Around the District

Van Buren Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast

Congressman Womack speaks at the Van Buren Mayor's Prayer Breakfast.

Prayer is a powerful source of strength and hope. It was my privilege to join the community in lifting our voices together during the Van Buren Mayor's Prayer Breakfast. The nation has been through a lot this last year—the pandemic, violence, loss of lives—and we have to bring our country back to our Lord and Savior. We must always recognize that God will always guide us through our most challenging and joyful times.

I read from President Abraham Lincoln's proclamation appointing a national day of humiliation, fasting, and prayer. I recited a particularly poignant excerpt that reflects on remembering God.

It reads, in part, “And, insomuch as we know that, by His divine law, nations like individuals are subjected to punishments and chastisements in this world, may we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war, which now desolates the land, may be but a punishment, inflicted upon us, for our presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole People?

"We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown.

Greenwood Mayor Doug Kinslow, Congressman Womack, Alma Mayor Jerry Martin, and Van Buren Mayor Joe Hurst.

"But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own.

"Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!” Read the entire proclamation here.

We should never take our freedom and faith for granted. It was a blessing to see so many residents and leaders, including Greenwood Mayor Doug Kinslow, Alma Mayor Jerry Martin, and Van Buren Mayor Joe Hurst, unite and pray for Arkansas and America. 

Energy Efficiency Design & Development

Congressman Womack learns more about the work of E.E.D.D.

I dropped by Energy Efficiency Design & Development (E.E.D.D.) in Van Buren. They provide in-depth and extensive hands-on training at facilities with modern equipment and technology to prepare people for jobs in the energy sector.

Their classes are focused on a range of training, including things like ventilation, weatherization, duct systems, blower doors, energy auditing, and more. They also have partnerships with companies and universities like the Arkansas and Oklahoma Gas Associations, University of Arkansas – Fort Smith, OGE, and Rheem to ensure that the training is reflecting the needs of companies in the area.

Thank you to Doug and Tammy Knierim and Rick Rosenthal for their time and work that supports the Third District and our critical skilled-trade sectors.

Fort Smith Brewing

Congressman Womack speaks to Fort Smith Brewing Company owner Quentin Willard.

The entrepreneurial spirit of Arkansas is seen all throughout the Third District. Our region boasts a range of small, local, and family-owned businesses that support jobs and our community. I visited with Fort Smith Brewing Company owner Quentin Willard. He’s a West Point graduate—Go Army!—and Van Buren native. We talked about economic development and the craft brewing industry in Arkansas.

We then discussed how the pandemic severely impacted their operations. During the downturn, Fort Smith Brewing received support from the Paycheck Protection Program. I supported this critical lifeline, which was instrumental to saving businesses and jobs during the pandemic. More than 99,000 companies have utilized PPP loans throughout the Natural State.

We also had great conversations about West Point and what Arkansas is doing to attract veteran-owned businesses. Thank you to Quentin for the tour, insightful dialogue, and for his service in uniform. He spent 8 years active duty with the Army and remains in the Reserves!

Western Arkansas Intermodal Authority

Congressman Womack gives a D.C. update during the WAIA board meeting.

The Western Arkansas Intermodal Authority (WAIA) is focused on planning and developing initiatives for transportation improvements that benefit the entire Western Arkansas region, especially those that advance the movement of goods and freight and help drive the region’s economy. I participated in this week’s WAIA board meeting. I shared the latest policy news from Congress and talked about appropriations timelines, recent legislation, and information related to earmarks.

The Authority also discussed updates related to an EDA grant that is being used to complete an environmental study and engineering design study for an inland port and multimodal facility in Crawford County. I thank the members of WAIA for their time and work to implement comprehensive economic development strategies that will impact communities throughout the Third District and our greater region.

Bentonville Fraternal Order of Police

Congressman Womack salutes the service of Detectives Adam and Andrew Corbett and all of our men and women in blue.

Our men and women in blue are critical parts of our communities. Unfortunately, we are seeing dangerous calls to defund the police in Congress. Those who bravely protect and serve with integrity deserve our deepest gratitude. Thank you to Detectives Adam and Andrew Corbett of the Bentonville Fraternal Order of Police for stopping by to talk about law enforcement issues and how we can better meet the needs of our local police. We must always have the backs of those who have ours. Your unwavering service to our community doesn't go unnoticed. To our Third District officers, we salute you for keeping our families safe, upholding law and order, and putting your lives on the line for us.

APAC

Congressman Womack with APAC employees in his Rogers Office. 

I welcomed APAC employees, including John Wiles, Murry Cline, and Casey Hansen, to my Rogers office. The company is an industry leader in high-quality asphalt, concrete pavement construction, materials, and services. We discussed the upcoming ELDT rule, which deals with training and requirements for receiving a commercial driver's license. The rule sets minimum standards for general knowledge and behind-the-wheel training and was originally scheduled to go into effect in February 2020. However, it was delayed by two years to give the agency more time to develop the rule’s Training Provider Registry (TPR) and more time for state driver licensing agencies (SDLAs) to modify their IT systems to coordinate data with the TPR. I need to hear directly from residents and companies about how regulations will affect their businesses, and I appreciated APAC for providing insight on how this rule will impact NWA and the nation.

TRUCKish

Congressman Womack with TRUCKish co-founders Aayush Thakur and Deme Yuan.

Trucking moves America. Every day, but especially during the pandemic, we saw firsthand how the truckers of America and Arkansas worked day and night to safely transport goods across the U.S. and ensure our shelves were stocked and critical resources were delivered. We’re forever grateful for their hard work. From J.B. Hunt and PAM Transport to ABF Freight, ARC Best, USA Trucks, and more—I’m proud of our strong trucking industry.

Transportation and logistics are, of course, critical to the efficient and economical movement of goods throughout our state and nation. I sat down with TRUCKish co-founders Aayush Thakur and Deme Yuan—whose Bentonville company is transforming long-haul trucking. Their novel tech focuses on optimizing fleet management and helping rural drivers. Impressively, their platform doubles asset utilization for trucking companies, while cutting delivery times in half for shippers, and significantly improves driver work-life balance. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently recognized their work with a grant! The $100,000 USDA Small Business Innovation Research funding will be used to demonstrate the feasibility of its patented “Relay” platform technology to long-haul trucking operations in order to benefit rural economic development.

Another great example of technology innovation being developed and advanced in the Natural State!

West Point

Trophy Point is where cadets traditionally swear their affirmation as plebes to join the Corps of Cadets.

I am proud to share the newest class of cadets from Arkansas’s Third District who are beginning their journeys at West Point:

• Tysen Barbour of Fayetteville
• Leyton Elmore of Fort Smith
• Aidan Looney of Bentonville
• Gary Phillips of Van Buren
• Luke Rucker of Rogers
• Kale Sheets of Fort Smith

Go Army!

I look forward to sharing more on the visit with you next week and on social media!

Remember to keep an eye on my website or check out my Twitter and Instagram pages to stay up-to-date with the latest news from the Third District and Washington. Also, if you are having issues with a federal agency or have a casework question, don’t forget to check out my office’s upcoming mobile office hours here!