Cotton honors vet who died this year
WASHINGTON -- With Independence Day nearing, U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton paid tribute Thursday to the patriotism and courage of Arthur Jackson, 92, a Medal of Honor recipient and World War II veteran who died June 14 in Boise, Idaho.
As a 19-year-old Marine private, Jackson fought on the island of Peleliu, roughly 500 miles east of the Philippines.
In September 1944, when Japanese troops opened fire on his platoon, he charged toward a pillbox that contained roughly 35 enemy soldiers, using white phosphorous grenades to clear it out. He eventually destroyed 12 pillboxes and after the war, President Harry Truman presented him with the nation's highest military decoration for battlefield valor.
In a speech on the Senate floor, Cotton called Jackson "one of the greats," saying his heroism would "inspire future generations of Americans for decades to come."
Honorable finishes energy panel stint
Friday was Colette Honorable's final day as a commissioner on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
A former Arkansas Public Service Commission chairman, she left Little Rock in 2014 after being appointed by then-President Barack Obama to serve on the five-member board.
She was unanimously confirmed by the Senate.
An aide said Honorable hasn't announced what she plans to do next.
While Honorable was packing up, someone else with Arkansas political ties was preparing to move in.
President Donald Trump announced last week that he plans to nominate Richard Glick, a Senate energy committee attorney, to serve on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
The Virginia man once worked for then-Sen. Dale Bumpers, D-Ark., serving as his legislative director and chief counsel.
Arkansan promotes cancer-study work
Mary Katherine Wilson, a member of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network-Northwest Arkansas, traveled to Washington, D.C., last month to participate in the organization's 10th annual Pancreatic Cancer Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill.
The Fayetteville woman was one of 700 people who urged members of Congress to increase funding for the National Cancer Institute and the National Institutes of Health.
"Research is critical in the fight against the third leading cause of cancer deaths," she said in an email. "I started this fight after I lost both my mom and my dad to this horrible disease."
An estimated 53,670 people will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2017, the American Cancer Society estimates. This year, an estimated 43,090 will die of the disease.
There's no reliable screening mechanism. By the time it is diagnosed, it is typically in an advanced stage. The five-year survival rate is 9 percent.
Wilson urged people to call their elected representatives and ask them to support funding for cancer research.
"It is not a partisan issue, it is a people issue which could mean life or death," she wrote.
Catholic High kids stop in to visit Hill
Students from Catholic High School in Little Rock stopped by U.S. Rep. French Hill's office last week. The young men, all members of the school's JROTC program, were in D.C. to compete in the Marine Corps JROTC Academic Bowl.
On Facebook, Hill posted a picture of his guests and said he was glad they stopped by.
"As a Catholic graduate and a former member of the Marine Corps JROTC unit, I am extremely proud of these young leaders, and I enjoyed hearing from them about their experiences at Catholic High and about what they have planned for their futures," the Republican from Little Rock said.
Credit union group visits with Crawford
On Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford met with credit union members from Arkansas and with representatives of the National Council of Farm Cooperatives, a spokesman said.
Earlier in the week, Crawford attended the House Transportation Committee's meeting on the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization and a House Agricultural Committee meeting.
The Republican from Jonesboro serves on both committees, as well as the House Intelligence Committee.
Cotton office seeks intern applicants
U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton is looking for interns to work in his Little Rock and Springdale offices.
Some will start in late summer, working from Aug. 28-Oct. 13. The rest will begin in the fall, serving from Oct. 16-Dec. 8.
Successful applicants "will have the opportunity to help with the daily operations of Senator Cotton's office," according to a news release from the Dardanelle Republican.
Some schools award students academic credit for successfully completing the assignment, it noted.
Anyone who is interested can send a resume and a cover letter to vanessa_moody@cotton.senate.gov.
Planning to visit the nation's capital? Know something happening in Washington, D.C.? Please contact Frank Lockwood at (202) 662-7690 or flockwood@arkansasonline.com. Want the latest from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's Washington bureau? It's available on Twitter, @LockwoodFrank.
SundayMonday on 07/02/2017