Dear Friends,
This week, the House passed my bill to honor Arkansas civil rights champion and lawyer, Scipio Jones. My bill, H.R. 3317, the Scipio Jones Post Office Portrait Act, allows a portrait of Scipio Jones to be displayed in the Little Rock post office bearing his name.
To watch the speech that I gave on the House Floor before the Scipio Jones Post Office Portrait Act was passed, click HERE, or on the image below.
Congressman Hill speaks on the House Floor in support of the Scipio Jones
Post Office Portrait Act. |
Scipio Africanus Jones, who was born to a slave in 1863, attended Walden Seminary (now Philander Smith College) and then attended Bethel Institute (now Shorter College), earning his bachelor’s degree in 1885. In 1889, Jones passed the bar and was admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Arkansas in 1900 and by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1905.
After the Elaine Massacre in 1919, he defended 12 black men who had been charged with murder and condemned by all-white juries.
Despite its being described as a "race riot," most of the victims were black and most of the aggressors were white. With his clients already facing execution, Jones fought their convictions, in both state and federal courts. An appeal was filed with the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that the accused had been denied due process of law. After reviewing the case, Moore v. Dempsey, the Supreme Court agreed.
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In 2007, the House passed legislation to name the post office located at 1700 Main Street in Little Rock, Arkansas after Scipio Jones.
Today, a plaque at the post office bears his name, but post office regulations restrict the items that can be placed on display.
Last summer, I introduced legislation to allow a full-sized portrait of Scipio Jones to be on display at the post office in Little Rock which bears his name. Funds for the portrait will be raised privately and no taxpayer money will be spent on the artwork.
Arkansans are deeply proud of Scipio Jones and his courageous fight for justice and equality, and this week's action by the House ensures that generations of Arkansans and visitors alike will have a visual reminder of his important role in Arkansas’s history.
I thank the House Oversight Committee for quickly bringing this legislation to the House floor for a vote, as well as Senator Boozman and Senator Cotton for partnering with me to introduce companion legislation in the Senate. Sometimes it takes an act of Congress, and I am grateful to have so many partners and supporters in the Capitol.
Sincerely,
Representative French Hill
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| UALR PROFESSOR IS REP. HILL'S STATE OF THE UNION GUEST |
I was honored to invite Dr. Brian Mitchell, Assistant Professor of History at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, to attend the State of the Union address as my guest. In October 2018, my office partnered with Dr. Mitchell to present the family of the late Private Leroy Johnston medals he had earned but did not receive for his service in World War I.
Pictured: House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Dr. Brian Mitchell,
and Congressman Hill. |
This collaboration was the inspiration for the Word War I Valor Medals Review Act, which was included in the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act and is now law.
Congressman Hill and his State of the Union guest, Dr. Brian Mitchell, on the
steps of the United States Capitol Building. |
Over the past three years, Congressional Republicans and the president have kept their promise to revitalize America by cutting burdensome government regulations, delivering the most sweeping tax reform in more than 30 years, modernizing the North American Free Trade Agreement, and working to even the playing field for American trade with China. These pro-growth economic policies have made the American dream more accessible for more Americans. And, our farmers and business communities are only beginning to see the benefit from the most recent developments in trade.
Despite our accomplishments, there remains much to be done. We must continue to work to increase competition in our healthcare system, thereby reducing the high costs burdening families. We must work on a bipartisan basis to repair our broken immigration system and repair our nation's infrastructure. I stand ready to work with the president and my colleagues to promote policies to enhance the future for all Americans.
| REp. Hill Op-Ed in Washington Examiner |
| The PRO Act would punish right-to-work states, strangle gig economy |
Ahead of the House vote on H.R. 2474, the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, I wrote an op-ed in the Washington Examiner highlighting the negative impact that would follow the implementation of this legislation. To read the full op-ed, click HERE, or on the image below.
Twenty-seven states, including Arkansas, have right-to-work laws to guarantee that workers cannot be forced to join a union or pay union dues as a condition of employment. In accordance with the values our country was founded upon, I believe that citizens deserve the freedom of choice in matters affecting their livelihoods.
The Protecting the Right to Organize Act would force workers to fund unions. Ironically, rather than require unions to increase transparency and accountability, Democrats are promoting lower accountability by unions to the workers they purport to protect.
| PRESIDENT TRUMP ACQUITTED |
Wednesday's acquittal by the Senate only highlights the failings of this impeachment process in the House.
Over the course of American history, countless citizens have exercised their First Amendment rights by protesting our nation's chief executives; however, the power of impeachment is a solemn one and vested solely in the Legislative Branch. This power was never intended to be used as a political tool, but unfortunately, that's what we've seen unfold in Congress over the past five months.
As I have said from the start, in my view, Speaker Pelosi should have directed the House Foreign Affairs Committee to conduct vigorous oversight hearings on the Trump Administration's foreign policy towards Ukraine. This would have been the preferred course of action for policy disagreements. Instead, we have witnessed a partisan fiasco occur in Congress driven by Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats – an inquiry that was flawed from the start when House Democrats blatantly deviated from historical precedent by altering the process used to establish impeachment proceedings against both President Nixon in 1974 and President Clinton in 1998.
Let's close this chapter and return to the work of promoting policies to benefit the general welfare of our great nation. |
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