WASHINGTON -- This weekend U.S. Rep. French Hill and his wife headed to Alabama to join President Barack Obama and nearly 100 other members of Congress to recognize the 50th anniversary of marches that helped lead to the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
The trip was organized for members of Congress by the Faith and Politics Institute of Washington, D.C. On the trip, members were scheduled to visit the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Brown Chapel AME Church and the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
On Saturday, Obama was scheduled to commemorate the anniversary of the Selma-to-Montgomery march by delivering remarks at the Pettus bridge. He was scheduled to be joined by his family and former President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush.
Hill's staff members said the Little Rock Republican paid for the trip with leftover campaign funds and drove from Little Rock to Selma using personal funds.
HUCKABEE
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is scheduled to appear on Fox News Sunday today to discuss Hillary Rodham Clinton's use of personal email while she was secretary of state.
The potential Republican presidential candidate has been a fixture on Sunday morning news shows since announcing in January that he was leaving his Fox News show to explore a 2016 presidential bid.
Fox News Sunday is broadcast at 8 a.m. in Fort Smith and at 10 a.m. in Little Rock and Memphis.
On Saturday, Huckabee was scheduled to join several other potential Republican candidates in speaking to the Iowa Ag Summit in Des Moines.
CLINTON
Hillary Clinton was scheduled to give the closing speech Saturday at the Clinton Global Initiative University 2015 Meeting at the University of Miami.
On Monday, Clinton is scheduled to host an event with Chelsea Clinton and Melinda Gates titled "Not There Yet: A Data Driven Analysis of Gender Equality." They will look at the findings of a Clinton Foundation report on the gains women and girls have made over the past 20 years. It will be webcast live at 11 a.m. at clintonfoundation.org.
ON THE HILL
U.S. Sen. John Boozman, a Republican from Rogers held his first hearing Tuesday as chairman of the Financial Service and General Government Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee.
The hearing looked at the 2016 fiscal year funding request for the U.S. Treasury Department. Testifying were Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen and Russell George, Treasury inspector general for tax administration.
U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, a Republican from Dardanelle, met Monday with Arkansas ONE Campaign volunteers Heather Hansberger from Fayetteville and Abby Olivier from Little Rock and discussed the Global Fund and the Electrify Africa Act.
He met Tuesday with representatives from Monticello Twenty for the Future and the Healthy Start Initiative. On Wednesday, Cotton met with Tyson Foods Executive Vice President Sara Lilygren of Springdale and University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Chancellor Laurence Alexander.
On Monday, Hill met with Little Rock Municipal Airport commissioners Virgil Miller and Jesse Mason, Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport Executive Director Ron Mathieu, and airport spokesman Shane Carter. He also met with Arkansas Funeral Directors Association President Jeff Smith and his family on Tuesday; Mike Switser, with the Arkansas Veterans of Foreign Wars, on Monday; and Sharon Mount, executive director of Paralyzed Veterans of America Mid-South Chapter on Wednesday.
On Monday Hill is scheduled to tour Little Rock Air Force Base in Jacksonville and meet with base leadership.
On Friday, U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, a Republican from Hot Springs, met with members of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville's engineering department.
On Tuesday, he is scheduled to host a ribbon-cutting and open house at his Ozark district office at 10:30 a.m. and then give a speech to the Ozark Rotary Club at noon before hosting a service academy information night in Pearcy at Lake Hamilton High School's media center at 6 p.m.
Westerman also is scheduled to attend the grand opening of an education center in the Landmark Building at 201 Market St. in Hot Springs at 2 p.m. Friday.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, a Republican from Rogers, met with members of the Arkansas Farm Bureau. On Tuesday his guest for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to Congress was former Wal-Mart Chief Operating Officer Don Soderquist.
VETERAN ADVISeR
Retired Col. Anita Deason of Conway has joined Boozman's staff as an adviser for military and veterans issues.
Deason served 33 years in the Arkansas Army National Guard. She was promoted to colonel during her final assignment as human resources officer for the Guard. She has earned the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal and the Arkansas Commendation Medal, according to Boozman's office.
Deason replaces longtime aide retired Lt. Col. Steve Gray who left in January.
ACADEMY APPOINTMENT
On Friday, U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford, a Republican from Jonesboro, announced three appointments to military academies from his district. Appointment to a U.S. service academy requires a congressional nomination.
Ethan Chambers of Star City was appointed to the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo. Chambers, 18, is to graduate from Star City High School and has letters in football, weightlifting and track. Chambers joined the Civil Air Patrol in 2011.
Elijah Seigrist of Scott was appointed to the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y. Seigrist, 17, attends Lonoke High School and lettered in baseball.
George Isaac "Ike" Heinemann of Jonesboro was appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. Heinemann, 18, plays varsity football and track and field at Valley View High School, works as a lineman at Jonesboro Municipal Airport, and was a cadet commander in the Civil Air Patrol.
FIREARMS LEGISLATION
Last week, Cotton introduced the Veterans Heritage Firearms Act of 2015, which would create a 180-day amnesty period for veterans or their family members to register firearms acquired overseas before Oct. 31, 1968 without facing prosecution.
According to Cotton's office, many American troops legally obtained firearms overseas during World War II or the Korean War, but do not have the proper paperwork to accompany those firearms. As a result, they cannot obtain the permit required to legally possess the weapons. Congress passed a similar amnesty period in 1968.
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Metro on 03/08/2015