Dr. Boozman's Check-up

In case you missed it here’s a recap of what happened this week in Washington

  • Thanking our Troops:  I had the opportunity to visit with Arkansas soldiers during a recent trip to the Middle East.  You can read who I met with in our weekly column

  • Keystone XL Pipeline:  A new National Journal poll shows overwhelming public support for the construction of the Keystone Pipeline. Read more about the poll and why the President should approve the project. 
  • Small Business Obstacle: A recent survey of small businesses by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce shows how unpopular the President’s health care law is among business owners and what they have planned to avoid the increased costs of the mandate. Read my thoughts about the results of this survey

President Obama recently gave a speech outlining his plans for a climate change initiative that will drive up the cost of energy across the country.  It included new benchmarks for the Keystone Pipeline, which has already cleared far more hurdles than most projects are put through before approval. 

This new poll should give him pause to reconsider.

The National Journal/Congressional Connection Poll finds overwhelming public support for moving the Keystone Pipeline project forward. More than two-thirds of respondents, 67 percent, support building the pipeline to carry Canadian oil to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast. This support cuts across political lines, as it includes 56 percent of Democrats.

Is President Obama really prepared to side with the small minority (less than a quarter of Americans if you use this poll as a measuring stick) in opposition to the pipeline?

The President’s team recently disregarded well-established guidelines on cost-benefit analysis to generate an increased “social cost of carbon.” In other words, they broke the rules to make carbon emissions look more costly than they really are. Now, Keystone pipeline opponents are using the administration’s flawed analysis to demand further reviews of the pipeline.

Stalling the Keystone Pipeline is incomprehensible when American families are struggling. The project will create thousands of well-paying jobs. It will help reduce our dependence on sources of oil outside of North America. It is an important component of an all-inclusive national energy policy, which needs to be one of our top national priorities.

This is why many find the President’s recent speech troubling, especially in light of his intentions to act unilaterally on this initiative. It is why I joined my Republican colleagues on the Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW) to ask Chairwoman Barbara Boxer to reconsider her decision to exclude Obama Administration witnesses from today’s climate change hearing.

In our request to Chairwoman Boxer we wrote, “The potential of these government actions to exacerbate the serious economic problems that currently persist justifies asking a panel of federal witnesses, charged with implementing the President's agenda, to testify as to the scope, purpose, and consequences of such unilateral action.”

The Administration is clearly lining up against the majority of Americans on the Keystone Pipeline.  My hope is that at future hearings, Chairwoman Boxer will invite Obama Administration officials who can explain to the American people why that is. 

Despite the Obama administration’s one year delay of the implementation of the employer mandate provision in the President’s health care law, small business owners are concerned it will negatively impact their businesses.

A recent survey of small businesses by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce shows how unpopular the law is and what business owners have planned to avoid the increased costs of the mandate. 

Among small businesses that will be impacted by the employer mandate, 50 percent say that they will either cut hours to reduce full time employees or replace full time employees with part-time workers to avoid the mandate. 24 percent say they will reduce hiring to stay under 50 employees. 

Unfortunately, this doesn’t come as a surprise. My colleagues and I warned about the consequences on the business community when the bill was being rushed through Congress.

Our job creators deserve a degree of certainty so they can plan for the future of their business. Obamacare burdens small businesses and creates greater uncertainty. We need health care reform that contains costs rather than increasing costs to businesses.

Today I joined several of my GOP colleagues in sending a letter to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan questioning the Department of Education’s involvement in the implementation of the President’s health care law.

During a recent interview with Politico, Secretary Duncan discussed how the department would be helping with the execution of the President’s health care law. You can watch the interview here. The discussion on health care implementation begins at 9 minutes.

In our letter we say that “While we understand that the effects of the President’s health care law will be felt by parents, teachers, and their families, we are unfamiliar with how the Department of Education’s involvement in implementation will further the mission of educating our nation’s students.”

