Dr. Boozman's Check-up

Two new bills I introduced, The Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans (SAV) Act becomes law, my speech on the President’s flawed national and homeland security strategies and more in this “Week in Review.”

  • KASU Radio Show: I joined Jonesboro’s KASU radio to discuss some of the issues we’re working on in Washington. We covered a wide range of topics including fighting in Ukraine and the President Obama’s request to Congress to formally authorize war against Islamic State militants, improvements to veterans mental health services and constituent service. 

The Homeless Veteran Reintegration Program (HVRP) Clarification and Reauthorization Bill: For my first bill of the new session, I joined with Senator Jon Tester (D-MT), in an effort to fight veteran homelessness by reauthorizing current programs and clarifying qualifications for existing housing assistance benefits.

The APPROVAL Act: I joined with Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) to introduce legislation to restore the right of states to approve or disapprove of electric transmission projects before the federal government exercises its power to take private property.

Along with the legislation I introduced this week, I’ve lent my support to a handful of important bills that other Senators introduced this week including:

Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2015: U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) introduced the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2015. This bill would allow individuals with concealed carry privileges in their home state to exercise those rights in any other state that also has concealed carry laws, while abiding by that state’s concealed carry laws.

A Resolution Welcoming Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Visit:  I signed on to Senator Cornyn’s resolution welcoming Israeli Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the United States for his address to a joint session of Congress next month.

A bill to Arm Ukraine: Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK) introduced a bill that would authorize the President to arm Ukraine with lethal military aid. S.452 is currently the only bill in Congress that specifically authorizes the United States to provide Ukraine with lethal weapons, which would remove any ambiguity as to whether the U.S. should supply its ally with offensive or defensive military aid. This is the only bill to also require the President to deliver to Congress a comprehensive strategy for our nation’s support of Ukraine.

Stay on top of all the bills I am cosponsoring in the 114th Congress by bookmarking this page where I will keep a running list.

I took to the Senate floor this morning to raise concerns about the President's national and homeland security strategies, particularly whether the Administration is committed to taking action on radical Islamic terrorists like ISIS and the President's instance on requiring Congress to fund his unconstitutional executive order on immigration.

Highlights:

"Given the severity of the threat posed by ISIS, not to mention the continuing efforts of al-Qaeda to strike again, you would think a plan to take on radical Islam would be a focal part of the President’s national security plan. It’s not. In fact, there is no mention of radical Islam in the document at all." 

"They're holding up the entire bill, threatening to shut down DHS to protect the President's priorities. Not because the funding is too low, not because programs need reforms. Their complaint is that the President isn't getting what he wants. I encourage them to relent on their filibuster so we can debate the bill, make changes if the chamber sees fit and send it to the President. If the President truly wants immigration reform, then do it the right way and work with Congress to get it done. Don't go about it on your own unconstitutionally and then threaten to shut down a department charged with protecting Americans. It's out of touch but it's not the first time this Administration's priorities have been at odds with those of the American people."

"Preventing ISIS from achieving its goal takes a clear, forceful security strategy both abroad and at home. What the President has put forward is neither."

Watch my speech in its entirety below.

This morning I joined Jonesboro’s KASU radio to discuss some of the issues we’re working on in Washington. We covered a wide range of topics including fighting in Ukraine and the President Obama’s request to Congress to formally authorize war against Islamic State militants, improvements to veterans mental health services and constituent service. If you missed it you can listen to the interview here.

Connecting with Arkansans is an important part of my responsibilities as senator. I regularly host Facebook Q&As to talk with people in the state when I'm working in Washington. You can also find me on twitter and instagram to see what I'm doing on behalf of Arkansas. I joined 5News to talk about how my office uses social media to reach Arkansans. Watch the interview that aired on Sunday, February 8, 2015. 


I’ve lent my support to a number of important bills that were introduced this week.

The Repeal Obamacare Act: Repealing Obamacare is at the top of the list of actions Arkansans want this Congress to take. This bill, introduced by Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), fully repeals Obamacare effective 180 days after its enactment, and provides Congress and the states the intervening six months to develop and vote on patient-oriented replacements that will fix the damage Obamacare has done to our health care system and economy.

Balanced Budget Amendment:  On the heels of the release of President Obama’s misguided budget proposal, Senate Republicans have joined together to support Senator Orrin Hatch’s (R-UT) Balanced Budget Amendment. I have supported this effort in the past and have signed on to cosponsor once again because if Arkansas can balance its budget, so can Washington.

