Dear Friends,

Arkansans are looking for a return to the usual rhythms of life, and I am optimistic that the United States is on the way to safely reopening and bringing our economy to life once again.

Last week, I was appointed by the president to serve on his bipartisan, bicameral Opening Up America Again Congressional Group.

I am pleased to have been called by the president to serve as part of this bipartisan group, and if my call with him on Thursday was any indication, there is strong bipartisan support amongst my House and Senate colleagues for strategies that will bend two of the most pressing curves: the increase in coronavirus cases and the stunning rise in unemployment.

We must prepare for America to get back to work.

As I am sure you are aware, one component of safely returning to normalcy is widespread testing.

On Friday, NIH's Dr. Anthony Fauci stated: "We will have and there will be enough tests to allow us to take this country safely through phase one".

The United States has now tested 4.18 million people, which is more total tests than France, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, India, Austria, Australia, Sweden, and Canada combined.

As evident in the chart below, the increase in the loss of life in some of the hardest-hit states due to this terrible virus is flattening. To view in more detail, click HERE or on the image below.

On Saturday, Governor Hutchinson announced that on May 4^th, he hopes to begin lifting restrictions in Arkansas.

Governor Hutchinson has also created the Governor’s Economic Recovery Task Force to develop an industry-specific strategy and make recommendations for Arkansas’s economic recovery from the effects of COVID-19.

The task force includes 27 leaders from the private sector and public agencies who will examine the impact of COVID-19 on businesses and industries in the state. The task force will recommend a strategy for Arkansas's economy to shift out of low gear in a way that is consistent with public health guidance.

To watch the governor's news conference, click HERE or on the image below.

Together, we will make it through to the other side of this unprecedented public health and economic crisis.

GOOD NEWS REVIEW

TY Garments Manufacturing High-Quality Cloth Masks

TY Garments, located at the Port of Little Rock, usually manufactures sportswear, but faced with the COVID-19 public health crisis, they have begun manufacturing high-quality cloth masks. These masks are washable which means that they are effective for multiple uses.

The company is also donating surgical masks and disposable protective coveralls to healthcare workers, including a recent supply that was taken to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

I applaud their efforts to help people get back to work and safely return to normal.

KATV highlighted TY Garments' mask manufacturing. To watch, click HERE or on the image below.

Answering Your Questions

Relief Headed to You Soon

Yesterday, I hosted a telephone town hall and Facebook LIVE event to directly answer your questions regarding the ongoing COVID-19 public health and economic crisis.

If you were not able to tune in last night, watch the full event by clicking HERE or on the image below.

DIRECT PAYMENTS HEADED TO AMERICANS

Relief Headed to You Soon

Last week, nearly 80 million Americans received their Economic Impact Payment established by Congress in the CARES Act.

If you have any questions regarding your eligibility, how you will receive your payment, or when you can expect your payment, check the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) Information Center HERE.

Learn more about Economic Impact Payments HERE or on the image below.

If you receive an error message, or a message saying that the IRS does not have sufficient information, please be patient. The IRS has been notified of this issue and is working to address this.

ASSISTANCE FOR BUSINESSES

More Funding Needed for Loans

Programs like the Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) are providing critical relief to families and small businesses struggling during this crisis.

Through Arkansas banks, the PPP approved over 14,000 loans totaling more than $2.1 billion. This is helping Arkansas businesses and nonprofits retain their employees and keep their businesses functioning during the current public health crisis.

The stories I have heard from businesses and bankers across Arkansas speak for themselves. HERE and below are some of those stories

Without EIDL and PPP loans millions of Americans would be out of work, which is why it’s unacceptable that these successful and bipartisan programs have run out of money.

FILING FOR UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS

CARES Act Provisions Underway

We are facing an unprecedented economic challenge combined with the public health crisis caused by COVID-19. The Arkansas Division of Workforce Services (ADWS) and the state of Arkansas have been working to meet the increased number of people who currently need Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits.

In line with these efforts, the ADWS has created a new informational website to answer questions about filing for UI benefits in Arkansas.

