Dear Friends,
This past year has been an exciting one for our country, and I am honored to have spent it serving and representing so many wonderful Arkansans in the U.S. House of Representatives. While I am looking forward to continuing my service to our great state and the Second Congressional District, I am also proud of the important work that we have accomplished in Congress to address the needs of Arkansans and hardworking Americans throughout the country.
As we end the year and the 114th Congress, I want to provide you with some of the most memorable highlights and accomplishments from my past two years of service to Arkansas’s Second Congressional District:
Serving the people of central Arkansas:
My most important job in Congress is serving the great people of Arkansas’s Second Congressional District, and I continue to place a priority on providing services to my constituents.
Since coming to Congress, I have sent over 38,000 responses to constituent phone calls, emails, and letters about the important issues facing Arkansas, Congress, and our great Nation. My office has been responsible for helping over 1,500 Arkansans seeking assistance with a federal agency, including the recovery of essential benefits for 363 veterans. My office has provided nearly 300 tours of the Capitol to visiting Arkansans in Washington, D.C., dozens of White House visits have been organized by my office for Arkansans, and almost 100 flags have been flown over the Capitol to mark special occasions for Arkansans. I am always pleased to meet and greet our visiting Arkansans and work to make their visit to our Nation’s Capital memorable and enjoyable.
I also had the pleasure of conducting numerous visits around Arkansas, including to nonprofit organizations, elementary and high schools, universities and colleges, and small businesses where I have heard directly from Arkansans about how we can work in Washington to make America and Arkansas better and stronger.
This year, I had the honor of hosting two Veterans History Project (VHP) workshops, where we trained volunteers to interview and submit veterans’ personal stories and records of service to the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Through the VHP, we are able to honor our service members by preserving their unique stories for future generations.
Finally, I sent dozens of support letters for mayors, fire chiefs and select non-profits in Arkansas eligible for federal grant programs and hosted a firefighter grant-writing workshop on how to navigate the application process for FEMA grants. Supporting grant requests is one way I am supporting our local economy and important projects in the state.
Introducing Legislation to Move Arkansas and America Forward:
I have introduced 12 pieces of legislation, three of my bills have been passed by the House, and one was signed into law to designate the Perryville Post office for Harold George Bennett, the first prisoner of war killed in action during the Vietnam War.
Two others passed the House and originated from my work on the Financial Services Committee. H.R. 5019, the Fair Access to Investment Research Act, passed the House with an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 411-6.
H.R. 3192, the Homebuyers Assistance Act passed during the first session of the 114th Congress, again with a bipartisan vote of 303-121.
I was proud to join Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) to introduce the SSDI Return to Work Act. As we discuss in our op-ed, this bill would modernize the Social Security Administration’s classification of disability beneficiaries and incentivize returning to work for beneficiaries who have recovered from injury or disability.
I also introduced H.R. 5644, the Shift Back to Society Act, to help our communities and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in Arkansas. This bill would establish a pilot program at the Department of Justice to provide grants to HBCUs to implement educational programs for eligible offenders and help them successfully transition back into their communities.
I introduced H.R. 4086, the Security Verification for Refugees Act, a bill that would expand the vetting process for refugees from Syria and Iraq as well as anyone seeking asylum in America from a country that is designated as a high-risk threat to the United States by the U.S. Department of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Director of National Intelligence (DNI).
This year, we also recognized the 70th Anniversary of the Fulbright Program, established by former Arkansas Senator J. William Fulbright. To celebrate this milestone, I joined Senator John Boozman in introducing resolutions to recognize the flagship international exchange program that fosters mutual understanding between the people of the U.S. and other countries.
In total, during the 114th Congress, the House and Senate have worked in a bipartisan manner to enact over 200 new bills into law, and I am hopeful that next Congress we can work to enact more policies that will benefit all Americans.
