Washington news in brief

Reading nonprofit honors Womack

WASHINGTON -- United Through Reading honored U.S. Rep. Steve Womack on Wednesday at its fourth annual Tribute to Military Families. The organization helps members of the armed forces connect with their children while they're deployed far away.

The nonprofit records video of service members reading books, then ships the book and video to their families back home.

The event raised $340,000. Contributors included Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Rheem Manufacturing Co., which has a plant in Fort Smith, organizers said.

Womack is a member of the House Appropriations Committee's subcommittees overseeing spending on defense, military construction and veterans affairs.

A former executive director of the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Army ROTC Program, Womack served 30 years in the Arkansas Army National Guard, retiring as a colonel in 2009.

The Republican from Rogers told the group that its work is important.

"The ability to remain connected through United Through Reading is priceless to the family," he said.

Sally Ann Zoll, the organization's chief executive officer, said Womack has a personal connection to the group.

"Having read to his two grandsons, Liam and Kaden, with United Through Reading, he understands the power and impact of the read-aloud experience, and we are very fortunate to have him as a passionate advocate for United Through Reading and military families," she said.

Arkansan Streett promoted by BP

Mary Streett, a Russellville native and longtime Washington, D.C., resident, is getting a big promotion from one of the world's biggest companies.

BP, the British-based oil company, recently named her as its new senior vice president of U.S. communications and external affairs.

She starts Aug. 1.

Streett, who is current BP America's vice president and head of U.S. government affairs, replaces Geoff Morrell, a former Pentagon spokesman who once worked at KATV in Little Rock.

Morrell, who had worked at BP America since 2013, is headed for a top BP job in London.

Streett worked in the Clinton administration and served as Arkansas communications director for the 2000 Gore-Lieberman campaign.

She's a 1987 graduate of Russellville High School and a graduate of the W.H. Bowen School of Law at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Cottons featured at D.C. fundraiser

The March of Dimes, which works to prevent birth defects and infant mortality, highlighted an Arkansas family Tuesday at a Washington fundraiser.

During the 35th annual March of Dimes Gourmet Gala, guests were shown a video featuring U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, his wife, Anna, and their sons, Gabriel and Daniel.

Daniel, the couple's youngest, was born in December and spent his two first weeks in a neonatal intensive care unit.

Anna's labor was induced at 37 weeks because she was suffering from cholestasis, a liver condition that poses a threat to an unborn child. Soon after Daniel's birth, he experienced respiratory distress, a problem that is more likely when a baby hasn't been carried to term.

"Because of all the tubes, I couldn't just scoop him up," Anna Cotton said.

"Daniel was a big kid for the NICU," the senator said. "You know, some of those babies you could hold in the palm of your hand. We knew that their parents were going to be there for months at a time with them."

The Republican from Dardanelle said he was grateful that his son improved and made it home in time for Christmas.

His wife agreed, saying "I feel like I'm holding a healthy baby, in part, because of the work that March of Dimes has done."

Boozman talks up state's drug courts

In a speech on the Senate floor last week, U.S. Sen. John Boozman praised Arkansas' drug courts, calling the alternative to prison "a critical component of today's criminal justice system."

The Republican from Rogers told his colleagues that Arkansas has 90 of the nontraditional courts and that they serve more than 3,000 people statewide.

"The results are impressive," he said.

"Ninety percent of Arkansas drug court participants' drug tests come back negative for illegal substances, compared to 64 percent of those on probation and parole," he said.

The program also saves taxpayers $45 million per year, he added.

Boozman's speech coincided with National Drug Court Month.

Also last week, Boozman Skyped with students from Southside Elementary School in Cabot, spoke to members of Lions Club International and led U.S. Coast Guard chaplains on a tour of the U.S. Capitol.

On Tuesday, the senator and his wife, Kathy, were celebrity chefs at the March of Dimes Gourmet Gala, which raised $1.1 million for charity.

Boozman donned a white apron and scooped out servings of Fruit Slush. A spokesman described the dish as "some sort of sherbet, whole fruits, ice concoction."

Crawford caps off week at memorial

U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford met with several groups from the Natural State last week. On Tuesday, he met with members of the Arkansas Society of Certified Public Accountants. On Wednesday, he visited with members of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, as well as a group from the Arkansas Trucking Association.

As a member of the House Agriculture Committee, Crawford attended a briefing delivered by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue.

Before leaving Washington for the Memorial Day recess, the Republican from Jonesboro paused at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to pay his respects.

The names of more than 58,000 Americans who died during the conflict are listed on the wall.

Planning to visit the nation's capital? Know something happening in Washington, D.C.? Please contact Frank Lockwood at (202) 662-7690 or [email protected]. Want the latest from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's Washington bureau? It's available on Twitter, @LockwoodFrank.

SundayMonday on 05/28/2017

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