Policy Update

Veterans First Act

You might have seen the unbelievable news that came out during a hearing this week: White House officials have confirmed there have been talks about diverting resources for our veterans to respond to the surge of illegal immigrants at the southern border. Reports have been circling for weeks that the Biden Administration is quietly considering what interagency resources could be deployed to deal with their self-inflicted border crisis and expected surge of apprehension as they work to rescind Title 42. Now, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas confirmed conversations between agency staff to divert Veterans Affairs (VA) resources, doctors, and nurses to help care for illegal immigrants have happened.

This is insanity.

First, the Biden Administration floated compensating illegal immigrants with hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars. Now, they’re considering taking resources from our veterans to deal with a border surge of their own making.

Our heroes shouldn’t carry the burden of President Biden’s failings.

That’s why after I heard this news, I immediately acted this week to introduce the Veterans First Act to stop the White House from stripping resources away from our veterans. My legislation specifically prohibits the Department of Veterans Affairs from prioritizing the needs of illegal immigrants over our nation’s heroes. The measure is the House companion to Senator John Boozman’s bill, and I am proud to know Arkansans are leading the fight against this disastrous idea. We won’t stand for having the care of those who have proudly worn America’s uniform redirected to deal with the consequences of the White House’s disastrous immigration policies.

It's quite alarming knowing a bill like this is even needed, but it is not all so surprising given the fact President Biden prefers to ignore the crisis at the border than reverse his policies that caused it. In fact, he still hasn’t even gone down to the border. Can you imagine prescribing taking VA resources from those who have served this nation as a way to deal with a mismanaged border security and illegal immigration problem—rather than fixing what has produced this emergency?

The Democrats’ open border policy agenda has created the largest wave of illegal border crossings in our country’s history, including over 1.5 million border encounters in just the past six months. For the past 15 months, President Biden has both demonized border patrol agents and dismantled enforcement of our laws at the border by imposing catch-and-release, ending construction of the border wall, and refusing to fully implement both the “Remain in Mexico” policy and Title 42.

We have seen the result. Let’s just look at a recent stat: Over 221,300 illegal immigrants were encountered at the southern border in March, the highest total in the history of the Department of Homeland Security. Contextually – that is more people than the entire number of residents of Rogers, Springdale, and Bentonville combined.

Equal to the security issues are the real humanitarian and human tolls. Just this month, National Guard Specialist Bishop E. Evans drowned trying to save two alleged drug smugglers attempting to cross the Rio Grande. We pray for him and his family. The border crisis empowers the cartel and enriches human traffickers. President Biden’s border policies are anything but humane. The journey to our southern border is dangerous for migrants – unaccompanied children are often exploited, and bad actors are profiting from the violence. Deadly fentanyl is also flooding across the southern border and into American communities. Fentanyl overdoses are now the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-45 years old. Earlier this month, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) even warned of a “nationwide spike” in fentanyl overdose deaths as illegal border crossing continued to soar. This deadly drug primarily flows into the U.S. by being smuggled across the southern border.

I have seen the escalation of the southern border crisis caused by President Biden's policies firsthand. What I saw last year was already bad—and it has only spiraled since. Now it’s about to get much worse as the Biden Administration fights to overrule Title 42. According to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) memo, the number of illegal crossings is expected to triple if Title 42 ends in May. Again, knowing this is coming, the White House would rather look into diverting VA manpower and funding than keep Title 42 in place. It’s unconscionable and why I have acted to introduce the Veterans First Act.

I will continue to fight for our veterans and border security.

Read the bill here or learn more about the legislation here.

I also sent a letter to the House and Senate Conference Committee for the America COMPETES Act, urging conferees to include language from my bipartisan American Telecommunications Security Act, which would prohibit federal funds from being used to purchase equipment from Chinese firms Huawei and ZTE. No company inextricably tied to the Chinese Communist Party’s espionage efforts should have access to critical U.S. networks. It’s a glaring national security threat. The America COMPETES Act Conference Committee must take every action possible to protect our technology and telecommunications infrastructure. Including language from our American Telecommunications Security Act should be a priority. No taxpayer funds should be used to purchase CCP-linked equipment. I then took action alongside other Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas members. We urged the Office of Management and Budget and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to prioritize and commit additional funding to the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System (MKARNS). Continuing the deepening of the MKARNS would directly benefit the 56,000 jobs for surrounding farmers, manufacturers, and other producers who contribute over $8 billion in sales and nearly $300 million in state and local tax revenue as a result of the system's efficient operation.

Floor Speeches

I honored the milestones of Clay Henry—a legendary sports journalist—and Canoo—a high-tech advanced mobility company with announced headquarters in Northwest Arkansas on the House floor this week. My tributes celebrated Clay’s retirement after a journalism career of enormous success and professionalism and Canoo’s recent announcement that NASA had chosen them to produce a transportation fleet for astronauts part of the Artemis program. Watch both speeches above or read the remarks here.

Meetings and Tours

A roundup of this week’s meetings and tours in photos:

Reps. Steve Womack and French Hill and Sen. Boozman take a photo with optometrists from the Natural State.

Congressman Womack with Dr. Belinda Starkey and Dr. Chris Morris of Rogers. Some of the policy their conversations focused on included H.R. 3461, the DOC Access Act.

Congressman Womack met with the Arkansas Hospital Association to talk about the pandemic, medical workforce, policy issues related to hospitals, as well as the latest budget and appropriations news from Washington.

Congressman Womack met with Arkansas Optometric Association. They spoke about challenges facing patients access to optometry care.

Congressman Womack with Cassandra Caldwell of the Arkansas Waterways Commission. They discussed waterway projects and the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System (MKARNS).

Congressman Womack with Secretary of the Arkansas Department of Corrections Solomon Graves. They talked about prisoner rehabilitation, facility safety, and targeted cell phone jamming to increase security and stop illicit activities.

Congressman Womack met with students in Doctor of Osteopathy programs in Arkansas, including Maria Marasco of Russellville and James Turner of Fort Smith.

Congressman Womack sat down with Roland Julian of Rogers, Betty Julian of Rogers, and Bryan Clinkscales of Springdale–members of the Independent Insurance Agents of Arkansas–to discuss National Flood Insurance Program reauthorization and small business issues.

Congressman Womack met with members of the Mortgage Bankers Association from Northwest and Central Arkansas to talk about the home lending industry and its impact, as well as the outlook for the housing market in the region and nationally.

Congressman Womack met with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Little Rock District to talk about Third District projects, population growth in the region, and operations throughout Arkansas.

Congressman Womack with Robin Carnahan, Administrator of the U.S. General Services Administration.

Congressman Womack met with Ukrainian Parliament members about Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine. They talked about Rep. Womack's work to support and protect their sovereignty, his recent national defense trip to Poland and Germany, and the humanitarian crisis caused by Putin's war.

Congressman Womack gives a tour to Mallory Sims and friends of Lowell and the Ortega family of Russellville.

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. Voting for the Third District Congressional Art Competition's People's Choice Award is currently open. Check out this year's art submissions and vote for your favorite piece here!