Maintaining a Strong National Defense and Supporting our Military:
After months of the working with our Arkansas National Guard and the Arkansas Congressional Delegation, I was pleased the Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James announced that the Sensitive Compartmentalized Information Facility (SCIF) would be manned and maintained after the 123rd Intelligence Squadron was reassigned to the 188th Wing at Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Fort Smith, Arkansas.
Last year, I was honored to join Senators Boozman and Cotton in announcing the award of the Purple Heart to the victims of the terror attack at the Little Rock Army recruiting center in 2009. Private William Long was killed and Private Quinton Ezeagwula was wounded when a terrorist targeted and opened fire on the recruiting station on June 1, 2009.
For the 55th straight year, Republicans and Democrats came together to pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), authorizing funding for our military to complete their strategic missions around the globe. This year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) provided a critical and much-deserved 2.1 percent pay raise for our men and women in uniform, the biggest pay raise in years, and simplified TRICARE options to better fit the health care needs of our military. The NDAA also authorized the modernization of our C-130 Hercules fleet, which is the backbone of our Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard airlifters at Little Rock Air Force Base (LRAFB).
I served as an active member of the Financial Services Committee's Task Force to Investigate Terrorism Financing (Task Force). During 2015, the Task Force discussed a wide range of topics including, a survey of terrorism and terrorist financing, crime, the security of the U.S. financial sector, and the Iran Nuclear Agreement. In 2016, the Task Force conducted six hearings on several topics, including trade based money laundering, helping under developed countries fight terror finance, countering the illicit antiquities trade, government coordination in stopping terror finance, examining terror finance in South America, and looking at new ways terrorists are financing their activities.
Holding VA Accountable:
Since last year, I have worked with Senator Boozman to investigate the solar panel construction issue at the Little Rock VA Medical Center. On August 3, 2016, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released its report on the VA Green Management Program Solar Panel Projects. The VA OIG concluded that the VA medical facility did not effectively plan the installation of a solar panel system and is not expected to be fully completed by January 2017, over 4 years beyond its original completion date, with unexpected costs of approximately $1.5 million. Now it is critical that the VA adhere to the IG's recommendations in the report to ensure the same problems do not persist.
The House has passed numerous bills to provide the VA Secretary with sweeping new authority to fire corrupt or incompetent employees for cause, recoup bonuses, and hold employees accountable for their actions. We have also worked to enact into law important policies that reform construction project management at the VA and funding that will help to address the backlog of disability claims for our Nation’s heroes.
My office has helped hundreds of veterans recover essential benefits and receive recognition for their service over the past two years. Mistakes and carelessness at the VA can result in the upending of the lives of some of our Nation’s veterans. My office is focused on righting these wrongs and providing our veterans with the care, benefits, and recognition for their service that they have earned and deserve. This includes the recovery of a veteran’s pension that was being unjustly garnished due to a clerical error, and ensuring a veteran received the medals he had earned 40 years ago in Vietnam.
Ensuring Opportunity for All Americans through A Better Way:
Over the past four decades, the growth of upward mobility in America has stagnated despite the numerous programs and trillions of dollars spent on efforts to reduce poverty. In the wake of a stalemated “War on Poverty,” House Republicans have put forward a substantial plan to address the needs of the impoverished and reform our tax code in America through A Better Way.
I also established the Community Empowerment Initiative (CEI) in June 2015 to recognize the importance of community engagement in the revitalization of Arkansas's most embattled neighborhoods. Through the CEI, I have initiated a conversation among individuals and organizations that are already making a difference in neighborhoods and communities in Central Arkansas.
Eliminating Waste and Reviewing Government Regulations:
I have continued the Golden Fleece Award through 2016, to uncover and bring public attention to the wasteful spending of our federal government. Over this past year, the Golden Fleece Award has highlighted some of the most egregious examples of government waste and shed new light on some of the rampant, unnecessary spending by the federal government.