Dollar-for-Dollar Deficit Reduction Act: Like the Balanced Budget Amendment, this is another effort to rein in spending so that we can make Washington more efficient, effective and accountable to the American people. I’ve joined with Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) to help introduce this commonsense bill that will promote spending reform by preventing Congress from raising the debt limit unless that legislation also cuts commensurate spending over the next decade.

Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of 2015: This bill, introduced by Senators Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ), would impose new sanctions on Iran if international negotiators fail to reach a deal by June 30 on Tehran's nuclear program.

Keep Our Communities Safe Act: Authored by Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK), this bill would close the legal loophole that requires immigration authorities to release back into the United States any immigrant that has not been accepted for deportation to other countries after being detained for six months. This practice is commonly referred to as “catch and release.”

The TALENT Act: This legislation makes certain the needs of high ability students are included in federal education policy. Instead of creating a new one-size-fits-all mandate to address the problem, we propose empowering teachers with options that will help them recognize and respond to the needs of high ability students.

The Work Colleges Relief Act: I joined a bipartisan group of senators to introduce this bill to clarify and make permanent a tax exemption for Work College scholarships that would help schools and their students avoid unnecessary legal and accounting costs.

Stay on top of all the bills I am cosponsoring in the 114th Congress by bookmarking this page where I will keep a running list.

The Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans (SAV) Act passes the Senate, Democrats filibuster Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding, the President proposes an out-of-touch budget and more in this “Week in Review.”

  • Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act: The Senate unanimously passed this bill that will improve mental health care and suicide prevention resources for veterans by increasing access to mental health programs, providing incentives to recruit and retain psychiatrists to treat veterans and enhancing resources for members of the military transitioning to civilian life. If you missed my floor speech during the debate, you can watch it here.

  • DHS Funding and the President’s Executive Overreach: In case you missed it, I spoke with the Washington Examiner about why I think defunding Obama’s executive actions on immigration is a “must have” in any new legislation to fund DHS.

  • The President’s Out-of-Touch Budget Proposal: President Obama announced his FY 2016 Budget proposal. If implemented, the President’s proposal would create $2.1 trillion in new taxes, increase spending by 65 percent and add $8.5 trillion to the debt over the next ten years. It would fully fund Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with no restrictions on the President’s executive order declaring amnesty. Read why this is out-of-touch with the needs and concerns of the American people. 
  • What I'm Co-Sponsoring Week: Repealing Obamacare Act, Balanced Budget Amendment & More: I added my support to several bills this week, including efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare, a Constitutional amendment that would require Washington to balance its budget and a bill to hold Iran accountable if the regime refuses to negotiate a deal regarding Tehran's nuclear program by June 30th. Read about these bills and more in this blog post
  • From the Mailbag: Last week I helped introduce a bipartisan bill to lift the travel ban to Cuba. In this edition of “From the Mailbag” I answer a question from James in Russellville about the US and Cuba moving toward normalized relations. 

#ServingAR

Feb 04 2015

My staff is taking the office on the road and hosting seven mobile offices around the state as part of my commitment to make it more convenient to get you the help you deserve.

We have several opportunities available for you to reach our staff. These are great opportunities for Arkansas to get help and to speak one-on-one with my staff about questions pertaining to the federal government. Staff members will be eagerly waiting your arrival to assist in resolving any issues you may be having with federal agencies.

Come and meet with staff members at the following locations: 

Monday, February 9

Phillips County Mobile Office
PCCUA Helena Campus, Bonner Center
1000 Campus Drive, Helena
11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. 

Wednesday, February 11

Boone County Mobile Office
Boone County Senior Activity and Wellness Center
1510 Rock Springs Road, Harrison
11 a.m. to 1 p.m. 

Lawrence County Mobile Office
Lawrence County Courthouse, Foyer
315 West Main Street, Walnut Ridge
1 p.m. to 3 p.m. 

Siloam Springs Mobile Office
First Bank Community Room
200 North Progress, Suite 100, Siloam Springs
11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Van Buren Mobile Office
Fairfield Bay Conference Center
110 Lost Creek Parkway, Fairfield Bay
10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Thursday, February 12

Alma Mobile Office
Alma Senior Center
248 Collum Lane East, Alma
11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Friday, February 13 

Magnolia Mobile Office
Magnolia Chamber of Commerce
211 West Main Street, Magnolia
10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

If you aren’t able to attend an event near you, please call one of my seven offices in the state and we can help you. You can find the phone numbers and the authorization form we need in order to being looking into your problem at www.boozman.senate.gov in the section called “Help with an Agency.”