3 in Congress work to help tire company
WASHINGTON- U.S. Sens. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., John Boozman, R-Ark., and U.S. Rep. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., released a letter Wednesday asking administration officials to protect the interests of Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. in China ahead of meetings of the U.S.-China Joint Committee on Commerce and Trade in Beijing. Congressmen from other states also signed the letter.
Cooper is an Ohio-based global tire manufacturer with facilities in Arkansas, Ohio and Mississippi. Cooper has a large manufacturing facility in Shandong province, which accounts for roughly 25 percent of Cooper’s worldwide production. According to a news release, Cooper executives have been denied access to the facility and its financial data.
The letter was sent to Secretary of State John Kerry, Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Mike Froman.
Pryor and Cotton are running for the same U.S. Senate seat in 2014.
Senators exchange Secret Santa gifts
Some members of the U.S. Senate held a bipartisan Secret Santa gift exchange before leaving Washington last week.
Sen. Mark Pryor gave a Bluebird of Happiness, glassbluebirds first made in Northwest Arkansas, to Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. He received Ohio-made products - Great Lakes Beer, Dum-Dum Lollipops, Graeter’s Chocolate Buckeyes and Smucker’s Jam - from Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio.
Sen. John Boozman gave a gift basket with butter biscuit mix and peach and strawberry jelly from the House of Webster in Rogers to Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. He received barbecue sauce from the Montana Redneck Sauce Co., as well as chocolate and coffee from Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont. The products were all made in Bozeman, Mont.
School-lunch grants
awarded to states
On Wednesday, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced $11 million in grants to states, including Arkansas, to help schools purchase equipment to make it easier to prepare and serve healthy meals. Arkansas received $292,717.
Fourteen states, the District of Columbia and Guam were selected on the basis of the number of students receiving free and reduced-price meals from the National School Lunch Program. Other states receiving money are California, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Washington. States will award the funds to school districts to purchase equipment, with priority given to districts serving a high percentage of low-income children.
Manchin, Boozman
target EPA rules
U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W. Va., and John Boozman introduced legislation Wednesday to change how Environmental Protection Agency rules and regulations are written.
Supporters say the EPA Science Advisory Board Reform Act would try to make the process more open and transparent by changing how board members are chosen and what information they have to disclose, as well as expanding the public’s chance to comment and participate in the rule-making process.
The board was established by the Environmental Research, Development and Demonstration Authorization Act of 1978 to provide scientific advice to the EPA and congressional committees.
Womack seeking interns for offices
U.S. Rep. Steve Womack is looking for college students to intern in his Washington, D.C., office and his district offices in Rogers, Fort Smith and Harrison.
The internship lasts from Jan. 6 to May 16. Internship requirements and application materials are available at: http://womack.house.gov/ constituentservices/internships.htm or by calling (202) 225-4301.
Planning to visit the nation’s capital? Know something happening in Washington, D.C.? Contact us at (202) 662-7690 or swire@arkansasonline.com
Front Section, Pages 13 on 12/22/2013