In November 2016, I wrote a letter to President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect Pence asking them to create a Task Force on Regulatory Relief to address the overly burdensome regulations from federal agencies that are hurting economic and job growth. Since President Obama took office in 2009, federal agencies have issued approximately 600 major regulations costing taxpayers over $100 million each. President Ronald Reagan established the Task Force on Regulatory Relief, with his Vice President George H.W. Bush at the helm, and I am hopeful that the Trump Administration will implement a similar task force and work with Congress to address regulatory reform in our federal agencies.
Supporting Lifesaving Opportunities through the 21st Century Cures Act:
This year, the House and Senate worked to address the growing needs in our medical research, mental health, and substance abuse communities through passage of H.R. 34, the 21st Century Cures Act. This bill provides critical funding in a deficit-reducing manner to support research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
This bill also is an important step in reforming our outdated mental health system by refocusing and retooling mental health programs, clarifying privacy laws to ensure health care professionals can communicate with caregivers, and addressing the shortages in our mental health workforce and treatment facilities to ensure patients have access to the services they need.
Finally, the bill contains important funding to combat the ongoing opioid and heroine crisis in the United States that causes the death of tens of thousands of Americans each year. This bill will help avert these tragedies and provide effective treatment to those with addiction.
Repealing and Replacing Obamacare:
At the beginning of this year, Congress used the procedure known as budget reconciliation to pass H.R. 3762, the Restoring Americans’ Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act. H.R. 3762 was the first bill successfully passed by both the House and the Senate that would dismantle Obamacare, providing Congress with a clean slate to develop a framework for a healthcare system that works in Americans’ best interests while achieving billions in savings to reduce the debt and deficit.
In the new Congress, we will now have the opportunity to repeal Obamacare and replace this failed law with real, patient-centered, free-market solutions to ensure health care for all Americans. I understand that some Americans are concerned with losing their health care if Obamacare is repealed, and with the right kind of reforms, we can increase coverage and access in a cost-effective manner, while ensuring patients with pre-existing conditions and young adults on their parents’ insurance have access to affordable health care.
Ensuring an Effective Education for Students in Arkansas:
The House and Senate worked to pass the Every Student Succeeds Act, which was signed into law at the end of 2015, reauthorizing and reforming the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), also known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB). This bill returns power to the states and restores local control of our Nation’s schools.
This year, the House also made important strides in addressing the needs of our career and technical education (CTE) programs. On September 13, 2016, the House passed H.R. 5587, the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act, which would reauthorize and reform the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins Act) for the first time in more than 10 years, to empower our state and local leaders, modernize our CTE programs for today’s jobs, and ensure that students in Arkansas and throughout the country obtain the skills needed to find long-term, meaningful employment.
Supporting our Nation’s Transportation Infrastructure:
Earlier this Congress, we passed a five-year transportation authorization bill into law that, for the first time since the George W. Bush Administration, provided us with the flexibility to fund and finish our most crucial infrastructure projects without additional tax burdens on hardworking Americans. This legislation facilitates a plan to execute the road and bridge projects long-needed for our state, and infrastructure work offers steady employment and enhances the economic profile of Arkansas.
Stop-gap, temporary highway bills are never a good solution, which is why I was pleased to see a five year highway bill signed into law. The American people deserve certainty from their elected officials that we can provide long-term authorization for planning our crucial infrastructure needs. Up-to-date roads, highways, and bridges are needed for economic development.
Looking Forward to the 115th Congress:
Over the past two years, I am grateful for all the memorable visits I had around the District and the important work we have done in Congress to support the American people.
Our work is never done, though, and it is essential that Congress lead on behalf of the American people and advance policies that grow our economy, support our national security, and effectively manage and solve the problems facing our great Nation.
It is an honor to continue to serve the citizens of central Arkansas and our country. I will be humbled to raise my hand on January 3rd and again affirm my allegiance to our Nation and our beloved Constitution. I wish you and all Arkansans and Americans a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, wonderful holiday season, and a joyous New Year.
Sincerely,
Representative French Hill |
