WASHINGTON -- With the U.S. House and Senate on recess until after the November election, members of Arkansas' delegation were busy back in their districts and on the campaign trail.
O
n Saturday, Republican Sen. John Boozman was scheduled to attend the Ozark National Guard Charlie Battery Reunion, held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Ozark National Guard Armory. The event is for former commanders and members of the unit and their families. Boozman's father, grandfather and great-uncle served in the 142nd Fires Brigade Charlie Battery.
On Wednesday, Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor and Republican Rep. Steve Womack participated in the groundbreaking ceremony for the U.S. Marshals Museum in Fort Smith.
Also Wednesday, Pryor spoke to the Arkansas Grocers and National Retail Merchants Association in Little Rock and received the Hero of Main Street award from the national group for his work on the Marketplace Fairness Act.
This Thursday, Pryor is scheduled to speak at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Aquaculture Field Day Luncheon about protecting Arkansas' catfish industry.
On Monday, Womack visited Rogers New Tech High School and went on a tour with Main Street Rogers and on Tuesday he rode the Peel Ferry to a town hall in Lazy Acres and spoke to the Boone County Recovery Project; on Thursday he hosted a Coffee with the Congressman event in Dover, attended the Inglewood Manor ribbon-cutting and visited Pottsville High School.
He was scheduled to speak at and walk in the Northwest Arkansas ALS walk Saturday, and Tuesday he is scheduled to go to the St. Joseph's School National Blue Ribbon Exemplary High Performing School announcement in Fayetteville.
On Monday, Republican Rep. Tim Griffin met with Mayflower Street Department Supervisor Jimmy Joe Johnson and presented him with a framed statement Griffin had submitted into the Congressional Record, recognizing and honoring Mr. Johnson for his swift actions to protect Lake Conway during the oil spill.
On Tuesday, Griffin is scheduled to meet with the new leadership of Little Rock Air Force Base in his Little Rock district office.
Republican Rep. Rick Crawford spoke Thursday at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff's 100th anniversary celebration of the Cooperative Extension. It was held in conjunction with the Lonoke Farm Field Day at the Pearlie S. Reed/Robert L. Cole Small Farm Outreach Wetlands and Water Management Center in Lonoke.
CAMPAIGNS
Tea Party Express, which calls itself the nation's largest Tea Party political action committee, endorsed Republican Rep. Tom Cotton's U.S. Senate campaign Friday. On Wednesday, Cotton was endorsed by the Hispanic Business Roundtable Institute.
On Friday, he spoke at the northeast Arkansas bankers luncheon in Jonesboro. On Saturday, he was scheduled to attend the Mount Nebo chicken fry and stop in White Hall to meet with supporters before tailgating with ROTC students at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff football game, staff said.
Pryor was also scheduled to hold a tailgate event at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff game against Jackson State University. He is scheduled to make a campaign stop in Texarkana on Monday at the Texarkana Convention Center.
On Friday, Democratic candidate for state attorney general Nate Steel was endorsed by the National Rifle Association.
NATIONAL DINNER
Former President Bill Clinton is scheduled to speak at the 18th annual Human Rights Campaign National Dinner on Oct. 25 in Washington.
The Human Rights Campaign is the country's largest civil-rights organization focused on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender equality. The group's president, Chad Griffin, is an Arkansan.
COUNCIL APPOINTMENT
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack reappointed University of Arkansas professor Karen Moldenhauer to the National Genetic Resources Advisory Council for a term expiring Oct. 1, 2017.
Moldenhauer is the Rice Industry Chair for Variety Development at the University of Arkansas.
SENATE YOUTH PROGRAM
Interested Arkansas students have until Friday to speak with their high school principals about the United States Senate Youth Program.
Two students from each state who are considering a public-service career will be brought on an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington from March 7-14. The students will each receive a $5,000 college scholarship.
While in Washington the students will hear from senators, Cabinet members and directors of other federal agencies, and will meet a U.S. Supreme Court justice.
More information on the program is available at www.ussenateyouth.org. Students must be nominated by their high school principal. The Arkansas Department of Education picks two attendees.
EDUCATIONAL GRANTS
University of Arkansas biomedical engineering professors have received a three-year, $395,722 grant from the National Science Foundation to study how brain cells respond to traumatic injury, the university announced Friday.
The researchers developed a bioreactor -- essentially a bench-top version of the crash test used to test vehicle safety -- that can mimic crashes that cause brain injuries.
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock was one of 10 universities nationally to receive a grant to help increase the number of underrepresented students in elementary and secondary school gifted and talented programs. The $368,205 grant came from the U.S. Department of Education.
Planning to visit the nation's capital? Know something happening in Washington, D.C.? Contact us at (202) 662-7690 or [email protected].
SundayMonday on 09/28/2014