax reform in Congress and the President signed it into law, the U.S. employment rate is up by 9.9% and our unemployment rate is down to 3.8%.
The National Federation of Independent Business jobs report shows a record-high 35% of small businesses are increasing worker pay. The National Association for Business Economics Business Conditions Survey shows 55% more companies are raising worker pay. This is great news for Arkansans!
Upcoming Mobile Office Hours
Part of my responsibility is helping central Arkansans with passports, veteran benefits, and other issues with federal agencies. The doors to my Little Rock and Conway offices are always open, but to best serve people directly, I frequently hold Mobile Office Hours in other towns in my district.
So far, I have held over 70 Mobile Office Hours around central Arkansas since 2015. This allows Arkansans like you who may not be able to travel to Little Rock or Conway to meet with my team at a location closer and more convenient to you.
I am committed to serving central Arkansans and I welcome anyone in need of assistance to visit with us. See the image below to view upcoming Mobile Office Hours in an area near you.
It is a privilege to share these updates with you. Thank you for taking time to keep up with the work I'm doing on your behalf. If I can be any assistance to you or your family, please reach out to my office at (501) 324-5941 or go to my website at hill.house.gov.
Sincerely,
Representative French Hill |
