Dr. Boozman's Check-up
Protecting Wildlife
Jun 13 2017
We want to continue to ensure Arkansas is rightly called the Natural State so our children and grandchildren can enjoy all we have been blessed with.
In Arkansas, there are 32 threatened and endangered species. According to the Union for Conservation of Nature, there are more than 16,000 endangered species threatened with extinction on Earth. It is imperative that we protect these species, stop illegal poaching and trafficking and promote the conservation and responsible management of all of God’s creatures.
That is why I am proud to announce that the Wildlife Innovation and Longevity Driver (WILD) Act recently passed the Senate. The WILD Act, which I am proud to cosponsor, will enable us to promote wildlife conservation, assist in the management of invasive species and help protect endangered species.
Specifically, this bill will reauthorize and fund the Department of the Interior’s Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program until fiscal year 2022. Federal agencies must also implement strategic programs to control invasive species and reauthorize programs to protect endangered species. Most importantly, the WILD Act will establish competitions for the private sector to encourage the development of innovative technology and create solutions for wildlife management and prevention of poaching and trafficking.
The WILD Act is supported by both the World Wildlife Fund and the Family Farm Alliance. Partnerships like these are more effective at protecting species and wildlife rather than the costly and job killing regulations that stem from the top-down. I firmly believe that the bipartisan WILD Act will enable us to better protect and conserve our wildlife around the world. It is for these reasons that I am cosponsoring the WILD Act and encourage the House of Representatives to follow our lead and pass the bill so we can make it law.
ICYMI: Tele-town Hall
May 09 2017
I regularly host telephone town halls. These events allow me to reach thousands of Arkansans in a live, interactive town hall meeting conducted over the telephone at the touch of a button and encourage productive conversations with Arkansans across the state about issues important to families, businesses and the future of our country.
If you missed the event I hosted Monday, May 8 you can listen to the conversation here.
Listen to My Latest Telephone Town Hall
Mar 28 2017
Arkansans from across the Natural State shared their concerns about issues important to them with me during a telephone town hall this week.
A wide variety of issues including health care, immigration and regulatory reform were discussed. If you missed the conversation you can listen to it here (Note: There is approximately 45 seconds of silence in the recording before the event begins).
I will continue to host telephone town halls as these live, interactive meetings are an excellent way for Arkansans to share their concerns and questions with me. Find out how to participate in the next one here.
This week I helped introduce the Deborah Sampson Act, legislation to improve health services for women veterans. This story by 5NEWS shows why we need to pass this legislation.
Watch: Talk Business & Politics Interview
Mar 13 2017
I recently joined Talk Business & Politcs’ Roby Brock to share my thoughts on the aggression of North Korea and how our country should respond, health care reform and the APPROVAL Act. Watch the interview that aired Sunday, March 12.
ICYMI: Boozman Joins KASU
Feb 06 2017
I joined Jonesboro’s KASU to answer listener questions and discuss the Senate business this week. The Senate is debating President Trump’s cabinet nominees, but the process is taking an unnecessarily long time. This is the slowest Cabinet confirmation process since the Eisenhower administration. Listen to the interview here.
We ran out of time before answering all of the questions that listeners asked. Here are the questions we didn't get to:
“What are your thoughts about the government’s role in funding CPB and the arts and the humanities?”
These are valuable tools to keep citizens informed and educated. I understand the importance of these investments to Arkansans and to listeners of KASU and other public radio stations in our state. I have been supportive of these programs during my service in the House and Senate. As a former school board member, I truly understand the importance for arts education funding throughout our Arkansas communities.
"What are we doing to preserve equal meaningful coverage for ALL constituents, including those with low to moderate income, and including those with pre-existing conditions?”
Obamacare places a higher value on attaining coverage benchmarks than it places on providing access to truly affordable, quality care. As a result, millions of Americans have lost their private insurance they liked and the doctors with whom they had long-standing relationships. These have been replaced by Obamacare policies baring higher premiums and deductibles while offering fewer options to find care.
This will not be a quick process as these serious issues deserve thoughtful debate. There are certain policy provisions in Obamacare that I support—such as coverage for pre-existing conditions and flexibility for older children to remain on their parents’ health insurance—that my colleagues and I will make an effort to include in a replacement that provides flexibility, choice, portability and fairness for all. I am committed to working with my colleagues to establish a careful and orderly transition to a patient-centered health care system that truly is affordable, not just in name but in practice, and actually works for the American people.
On the Radio
Jan 17 2017
I recently joined KFFB to talk about the busy start to the 115th Congress that includes the first step to repeal Obamacare. We discussed President Obama’s failure to veto a United Nation’s Security Council resolution criticizing Israel for its construction of settlements in the West Bank and efforts that Congress will undertake to rollback overregulation once President-elect Trump takes office. This is a historic week in the nation’s capital and I was happy to share my past experiences of Inauguration Day.
ICYMI: KASU Interview January 10, 2016
Jan 10 2017
I joined Jonesboro’s KASU to discuss the busy start to the 115th Congress. As we get ready for a new administration the Senate is beginning confirmation hearings for President-elect Trump’s cabinet nominees. I talked about this, the work to repeal Obamacare and more in this interview.