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Congressman Billy Long issued the following statement regarding the 20th anniversary of 9/11. “Bonnie Bell and I were live on ‘Morning Line with Bonnie and Billy’ on KWTO AM560 in Springfield, Missouri when a caller said “Did you know a plane just hit the World Trade Center?” We said “no” thinking it may have been a Cub Piper that the wind had blown into one of the towers. ...

This week in Washington, Joe Biden rolled out the single-most outrageous, unconstitutional expansion of the federal government’s power in my lifetime, announcing his administration will require private employers to mandate vaccines for all their employees. ...

Mark Twain National Forest continues to work with partners to eliminate feral hogs in and around the Forest, supporting statewide interagency feral hog elimination efforts through the Missouri Feral Hog Elimination Partnership.  The past two years have yielded significant results on the land.  A focus on trapping across boundaries, working with USDA APHIS, MDC, neighboring landowners, and many other partners resulted in a big increase in the numbers of hogs successfully trapped.  Utilizing multiple methods, including aerial gunning has been effective as well.   . ...

After the unfolding disaster that we have all witnessed in Afghanistan, the American people expect – and the families of the Marines who were killed deserve – accountability for such catastrophic failures. Tens of billions of dollars in equipment were left for the Taliban. ...

Missouri State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick today applauded the Missouri Housing Development Commission (MHDC) for unanimously passing this year’s Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) and expanding the availability of accelerated redemption for low-income housing tax credits (LIHTC) to up to 50% of state LIHTC. This is an increase from 20% of total projects in the pilot program...

Hi folks, Abby here. Meet my friend Tommy. I didn’t realize that we were going to be friends until yesterday. You see, Dad built me a grooming table in the garage, and then he made me a ramp to walk up to the table. He lined it with roofing shingles so I wouldn’t slip...

Biden’s Inflation Crisis. Biden’s Border Crisis. Biden’s Energy Crisis. Biden’s Afghanistan Crisis. Since President Biden came to office, his administration’s policies have led to serious challenges for our country. This week, Washington Democrats jammed through a budget that will only make each of these crises worse and in doing so provided the most stark example yet that Nancy Pelosi treats the People’s House like it’s her personal palace. Unfortunately for the American people, her deceit means new policies that harm the working class through skyrocketing inflation, higher energy costs, increasing taxes, and more command and control for Washington bureaucrats over their lives.. ...

Utilizing our natural resources is a way of life for Arkansans. Citizens of the Natural State have set a good example for stewardship of the environment because we understand our agriculture and outdoor recreation industries are dependent on our ability to sustain and protect our land and water. We need simple, commonsense rules that allow us to preserve these resources...

A federal appeals court has ruled in favor of the state Education Department, and against four south Arkansas school districts that want to be exempt from the state school choice law. The Hope, Camden-Fairview, Junction City and Lafayette County School Districts had argued in court that if they had to comply with the Arkansas School Choice Act of 2017, white flight would create a new era of segregation in their classrooms...

This week, the Arkansas Legislative Council Higher Education Subcommittee reviewed details of a new program designed to benefit Arkansans who have been economically impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Reimagine Arkansas Workforce Project provides funding for qualifying individuals to complete online training at no cost in order to meet workforce needs across the state...

By Chuck Jones The mission of a community bank is to step up when local people need help. Lending decisions at community banks are made by local people who share a deep understanding about the needs of families, businesses and farmers. Local banks tend to form personal relationships with customers who are so dependent on the local area...

The situation we have watched over the last week in Afghanistan is heartbreaking, and I’m praying for the American troops, and personnel, and families who remain in harm’s way.  Twenty years is long enough to have been in Afghanistan, but it is unthinkable to me that as America worked to end one of our longest wars, that this administration could have been so catastrophically unprepared for the crisis that is following. ...

By Rep. Jason Smith FoxNews.com All across Washington, Democrats are relishing the opportunity to use a budget from Senator Bernie Sanders to unlock $3.5 trillion in new spending and taxes on American families. Washington Democrats have been quick to claim credit for the future success they say their $3.5 trillion spending spree will bring to Americans. ...

The number of people who live in Arkansas increased by about 95,600 over the past 10 years, a growth rate of 3.3 percent that brought the state’s population to more than three million people. The population of the entire United States grew by 7.4 percent, to more than 332 million people...

When terrorists attacked our country on September 11, 2001, we demonstrated the steadfast resolve that unifies us as Americans and exhibited the enduring spirit that guides and shapes our response in times of crisis. Thousands of brave men and women answered the call to military service, boldly fighting to defend and protect the United States and deliver justice for the innocent lives cut short by the brutal actions of Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda...

