Dr. Boozman's Check-up
Good News for Postal Service Customers
Apr 11 2013
The U.S. Postal Service backed away from its plans to eliminate Saturday mail delivery. This is good news for rural Arkansans, senior citizens and businesses who rely on the postal service to deliver the goods they need to succeed.
Legislation approved in March included a mandate to continue six-day delivery, something that Congress has annually approved since the 1980s. The USPS Board of Governors announced Wednesday it was left with no choice but to follow the rule.
We must continue to help find a workable solution that helps the postal service continue its business while balancing its books. Last year the postal service lost nearly $16 billion. This is not an efficient way to run a business, but Congress has taken steps to help address these issues.
In an effort to provide flexibility to the postal service, last year the Senate approved the 21st Century Postal Act. This bill also provided some safeguards for consumers. For instance, we prevented USPS from establishing a general, nationwide delivery schedule of five or fewer days for at least 24 months after the enactment of the legislation and requirement the postal service to ensure that any change it its delivery schedule will not result in more than two consecutive days without mail delivery.
This legislation wasn’t approved by the House of Representatives. The postal service, forced to find ways to cut costs, chose to do so at the expense of customers by ending Saturday delivery. However, the Government Accountability Office recently indicated that USPS does not have the authority to end six-day delivery without Congressional approval. The postal service, understanding that approval for that misguided idea wouldn’t be coming any time soon, has now backed off its threat to end Saturday delivery.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has indicated that he intends to begin debate on the Majority’s gun control bill this week.
What we will be debating remains to be seen, but Majority Leader Reid has repeatedly suggested it will contain provisions that will erode the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans by creating a national registry of gun owners and limiting the type of firearms and ammunition that they can purchase.
As a result of these and other outstanding questions surrounding the bill, Senators Rand Paul (R-KY), Mike Lee (R-UT) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) spearheaded an effort to oppose a motion to proceed to any legislation that will serve as a vehicle for any additional gun restrictions.
I am committed to protecting the Second Amendment rights of every law-abiding American. I share my colleagues concerns and will support their efforts to stop gun control measures by opposing the motion to proceed and cloture when it is filed.
On the Radio
Apr 09 2013
We talked with Mark Smith on Jonesboro’s KASU about a variety of topics facing our country including threats to our Second Amendment rights and the upcoming debate on gun control in the Senate. If you missed our interview you can listen to it here.
Update on the UN Arms Trade Treaty
Apr 04 2013
Earlier this week, the United Nations agreed to the Arms Trade Treaty. Disappointingly, but not surprisingly, the Obama Administration voted in support of the misguided treaty.
Fortunately, in order for any treaty to take effect, it must be ratified by two-thirds of the U.S. Senate. Based on previous statements and the fact that 53 Senators went on record a few weeks ago supporting an amendment to stop the State Department from negotiating this treaty, I do not believe the votes are there for ratification.
The administration is well aware of where the Senate stands on the issue. Last year, I joined 57 other Senators in sending a letter to President Obama and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reminding them that the Senate has final say on treaties, and stated our unequivocal opposition to any treaty that would affect civilian ownership of firearms, challenge the authority of Congress to regulate firearms within the United States, or call for an international gun registry.
Now that the Obama Administration helped pass the treaty, it is important to reiterate that we will fight ratification. It is the reason why I support a concurrent resolution that was introduced in the Senate stating the treaty should not be ratified. This treaty puts us on the same level as global bad actors, those countries that abuse human rights and arm terrorists, and a backdoor way to chip away at every law abiding citizen’s right to keep and bear arms. The Obama Administration should have recognized that to begin with, but clearly protecting the Second Amendment rights of every law abiding American is not on its priority list. It remains on mine. I will work to ensure that this treaty never gets ratified.
An uprising in the Central African Republic (CAR) has put a wrinkle in the search for elusive war criminal Joseph Kony. The rebels who seized power in the CAR last month have not been recognized by the African Union (AU) and have exhibited hostility toward foreign troops, so Uganda, the AU and the U.S. special forces helping with intelligence and logistical support have halted their search for Kony.
Kony and his rebel group the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) have caused untold pain to children and families in Central Africa over the past 25 years. It is currently believed that the weakened group is hiding in jungles straddling the borders of CAR, South Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo.
The LRA is responsible for a litany of human rights violations including abduction, rape, torture and murder all committed under direct orders from Kony, a demented messianic guerilla leader who uses abducted child soldiers to carry out his heinous crimes.
In light of the news that Ugandan and AU troops have suspended their search, human intelligence becomes all the more important in the effort to capture Kony. This is why I am pleased to see the State Department announce a bounty for Kony and two of his top lieutenants. The bounty on Kony increases the chances locals would be willing to provide information that will help lead to his arrest.
