Congressional Digest: 2017 Budget gets once over, with agriculture part of agenda

President Barack Obama’s 2017 budget received a proverbial cold shoulder this week from the state’s congressional delegation, while discussions continued over agriculture and the overall federal budget.

The following is a breakdown of the week that was in the nation’s Capital:

OPPOSITION TO OBAMA’S BUDGET
The last federal budget from President Barack Obama was sent to Congress this week, with Arkansas lawmakers saying the $1.4 trillion budget was not realistic. In his message to Congress, Obama said the budget would meet future goals.

“Yet while it is important to take stock of our progress, this Budget is not about looking back at the road we have traveled. It is about looking forward. It is about making sure our economy works for everybody, not just those at the top. It is about choosing investments that not only make us stronger today, but also reflect the kind of country we aspire to be—the kind of country we want to pass on to our children and grandchildren. It is about answering the big questions that will define America and the world in the 21st Century,” Obama said in the letter to Congress.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/02/09/budget-message-president

The state’s Congressional delegation said in statements that the budget is more of the same.

“This $4 trillion wish list is completely unrealistic given our nation’s unsustainable fiscal path. Sadly, this is not surprising due to President Obama’s repeated budgets that add more debt, raise taxes and increase the deficit,” said U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark. “Washington has a spending problem. It’s unfortunate that the President is unwilling to work with Congress to reverse this pattern. His irresponsible, but thankfully final, budget threatens our long-term economic growth and forces hardworking Americans to pay for his priorities with job-killing tax increases.”

U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said the budget is not good for the military.

“It’s clear that seven years as Commander-in-Chief have taught President Obama little about what it takes to actually keep America safe and defend our place in the world. The budget he proposed today is ignorant and hypocritical. After spending months talking tough about taking on our enemies around the world, he wants to spend $10.3 billion less to sustain a military that is undergoing a manning, readiness, and modernization crisis. Once again his rhetoric doesn’t match reality,” Cotton said.

RICE SUPPORT
U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., and U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Jonesboro, this past week asked the United States government to add rice to help people overseas who are in need.

In the letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the United States Agency for International Development, Boozman, Crawford and each of the state’s congressional delegation asked for the change.

“With a strong crop of rice this past year resulting in significant stocks, we see a clear opportunity to provide greater assistance in an even more economical fashion to help those in need as a result of the refugee crisis,” the letter noted.

Boozman and Crawford have said the addition would help Arkansas farmers. Crawford discussed the issue at a recent Arkansas Rice Council meeting in Jonesboro.

COTTON INTRODUCES JUSTICE BILL
U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., submitted a bill that would require the federal government to report on the recidivism rates of federal inmates released early from prison under federal reductions in sentencing.

The Criminal Consequences of Early Release Act would look at the “downward revisions to sentencing guidelines issued by the Sentencing Commission and any future reductions in mandatory minimum sentences passed by Congress,” Cotton said.

“Currently we have very little access to this critical data,” said Senator Cotton. “But the early release of federal prisoners directly impacts the safety and security of the American people. Arkansans and all Americans deserve to know the level of crime they’ll be bearing as a result of sentence reductions currently implemented and any future sentence reductions passed by Congress.”

OTHER BILLS
H.R. 757: North Korea Sanctions Enforcement Act of 2016
Republicans: 232-2
Democrats: 176-0
Not Voting: 23

The bill was approved under a suspension of the rules.