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 Kyle and Kelly Jack from Rogers, Child Care Aware of Arkansas, Steve Higgins from Russellville, Blayne Horton from Ozark, Hon. Gordon McCain from Russellville, Mike Komm from North Little Rock, Cynthia Estes from Little Rock, the Fort Smith Chamber, the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas, the Arkansas Society of Professional Engineers, Kelly Nefzger from Fayetteville, Baxter Yarbrough from Fayetteville, Matt Francis from Elkins, St. Joseph’s Eighth Grade Class from Fayetteville, Dr. Danny Brackett from Springdale, Brian Kirkendoll from Alma, Carly Martin from Little Rock, Gina Martin from Little Rock, Harry Truman Moore from Paragould, Rick Ramsay from Little Rock, Amy Dunn Johnson from Little Rock, Sherry Whittington from Magnolia, Todd Simmons from Siloam Springs, Jason Godsey from Siloam Springs, the Arkansas Education Association, Karen Minkel from Fayetteville, Cross Church from Fayetteville, Jonathan Baugh from Star City, Phillip Rozell from Fayetteville, Brandon Cooper from Jonesboro, Eddie Glover from Conway, Chester Kuykendall from Ozark, Scott Pace from Little Rock, Kristen Riddle from Conway, Brenda Riley from Little Rock, Mark Riley from Little Rock, Dr. Jeff Angel from Batesville, the Arkansas Funeral Directors, the Arkansas Municipal Power Association, Melissa Evans from Fayetteville, Allison Thurmond Quinlan from Fayetteville, Courtney Cochran from Van Buren, Matt and Allison Bell from Fayetteville, and the Clark family from Russellville. Safe travels back to the Natural State.
It was bittersweet leaving the 3rd District after spending two weeks with my constituents.
But as much I love my district, I was ready to come back to Washington and resume legislative business. Many Arkansans joined me in Washington this week. I was grateful to spend Tuesday with the Fort Smith Chamber of Commerce and the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas.
We discussed the great potential and promising future of Fort Smith and the importance of electrical cooperatives in Arkansas.
On Wednesday, I was honored to join my colleagues Congressmen Rick Crawford (AR-1) and French Hill (AR-2) to join Congressman Bruce Westerman (AR-4) on the House floor as he delivered a one minute speech and observed a moment of silence in memory of former Congressman Jay Dickey.
Arkansas was blessed to have such a statesman to call its own and his memory and example will undoubtedly endure in the State and on the Hill.
The House concluded business on Wednesday by passing the Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act of 2017 (H.R. 1695) with wide bipartisan support.
This bill will make the Register of the Copyrights Office a presidential appointment for a term of 10 years, subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.
Thursday, I met with Arkansans from Simmons Pet Food in Siloam Springs. They shared with me the obstacles they, like so many other Arkansas businesses, face when government grows and markets shrink.
I also met with members of the Arkansas Municipal Power Association an enjoyed the opportunity to discuss with them the challenges of providing power to more than 375,000 Arkansans.
The House concluded business on Thursday by unanimously passing the Fannie and Freddie Open Records Act of 2017 (H.R. 1694), which subjects the Federal National Mortgage Association and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation to the same level of Freedom of Information Act scrutiny as federal agencies.
Finally, today, the House passed H.J.Res. 289, a continuing resolution that will fund the federal government though May 5, 2017.
