This month, Speaker Paul Ryan, Chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee Kevin Brady, and Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee Greg Walden unveiled the text to the House Republican plan to reform health care. 

There is no doubt the current healthcare system is broken. Perhaps no one has more accurately summarized the problems with the current law than former President Bill Clinton. Last October, President Clinton said during a speech that "the people who are getting killed [under Obamacare] are small business people and individuals who make a little too much to get into these subsidies.... You've got this crazy system where all of a sudden 25 million more people have health insurance and you have all these people who are busting it, sometimes 60 hours a week, wind[ing] up with their premiums doubled and their coverage cut in half." 

What President Clinton describes, is exactly the situation Speaker Paul Ryan and House Republicans sought to address from day one. If you remember Speaker Ryan's town hall in January of this year, he explicitly said the purpose of our work is to keep the good objectives of Obamacare in place while fixing what is broken.

The goals of this repeal and replacement effort are to continue to provide affordable care to those 25 million who are insured because of Obamacare, but also to provide affordable care to the millions more that President Clinton described as having their premiums doubled and their coverage cut in half because of Obamacare.

Importantly, the House is working to implement a steady transition period away from Obamacare that will not pull the rug out from those currently receiving health care coverage while returning control and flexibility to our states to specifically tailor our Nation’s health care systems to their populations. The current plan will maintain current protections for young Americans under the age of 26 to stay on their parents’ plans and prevent denying policies for individuals with pre-existing conditions. 

It will also provide immediate relief to those burdened by Obamacare through eliminating the federal government’s mandate on individuals and employers and repealing Obamacare’s taxes on over-the-counter medications, health insurance premiums and medical devices. This plan is about lowering costs, expanding choice, and putting hardworking Americans – not the federal government –in control of their health care.

As I monitor the progress of the repeal and replacement legislation, I welcome your thoughts on the House's plan and I will keep you updated. I look forward to continue visiting with constituents and advocacy groups in Arkansas on this extremely important issue.

Sincerely,

Representative French Hill

Photos for the Week

Preserving Teddy Roosevelt's Vision for America

Last week, Rep Hill spoke at the Garden Club of America’s annual conference about the importance of conservation. Below is an excerpt from his speech:

"As many of you know, last year we celebrated the centennial of our National Park Service, and I believe it is critical that we celebrate our national parks and continue to preserve America's unique treasures of our public lands.

"In a big continental power such as America, these public treasures belong to all 300 million of us; and, in a heavily urban population they represent an extraordinary resource for strenuous refreshment, education and conservation -- precisely the same argument made early in the 20th century when our population was 76 million and the wild frontier was in sunset.

"I also had the opportunity last October to speak to the Little Rock Garden Club about the centennial and the conservation efforts of our 26th President, Theodore Roosevelt. Previously, Presidents Harrison, Cleveland and McKinley had set aside 50 million acres for forest preserves.

"TR taking advice from his forest chief Gifford Pinchot set aside an additional 150 million acres of forest reserves. Of these, 1.8 million acres in Oklahoma and Arkansas were set aside on December 8, 1907 as the Arkansas National Forest. It was renamed the Ouachita National Forest by President Coolidge in 1926. It is the oldest and largest national forest in the southern region.

"Then on March 6, 1908 Roosevelt set aside by proclamation almost 1 million acres forming the Ozark National Forest.

"These acres were part of the public domain lands in Arkansas. TR added an additional 600,000 acres to the Ozark National Forest in February 1909. In doing so Roosevelt had permanently changed the face of Arkansas setting aside over 3.3 million acres – – almost 10% of Arkansas acreage – – in national forests.

"Our wild places are as essential as water or air to breath. In March 1868, a young Scotsman named John Muir stopped a passerby on the sidewalk in San Francisco to ask for directions out of the city. The man asked Muir 'where do you wish to go?' And the future founder of the Sierra Club and the man essential to the idea of the parks that we enjoy today, John Muir, said, 'anywhere that is wild.'"


Community Empowerment Initiative Blog Update

This week, Rep. Hill posted his second CEI Blog post on the topic of education and mentorship. 

Click here to read the post.

Click here to learn more about the Community Empowerment Initiative.

News for the Week

Hill extols college on its anniversary
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
3/12/2017

Senate panel approves bill to promote ETF research
Investment News
3/9/2017

House approves defense stopgap
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
3/8/2017

State's U.S. lawmakers file eminent domain bill
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
3/7/2017

U.S. Rep. Hill likes tone of Trump SOTU speech but wants more specifics
Talk Business & Politics
3/5/2017

Trump’s talk of merit-based immigration intrigues House Republicans
KATU
3/1/2017

Rep. Hill Says Trump Hung Message Around Hope for Future
Bloomberg
3/1/2017

Trump thrills Arkansans; speech spot on, state’s D.C. delegation says
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
3/1/2017

Press Releases

Hill Votes to Increase Funding for C-130s
March 8, 2017

Rep. Hill released the following statement after the House Passed the FY 2017 Defense Appropriations Bill:

“Today’s vote maintains funding as well as active duty and reserve troops at the levels we need in order to carry out strategic missions across the globe and it gives our men and women in uniform a much-deserved 2.1 percent increase. The bill also provides $106,668,000 in funding for C-130 upgrades, a $97,500,000 increase over the request of the previous administration. This funding is crucial toward upgrading the planes at Little Rock Air Force Base. Our local Air Force base remains one of the most technologically advanced and well-run military installations in the entire country, and this funding will help ensure it continues to be a center of excellence for our global airlift operations.”

Hill Statement on POTUS Travel Order
March 6, 2017

Rep. Hill released the following statement in response to President Trump’s executive order on travel from six countries designated by the Obama Administration as having ties to terror:

“The president is justified to place a temporary ban on immigrants from the countries identified by the Obama Administration as countries of concern because of their ties to terror. Over the past two years, we have heard extensive testimony from high-ranking Obama Administration officials, including James Comey, James Clapper, and Jeh Johnson, on the ties to terror and lack of verification of critical data about refugees coming from war-torn countries of the Middle East, particularly Syria. The short pause in refugee arrivals will help the new administration design an effective process for vetting.

“On the surface, it appears the rollout of the second version of this executive order is being carried out in a more thoughtful manner, allowing it to fulfill the stated goal of keeping our homeland safe while not unduly affecting those with proper U.S. travel documents. I remain pleased that the administration is keeping to its plan to maintain our long-standing tradition of being a beacon of hope for the world’s refugees by proposing 50,000 refugee admissions per year.”

Rep. Hill with Susan Borne and Debbie Bass of the Little Rock Garden Club who were in Washington to attend the Garden Club of America’s annual conference.