Dr. Boozman's Check-up

World Malaria Day

Apr 25 2014

The world recognizes April 25th of each year as World Malaria Day. As a member of the

Senate Caucus on Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases and founder and former co-chairman of the Congressional Caucus on Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases, I support providing the tools and resources necessary to people around the globe in order to combat this infectious disease. 

Despite its eradication in the U.S. more than 50 years ago, malaria remains a leading cause of death worldwide. We’ve seen great progress in the effort to eliminate the disease across the globe thanks to the efforts of public and private organizations. World Health Organization (WHO) data shows mortality rates have fallen by 42 percent globally since 2000 and by 49 percent in the WHO African Region. 

WHO estimates that in 2012, malaria resulted in 627,000 deaths, mostly among African children. Having had the opportunity to travel to Africa, I have seen firsthand the devastation malaria causes the young and the poor. The good news is that this disease is preventable, treatable and curable, but it will take the combined efforts of the U.S., the international community, NGO’s, and the private sector to put an end to this tragedy, and I’m committed to continuing to work to make that happen. 

We need to sustain the successful efforts that are helping save lives. Spraying homes with insecticides in targeted areas and providing families insecticide-treated bed nets to sleep under are methods to prevent the spread of malaria. There are also medicines that treat malaria and work continues on a malaria vaccine.  

The President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) is actively working to rid the world of malaria. The group released its Eighth Annual Report to Congress and it shows significant progress has been made thanks to the investments made by our country. The U.S. can and should be very proud of our efforts to end malaria deaths.

 

Protecting Water Quality

Reining in EPA

Apr 21 2014

I’ve heard from many Arkansans about their concerns with the EPA’s recent announcement that the agency will try to claim jurisdiction over almost all waters across our country – including ditches and other waters never before regulated by DC bureaucrats. We’re working to stop this overreach. As a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, that has oversight over our nation’s water policies, Congress made it clear that under the Clean Water Act some waters are protected by the federal government, while other waters are protected by state and local governments or through private, voluntary action. 

The House recently passed legislation repealing the 30-hour work week rule, and I support efforts in the Senate to do that same. That’s why I cosponsored the Forty Hours is Full Time Act.

This legislation would change the Obamacare definition of full-time to 40 hours per week. 

Obamacare threatens job creation. The healthcare law forces companies to comply with the employer mandate that requires all businesses with more than 50 full-time employees to provide health insurance to their staff or pay a penalty. With the costs of health care skyrocketing, businesses that may want to hire more employees will instead spend more money meeting the requirements of Obamacare. 

We need to create policies that incentivize employers to hire and expand their business. Instead, Obamacare discourages job creation and gives businesses a reason to cut employee hours. Under the law, a full-time employee is defined as an individual working a minimum of 30 hours a week. The employer mandate has caused some businesses to stop hiring if they are close to that 50 full-time employees threshold and cut workers’ hours to less than 30. 

According to a Hoover Institution study 2.6 million Americans making under $30,000 are at risk of having their hours and wages cut as a result of Obamacare’s definition of full-time. The rule disproportionately impacts young, low-wage workers.

  • 60 percent are between the ages of 19 and 34
  • 90 percent do not have a college degree.
  • 63 percent are women.
  • More than 600,000 workers in the retail trade, 225,000 workers in the education industry, and 589,000 workers in restaurants, are at risk of having their hours and wages cut.

Today is the tax filing deadline. I want Arkansans to understand my commitment to creating an easy tax code that Americans can understand. I also want to update you on our efforts to push for accountability and transparency at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in light of the recent scandal. The IRS oversees our tax policy and has a responsibility to treat all taxpayers fairly under the law. Unfortunately that doesn't always happen. That's why I joined efforts to hold the agency accountable and to make it more transparent by cosponsoring The Stop IRS Overreach Act (S.2043) and The Taxpayer Accountability Act (S.2044).

Week in Review: April 7-11

Secretary Sebelius announces resignation, two Arkansas Chambers of Commerce visit DC, a 70th Anniversary of D-Day Resolution is introduced and more in this “Week in Review.” 

Honored for defending our nation’s founding principles, encouraging hiring veterans, the Boozman Bulletin and more from Washington this week. 

  • Hire Veterans: Unemployment among veterans is at 6.6 percent. However, veterans who have served since 9/11 are facing a much higher unemployment rate of 9 percent. We’re working to address this issue with the Hire More Heroes Act. This legislation incentivizes small businesses to hire veterans by exempting veterans who already receive health insurance through the Department of Veterans Affairs or reservists covered under TRICARE from being counted towards the number of employees required by the employer mandate under the Affordable Care Act. 
  • Fighting for Arkansas ideals: I was honored to be recognized for supporting legislation to get our economy moving, rein in the expansive federal government and stop Washington’s wasteful spending. The American Conservative Union, the nation's oldest and largest grassroots conservative lobbying organization named me an “ACU Conservative” for defending our nation’s founding principles. 
  • Senate Committee Approves Boozman Bill: The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee unanimously approved legislation I introduced to restore partnership agreements that allow the reinvestment of recreation fees at U.S. Army Corps of Engineers campgrounds, parks, and other sites. This is good news for Corps sites in Arkansas. 
  • Boozman Bulletin: The latest issue of the Boozman Bulletin was sent to Arkansans this week. If you want to get our e-newsletter sent to you sign up here
  • Telephone Town Hall: I hosted a telephone town hall on Monday and was joined on the phone by many Arkansans who have questions about a variety of issues being debated in Washington. If you want to join our next call, sign up here.

