To start off this week’s From the Front … I would like to thank all of the Arkansans who visited my Washington office during their visits to our nation’s capital, including Richard and Victoria Sutton from Garfield, Dustin Fonville from Lowell, Hadi Dudley from Bentonville, David Johnson from Fayettevile, Amber Gregory from Little Rock, Carolyn Ashcraft from Little Rock, Donna McDonald from Charleston, Leisha Callan from Charleston, Jessica Campbell from Fayetteville, Blake Langley from Harrison, the Arkansas Beer Wholesalers, Arkansas Community Bankers, Candice, Henry, and August Kellogg from Springdale, the Arkansas Telecommunications Association, Cindy and Ricky Williams from Van Buren, Spencer and Sarah Stillman from Van Buren, Jeff Forsey from Fort Smith, Kim Eskew from Springdale, Karen Eskew from Springdale, Danita Mullins from Springdale, Kathi Hanson from Bentonville, Jim Petrus from Fort Smith, the Independent Insurance Agents of Arkansas, Jamie Sorrells from Russellville, Debra Stinchomb from Fayetteville, Diane Brown from North Little Rock, and Kerry and Gail Swanson from Rogers. Safe travels back to the Natural State.
This week, the House considered and passed on suspension the Fair Access to Investment Research Act of 2017, the Small Business Capital Formation Enhancement Act, the U.S. Territories Investor Protection Act of 2017, the Follow the Rules Act, the 400 Years of African-American History Commission Act, the Korean Interdiction and Modernization of Sanctions Act, the Disaster Declaration Improvement Act, the FEMA Accountability, Modernization and Transparency Act of 2017, and a bill to amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act concerning the statute of limitations for actions to recover disaster or emergency assistance payments, and for other purposes.
On Tuesday, the House passed H.R. 1180, the Working Families Flexibility Act of 2017. This bill amends the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to give private-sector employees the option of selecting compensatory time off in lieu of cash for overtime wages.
On Wednesday, the House concurred in the Senate Amendment to H.R. 244, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2017. The passage of this bill provided funding for the Federal government through September 30, 2017, and effectively avoided a government shutdown.
As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, I am glad that we were able to complete our work and enact new spending measures and cuts for the remainder of this Fiscal Year — marking the first spending changes of the Trump Administration and a united government.
On Thursday, the House passed H.R. 2192, to amend the Public Health Service Act to eliminate the non-application of certain State waiver provisions to Members of Congress and congressional staff.
This bill strikes the section of the American Health Care Act that exempts Members of Congress and congressional staff from the waivers of federal mandates of essential health benefits, age rating, and community rating.
This bill effectively makes Members of Congress and staff subject to the effects of any waiver sought by their State with regards to health coverage.
Also on Thursday, the House passed H.R. 1628, the American Health Care Act. This bill repeals the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as “Obamacare,” and replaces it with a patient-centered approach that lowers premiums and increases access to quality, affordable care.
When I decided to run for Congress in 2010, one of my top priorities was to repeal and replace Obamacare.
Since it was signed into law, Obamacare has drastically increased premiums across the country, placed burdensome mandates on our nation’s small businesses, and forced families into situations that have created a patient-government relationship rather than a patient-physician relationship.
Today, we took a huge step in repealing Obamacare by sending the American Health Care Act to the Senate. I look forward to seeing how this bill will progress through Congress and bring about the changes that are deserved for all Arkansans.
Next week, I’ll be back in Arkansas traveling the Third District. Keep an eye on my calendar and my Facebook page to see where I’ll be!
