Dr. Boozman's Check-up
Welcome Home 188th Fighter Wing Members
Oct 15 2012
On Friday we celebrated the homecoming of airmen and women from the 188th Fighter Wing who returned home after a three month long deployment to Afghanistan. It was great to show my appreciation and gratitude for their hard work and sacrifice and see families being reunited. We are extremely proud of the work all of our members of our Armed Forces and grateful for their patriotism and effort to promote American ideals worldwide. NWA Media captured images of this heartwarming homecoming in this video.
The Conway Area Chamber of Commerce gave me a tour of three of Faulkner County's biggest employers yesterday and KTHV was on-hand to see how the area is aggressively going after new markets and more job opportunities. Conway rightfully has been in the spotlight lately because area employers are adding more workers than many other communities are across the country. However they agree that if the wet blanket of regulations, tax increases and Washington gridlock were lifted, they could be adding even more. You can read the KTHV report and watch the video here.
Catching Up With KTHV
Oct 03 2012
Yesterday, I stopped by the KTHV studio in Little Rock to visit with anchor Matt Turner. We had a broad discussion on veterans’ issues, the farm bill, debris in the Little Maumelle River and the struggles the Razorbacks have faced in the early weeks of football season.
Among the highlights:
On the misinformation about his role in authoring the Veterans Jobs Corps Bill: “Half-truths are whole lies. I had a bill I had helped write with Senator [Mark] Begich of Alaska, a Democrat friend who is also on the Veterans’ Affairs Committee. We introduced it. They [The Senate Democratic leadership] took part of our bill, changed the wording, stuck it into bill and then said we had co-authored that [new] bill when the reality was neither he nor I had ever seen the [new] bill until it was actually introduced.”
On the need to put our veterans back to work: “We can’t do enough for our veterans. Veterans unemployment is very, very high now… …we are committed to bringing it down. I think that we will eventually get this bill [the Veterans Jobs Corps Bill] passed… …and we have actually passed two other bills in this area in this Congress.”
On the farm bill reauthorization: “We’ve got to get this right. It’s about regional agriculture. It’s not about Democrats and Republicans… …in southern agriculture we irrigate a lot. We are concerned about getting safety nets in that protect that. Some of the other states… …they don’t irrigate as much. They are concerned about another form of crop insurance… …with planning you have to be able to go to the bank and the bank has to know what the rules are going to be in the future or you are not going to get a loan, so it is a huge deal, something we’ve got to get settled.”
Watch the interview in its entirety here
In January, President Obama made an unprecedented decision to install Richard Cordray as the director of the new Consumer Financial Protection Board and three members to the National Labor Relations Board without Senate confirmation.
At the time, the Senate was in regular proceedings called pro forma sessions. However, the President claimed the Senate was in recess. By altering the definition of recess, the President violated hundreds of years of Senate precedent. Appointing these federal officers without Senate approval violates the Constitution. To fight this executive overreach, I joined my colleagues in filing a court brief challenging these recess appointments. Our friend-of-the-court brief argues that the President’s appointments are unconstitutional overreach of presidential power.
Our Founding Fathers established a system of checks-and-balances to preserve our democracy. The President systematically overturned this balance with his recent power grab. When I took the oath of office to represent the State of Arkansas, I also swore that I would protect the Constitution. Joining my fellow Senators in challenging the President’s actions is part of my continued commitment to uphold the Constitution.
Earlier this week, I joined Mark Smith on Morning Edition on KASU 91.9 to discuss the
situation in the Middle East, the economy, the farm bill, drought relief and
veterans’ legislation.
At about the 9:40 mark, we begin a lengthy discussion on the misleading reports surrounding the Senate debate over the Veterans Jobs Corps Act of 2012.
Listen to the interview in its entirety via KASU’s website.
Fiscal Cliff Already Hurting Recovery
Sep 26 2012
This story today from CNN Money should not come as a surprise. A survey shows that the CEOs of major U.S. companies expect to hire fewer people and invest less in the next six months. Why? It’s because Washington has failed to address what is known as “the fiscal cliff,” the combination of automatic spending cuts from sequestration and the expiring lower tax rates that will hit together on December 31st. It is another huge wet blanket on an already struggling economy. And it didn’t have to be this way.
The Increasing American Jobs Through Greater Exports to Africa Act of 2012, a bill I am sponsoring with Senators Christopher Coons (D-DE) and Richard Durbin (D-IL), was approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this week. This bill seeks to increase 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.-Africa business activities. This bill is a win-win for us at home and abroad. By increasing trade with African nations, we can create more jobs here at home. Hopefully we can get this bill passed in the inevitable lame duck session of Congress.
Calling on the Majority to Change the Course
Sep 20 2012
Conversations with Arkansas Business.com
Sep 17 2012
I recently sat down with Arkansas Business to discuss the issues we are dealing with in Washington and the videos of the interview on their website. In the first segment, we discuss what ideas the Republicans would base our health care reform on once it we repeal the President’s law. In the second segment, the discussion moves to how disastrous the fiscal cliff is to our national security.
Stolen Valor
Sep 14 2012
The House of Representatives passed the continuing resolution yesterday. This is an important step to avoiding a government shutdown which would harm Arkansans and all Americans who count on services provided by government. The continuing resolution will allow us to carry on with our work without the interruption of vital services for Arkansans. I predict it will sail through this chamber as well.
The continuing resolution was not the only key action taken by the House yesterday that can easily be replicated by the Senate. House members also passed a bill that would make it a crime to profit from false claims about military service.
Back in June, the Supreme Court struck down a 2006 law that made it a crime to lie about receiving the Medal of Honor and other prized military awards. While the Court called the false claims "contemptible," the Justices said that it was nonetheless protected speech under the First Amendment.
The bill passed by the House yesterday should stand the Constitutional test because it narrows the scope by focusing on the profiting of these false claims.
There is clearly overwhelming support in both chambers for this effort to protect our decorated veterans. I am one of 33 Senators who are cosponsoring a companion bill here in the Senate. While the President has not publically endorsed the bill, his administration argued in favor of the broader law before the Supreme Court. Should we pass the bill, I believe President Obama would sign this commonsense solution to the problem.
Our veterans sacrificed dearly to earn their decorations. We need to protect the integrity of their service by preventing others from falsely profiting off these honors by fraudulently claiming they too received them.
