Republican Party of Arkansas

2/7/2018 0 Comments

Five Reasons Why the Bipartisan Budget Agreement Is Critical

February 7, 2018|Speaker Ryan Press Office
The bipartisan budget agreement is absolutely critical for our national security, disaster recovery, and other Republican priorities. It is the result of six months of efforts to secure funding for our military, and it will allow Congress to end the cycle of governing by stop-gap measure and move on to other important agenda items. It also has meaningful budget offsets, including structural reforms to mandatory spending programs.
Here are five reasons why it is so important:

It Rebuilds our Military: This agreement delivers on our promise to fully fund the military at the levels in this year's National Defense Authorization Act. This is the funding level that Defense Secretary James Mattis has said is needed to rebuild our military. The threats of the 21st century are grave and evolving, and yet our military’s needs have been neglected and our readiness has deteriorated. Funding for the military was not a priority under the Obama administration, and the effect on readiness has been staggering. So much so that Secretary Mattis said he was “shocked” by the poor state of U.S. combat readiness. In 2017, we lost 80 service member lives due to accidents and training incidents--nearly four times as many lives killed in combat. With better training and equipment, these deaths may have been preventable. This legislation brings our military into the 21st century and will save lives. Our service members sacrifice so much for this country—the least we can do is keep them prepared and as safe as possible. This bill meets our commitment the United States Armed Forces.
It Provides Long-Delayed Disaster Relief Resources: Last fall, our nation experienced historic, severe natural disasters that destroyed homes and crippled entire communities. This includes the hurricanes that devastated Puerto Rico, Florida, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Texas, and the wildfires that ravaged California. The House already passed legislation providing needed resources for recovery, but it has been stuck in the Senate. This budget agreement finally advances disaster recovery and provides these states and territories with emergency appropriations so victims can rebuild.
It Breaks Parity, with a Bigger Increase for Defense than Non-Defense Spending: For eight years under President Obama, Democrats insisted that an increase in defense spending be tied to an equal increase in non-defense spending. That means that every time we wanted to provide more funding for our military, we had to spend equally in domestic discretionary spending. This arbitrary standard contributed to our military readiness crisis. This budget agreement breaks that parity construct, with significantly less spending for non-defense purposes than for our military.
It Directs Domestic Spending Toward Republican Priorities: While any bipartisan budget agreement requires an increase in non-defense spending, for the first time there is an agreement to direct portions of this spending toward domestic programs that Republicans support. This bipartisan agreement includes providing a down payment on infrastructure; directing spending toward the fight against opioids; continuing Republicans’ efforts to find cures by increasing funding for disease research at the National Institute of Health; and breaking down the backlog at the Veterans Administration. The budget agreement also includes important health care priorities, such as providing resources for community health centers, which are particularly important source of support for women in crisis.
It Includes Meaningful Budget Offsets and Repeals Parts of Obamacare: As we provide critical resources for our military, the agreement also includes reductions in spending that Republicans have long sought, including structural reform to Medicare and big cuts to Obamacare. Among other offsets, the agreement cuts spending from an Obamacare slush fund called the Prevention and Public Health Fund. In addition, the bill repeals the infamous Independent Payment Advisory Board from Obamacare, better known as IPAB. Importantly, the bill also address Medicare, by further means-testing premiums in Medicare Parts B and D for high-income seniors. This is the kind of common-sense structural reform that advances long-held Republican principles to save and strengthen Medicare for the long haul.

BONUS: It establishes a bipartisan, bicameral super committee on budget process reform. A top priority for House Republicans is fixing our broken budget process, but we have not had partners in this effort to make it a reality. This bill brings the Senate and Democrats to the table to start advancing real reforms so that we can finally get back to a functioning budget, spending, and appropriations process.

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1/12/2018 0 Comments

Tax Cuts & Jobs Act is Boosting our Economy

LITTLE ROCK – In December, Democrat Party of Arkansas Chairman Michael John Gray made the following statement regarding the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act:

“Corporations will get the tax cuts, and we're asking our children to pay for them. What the GOP is doing is worse than fiscal irresponsibility -- it's fiscal insanity. Republicans in Congress believe if we give these big corporations more money, it will trickle down to the working class, which is simply a myth that has been proven untrue time and time again.”

