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H.R. 1, THE “FOR THE PEOPLE ACT” IS ANYTHING BUT “FOR THE PEOPLE”
I, like many of you, am concerned about the integrity of our elections, but the bill recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives is not the right way to approach this.
Last week, Sen. Boozman, Sen. Cotton, Arkansas Secretary of State John Thurston, Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, and I held a press conference in Little Rock to call attention to plans by out-of-touch Democrats in Washington, D.C., to strip individual states, like Arkansas, of our Constitutional authorities and centralize election authority in with unelected bureaucrats in Washington, D.C.
The truth is that our Founding Fathers designed our Constitution with balance of power between government and states for a reason. They believed certain authorities, including those related to elections, were best left up to individual states, and I share that belief.
H.R. 1 does nothing but jeopardize and federalize election integrity. It allows for the federal government to fund political campaigns, allows the IRS to decide an organization’s tax-exempt status based on political leanings, and removes states’ abilities to decide how congressional districts are drawn.
AROUND CENTRAL ARKANSAS
Last week, I spent my time meeting community leaders and hearing from central Arkansans about the issues that matter the most to you and your family:
- I celebrated our Vietnam Veterans at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wreath laying ceremony on the Arkansas Capitol grounds.
- I met with agricultural leaders from across Arkansas alongside Sen. Boozman and Sen. Cotton to discuss the effects of tax and trade policy
- I toured the Bryant Boys and Girls Clubs and met with CEO Suzanne Passmore and her Board of Directors. I am proud of them for their work keeping kids safe and involved throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
These are just some of the community members working to empower Arkansans. I will be taking the ideas and messages that heard over the past two weeks back to Washington as I continue to my work on behalf of central Arkansans in Congress.
EXTENDED: BUSINESS LOAN DEADLINES
The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) has directly helped over 60,000 Arkansas businesses receive $4.2 Billion since it became law, with my support, just over a year ago.
The previous PPP package was set to expire on March 31st, 2021. With this extension, the Small Business Administration (SBA) is currently offering PPP loans until May 31st, 2021. The PPP Extension Act will provide central Arkansas small businesses with targeted assistance to help open and keep open their doors and employees paid. To learn more about the PPP or to apply, please visit the SBA PPP website.
EXTENDED: IRS CONTRIBUTION DEADLINE NOW MAY 17, 2021
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently announced it will be delaying more tax deadlines for the second straight year due to the pandemic. Deadlines for making 2020 contributions to individual retirement accounts (IRA), health savings accounts (HSA), and Coverdell education savings accounts which were originally scheduled for April 15th, will now be extended till May 17th. This will provide much needed relief to central Arkansans struggling to complete their taxes due to hardships from the pandemic.
You can learn more about these and other tax extensions on the IRS website or by contacting my office at (501) 324-5941.
Sincerely,
Representative French Hill |
