Pictured: Congressman Hill (right) with Chairwoman Foxx of House Committee on Education and the Workforce (middle) visiting with a Center of Excellence faculty member.  

Every year, thousands of young Arkansans graduate high school anticipating their future. For some that’s a four-year college or university, but it is not the only route to a successful life and the pursuit of happiness. Arkansas is currently facing a shortage of workers in our skilled labor market, which makes up a majority of the state’s overall workforce, and there are limitless opportunities in skilled workforce, such as skilled-labor training, apprenticeships, or specialized two-year degree programs, that don’t require a traditional four-year degree. 

I am proud of the work of the North Little Rock School District’s Center of Excellence preparing its high school students for all kinds of opportunities and career paths. Not only does the Center of Excellence serves as a college preparatory school, it offers hands-on experience in industrial jobs through courses on advanced manufacturing, health, transportation, and logistics for those students who may be considering entering the workforce right out of high school. This program is forward-thinking for recognizing that not all students learn the same way or have the same interests or talents.

I joined John McArdle on C-SPAN Washington Journal this week to discuss trade, the U.S.-Russia Summit in Helsinki, and other important issues. Click here to view. 

For decades, Russia has engaged in propaganda and political shenanigans in Western democracies, and based on publicly available intelligence and information, their efforts in the U.S. elections in 2016 were no different.

President Trump missed an opportunity in his meeting and press conference last week with Russian President Putin to make clear that the United States does not believe Russian denials about meddling in our 2016 elections and that America will not stand for interference of this kind.

In the House, we have passed multiple bills sanctioning Russian interests, increasing U.S. military and intelligence spending, and supporting our European allies from Russian aggression. We continue to call upon the current administration to counter Russia's political and military actions in Syria, the Middle East, and the Ukraine, and to hold Russia accountable for their attempts to meddle in U.S. and European elections. Undercutting and destabilizing democracies are not the action of friends.

I named the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) as the latest winner of my Golden Fleece award for their mismanagement and loss of over $1 million in medical equipment in VA facilities in Ohio.

How any government agency misplaces equipment valued at over $1 million and paid for with hardworking taxpayer dollars boggles the mind. It’s beyond reckless that in the last three years, the VA has misplaced over $1.12 million dollars in medical equipment in the state of Ohio alone. With our mounting national debt and a refocusing of fiscal priorities, it’s now more important than ever that our federal agencies act as good stewards of taxpayers’ dollars.

Read my letter to the Acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs Peter O’Rourke. 

Representative French Hill