Congressional Digest: Hot topics were Veterans Day, Disability Insurance Reform

Arkansas’ four U.S. House members traveled the state and abroad this week during a district work period, while the state’s two U.S. Senators honored veterans for their sacrifice.

Also, U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., called for reforms to the nation’s Social Security Disability Insurance program.

The following is a breakdown of the week that was in the nation’s capital.

COTTON: SSDI FACES ‘LACK OF PROGRAM INTEGRITY’
In a speech Monday before the Heritage Foundation, Cotton spoke about the Social Security Disability Insurance program and the financial impact the program has created in recent years.

“Arkansas, along with the other states in what’s been called Greater Appalachia, has counties where close to 20% of the population is on disability. That is an astonishing figure — one in five residents are on disability in these places. That also means disability is the largest source of income in those counties.”

“On the other hand, other counties in Arkansas, particularly the fastest growing ones, have rates of Disability well below the national average,” Cotton said. “The evidence is pretty clear: there’s an inverse relationship between the rate of Disability usage and population growth—which most economists would agree is a good proxy for economic vitality.”

Cotton said he will introduce a bill that will distinguish between those who are permanently and temporarily disabled, allow beneficiaries to earn an income through a benefit offset, and set time lines for those in the program to exit and return to the workforce.

U.S. REP. HILL VISITS AFGHANISTAN
U.S. Rep. French Hill, R-Little Rock, took a congressional trip to the Middle East to learn more about the battle against terrorism and foreign policy in a key nation in the region.

Hill went to Kabul and Abu Dhabi with a bipartisan group to meet with American diplomats, military commanders and Afghan officials, his office said this week.

“This trip was well-timed considering President Obama’s recent announcement to maintain U.S. troop strength in Afghanistan at 9,800 through the end of 2016. The President made a sensible strategic decision in maintaining U.S. and NATO strength to train, advise, and assist the mission of charting a path for a secure and economically independent Afghanistan,” Hill said.

“I left impressed with Afghan leadership and their willingness to fight and assume responsibility for their security, particularly in light of heavy offensive operations by a more lethal Taliban and new engagement from Al-Qaeda and ISIL. The Afghan Unity Government is a refreshing change from the Karzai decade, but, there is still much work to be done in terms of Afghan security, economic development, and relations with its neighbors. The Unity Government has witnessed victory and defeat, and emphasis now must be on unity and getting the job done. This government has an opportunity to move beyond three decades of conflict and finally provide its people a future with the freedom to pursue happiness.”

VETERANS HONORED
The state’s two U.S. Senators recently honored the sacrifice of veterans in Arkansas. As part of an online program, U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., thanked World War II veteran Arlis Owens of North Little Rock. Owens spent two years in Europe, battling the Nazis during the D-Day invasion and the Battle of the Bulge.

Owens was a 19-year-old drafted into the Army, where he drove a truck and set up guns as part of Battery A of the 250th Field Artillery Battalion. Owens said he could not talk or communicate with his family when he was in Europe.

“Why write?” Owens said. “The military had a building that all the mail went to and they had employees that went through all the mail and they would cut out anything that said might detect where you were and what you were doing.”

The entire interview with Owens will be given to the Veterans History Project, an initiative of the Library of Congress’s American Folklife Center to collect and retain the oral histories of our nation’s veterans, Boozman said.

On Saturday (Nov. 14), Sen. Cotton was scheduled Little Rock and Jonesboro for two veterans-related events. Cotton will speak at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Arkansas Hospice Veterans Celebration at St. Vincent Hospital in Little Rock.

From there, he will travel to Jonesboro to present the Purple Heart, Gold Star, Bronze Star and WWII Victory Medal to the family of Roy Killian. Killian, who was a private in the U.S. Army, was killed in the Battle of Metz in France on Nov. 8, 1944. The 3:30 p.m. event will be at the Jonesboro Municipal Center on the 4th floor conference room, Cotton’s office said.

RAINBOW STEW
The cool temperatures Thursday night did not stop about 200 people from attending the third annual Rainbow Stew event at the Arkansas State University Farmer’s Market.

The event – which is the unofficial kickoff of the 2016 campaign in Northeast Arkansas – was a campaign fundraiser for U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Jonesboro.

The event is named after the Merle Haggard song and the people who attended ate hot dogs and rainbow stew. Several elected officials and political candidates also attended the event. The people who attended the event also heard Crawford perform with his band, Triple Nickel.

ALMANAC OF AMERICAN POLITICS RELEASED
A 2,084-page book recently released provides key details about the state’s congressional delegation and political history. The 2016 Almanac of American Politics, written by Richard Cohen and James Barnes, has biographical information on the state’s delegation – Boozman, Cotton, Crawford, Hill and Reps. Steve Womack, R-Rogers and Bruce Westerman, R-Hot Springs – as well as information on their voting records.

The book also has biographical information on Gov. Asa Hutchinson, R-Ark., as well as a congressional district map. Information on the book, published by National Journal, may be viewed at this link.