Dear Friends,
My team this past week held Mobile Office Hours. They were able to help central Arkansans with Social Security, Veterans Benefits, Immigration Services, and Internal Revenue Services. We have Mobile Office Hours tomorrow and next Wednesday. Click here for more information.
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Martha and I are saddened to hear of the passing of Billy Graham. Truly, he ran the race and kept the faith. His devotion to ministry – including to the leaders of our Nation – will be long remembered. Our thoughts are with his family at this time. On Wednesday, February 28, the late Reverend Billy Graham will be brought to the U.S. Capitol, where he will lie in honor in the Rotunda until Thursday,
March 1.
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Keeping our Children Safe
The evil that took place in Parkland, Florida has touched us all. As the father of a high school student and college student, I'm heartbroken by the taking of 17 innocent lives at Stoneman Douglas High School and others injured. No community should have to endure the kind of evil perpetrated there.
I appreciate Roby Brock with Talk Business having me on recently to discuss gun violence in our communities. The families of central Arkansas want to know that their kids are safe and secure at school. We must look at ways to enhance the safety of our students, parents, and teachers. We also want to know that officials are acting when community members “see something and say something.”
It makes no sense that we protect our airports, homes, and businesses, but don’t adequately protect our own kids at school. I strongly support continuing to cure the failings of the background check system. This includes immediately reporting suspicious activity. And, I find it inexcusable that the FBI didn’t investigate the tip they received and want to know why. I have met with school superintendents to discuss whether school security plans are adequate and how to set up hotlines to report suspicious behavior. I continue to work with groups like Victory over Violence to prevent senseless acts of violence.
I talked to current and former school superintendents about the adequacy of school security plans and how to set up hot lines to better report and act on suspicious behavior. And I will continue to work with community leaders like our Little Rock Victory over Violence group to find solutions to help prevent senseless acts of violence in our schools and neighborhoods.
Fundamentally, I believe that the lack of an effective mental health care system and access to mental health care has contributed to some of the mass shootings we have seen over the years. Far too many Americans—about one in five—are suffering from some form of mental illness disrupting families with violence and pain and costing lives. Our mental health care system needs to be able to deliver urgently needed help. Our mental health reform bill passed as a part of the 21st Century Cures Act in 2016 has many key provisions that can improve the design of and access to treatment such as training law enforcement on appropriate actions in an active shooter scenario. The law also helps track violent deaths and helps to find ways they can be prevented.
This legislation also allows a more compassionate communication under HIPPA, so family members can help individuals going through severe mental illness and facilitate treatment. In addition, it provides increased grant funding for training so teachers, Emergency Medical Service, and other professionals can appropriately intervene before someone with mental illness experiences a crises. It also reauthorizes programs that focus on helping treat children early on with severe emotional disturbances. I will work with my colleagues to implement these kind of vital policies.
Listen to my interview with Roby Brock.
Cracking Down on Russia
I support Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation and I was pleased to see last week’s indictment of 13 Russians for meddling in U.S. Elections sent a powerful message. Furthermore, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein statement that the indictment did not include allegations that the 13 Russians altered the outcome of the 2016 Presidential election was significant.
This kind of behavior isn’t new for Russia; they’ve been doing this for years. They’ve meddled in U.S. elections as far back as the Reagan era, as well as countless other countries’ elections, including the Ukraine and Montenego. Which is why Rep. Tom Souzzi (D-NY) and I authored the Fight Russian Corruption Act, to establish an office of European anti-Russian corruption in the State Department to help our European allies fight corruption and Russian political interference.
Russia’s incursion into the Ukraine was met with U.S. sanctions. I’m in strong favor of additional targeted sanctions on Russia and voted for the Countering Our Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, which became law in into law in August 2017. This bill allows the U.S. to freeze Russian assets, revoke visas, and ban U.S. exports to Russia and any other countries meddling in U.S. political affairs. Recently, the U.S.Treasury Department took the first step in implementing these additional steps by releasing the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act of 2017 (CAATSA) Reports, including on Senior Foreign Political Figures and Oligarchs in the Russian Federation. While not all the names of people and entities in the CAATSA report were made public, those that were included 114 senior political figures and 96 oligarchs with a net worth of $1 billion or more. You can see my discussion with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on this process here.
Listen to my interview with Roby Brock.
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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 |
