October 6, 2023

My Week in Washington

A lot can change in the blink of an eye, especially in Congress.

This time last week the House had just failed to pass a strong, conservative short-term spending fix, or a continuing resolution, to avoid a lapse in appropriations.

My colleagues and I were almost positive this meant we’d be in a government shutdown right now, as I spoke to in my Friday edition from last week.

Fortunately, common sense prevailed. We avoided a shutdown (for the time being) by passing a bipartisan continuing resolution on Saturday the 30th—the very day the government would have run out of money.

This spending fix extends funding at Fiscal Year 2023 levels through November 17, and includes $16 billion for the Disaster Relief Fund.

Even though I believe this last-minute, short-term method of governing is extremely irresponsible, and I’m disappointed we missed our chance to negotiate important policies to secure the border with the Senate, I supported this measure. If this bill failed, entering a detrimental government shutdown would have been the only option left.

I was glad to see so many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in both chambers realize the severity of the situation facing our nation and didn’t let the perfect get in the way of the good.

Listen to my take on what happened on that Saturday from my view from the chair as I presided over the House floor here!

By punting the deadline to fund the government to mid-November, we came back to the Capitol ready to continue passing more appropriations bills, like we did last week. Remember, we’ve passed 4 of the 12 so far.

But that plan came to a screeching halt when we approached a whole new hurdle.

Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida filed a Motion to Vacate on Monday, forcing a vote on Tuesday to oust Speaker McCarthy, over what I believe to be complete and utter selfish nonsense.

I again was honored to be called to preside over the House floor, for this solemn moment. I announced the Yeas as 216 and the Nays as 210 and knowing the full weight of my words said: “The office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives is hereby declared vacant.”

You can watch this moment and hear about my experience in the chair from the Washington Examiner here.

Protecting the integrity of the institution was goal number one. I focused on the task at hand and kept emotion out of my duty as an officer of the legislative body of the greatest country on the planet.

But once I dropped that gavel, my heart broke for the country. This unprecedented event is a stain on the institution. It’s the American people who are suffering from this dysfunction, and that has a profound effect on me.

If you want to hear more, take a listen to my latest Comment from the Capitol, which breaks down what exactly happened on that historic day, and where we go from here.

Reminders!

Congressional App Challenge

AR-3 classrooms are filled with the best and brightest, so I know creative minds are thinking of the next winning app. The Congressional App Challenge is an annual competition hosted by the U.S. House of Representatives, encouraging students from each of our districts to submit original apps for a chance to win and have their app displayed in the Capitol for one year. The goal of this challenge is to inspire our young people to pursue careers in computer science.

Spread the word to Arkansas’ Third middle and high school students to enter the 2023 Congressional App Challenge! For more information and to apply, click here.

Service Academy Nominations

Nominating our next generation of Service Academy leaders is one of my greatest honors as your Congressman. The deadline to submit applications is November 1, and I encourage those with a passion to serve the country to apply.

For more information on the process and to access the applications, please click here.

Applications can be hand delivered or mailed to my Fort Smith office as long as they are postmarked no later than November 1!

6101 Phoenix Avenue, Suite 4

Fort Smith, Arkansas 72903

Phone: (479) 424-1146

Fax: 479-464-0063

Hours: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM Central

Looking ahead

As I highlighted in my audio segment of the week, our next step in Congress is to select a Speaker. My House Republican colleagues and I will gather Tuesday night where the current candidates, Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Steve Scalise of Louisiana, and potential other members, will explain to the conference why each of them deserves our vote. The next step would be to have a closed-party election on Wednesday to put our best candidate forward for a full House vote—that is if all goes according to plan.

What we can expect is uncertainty. Besides the chaos and dysfunction within my own party, selecting a new Speaker in this condition is something our nation has never experienced before. I expect some bumps in the road. I will be sure to keep you updated as the race for a new Speaker is officially underway.

I hope you have a great weekend ahead! Be sure to check out my website, Twitter, and Instagram pages in the meantime.

From the front...

Congressman Steve Womack
Arkansas Third District

Subscribe | Unsubscribe