To access that website, click HERE.

Additionally, the ADWS has expanded their unemployment hotline hours. They are now open Monday through Saturday, from 6:00AM until 4:00PM CT. Their hotline number is (844) 908-2178.

As you might know, the CARES Act included approximately $260 billion in funding for enhanced and expanded Unemployment Insurance for the many workers who have been impacted by the COVID-19 public health crisis.

It created new unemployment insurance programs that are fully funded by the federal government, including assistance for self-employed .workers, workers who are partially employed, workers with limited work history, and workers who are not able to telework and are not receiving any form of paid leave.

If this is your situation, the ADWS is currently implementing a new system based on the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) guidelines. Unfortunately, this means that it will be a few more weeks until the ADWS is able to issue benefits for those applying under these new guidelines.

However, the ADWS has an alert system to notify those who sign up when the PUA application is available.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP
FOR PUA BENEFITS ALERT

These benefits, along with the federal UI supplement of $600 will be backdated from when the claim was filed.

ADWS Instructions for Filing for UI Benefits:

File online using EZARC HERE between the hours of 6:00AM and 6:00PM, Sunday through Saturday.

File by phone using the UI Hotline by calling (844) 908-2178 or (501) 534-6304 between the hours of 6:00AM and 4:00PM, Monday through Saturday.

If you have questions regarding how to apply, the ADWS has a helpful FAQ page, which you can find HERE.

Arkansas Humanities Council Offering Assistance

Application Open for CARES Act Grants

The Arkansas Humanities Council is now accepting applications for the CARES Act Grant. This emergency funding is available to support operations and programming for museums, libraries, archives, historic sites, historical societies, other cultural nonprofits, and colleges and universities.

Applicants may request up to $15,000. The deadline for submission is Friday, May 22, 2020. To apply, click HERE.

See the Natural state from home

Virtual Tours of Arkansas Museums

With Arkansans practicing social distancing, it can be difficult to see the historic sites that Arkansas has to offer. Thankfully, many sites are offering virtual services to allow people to be able to connect with their history from their houses.

The Arkansas Democrat Gazette highlighted the Arkansas museums offering virtual tours.
To read the whole article, click HERE.

The virtual tours include:

Wings of Honor Museum
More than seven hours of oral history can be viewed on the website of this Walnut Ridge museum devoted to Arkansas military veterans and their families.

The 11 interviews recount challenges on battlefields and the homefront. Especially vivid are the memories of Curtis R. Lamb, an Army Medical Corps sergeant in Europe during World War II. He tells about dealing with American dead and wounded, as well as being present at the liberation of a Nazi concentration camp. To access, click HERE.

Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center
Visitors to the website of another museum under Arkansas State University's aegis can roam the house and barn-studio in Piggott where Ernest Hemingway wrote part of For Whom the Bell Tolls.

The room-by-room tour is an animated creation that aims to show the property as it looked during Hemingway's time in northeast Arkansas with his second wife, Pauline Pfeiffer. To access, click HERE.

Shiloh Museum of Ozark History
Sixteen online exhibits on this Springdale museum's website add up to a nearly encyclopedic survey of life in the Northwest Arkansas Ozarks going back to prehistoric times.

Four of the offerings look separately at the counties of Boone, Carroll, Madison, and Newton. Other topics include farming, rodeos, railroads, lumbering and the building of Beaver Lake. To access, click HERE.

Lum & Abner Museum
Much-needed chuckles can be evoked by logging on to the site of the Lum & Abner Museum in the hamlet of Pine Ridge. Starring Chet Lauck and Tuffy Goff, Lum & Abner's radio show fortified the hillbilly image of Arkansas across the nation from 1931 to the middle 1950s.

An online highlight from the museum is the colorful posters of the seven Hollywood movies starring Lum & Abner. Their titles resonate with whimsy: Partners in Time, The Bashful Bachelor, Dreaming Out Loud, Goin' to Town, 2 Weeks to Live, So This Is Washington, Lum & Abner Abroad. To access, click HERE.

Sincerely,

Representative French Hill