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Dear Friends,
One of the best parts of my job is talking to and hearing our neighbors and friends in Central Arkansas, and this weekend was a busy one.
The fifth graders in my year-long Future Leaders Council program and I worked on legislation, and they are making their parents proud with their participation and the impact with their legislative ideas.
I appreciated being with volunteers at the Historic Arkansas Museum for their lunch and thanking them for their volunteer commitment to Arkansas history and our visitors. In Conway, I also saw firsthand the generous work of VITA volunteers at their program to help low-income Arkansans with tax preparation.
In Pulaski County, at the Rose City Community Church of Christ’s first Power of Oneness forum, we met on how improving neighborhood safety and the impact of youth mentoring, something I talk about regularly in my CEI Blog.
An excellent conversation on immigration with female leaders of the Central Arkansas Indian-American Community rounded out the weekend. I greatly appreciate their helpful advocacy to help fix our broken immigration system. On Monday after welcoming the participants in the Fusion 2018 educational event at the Clinton Center, I had a productive summit with the co-chairs of the Think Big Little Rock initiative, where we discussed how my office and I can support their proposals and priorities in criminal justice reform, rehabilitation, skilled workforce, enhanced economic development, and targeting education reform at the Pre-K and middle school level. I'm proud to collaborate with this visionary group.
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I would ask you to keep the community of Parkland, Florida, in your prayers as they reconcile the evil perpetrated against their community. The loss of 17 innocent lives at Stoneman Douglas High School is a heartbreak that no community should have to endure. As a parent of a high school and college student, Martha and I praise the first responders who took action and we remain prayerful at this time.
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Office Hours Coming to Your County
Because central Arkansans are not always able to visit my offices in Conway and Little Rock, my team will be in your county holding office hours Tuesday, February 20, 2018 through Wednesday, February 28, 2018.
Click here for dates and locations.
During these office hours, my staff will help you with issues before the federal government, including Social Security, Veterans Benefits, Immigration Services, and Internal Revenue Service questions. They also will be able to assist with other constituent services such as flying a flag over the U.S. Capitol and student nominations to the U.S. Service Academies.
Simplifying the Homebuying Process
For an Arkansas family, purchasing a home is one of the most important events. The last things they want to see are confusing costs and fees.
On Wednesday, the House passed my bill to ease one part of the complex maze of regulations created by Dodd-Frank – specifically how title premiums are disclosed at closing time. My bill corrects the poorly designed and misleading disclosures required by the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB).
Arkansas families spoke, and I listened. This is a commonsense bill, and I’m hopeful that my colleagues in the Senate take action on it soon.
To watch my floor speech, view here.
Balanced Budget Amendment
Last week, the House voted to fund the government, and because I heard from many across the central Arkansas that keeping our government open and funding our common defense are their priorities, I supported this bill.
Already, it is having an impact. Our men and women in uniform can continue the defense of our nation knowing that finally they will have the resources they need. With this bill, the House also made clear that military families are a priority by giving military moms and dad their first pay raise in eight years – something which was long overdue.
However, make no mistake: our budget process is broken. Arkansans and Americans deserve a government that runs on certainty – not short-term spending bills that come down to the wire. That may make for good TV, but it’s not how you run your household and it’s not how the government should run ours – especially with taxpayer dollars on the line.
Because Arkansans deserve this greater certainty, I requested – and have received pledge from House Leadership – that the House will vote on a Balanced Budget Amendment before April. This may seem like a small step, but it’s actually a large victory for all of the Arkansans who – like me – believe that the government needs to do a better job prioritizing. I believe this vote will cause Americans to study this challenge.
We can’t take our eyes off of the largest driver of our debt, mandatory spending programs, and we need to set as our priority putting these on a sustainable path so that the debt of today isn’t the burden of tomorrow.
It’s time to take the same step-by-step approach the House took for tax reform to getting our fiscal house in order. It’s what Arkansans deserve and what Americans deserve.
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.
Sincerely,
Representative French Hill
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The third Meeting of the 2017-18 Class of my Future Leaders Council took place on Saturday. This inspiring group of young Arkansas leaders and I talked about how a bill is formed and how it goes through the committee process. We broke into two committees on issues important to Arkansas: armed services and education. I’m so proud of their creativity, diligence, and passion. Our future is in good hands! It’s not too early to consider application to the Future Leaders Council. Fourth grade students interested in participating during their fifth grade year are encouraged to contact Chloe in my Little Rock Office. Chloe can be reached by email at chloe.maxwell@mail.house.gov or by phone at (501) 324-5941.
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Appreciate Rose City Community Church of Christ for hosting their first Power of Oneness forum. They are doing important work by bringing together the community to arrive at a community approach to improving neighborhood safety and increasing youth mentorship. Thank you Little Rock Police Department Officer Tommy Norman and North Little Rock School District for being on the panel.
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I enjoyed meeting with the Co-Chairs of Think Big Little Rock to discuss how I can support their work.
As a former chairman of the Little Rock Regional Chamber, l’m so proud of this next generation of civic leaders stepping up to help design the future of our vibrant home.
Their proposals and priorities in criminal justice reform, rehabilitation, skilled workforce, enhanced economic development, and targeting education reform at the Pre-K and middle school level are well crafted and in line with much of my work in Congress. I'm proud to collaborate with this visionary group.
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