Morning Roll Call~ News You Need to Know

Arkansas Contingent Step to the Plate

The Arkansas Democrat Gazette is reporting this morning on the assignments that our Congressmen are lining up for as they invade Washington.

Third Congressional U.S. Rep.-elect Steve Womack will be on the House Appropriations Committee, way to go!

Womack was quoted in the story as saying “Appropriations is now more about getting control of spending than bringing home the bacon,” “We get it” Here’s to believing they do!

Second Congressional U.S Rep.-elect Tim Griffin “will take a seat on the House Armed Services Committee - where his 2nd District predecessor Vic Snyder served - and on the House Judiciary Committee.”

First Congressional U.S. Rep-elect Rick Crawford landed on the House Agriculture and Transportation committees.

Crawford sent a warning shot across the bow letting people back in his district know they “need to be prepared, that it’s very likely we will not see any more direct payments” to farmers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

According to the article Fourth District Congressman Mike Ross will not get his assignment till later in the month.

As far as our Senators are concerned, the article stated, Mark Pryor will be returning to his prior commitments and John Boozman will be on the Senate Agriculture Committee with other assignments pending.

I hope that Arkansans will be as involved in the coming months making sure they communicate with our elected officials as we were during the election cycle. Our Congressmen, along with all our elected officials, will need our respectful communication in order to serve us properly.

Big Changes coming to Arkansas Children’s Healthcare Program?

Well if Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families has it their way it will. (Before you go callin me a hate mongering conservative, you should know that I am pro-child, and believe it IS the duty of the community and the Church to take care of those families and children that are struggling.)

AACF is upset (http://ow.ly/3xmoj) that Arkansas missed out on millions of government dollars  last week. I am sure AACF has good intentions, people with wonderful hearts wanting to help others and ideas that would benefit those they have chosen to advocate.

The article says:

This week, 15 states received more than $200 million in bonuses for enrolling eligible children in Medicaid.  Roughly two-thirds of uninsured children nationally are eligible for Medicaid, which is also the case here in Arkansas. 

The Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization (CHIPRA) of 2009 included these bonuses for states that significantly increased enrollment among already-eligible kids.   This year states received between $2.6 million (Kansas) and $55 million (Alabama). 

Anything strike you as particularly odd about bonuses for “increased enrollment” incentives for government programs? Just sayin.

Does anyone know the criteria for being enrolled?

Well hopefully someone will figure all this out because come Monday, January 10^th AACF will be at the door step of our legislators lobbying for their cause and our money.

The 2010 session would be a good time to make these changes to cut the red tape in ARKids First.  States that have changes up and running by April 1 would be in the running for next year's round of bonuses. 

  

Little Rock Running Short on Funds~

Members of the Little Rock City Board of Directors say they may have a budget in place for 2011 but it's pretty stark. And in the new year they'll have to look for some new ways to bring in money, possibly a sales tax increase. The re-elected members joined the mayor and the newest member of the city board in taking the oath of office today and looking toward what 2011 holds. Read more…

States, Counties and municipalities all over our country are beginning to reap the financial bedlam of their frivolous spending habits from years past. Tax payers would love for bygones to be bygones but unfortunately there are natural laws in place that are not so easily circumvented.

To get out you have to increase revenue, the only way public entities can do that is raise taxes, or cut spending, which means lower wages, loss of jobs, more work and less gadgets. Simple?

We as tax payers can come alongside and offer help by thinking outside the box. For example: What is it that my family is costing the tax payers?

Anyone who has ever gotten themselves in the financial mess of over expending credit can tell you that climbing out of that hole is not nearly as easy or seemingly fun as getting into it, but once out, they NEVER wanna be there again.

I say we resolve to making every effort to once again empower ourselves, privatize as many public services as possible and demand our leaders tow a financial responsible line~

A town of nearly 90k people in Georgia did it, why can’t we?  http://ow.ly/3xo76

The only city we have in our entire state over 90K is Little Rock according to The U.S Census Bureau

 

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@Region8News

Midwest survey suggests continued economic growth http://bit.ly/f7ajt2

Church services held in AR town hit by #tornadohttp://bit.ly/fkDOkU

 @RobyBrock

Talk Business' Monday Morning Briefing reviews the past week's big stories. Read here and sign up 4 free email! http://conta.cc/eTXgfk

@ArkansasOnline

 Educator: Directive on school buses too wordy: A state education official says a new Arkansas school bus safety ... http://bit.ly/haUfCe

Dead-bird count passes 2,000: About 2,000 to 3,000 dead birds that fell from the sky on New Year’s Eve in Beebe ... http://bit.ly/gYbY2h

New Year’s Day flops add to Buckeyes’ burden: Ohio State will carry a tattered Big Ten banner into Tuesday night... http://bit.ly/hEmxX0

FCC tackles huge cell bills of data users: It’s been dubbed cell phone “bill shock,” and it’s clear why: A woman... http://bit.ly/e5dwoh

Tales of Two "Servants"

Here in the 3rd District on June 8th we will join together once again to choose who we will to send to Washington from this region to represent our interests and to a larger degree, the state of Arkansas. The two candidates vying in a run-off are Cecile Bledsoe and Steve Womack, both of Rogers. In vetting each candidate, I discovered distinct differences. I hope my findings in fact will aid in your decision making process.

After several personal conversations with each candidates and researching of their records, here’s what I discovered.

When speaking with State Senator Bledsoe on issues where we disagreed, she listened to my views. She understood my position and even admitted that she had learned some lessons. She seemed sincerely interested in building relationships and bringing people to the table. She also even asked if I’d be willing to put her in contact with others who shared my concerns.

On the other hand in a conversation with Roger Mayor Steve Womack, hoping to clarify his position on taxes and his pet project of Adult Wellness Centers, he seemed to me to be unwilling to listen. He actually became defensive, at one point saying: "I don't hear you coming up with any answers"

In this same conversation which occurred a week before he agreed to sign the “Americans for Tax Reform Pledge” from ATR, Mayor Womack told me and another person that he would not sign the pledge because he felt that “taxes needed to be on the table.” It was the same statement he had made in a public forum not long before this conversation. So it seemed clear this was his position. But then, about a week later, he signed the pledge saying, it had been his intention “all along to sign it on April 15th." But that also was the day when Dick Morris called him on the carpet at a Tea Party rally on the Fayetteville square for being the only candidate of eight in the race not to have already signed the no tax pledge. You can decide for yourself, considering the timing of all this and his previous denials of the pledge, how sincere his explanation was.

Additionally, in our discussion when asked why private sector business was not included in his concept of these wellness centers he said he did not include them because in his view government: “needed to have full control, to do the best job"
In conclusion Mayor Womack said to me and my companion, “I am sure I will not get your vote but that is okay I am comfortable with the supporters I already have.” So much for constituent service.

These conversations for me, reveal two very different people with vastly different approaches to the job as a congressman. One was willing – even eager - to listen and ask for even more critiques, to take personal responsibility for her own actions and all without being publicly shamed. She also made a solemn pledge to Arkansans to not make the mistakes again.

The other appeared to be border-line hostile to questions, unwilling to hold an open and objective dialogue and clearly not genuinely committed to hold the line on increasing taxes even higher than they are.

I believe more than at any other juncture, we need and expect servant leaders not leaders who expect to be served. Arrogance in any public servant is not a pretty or endearing sight. I’ll be doing a follow-up posting on their records.

Just food for thought based in personal observations and experiences~