Chamber members visit Capitol Hill
WASHINGTON -- Members of the Springdale Chamber of Commerce traveled to Capitol Hill last week, eager for some face time with lawmakers and congressional staff members.
"It's an annual trip. We've done it in springtime, but generally it's this time of year," said Bill Rogers, the chamber's vice president of communications and special projects.
Twenty-nine people made the trip this time.
On the House side, things didn't go quite as planned.
"Normally, they're battling over the budget or whatever, so it's always an interesting time for us to be there," Rogers said.
But this year, the House was nearly deserted; most lawmakers, facing re-election, left town earlier than originally scheduled so they could spend more time in their districts.
U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., was still there, however, awaiting the group's arrival.
With no votes to cast and no committee meetings to attend, the pace Monday wasn't quite as frenzied.
"To be honest, it really gave us more time than normal with the congressman because he didn't have to be anywhere," Rogers said.
Tariffs and trade, workforce training and federal budget issues were discussed.
On Tuesday, the contingent met with U.S. Sens. John Boozman and Tom Cotton, both Arkansas Republicans.
Chamber President Perry Webb said the Northwest Arkansas contingent was large, and the meetings were productive.
"It was a good trip," he said.
Infantrymen group to honor Cotton
The Combat Infantrymen's Association plans to honor Arkansas' U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton on Oct. 20 at its annual convention in suburban Washington, D.C.
The Republican from Dardanelle is one of seven former members of the infantry who will be recognized.
Cotton was in his third year at Harvard Law School when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Arlington, Va.
After finishing a federal clerkship and working to repay his student loans, he enlisted in the military, opting to serve in the infantry.
After a tour of duty in Iraq with the 101st Airborne Division, a stint with the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment in the capital region and a final tour of duty in Afghanistan, he returned for good to the United States.
Based in Asheville, N.C., the Combat Infantrymen's Association dedicates itself to "supporting our nation's Combat Infantryman Badge recipients, and is solely made up of those brave souls who have fought our nation's battles."
While in Washington, its members will meet, tour the monuments and lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.
FAA act includes LR port provision
President Donald Trump on Friday signed the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act, which includes a provision aimed at helping the Little Rock Port Authority.
The measure had passed in the Senate on Wednesday.
The law gives the FAA 30 days to brief congressional committees "on the agreement between the FAA and the Little Rock Port Authority to relocate the Little Rock Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Range with Collated Tactical Air Control and Navigation."
Economic development efforts at the port have been complicated by the location of a navigation aid that sits between two large parcels of Port Authority property.
"Because of where it's located, it's impeding development," U.S. Sen. John Boozman, a Republican from Rogers, said.
With the navigation station moved, it will be easier to develop the 464 acres on either side of the device, officials say.
"That's going to be great, in the future, for the Little Rock region," Boozman said.
U.S. Rep. French Hill, a Republican from Little Rock, had championed the provision, Boozman added.
The navigational equipment is in a remote area between the port and David D. Terry Lock and Dam and southeast of Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Field.
The omnidirectional technology was developed after World War II and was widely installed in the 1950s, becoming the major navigation system for aircraft in the 1960s.
Information for this article was contributed by Noel Oman of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
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.
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