The ability to offer a bounty didn’t exist until then-Senator, now Secretary of State John Kerry and a bipartisan group of our Senate colleagues passed a measure to expand the State Department’s Rewards for Justice program making it applicable to anyone who offers information that leads to the arrest or conviction of Joseph Kony. I was the lead Republican sponsor of this effort.
Prior to our successful effort to expand the program, it only applied to information leading to the arrest and conviction of criminals wanted for terrorism, narcotics trafficking and anyone indicted in the three international criminal tribunals—Sierra Leone, the former Yugoslavia, and Rwanda. Our expansion of the program will provide incentives for offering information for individuals wanted for war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide; giving us one more instrument to help track this elusive war criminal down.
The key to capturing Kony is not superior firepower. Nor is it more troops. What we have seen time and time again in these manhunts is human intelligence wins out. Somewhere, someone knows his whereabouts and will come forward with information that will lead to his capture. Today’s announcement should help and I welcome it.
Week in Review: March 25-29
Mar 29 2013
Here’s a recap of some of this week’s posts in case you missed them.
- Senate Passes Two Boozman Amendments: While the Senate Majority’s budget was deeply flawed, I did get my colleagues to agree to two of my amendments to the resolution. The first on would ease regulatory burdens imposed on community banks caused by the Dodd-Frank bill. The second one aims to protect private property rights. Read about them both here.
- Advice & Consent: Senator Boozman recently met with President Obama’s nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Gina McCarthy. Hear what I have to say about the role of the Senate in confirming presidential nominees in the latest edition of “From the Mailbag.”
- Upcoming Opportunity to Improve Arkansas’s Waterways: In the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, we are working on a new “Water Resources Development Act.” This bipartisan legislation would improve our nation’s water resources policy to expand opportunity, promote commerce, and reduce flood risks. I am working to includes reforms that speed up project delivery and provide new ways to finance water projects. My goal is to protect taxpayers and improve our water resources. Read how here.
- Talking Budget & Sequestration with KASU: For the first time in four years the Senate debated a budget resolution. I talked about the importance of this basic responsibility of governing as well as ways Washington is working to cut the budget and give flexibility to our federal agencies so they can eliminate the waste and abuse with KASU morning show host Mark Smith. You can listen to the interview here.
From the Mailbag: Advice and Consent
Mar 27 2013
Senator Boozman recently met with President Obama’s nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Gina McCarthy. Boozman talks about the role of the senate in confirming presidential nominees in the latest edition of “From the Mailbag.”
In Case You Missed It: KASU Radio Interview
Mar 25 2013
For the first time in four years the Senate debated a budget resolution. We talked about the importance of this basic responsibility of governing as well as ways Washington is working to cut the budget and give flexibility to our federal agencies so they can eliminate the waste and abuse. You can listen to the interview here.
From the Mailbag: Sequestration
Mar 22 2013
Senator Boozman supports spending cuts but wants to have targeted cuts instead of the across-the-board cuts imposed by sequestration. In this edition of "From the Mailbag" he discusses efforts in the recently passed continuing resolution to provide flexibility to federal agencies to minimize the impact of the cuts.
President Obama's Israel Visit
Mar 20 2013
President Obama arrived in Israel today for his first official visit as commander in chief. Before he left, 77 of my colleagues and I sent the President a letter urging him to (1) reaffirm his commitment to working closely with the new government of Israel (2) support unconditional direct negotiations between both the Israelis and Palestinians (3) oppose Palestinian efforts to circumvent direct negotiations or efforts to isolate or delegitimize Israel (4) reiterate the United States’ support for a negotiated two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and (5) identify policy solutions to address the other urgent and important threats facing Israel and the United States today.
The overwhelming support in the Senate for this letter demonstrates that the unshakeable bond with our strongest ally in the volatile Middle East isn’t a partisan issue. Thankfully, in Congress there is unity on this issue.
The letter references a Senate-passed resolution—that 89 of my colleagues and I cosponsored—reaffirming our commitment to a negotiated two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We agree that a clear pathway for peace is through unconditional direct negotiations between both the Israelis and Palestinians. Efforts by the Palestinians to circumvent direct negotiations must continue to be opposed.
These Palestinian efforts are often coupled with campaigns to isolate or delegitimize Israel. In our letter, we thanked President Obama for actively standing by Israel at the UN to try to block such efforts during his first term and called on him to make clear that our relationship with Palestinians will be jeopardized if they seek action against Israel at the International Criminal Court. These attempts to delegitimize Israel are counterproductive to the peace process.
As the shifting landscape of the Middle East continues to rapidly change, it is more important than ever for President Obama to seize this moment to reaffirm our strong support for Israel and revitalize the stalled peace process.
Read the letter by following the link below.