Everyone has a responsibility to ensure students arrive at and from school safely. This includes being mindful of student safety when approaching school buses.  We want to take this week to remind Arkansans to obey all traffic laws whenever they are near a school bus. ...

American families struggling to get by got more bad news this week, as a key report that tracks inflation showed that it jumped last month by the largest amount since 2008. The consumer price index increased 5.4 percent since July of last year, and 0.5 percent last month alone. ...

On Monday, Aug. 16, U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.), who has served on the Intelligence Committee in both the House and Senate, released the following statement on Afghanistan: “The catastrophe that has unfolded in Afghanistan was an unforced error. We are now faced with a devastating collapse of our intelligence gathering capabilities while terrorists regain a foothold to launch attacks against the United States and our allies. ...

The House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee met on Monday to begin the discussion on the redistricting process for Congressional districts in Arkansas. Redistricting is the periodic redrawing of district boundaries that elected representatives who serve specific geographic areas...

The Arkansas Legislative Council approved a funding request of more than $245 million to help hospitals and nursing homes recruit and retain staff, and to cope with extraordinary expenses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The money comes from a massive federal act known as the American Rescue Plan, which sends about $1,573 billion to Arkansas state government and an additional $1 billion to Arkansas cities and counties. Other ARP funds will go to schools and for capital projects...

We all know that our fiscal house isn’t in order right now. The national debt stands at $28 trillion dollars, the projected budget deficit for Fiscal Year 2021 is nearly $3 trillion and President Joe Biden is aiming to approve more than $5 trillion in spending just this year...

A program intended to help provide worker’s compensation insurance for volunteer firefighters will finally receive funding thanks to the efforts of Sen. Karla Eslinger, R-Wasola. A grant program to fund worker’s compensation premiums was authorized in 2016, but no money has been budgeted until this year. Sen. Eslinger, who serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee, helped secure a $575,000 appropriation in the Fiscal Year 2022 budget...

Every year I look forward to my annual summer visits to different farming operations and Agriculture industry-related businesses across the 30 counties which make up Missouri’s 8th Congressional District. This was a tradition started by my predecessors and I am proud to have carried that tradition on every year since being elected to the U.S. Congress. ...

By Phill Brooks This year was the second time I’ve seen the power women legislators can have when they are united. The latest was success of a bi-partisan group of Missouri women senators to force a compromise on an effort to impose strict limits on Medicaid coverage for birth control options...

By Josh Hawley Parents know something is wrong. It’s why they are showing up in droves at school-board meetings across the nation. They are sending a message. They don’t want their children taught that the true founding of America came in 1619, or that America is a systemically racist place, or that most Americans are ­oppressors. They don’t want their children taught lies. And they are right. ...

This week, Speaker Pelosi unveiled a January 6 Select Committee in the House of Representatives that she claims is designed to investigate “the facts.” But to Washington Democrats, the investigation is not about finding facts. It’s just another opportunity to attack President Trump, the Republican Party, and conservatives across America...

Sen. Roy Blount, R-Mo., and Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., brought the 2021 version of the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act to the Senate floor last week. The legislation is the latest attempt to support the long-term health of fish, wildlife and their habitats with dedicated, annual funding...

This weekend, billions of people around the world tuned into the Summer Olympic Games in Japan. Since its modern creation in 1896, when the Athens Olympic Games were held, the Olympics have been an event of patriotism and celebration, as entire nations cheer on their athletes. One of the reasons I look forward – and so many Americans look forward – to the Olympic Games is because it’s a chance for us all to unite behind our athletes...

This year computer and electronic equipment will be included in the Arkansas sales tax holiday. Every year the sales tax holiday is the first weekend in August. This year it will be Saturday, August 7, and Sunday, August 8. Consumers will not have to pay sales tax on any articles of clothing that cost less than $100. ...

President Joe Biden’s reckless spending policies are making life more expensive for Arkansans. The money we’ve budgeted for the grocery store isn’t stretching as far, consumers in the market for a used car are finding a sky-high expense and the sticker shock at the gas pump is forcing us to fork over more of our hard-earned money. ...

This week, a subcommittee of Arkansas Legislative Council that provides oversight for Arkansas Game and Fish and Arkansas State Police heard from Arkansas State Police Director Col. Bill Bryant regarding recent successes and challenges facing state troopers...

