ROGERS -- The upcoming federal spending fight will leave bruises on responsible members of Congress who cast the votes to avoid a government shutdown, U.S. Rep. Steve Womack of Rogers predicted Wednesday.
The House will have 12 working days to approve new spending before the new federal fiscal year begins Oct. 1, Womack told the annual conference of the Arkansas Association of Counties. The event at the Rogers Convention Center drew 864 attendees, including vendors and guests, organizers said. Delegations of county officials from 67 of Arkansas' 75 counties arrived at the event Wednesday.
The House is very unlikely to pass the 12 separate spending bills required to fund the the government by proper procedure, Womack said. So the most likely event before Oct. 1 is a continuing resolution to authorize federal spending at current levels, he said. The small Republican majority will probably not be able to muster enough votes on its own to pass such a resolution, he said. Republicans who join a resolution vote that requires Democrats' votes to pass will pay a political price, he said.
Meanwhile, the federal government's $32 trillion debt continues to grow and so do the interest payments upon it.
In other remarks, Womack noted he had just returned from a visit of the headquarters of the Arkansas National Guard's 39th Infantry Brigade, his old unit where he was a colonel, which is in Germany training Ukrainian troops. One of those Ukrainians "is 71 years old," he told the group.
During a question-and-answer session after this speech, Womack was asked how much the U.S. should spend in Ukraine. Womack replied he spent most of his military career training to fight Russia at the Fulda Gap in Germany, and the Ukrainians were fighting and dying at no cost to the U.S. in lives. So the right question should be, what should the U.S. be willing to provide to Ukraine in this fight. "Whatever it takes" is the answer, he said, drawing applause.
On other issues, Womack said Congress was close to a deal in 2018 on comprehensive immigration reform and should have passed it. The border needs to be secured, but as part of an immigration deal, Congress should make the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, exemption permanent. Immigrants who were children when brought to the U.S. by their parents and then grew up here should be shielded from deportation, he said.
"They don't have any other country they can go to," Womack said.
Jeanette Massey, chief deputy treasurer of Faulkner County in central Arkansas, lives outside Womack's congressional district. She said after his speech that the congressman made a very good impression.
Sheila Ridley, Sevier County assessor, laughs Wednesday after winning a prize at an electronic shooting gallery during opening day of the Association of Arkansas Counties convention in Rogers. Benton County is hosting the gathering this year. The convention runs through Friday at the Rogers Convention Center. Activities include break-out sessions for various county office holders, general meetings, classes, an exhibit hall and a fish fry. Go to nwaonline.com/photos for todays photo gallery. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Flip Putthoff)