August 15, 2025

Weekly Update

As Congress turns to the August District Work Period, I want to take this opportunity to go further in depth on an issue important to Third District Arkansans. Read below!

Policy Update: Strengthening American Healthcare

For months, Democrats have stirred up confusion and fear claiming Republicans made massive cuts to Medicaid in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). This simply isn’t true.

Here are the facts.

Let’s start with the basics. Medicaid is a joint federal and state program that provides health coverage for a low-income population that includes children, pregnant women, adults, disabled individuals, and seniors over age 64.

Medicaid can look different from state to state as each state administers their own programs to fit within the federal parameters. The federal government contributes a federal match that helps the state finance their program. More than 800,000 Arkansans are enrolled in Medicaid and roughly 240,000 of those are adults enrolled through the Medicaid expansion program included in Obamacare.

One of the goals of the One Big Beautiful Bill was to reduce wasteful spending and root out fraud to protect Medicaid for those it was originally designed to help. I think we can all agree that protecting both the most vulnerable and our hard-earned taxpayer dollars is a necessary and commendable endeavor. The bill does just that.

The OBBBA requires reasonable community engagement requirements for able-bodied adults. Specifically, individuals aged 19 to 64 must complete 20 hours per week of qualifying activities. These can include employment, participation in a job training program, education, community service, or a combination of these—totaling 80 hours per month.

There is also a comprehensive list of exemptions. Individuals who are pregnant, living with disabilities, caring for children under 14, serving as caregivers for disabled family members, recovering from addiction, and more are not subject to these requirements. These exemptions reflect our commitment to protecting the truly vulnerable and ensuring that support remains available to those who need it most.

Furthermore, 64 percent of Medicaid-enrolled adults in Arkansas are already working and fulfilling these requirements. Therefore, claims suggesting that a majority of Medicaid recipients will lose coverage under this policy are misleading at best.

In fact, the Congressional Budget Office reported that most of those who will lose coverage are able-bodied adults choosing not to work, individuals who have access to another form of health insurance, and individuals who are not U.S. citizens or lawfully permanent residents.

The OBBBA also institutes enhanced program integrity measures, which further cut waste, fraud, and abuse. It requires that states verify Medicaid eligibility twice a year, instead of once a year. This allows states to remove individuals who are not eligible or who are taking advantage of the system. It ensures that both state and federal tax dollars are supporting those who truly need the safety net.

Arkansas is a rural state and I, like many of you, have concerns about healthcare access for our rural population. OBBBA includes $50 billion for a Rural Health Transformation Program to support rural hospitals and states. Half of this fund will be distributed to states, and the other half will be distributed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). For Arkansas, this will give our state the flexibility to determine how to best support our rural providers and patients.

I also want to take this opportunity to set the record straight about the “tax breaks for billionaires” rhetoric I’ve heard. Without the One Big Beautiful Bill, families in Arkansas’ Third District would’ve faced a 24 percent tax hike. This would have equated to about $1,500 for a family of four earning $73,000. That’s real relief for working families, not a handout to the wealthy.

So no, despite what you may have heard, OBBA does not prioritize the ultra-rich over our most vulnerable. It is the opposite.

By codifying commonsense policies that curb wasteful spending, we are helping preserve Medicaid for those who truly need it while also allowing Arkansans to keep more of their hard-earned paycheck in their pockets instead of Uncle Sam’s.

While it is true we won’t know the full impact of OBBA on our healthcare system for years to come, we do know that Medicaid remains our third-largest mandatory expense and will keep growing.

My concern is how this ever-growing expense adds to the national debt we're passing on to our grandchildren. This program has been running on autopilot for years, and it is long past time we took action to prevent the system from collapsing in on itself. Failure to address it now means we run the risk of leaving vulnerable Americans without any social safety net at all down the line.

Around the District: Photo Highlights

I had a great time celebrating Pea Ridge’s 175th anniversary which was complete with friendly faces, antique cars, and more. It was an honor to share a few remarks at this special event for a remarkable place.

I was introduced to Keith Soper, founder of Our Lost Battalion, an organization dedicated to supporting veterans, law enforcement, and others living with PTSD by training participants to care for homing pigeons.

I toured the office of Olsson Engineering in Fayetteville and met with company leadership to discuss their projects. You can see their work firsthand at Mount Hebron Park in Rogers, one-of-a-kind park that opened last year.

I visited Brunner & Lay’s office in Springdale and spoke with their team about the company’s production portfolio. It was a valuable opportunity to learn more about the challenges facing them as they produce tools for construction, mining, and demolition industries.

At Electronic Manufacturing Solutions in Lincoln, I saw a great example of American manufacturing. During my visit, I met with senior leadership and toured their facility where they have developed around 500 different electronic assemblies for their customers.

I toured the new 5,887-square-foot Lincoln Community Center which is on track to be completed and open to the public by the end of August—offering new opportunities to bring neighbors and their families together. Thanks to Lincoln Mayor Doug Hutchens for showing me around.

I joined members of the Prairie Grove Chamber of Commerce for a productive meeting where I shared updates on my work in Washington, D.C., and answered their questions on the key issues impacting their businesses and community.

I was honored to give remarks at the grand reopening of the Jack Williams Veterans Resource Center, known to us as Camp Jack. In Fiscal Year 2022, I proudly secured Community Project Funding to help make the center’s renovation possible. Today, Camp Jack is stronger than ever, equipped to better serve our veterans and their families with access to benefits, support services, and a welcoming community. Supporting those who’ve served our nation is a top priority for me, and I’m thrilled to see this incredible organization expand its reach. Special thanks to Mayor Jackson and Matt Russell for their tireless work.

In Berryville, I toured Wilson Combat’s facility and met with the team behind their world-class firearms. Founded by Bill Wilson in 1974, the company has grown from a one-man shop into a global leader in custom firearms.

I stopped by Mid-States Specialty Eggs in Berryville to see their newly expanded organic egg processing and distribution facility. With demand growing for cage-free organic eggs, this expansion is an egg-cellent win for our community.

Reminders!

Middle and High School Students in the Third District: Start the school year off right and flex your computer science skills by entering the Congressional App Challenge. The deadline for submissions is October 30, so get started today!

Learn more HERE.

Have a great weekend ahead, and I hope to see you around! Be sure to check out my website, X, and Instagram pages in the meantime.

From the front...

Congressman Steve Womack
Arkansas Third District