Dr. Boozman's Check-up
Working For Our Veterans
Jul 24 2013
As the son of a father who did more than 20 years in the Air Force I understand the sacrifices that troops make to serve our country. As a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee I work to provide our veterans with the benefits they earned. Today the committee approved legislation that we authored as part of a larger package to improve veterans’ benefits.
Provisions or versions of the following bills, of which I introduced were included in S. 944, the omnibus legislation passed by the committee today.
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S. 257, GI Bill Tuition Fairness Act of 2013: This legislation would require schools that accept GI Bill benefits to offer in state tuition to all veterans. The committee passed version was limited to those veterans who reside in the state of the institution and have separated from military service in the previous 3 years.
- S. 695, Veterans Paralympic Act of 2013: This legislation reauthorizes the VA adaptive sports program to provide disabled veterans with opportunities for recreational therapy through sport. The committee passed version would make administrative change to the program and extend the authorization through 2015.
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S. 889, Servicemembers’ Choice in Transition Act of 2013: This legislation would provide veterans with additional tools to ensure the successful utilization of VA benefits. The committee passed language included the provision to require that transitioning servicemembers receive information regarding disability-related employments and education protections.
I am also an original sponsor of S. 495, Careers for Veterans Act and S. 629, Honor America’s Guard-Reserve Retirees Act of 2013 introduced by Arkansas’ senior Senator Mark Pryor (D-AR) would give Guard and Reserve retirees with 20 years of service the honor of being called a veteran.
I also cosponsored the following stand-alone bills that were passed during the mark-up:
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S. 893, Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2013: This legislation would provide veterans receiving compensation with a cost-of-living adjustment for 2014.
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S. 572, Veterans Second Amendment Protection Act: This legislation would protect the Second Amendment rights of veterans who utilize a fiduciary to help manage their finances.
- S. 287: This legislation would amend the definition of homeless veteran to include women who are fleeing a domestic violence situation or abusive relationship.
On the Radio
Jul 23 2013
We visited with Jonesboro’s KASU this morning and discussed some of the topics under discussion in Washington including the Farm Bill, delays in the health care law, student loans and the economy. In case you missed the interview you can listen to it here.
Week in Review: July 15-19
Jul 19 2013
In case you missed it here’s a recap of what happened this week in Washington
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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.
- Role of the Education Department: In a recent interview, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan discussed how the department would be helping with the execution of the President’s health care law. I joined several of my GOP colleagues in sending a letter to the secretary questioning the department’s involvement in the implementation of the law.
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Russellville Airport Receives Grant: The airport will receive a $156,622 grant. The money will be used to seal coat and remark the airport runway.
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.
Small Business Obstacle
Jul 17 2013
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.
Let's Make a Permanent Fix to Student Loan Rates
Jul 12 2013
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.
Week in Review: July 8-12
Jul 12 2013
Here’s a recap of what happened this week in Washington in case you missed it.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Week in Review: June 24-28
Jun 28 2013
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.