District Update |October 12, 2016
Click here if you have trouble viewing this email
U.S. Congressman French Hill
Dear Friends,

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and for many Americans, the fight against this deadly disease is personal. With one in eight American women developing breast cancer over the course of their lives, too many of us know someone who has been diagnosed with breast cancer.

In this Congress, we have worked to make health care better for Americans, with the hopes that one day, when one of our friends or family members receives a troubling diagnosis like breast cancer, they can be at ease knowing that this once deadly disease now has a reliable cure.

This is why I am proud to support the 21st Century Cures Act, which we are hopeful reaches the President’s desk before the end of this Congress. This bill provides critical funding in a deficit-reducing manner to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and ensures that great research institutions like Little Rock’s University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Arkansas Children’s Hospital can sustain their search for cures to the diseases that cost our health care system and hardworking Americans billions of dollars and take millions of lives each year. Specifically, H.R. 6 would create the NIH Innovation Fund, which would provide a dedicated and offset funding stream of $2 billion per year for five years for biomedical research.  H.R. 6 also would modernize clinical trials while streamlining and improving the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) review of lifesaving medications. 

I am committed to ensuring that these resources are used to do their most important work, like curing cancer, Alzheimer's, and other daunting diseases that have no known cures. And that is precisely the reason why I gave September's Golden Fleece Award to NIH. The American people expect better from NIH. It is traditionally one of the most effective federal agencies, and it needs to be focused on the most significant medical challenges that we face – not studying the eating habits of drunken college students.

Whether it is through the House Republican Better Way Agenda and our plan to replace Obamacare with a plan that is more patient-centered and cost-effective, our legislation to reform the way we provide mental health care services, or through proper oversight of federal dollars intended to be used to fight deadly diseases, I am working with my colleagues in Congress to make access to life-saving medications and health care for Americans the standard the rest of the world will want to follow.


Sincerely,


Representative French Hill

Photos for the Week


Rep. Hill speaking to volunteers at Saturday's Veterans History Project Workshop.

Rep. Hill hosting a Google Hangout with students from Greenbrier High School.

Rep. Hill with Arkansas Baptist College President Dr. Joseph Jones, following the Legislative Luncheon last week.
 


Golden Fleece Award

This past week, Rep. Hill awarded the National Institutes of Health (NIH) the Golden Fleece Award for its $50,000 study on the unhealthy eating habits of drunken college students.

You can read an excerpt from Rep. Hill's letter to NIH Director Francis  Collins informing him of NIH's award below:

"At a time when NIH has proposed and Congress is supporting substantial spending increases to fund critical research priorities for debilitating and deadly diseases, it is puzzling as to why these types of studies are being funded by the agency.

"While Congress still must work to enact necessary reforms to ensure that inefficient spending at NIH must be prevented, NIH must also be accountable for implementing common-sense policies to address critical priorities at the agency. I am committed to eradicating this type of inefficient and ineffective policy and regulation by our federal agencies, and today’s Golden Fleece highlights the type of frivolous and unnecessary spending that must be eliminated.           

"I know that the work of NIH is vital to making real progress in treating diseases that affect millions of Americans and over my 21 months in Congress, I have heard from numerous groups and organizations about the important research and development of disease treatment at NIH. I urge you to continue this good work and allocate funding to better support these critical, life-saving priorities, and I look forward to continuing to support these efforts of the NIH. Thank you for your consideration of my comments."

Click here to listen to Rep. Hill announce September's recipient on KARN.

AR Baptist College Legislative Luncheon

Last week, Rep. Hill spoke at Arkansas Baptist College's Legislative Luncheon to discuss urban revitalization and development through having a skilled and diverse workforce, addressing the root cause of poverty, and lowering tax and regulatory burden on small businesses. Following the visit, Rep. Hill stated:

"I appreciate their partnership in addressing these key issues and I look forward to working with their leadership to advance my bill, the Shift Back to Society Act, which would help those who have been incarcerated transition back into society and find meaningful employment. The Shift Back to Society Act would establish a pilot program to provide grants to Historically Black Colleges and Universities to implement educational programs for eligible offenders and help them successfully transition back into their communities. Together we can make a positive impact on the lives of all Arkansans."

Washington, DC Office
1229 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-2506
Fax: (202) 225-5903
Conway Office
1105 Deer Street, Suite 12
Conway, AR 72032
Phone: (501) 358-3481
Fax: (501) 358-3494
Little Rock Office
1501 N. University Ave., Suite 150
Little Rock, AR 72207
Phone: (501) 324-5941
Fax: (501) 324-6029
UPDATE SUBSCRIPTION OPTIONS | PRIVACY POLICY | CONTACT US