Interestingly enough, the tax plan is already putting more money in the pockets of Americans. The Arkansas based company Wal-Mart, the largest employer in the US, has announced that employees will be receiving bonuses and increased starting pay. They join literally hundreds of other major corporations that have reinvested capital into their employees solely due to the new tax plan. Also, the CBO reports that the average middle-class American will see thousands in tax savings come their tax return this year. Jobs, check. Tax cuts, check.

Republican Party of Arkansas Chairman Doyle Webb made the following rebuttal as more companies give back to their employees at a dizzying rate:

“The Democrats believe in higher taxes, more fees, more fines, more regulation, and heavy government oversight. The Republican Party has always operated to alleviate those burdens on the American people. With this tax plan we have done just that, as well as stimulate the economy toward what is turning out to be a very prosperous future for all Arkansans and Americans.”

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8/16/2017

Arkansas Officials Make Statements on Charlottesville Violence and Racism

Governor Asa Hutchinson
"White supremacy has no place in America. When it turned violent in the 80's, I prosecuted them as U.S. Attorney."

Senator John Boozman
"The violence & hatred in Charlottesville is unacceptable. Bigotry has no place in our society. We solve our problems by working together."

Senator Tom Cotton
Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) released the following statement on the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia:

"I'm currently traveling in the Balkans, where the long, violent history of ethnic supremacism still stalks the land and is a reminder of how unique America is. White supremacists who claim to ‘take America back' only betray their own ignorance of what makes America so special: our country's founding recognition of the natural rights of all mankind and commitment to the defense of the rights of all Americans. These contemptible little men do not speak for what is just, noble, and best about America. They ought to face what they would deny their fellow citizens: the full extent of the law."

Republican Party of Arkansas
The Republican Party of Arkansas deplores the recent violence in our country caused by extremists whose values we do not share. We stand against the agenda of the so-called neo-Nazis, the KKK, and other white supremacist groups whose only vision for America is one of hate and exclusion. The Republican Party rejects and renounces racial animus and bigotry. Our Party is open to all Arkansans who share the dream of America’s founding ideals of liberty and opportunity for all. There is no place in the Republican Party for people who promote and condone racial hatred.

The unfortunate and deplorable events in Charlottesville were immoral and unjust. The Republican Party endorses Dr. Martin Luther King’s famous statement that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

5/5/2017 0 Comments

Old Building with New Beginnings

LITTLE ROCK, AR- Construction is well underway at the Rockefeller Republican Center. The steel skeleton of the new Gov. Asa Hutchinson Historium has seemingly sprouted up from the ground overnight and has already eclipsed the current RPA homestead. There are temporary scars on the lawn and parking lot from the heavy equipment that has dug into it over the past few weeks. Foundation, plumbing, electric veins are being set to someday provide for good people who will one day soon enjoy it.

Imagine for a moment your first time entering the new building, walking up and through the modern portico entrance into a reception area featuring a gallery of busts of Arkansan leaders. The reception area is open and inviting with historically significant displays placed around the room.

Above you notice the glowing "Freedom Rings" layered in red, white, and blue. It is the centerpiece light fixture, appearing spacious and pleasant by accompanied sky lit windows. The new addition will also feature two public office spaces for all elected officials, friends, and volunteers to work in private or for an occasional meeting.

To the left, enter the door to the soon to be Huckabee Administration Wing and see RPA staff working busily in what is now the current office building. Step through the doors on the right of the reception room, and you may find Chairman Doyle Webb speaking to a group of 200+ attendees in the Hammerschmidt Hall, complete with a catering kitchen among other amenities.

While we here at the RPA continue our enthusiastic work to grow the Republican Movement in Arkansas, we are occasionally reminded by the banging steel and the roar of backhoes, of our humble beginnings, and the bright future all Arkansas Republicans will surely make possible. If you happen to be in the neighborhood, swing by the RPA headquarters and see it for yourself. It is the result of the hard work and dedication you and many other Arkansans earned and rightfully deserve.

You can immortalize your name on a wall in the Parks Diversity Plaza by donating $150 and we will add a personalized brick, with your choice of text, to be proudly displayed for generations to come. Contact us at communications@arkansasgop.org for more details.

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Five Reasons Why the Bipartisan Budget Agreement Is Critical

Tax Cuts & Jobs Act is Boosting our Economy

Arkansas Officials Make Statements on Charlottesville Violence and Racism

Old Building with New Beginnings

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