This is one of many agencies outside of the Departments of Health and Human Services and Treasury that, according to recent news reports, intend to promote Obamacare, an effort outside its missions.

We asked the Secretary to answer some questions that the American people deserve answers to about the department’s participation including the authority, scope and cost. You can read the letter and the questions we’re looking for answers to.

We are continuing to work on a bipartisan solution to address the hike in student loan interest rates and I remain optimistic that we can resolve this problem. We cannot continue to kick the can down the road, which is what Majority Leader Harry Reid proposed, and the Senate rejected earlier this week. Americans currently trying to pay off student loans and those who will attend college in the future need a permanent solution. The commonsense proposal that we are working on would approach the issue with a market-based rate for all newly issued federal student loans based on the 10-year Treasury rate. These rates are locked in for the lifetime of the loan, but rates on new loans reset each year. This KUAR story details this bipartisan solution that I am working to get through the Senate.

Here’s a recap of what happened this week in Washington in case you missed it.

  • Middle East “Volatile”:  I traveled with a delegation of senators for high level meetings and classified briefings in Afghanistan, Jordan, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).  The situation across the Middle East remains very volatile. The events in Egypt were unfolding in real time while our delegation was in neighboring countries. I also had the opportunity to visit with Arkansas soldiers stationed in Turkey. Read more about the trip.

  • Delay to President’s Health Care Law:  The Obama administration recently announced its plans to delay implementation of a key component of the president’s health care legislation – the employer mandate. If delaying the law is good for American businesses, it should be good for the rest of the American people, too. That’s why I joined my GOP Senate colleagues in sending a letter to President Obama urging him to permanently delay the implementation of Obamacare for all Americans. Read the letter here. 
  • Student Loans: We are continuing to work on a bipartisan solution to reduce student loan interest rates to an adequate level. We need a long-term, balanced solution that provides certainty and stability for all Americans, and I remain optimistic that we can resolve this problem. Read more about the plan I support.

  • Honoring SPC Robert Pierce: Army Specialist Robert Pierce sacrificed his life for his country while serving in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. We honored his life in a speech on the Senate floor.
  • Answering You Questions: We take the time to respond to people who take the time to reach out to me. I shared my thoughts about some of the questions we’re receiving in our latest column.

A busy week in Washington wraps up with the Senate passing a flawed immigration reform bill, big Supreme Court decisions and the President’s misguided energy tax initiative.

  • The Senate Passes a Flawed Immigration Bill: There is no disputing that we need to address our nation’s porous borders, backlogged immigration system and lax enforcement of hiring practices. Unfortunately, the Senate’s legalize now, enforce later approach is the wrong way to reform our broken system.  I voted against this flawed measure.
     
  • Supreme Court Strikes Down DOMA: As a firm believer that the traditional definition of marriage as a union between one man and one woman is the correct definition, and the most effective framework for raising a family, I am disappointed by today’s Supreme Court ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act. Read my full statement on the ruling.

  • The President Lays Out a Misguided Climate Initiative: President Obama outlined his proposal to address climate change. Unfortunately, his initiative is nothing more than a backdoor attempt to impose cap-and-trade on the American people. President Obama couldn’t get that through Congress, so now he is turning to his regulators. Read my full statement.

  • Asking the Administration for Answers on Blueways: I joined with members of the Arkansas and Missouri Congressional delegations to send a letter to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell asking her to answer a series of questions concerning the Administration’s designation of the White River as a National Blueway. Read the full release and the letter.

  • Health Care’s Rocky Ride: One of the President’s health care law’s lead authors, Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), recently described the implementation of the Affordable Care Act as a “huge train wreck.” In mid-June, a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report criticized bureaucratic delays, missed deadlines, and massive confusion across the federal government, acknowledging that “much remains to be accomplished within a relatively short amount of time.” Read about the problems ahead for the President’s health care law.