Telephone townhall announced, Senate-passage of Ukraine assistance package, IRS free file and much more in this edition of the “Week in Review.” 

  • Telephone Townhall Announced: Our next telephone town hall is this coming Monday, March 31st. Sign-up here
  • Senate Approves Ukraine Assistance: While President Obama signed an executive order that authorizes limited sanctions against those responsible, we must continue to seek ways to assist the Ukrainians and our allies in the region, including the additional sanctions outlined in this bill
  • Turning up the Heat on Joseph Kony: President Obama has ordered the deployment of additional aircraft and U.S. military personnel to assist African forces in the efforts to hunt down warlord Joseph Kony. This is an effort we should support
  • Red Cross Month: If there is anything that can be learned for our circumstances this winter, it is the need to be prepared. Now that spring is upon us, we have a different form of extreme weather to deal with—tornadoes. It’s the perfect reminder to be prepared.

Tax day is drawing near and there’s easy, convenient and free way to file federal tax returns that doesn’t involve spending countless hours with a pencil, calculator and eraser.

The Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) Free File program offers taxpayers with a 2013 Adjusted Gross Income of $58,000 the opportunity to prepare, complete and e-file their federal tax returns at no cost. Free File also offers basic federal e-filing services regardless of income.

Free File takes the taxing out of taxes and provides eligible taxpayers with free online individual income tax preparation and electronic filing services. This is an easy and convenient way to file a tax return or submit an extension.

Since 2003, 40 million taxpayers have taken advantage of the Free File program, saving about $1.2 billion a year.

“Free File makes tax time simple, fast and free for 70 percent of Americans,” Tim Hugo, executive director of the Free File Alliance said. “Since 2003, the Free File Alliance has partnered with the IRS to give taxpayers access to leading online tax preparation software and critical step-by-step support. This year, we invite every taxpayer making $58,000 or less to join the 40 million Americans who have already saved time and money by using Free File.”

Free File is made possible through a public-private partnership between the IRS and the Free File Alliance, a non-profit coalition of leading tax software companies. IRS Free File is available at www.IRS.gov/freefile, which provides a list of Free File Alliance member companies and their free tax software offerings.

This is an important program. That’s why I cosponsored S. 669, the Free File Program Act. This bill would authorize and direct the Treasury Secretary to continue to operate the IRS Free File Program that provides all taxpayers with the opportunity to complete and file electronically their federal tax returns at no cost to the taxpayer.

As the Washington Post first reported, President Obama has ordered the deployment of additional aircraft and U.S. military personnel to assist African forces in the efforts to hunt down warlord Joseph Kony.

This is an effort we should support. Kony is a madman who must be stopped.

For over 25 years, his Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has caused untold pain to children and families in countries across central Africa. The rebel group is responsible for a litany of human rights violations including abduction, rape, torture and murder. Under direct orders from Kony, the LRA has abducted children, turning the girls into concubines and the boys into child soldiers forcing them back into their villages to torture and kill their relatives.

This effort builds upon the original mission announced in 2011. Approximately 100 U.S. forces were deployed to central Africa in an advisory capacity to provide technical assistance to regional forces working toward the removal of Kony and senior LRA commanders from the battlefield. The additional personnel will supplement the forces already in the region.

In addition to the humanitarian reasons, it is important to note the limitations placed on this mission which include:

  • U.S. military personnel deployed on this mission are only authorized to “provide information, advice and assistance” to African troops tracking Kony and his organization across Uganda, the Central African Republic (CAR), South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC);
  • They are prohibited from engaging Kony’s forces unless in self-defense;
  • The additional aircraft will only be used for troop transport.

Despite the coordinated efforts of the United Nations, African Union and our own military advisors, Kony’s exact whereabouts remain a mystery. The President’s announcement this week hopefully will increase our chances of solving that mystery.

I have worked with my colleagues in Congress to give the Obama Administration the tools it needs to help hunt Kony down. In an effort to increase the chances of pinpointing an exact location of Kony, then-Senator John Kerry (D-MA) and I worked to expand the State Department’s Rewards for Justice program to make it applicable to anyone who offers information that leads to his arrest or conviction. We continue to seek other ways to help track this elusive war criminal down.

The key to capturing Kony is not superior firepower. Nor is it more troops. It is going to come down to human intelligence. This is where the U.S. truly can play a role and provide strong support. I am pleased to see that the Obama Administration expanding those efforts.  Hopefully this will lead to Kony’s apprehension and the restoration of peace and security to the region.