I’m not sure if hypersonic missiles or Iran’s drones have a chance of first strike capability. If so, or if some countries will think so, and/or don’t fear a second strike, then we need to take preventative steps. The same applies to nuclear weapons (with or without these,) and perhaps likewise even poison gas...

I was having some major problems with my vehicle [2000 Ford Ranger] for about a week and had estimates at different places which I felt were extreme. I remembered taking it to Mr. Oiley’s at one time for spark plugs, so I called and spoke with a nice man, Jackson. ...

There is probably no acronym in the English language that provokes more fear for the average American taxpayer than the initials I-R-S. In fact, polling recently showed a whopping 65 percent of Americans believe the Internal Revenue Service is already too powerful. But, for President Joe Biden, the IRS is the key to jumpstarting his radical, progressive agenda...

By Missouri State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick As a kid, summer is often a time to relax, forget about the rigors of school, sit by the pool and get a tan, and maybe earn some spending money in a summer job. But summer is also the perfect time to get your high schooler thinking about higher education and how to pay for it...

Congress’ most basic responsibility is to ensure our homeland is secure and American families remain safe from those who wish to do us harm. But Washington Democrats are collectively sticking their heads in the sand and ignoring the coming budget crisis, which would jeopardize that security so many of us rely upon. ...

Arkansans know that no summer barbecue is complete without fresh watermelon. Our state may not be the largest producer of watermelon, but Arkansas communities lay claim to being the home of the world’s largest and the world’s sweetest. The month of July is known as National Watermelon Month. July is typically the largest shipping month of the year, with over 15 states harvesting simultaneously...

As a pilot in the China-Burma-India Theater during World War II flying C-47s and C-46s, Ray Randall said he “had to use all kinds of ingenuity.” The dangerous transport missions required him to fly over “The Hump” among the Himalayas to provide American and Chinese forces supplies necessary to defeat the Japanese...

The state Board of Education has approved another round of plans submitted by Arkansas school districts that want the option of offering online classes in the fall. At a special meeting, the Board approved 60 applications from school districts and charter schools...

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Across most of the US, states are struggling to quell a worsening opiate epidemic. While this is happening, one problem continues to rage on in states across the country. NBC News reported on meth with some shocking results. Not only is meth, also known as ice, crank, speed, chalk and gak, the highly addictive and damaging drug is still a huge problem throughout the US According to the U.S. ...

This July 4, America marked its 245th birthday. The freedom and liberty that our Founding Fathers envisioned have become pillars of not only our society, but for countries around the globe. The Declaration of Independence boldly declares that all of us are born with God-given rights, and that no one can take those away from us. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” Americans have always been able to come together to recognize that whatever our differences, we can all be grateful for a country whose founding principle is working towards freedom and equality.. ...

The Missouri General Assembly is back in session. The governor called us back to the Capitol because the Senate failed to pass legislation renewing the FRA, or Federal Reimbursement Allowance, during the regular legislative session that ended in May. ...

The right to vote is one of our most sacred rights as Americans. It is fundamental to our democracy. Protecting the integrity of our elections should matter to everyone, because every single instance of voter fraud amounts to canceling out a legitimate vote. Unelected bureaucrats do not – and should not - get to decide whose votes count and whose votes don’t count. The American people choose who represents them, not the other way around. ...

As the Arkansas tourism industry recovers from the economic impacts of the pandemic, the governor announced the creation of a new Office of Outdoor Recreation. It will be in the state Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism, and over the summer the department will hire a director for the office to coordinate and promote stewardship of the outdoors in Arkansas...

There are currently 58,000 Arkansans who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. It is estimated that 67,000 will be diagnosed by 2025. June is Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month, an opportunity to hold a conversation about the brain, and share the fact that Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias are a major public health issue...

Although we are attempting to return to normal following our experience with the COVID-19 virus; there are variants of the virus that are causing further infections. It is important that all of us become vaccinated in order to combat this issue effectively. Not only does it protect you but will deter the spread of the disease. I don’t think any of us wishes to return to the lifestyle we had in 2020...

Last week, Washington Democrats kicked their spending into high gear, using a shadowy political tactic in an attempt to approve part of Joe Biden’s massive budget without any opportunity for debate. When Congress sets its spending levels each year, the law requires both the House and Senate to pass a budget resolution, giving both parties the opportunity to debate the proposal on its merits. ...

The state will commit $17 million to extending a runway at the Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Fort Smith. The Air Force announced it would locate a new training center for pilots who fly F-35 Lightning II and F-16 Fighting Falcon jets. Arkansas won out over proposals from military bases in Texas, Indiana, Colorado and Michigan...