  • Repeal the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS): While we certainly want to promote renewable fuels that don’t compete with food, the RFS mandate manipulates the corn marketplace, a commodity that can easily stand on its own, and in turn increases food costs. Read about our efforts to repeal the regulation.

  • Arkansas Gets Disaster Declaration: President Obama declared Arkansas a disaster area, allowing the state to receive financial assistance to recover from severe storms. Read the delegation’s response to the announcement.

  • Promoting Trade to Increase to Jobs at Home: The Increasing American Jobs Through Greater Exports to Africa Act of 2013 that I introduced with Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Chris Coons (D-DE) was approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this week and sent to the full Senate for consideration. Learn how this bill will increase our exports and, in turn, jobs at home.

  • Thank You DC Interns: Ten talented college students wrapped up their internships in my Washington D.C. office this week. I am grateful for their help.

As President Obama heads to Africa to talk trade, I’d like to remind him that we’ve got a bill that will help to promote American business and trade on the continent while creating American jobs.

The Increasing American Jobs Through Greater Exports to Africa Act of 2013 that I introduced with Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Chris Coons (D-DE) was approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday and sent to the full Senate for consideration. The bill aims to improve America’s competiveness throughout the continent by forcing better coordination between U.S. government agencies and departments, establishing comprehensive strategic goals, and marshaling private investments to improve U.S. exports to Africa.

Africa’s expanding middle class provides a large and growing market for American products and the continent’s increasing urbanization calls for investments in rapidly expanding infrastructure projects. Sub-Saharan Africa alone is projected to be home to seven of the ten fastest growing economies over the next five years. But other nations have beaten us to the punch, aggressively investing in the continent to ensure their businesses have first access to markets.

When we talk about job creation, free and fair trade is a vital component to a successful plan. An effective trade strategy with African nations will help us significantly add jobs here at home. The eagerness and willingness to be good trade partners on the part of African nations is there. The desire for American products, along with our ideals, is strong. The only thing missing is a cohesive strategy on our end. That is what we are aiming to create with this legislation.

Repeal the RFS

Jun 24 2013

The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) has run out of gas. 

Created in 2005, and expanded in 2007, the program requires refiners to blend increasing volumes of biofuels—like corn ethanol—into the nation’s fuel.

The use of corn-based ethanol does more harm than good.  Corn-based ethanol reduces access to affordable food and causes large tracts of farm land to be converted to ethanol production.  It makes it more difficult to feed poultry and livestock, and increases the price of other foods.  Although tail-pipe emissions are reduced, the use of corn-based ethanol ultimately increases overall emissions.  Also, increasing ethanol use will cause major damage to small engines.  These engines are common in motorcycles, farm and lawn equipment, and many other common machines.

While we certainly want to promote renewable fuels that don’t compete with food, the RFS mandate manipulates the corn marketplace, a commodity that can easily stand on its own, and in turn increases food costs. This has become particularly apparent after the drought conditions much of the country has faced in recent growing seasons. Not only does it drive up prices of food produced with these grains, but it also raises the prices of feed for poultry and cattle, which is in turn passed on to consumers. 

Agriculture is our state’s top industry. Poultry and cattle—sectors particularly vulnerable to the drought-related spike in grain costs—represent nearly half of Arkansas’s farm marketing receipts. The RFS is makes it harder for our ranchers to operate and more expensive for all of us to put food on the table.

Last year, a number of states, including Arkansas, petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a waiver in light of the shortage of grain created by recent droughts. The EPA denied every single petition.

Since the EPA is unwilling to work with states to address this crisis, it is incumbent on Congress to take action. That is why I have joined with my colleagues to introduce The Renewable Fuel Standard Fuel Repeal Act (S.1195) which would repeal this harmful program in its entirety. As a cosponsor of this bill, I will be working hard with my colleagues to get it through Congress and put pressure on the White House to act. 

It’s time to leave this program on the side of the road.