Pryor And Cotton Discuss Budget Challenges With Higher Ed Officials

John Lyon with our content partner, the Arkansas News Bureau, leads with this:

U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor said Friday he hopes another standoff and government shutdown can be avoided in the next round of budget talks, but his likely GOP challenger, U.S. Rep. Tom Cotton, did not rule out future attempts to link a budget deal to a rollback of the law known as Obamacare.

Cotton and Pryor were among several Arkansas elected officials who addressed an Arkansas Independent Colleges and Universities forum on Friday (Nov. 1).

Both men discussed student loans, health care and the recent federal shutdown in Washington. Cotton contended he didn’t want the shutdown despite voting for the failed strategy to link a budget deal to defunding Obamacare.

Cotton told reporters, “I didn’t want the first shutdown. I voted for every (House) spending bill leading into the shutdown, during the shutdown and to conclude the shutdown.”

But Cotton also said, “I think it’s important that we both address our record high deficits and try to give the American people some relief from Obamacare.”

In his talk to the independent college and university leaders, Pryor said he knows of only one way to end the problems in Washington that led to the shutdown.

“The one thing that’ll fix the problems we have in Washington is the teachings of Jesus,” he said. “If we would take to heart, and mean it, the Golden Rule — do unto others as you would have them do unto you — that would be revolutionary.”

Read the full report at this link.