Weekly Rundown
Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act
What grabbed headlines this week from our work in Washington was a bill relating to the app, TikTok, titled the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. After unanimously passing the House Energy and Commerce Committee last week, the House considered this bill and passed it with overwhelming bipartisan support, in a 352 yea—65 nay—1 present vote. This bill now heads to the Senate for consideration.
I realize there are millions of TikTok users across the country, including our district. There have been many misconceptions about this bill that I want to clarify. First, I want to be clear that this bill does NOT infringe on users’ freedom of speech. It has nothing to do with the content on TikTok but is solely focused on who owns TikTok.
I also want users to understand that our goal is NOT to ban TikTok. Our goal is to protect users by not allowing apps to be controlled by foreign adversaries, which in this case is the Chinese Communist Party.
TikTok is accumulating mass amounts of data, gaining influence over its American users, and using it against them. This exposes us all to serious national security threats. We want TikTok to continue to operate, and it will if they choose to separate from the Chinese Communist Party.
I supported this legislation to protect TikTok users, who are primarily children and young adults, and defend our national security from Chinese Communist Party.
Comment from the Capitol
In this edition of Comment From the Capitol, which is my weekly firsthand take on what’s happening in Washington, I interview a special guest—General Laura Richardson, Commander, U.S. Southern Command. We get an inside look on her area of responsibility (AOR) and her message to young women interested in military service. Give it a listen here!
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Biden’s Bloated Budget
This week, Congress received a wish list from President Biden—also known as his Fiscal Year 2025 budget proposal. The latest request is weeks late—it’s supposed to be submitted to Congress no later than the first Monday in February!—and it’s woefully short of what our country desperately needs.
The price tag is a whopping $7.3 trillion, and it’s filled with requests that would further plummet our country toward insolvency.
Mandatory spending, which includes Social Security and Medicare benefits, accounts for around 73% of the federal spending pie—and it’s on autopilot. Without implementing commonsense structural changes, that percentage will continue to rise, and the remaining spending, which is discretionary spending that funds our nation’s defense, biomedical research, infrastructure, and much more—will continue to shrink.
I’m disappointed his budget is absent of such improvements to ensure Social Security and Medicare remain funded in the future. I’ll tell you the truth—the biggest threat to these programs comes from those who want to ignore the issue, or those who claim we can just tax our way out of it.
Also, the amount we expect to spend servicing our debt is greater than the amount we plan to spend on our national defense—this is unacceptable. Defense spending would fall to 9.7% of the federal budget and 2.4% of the GDP—both numbers are historic and dangerous lows.
Spending $86.6 trillion over 10 years and adding $4.9 trillion in new taxes is far from what struggling Arkansans need in our poor economic climate. Instead, I expect the Republican-led House to focus on real solutions by promoting pro-growth policies, making smart reforms to protect mandatory spending programs, and reducing wasteful, market-distorting spending on government subsidies.
That task now lands in the laps of Appropriators like me. We will review the spending line-by-line to ensure your taxpayer dollars are spent responsibly and purposefully. We will then have to draft and pass 12 new appropriations bills to encompass federal spending for Fiscal Year 2025—with the goal of getting this done by September 30th—but we all know how that goes. If you remember, we’re still struggling to pass 6 of the 12 bills for Fiscal Year 2024 well into the 6th month of the Fiscal Year!
The Fiscal Year 2025 Appropriations process has already begun. Next week, I will lead a House Appropriations Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee hearing. We will hear from Department of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, the Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young, and the Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Jared Bernstein on the Administration’s budget request.
I will be sure to keep you updated as we progress toward completing full-year Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations and begin work on Fiscal Year 2025!
What They Are Saying
If you remember, last week the House passed an appropriations package that included all seven funding requests I made for district-specific projects. This package then passed the Senate last Friday night and was signed into law by President Biden on Saturday. This funding is a game changer for our community, but don’t just take my word for it!
Click here to read what local stakeholders have to say about the positive impacts the funding for these projects will have for the region!
Picture highlights from the week:
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The Foreign Military Sales mission—bringing F-35 fighter planes and a Republic of Singapore F-16 squadron to Ebbing Air National Guard Base—is a once-in-generation opportunity for Fort Smith. I joined 5 News to give an update on the project, now that the critical funding Senator Boozman, Senator Cotton, and I secured has been approved by Congress and signed into law by the President! I have no doubt this mission will boost the region’s economy and strengthen our role in defending our national security. I look forward to hearing the Sound of Freedom soon in the River Valley! Click here to watch the interview.
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The United States must continue our unwavering support of Israel in their fight against Hamas. I reiterated this point to members of AIPAC in our meeting. They shared with me the need for the U.S. to step up and provide the resources needed to help them rid the world of these ruthless terrorists. I’m hoping Congress can quickly find a solution to get this aid across the finish line to help our close ally in their time of need while defending our own security.
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Arkansas Circuit Judge Thomas Smith and Krya Moss, a drug court graduate from Fayetteville, came by my office to talk about how important the drug courts and veterans treatment courts are to the Natural State. I’m a proud supporter of their work, which offers an alternative to incarceration through rigorous rehabilitation programs that often lead to life-changing, positive outcomes. Thank you for what you do!
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Folks from the University of Arkansas joined me to discuss how the study of history and civics can help us understand current trends today in a wide range of industries, from defense to public health. We of course talked about Razorback sports, too! I always appreciate the visit from people who invest in our next generation of leaders, particularly from U of A!
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Northwest Arkansas is hub for arts and culture, which spurs economic activity in our region and across the state. The arts not only inspire creativity and pride in our community, but they also support jobs and generate business. I appreciate Kelsey Howard of the Creative Arkansas Community Hub and Exchange for coming by to share with me how we can partner at the federal level on the great work they’re doing in our region.
Reminder
The deadline to submit your application for the 2024 Congressional Art Competition is exactly a month away! Applications must be submitted to either my Rogers or Fort Smith offices by Monday, April 15!
This annual competition showcases artwork in Congressional districts nationwide. The overall winner of the Arkansas’ Third District competition will get to visit Washington and have their winning piece hang in the halls of the U.S. Capitol for a year!
I encourage all AR-3 high school students to participate! For more information, please visit my website here.
Have a great St. Patrick’s Day weekend ahead, and I hope to see you around! Be sure to check out my website, Twitter, and Instagram pages in the meantime.
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