Dear Friends,
Following the adoption of historic tax reform, 2018 started well, and we are working hard to deliver policies that will help you and your family thrive. Unfortunately, the Senate failed to follow the House's lead in funding the government, so until an agreement has taken effect, I cannot in good faith accept my pay while our men and women in uniform are not receiving theirs - which is why I sent a letter to the Chief Administrative Officer asking the House to withhold my salary.
Government Shutdown
Instead of doing the right thing by funding our military, providing health care for our children, and supporting key governmental entities that serve Arkansans and all Americans, Democrats have shut down our government over unrelated issues and unrelated deadlines. I’ve said it a dozen times, but I’ll say it again – unlike the Senate, the House passed all of our spending bills through the committee process and approved them before our September 30, 2017 deadline.
It’s shameful that the other side of the aisle is using our children and men and women in uniform as political bargaining chips. I have publicly stated that I strongly support finding an equitable solution for those undocumented immigrants brought here by their parents through no fault of their own. I have met with some of these Dreamers from Arkansas, and I believe the Democrats are only using them as leverage to score political points on the last page of a budget bill that has nothing to do with immigration. Further, at this time of unprecedented national security threats, Democrats are jeopardizing funding, training, new systems, and strategic upgrades to meet the rapidly changing landscape in North Asia, the Middle East, and in the global cyber sphere.
Republicans want to find a solution to this issue, and there are multiple proposals currently in the Congress, but the political grandstanding from the Democrats saying "it’s our way or nothing" only hurts the chances of finding a compromise. Instead of playing politics, I urge Democrats to prioritize funding for our military, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), federal agencies and our federal workers, and other key governmental entities to ensure they have the resources they need to fulfill their duties and serve hardworking Arkansans and Americans.
Go to SchumerShutdown.com for more information.
Bringing Jobs Home
In the past few weeks, thousands in Arkansas and across the nation have already seen the benefits of the recently passed tax reform bill through bonuses, higher wages, and other benefits. Companies like AT&T, Centennial Bank, Apple, Bank of America, UPS, BancorpSouth, Bank of the Ozarks, and Wal-Mart joined the hundreds of businesses that announced their plans to give employees new benefits and more cash in their pockets.
Apple employees will receive additional bonuses, and Apple will now build a new campus in the United States, creating new jobs here at home. They are adding 20,000 jobs for hardworking Arkansans and Americans and will be bringing back most of their cash to the United States. They also will pay $38 billion in repatriation taxes and invest over $30 billion dollars in new capital investments. In bringing this cash home, Apple is also awarding $2,500 in stock grants for its employees. Wal-Mart will be raising their minimum wage to $11 and will expand and improve previous benefit plans.
This is great news for families across the country. These positive changes will help ease the financial stresses of hardworking people, allowing us to better the pursuit of happiness.
Strengthening U.S.-Japan Relationship
This week, Speaker Paul Ryan appointed me to serve on the Japan-United States Friendship Commission, an independent federal government agency established by Congress in 1975. The Commission’s mission is to promote partnerships that advance common interests, and it aims to strengthen the U.S.-Japan relationship through educational, cultural, and intellectual exchange.
Japan is the fourth largest recipient of Arkansas exports, and Japanese-owned Tokusen USA, located in Conway, is an important part of our Central Arkansas community. Japan and the United States share economic and security a vital partnership, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to be a part of our efforts to further strengthen the U.S.-Japan relationship.
Enhancing Central High School Historic Site
It’s an exciting, historic time for Arkansas and Little Rock as President Trump signed my bill into law Friday, January 12th. This bill will preserve Arkansas’s important role in ending so-called “separate but equal,” and it could not come at a better time, as we recently celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Little Rock Nine’s brave actions integrating Little Rock Central High School.
Together with the school, seven homes across the street from Central High will now stand as living monuments to the civil rights movement in Arkansas and the United States. I was pleased to work with Senator Tom Cotton, the neighborhood, and the National Park Service to make this a reality, and I’m pleased that this bill is now law because Arkansas's history is America's history.
Promoting Religious Freedom
Last year, during a trip to Egypt, I made it a priority to meet with Egyptian Christians to hear stories about their struggle to practice their faith in a nation and region where there has been so much strict persecution of their beliefs. As a Christian, religious freedom is vitally important to me, and I believe staying silent is not good for the future of the United States or Egypt. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, “the time is always right to do what’s right."
While I am grateful for the capable leadership of Egyptian President el-Sisi and his encouraging words of tolerance and implementation of reforms, there are additional steps that can be taken.
Now is the time for Congress to do the right thing, and for this reason, I introduced H.Res.673, which calls on the Egyptian government to take further steps to end the culture of attacks against Christians with impunity and urges the Egyptian government to take steps so that Copts and other Christians may achieve rightful equality in Egyptian society.
Read more here in my op-ed published in the Hill this past week.
Thank you for staying in touch with me as I work on your behalf.
Sincerely,
Representative French Hill
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