WASHINGTON -- Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. attended Wednesday night's Democratic presidential debate in Detroit as a guest of one of the hopefuls -- U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif.
The stage was crowded, with 10 candidates facing off, including former Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J.
"It truly was a great feeling when you see so many people who are focused on the forward movement of our nation. It was definitely a great experience," Scott said in a telephone interview Friday.
CNN broadcast the event live. (Ten other candidates fielded questions the previous evening, as well.)
While appreciative of Harris' invitation, Scott has declined, thus far, to take sides in the contest.
The mayor said he is longtime friends with one of Harris' "chief surrogates," former South Carolina state Rep. Bakari Sellers. But he also has a positive relationship with Booker. The former Newark, N.J., mayor enthusiastically backed Scott in 2018.
"I have not endorsed any presidential candidate and do not know if I will, but I do want to take the opportunity to listen on behalf of the citizens of Little Rock," he said.
The office of mayor is nonpartisan, and invitations from both sides of the aisle are valued, Scott said.
On Monday, he and Republican 2nd Congressional District U.S. Rep. French Hill of Little Rock will host a round-table discussion on opportunity zones that will include representatives of President Donald Trump's administration, he added.
Human Services gets Fleece Award
U.S. Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., has awarded his Golden Fleece Award to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services after questioning the agency's oversight of welfare funds.
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families -- or TANF -- block grant program, which dates to 1996, is supposed to encourage recipients to "achieve self-sufficiency," the agency's website states.
But different states have different approaches when it comes to seeking and doling out the money.
Some locations receive -- and distribute -- more money than they should, the lawmaker from Little Rock said.
"[T]oo often individual states have been able to game the system and receive more TANF funds than mandated by law," Hill said in a news release Tuesday. "This failure by HHS to provide proper oversight of state TANF requirements prevents these resources from going to families in other states who desperately need them," Hill said in the release.
In his letter to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, Hill outlined his concerns.
"According to data from HHS and analysis by the Congressional Research Service (CRS), only a small number of non-employed TANF recipients are engaged in work-related or training activities within a given month. This is despite clearly outlined work requirements in the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act," Hill wrote.
Hill complained about specific reporting strategies that he says inflate the amount of money some states receive.
The late U.S. Sen. William Proxmire, D-Wis., created the Golden Fleece Award, using it to highlight government spending that he considered wasteful. After Hill's election to Congress in 2014, he resurrected the award.
Westerman staffer Saylor to exit post
After more than four years in Washington, most of it working for an Arkansas congressman, Ryan Saylor is leaving Capitol Hill and returning to journalism.
Starting Aug. 19, he'll be working as executive producer of digital content for WFXR-TV, Roanoke, Va.'s FOX affiliate.
The city of 99,920, roughly 240 miles outside of Washington, is nestled among the Blue Ridge Mountains. Saylor recently married Susan Patrick, a member of the state bar who lives in southwest Virginia.
"I'm looking forward to being in a place that's not so large and not so busy all the time," he said in an interview. "I never realized how much of a small-town guy I was until I moved to Washington."
Shortly after winning a seat in Congress in 2014, U.S. Rep. Westerman, a Republican from Hot Springs, hired Saylor as his communications director.
Given his past work at the Paragould Daily Press, The City Wire in Fort Smith and Little Rock-based Talk Business & Politics, Saylor already knew the state, including the 4th Congressional District, which Westerman represents.
Saylor said he enjoyed his time on Capitol Hill. Given the stream of Natural State constituents, he never felt that far from home, he added.
The upcoming career change is exciting, he said.
The Roanoke station is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which owns stations in Little Rock and Fayetteville, as well as the Texarkana/Shreveport and El Dorado/Monroe, La. media markets.
"It's nice to be able to get back to my roots and return to a career that I loved," Saylor said.
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.
A Section on 08/04/2019