Arkansan testifies on Hill for 3rd time
WASHINGTON -- Becky Keogh, director of Arkansas' Department of Environmental Quality, testified Tuesday before the Clean Air and Nuclear Safety Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.
It's at least the third time that she's testified on Capitol Hill in the past three years. She appeared before members of the Environment and Public Works Committee in March 2016.
In May 2017, she gave another presentation to the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology's environment subcommittee. During her opening statement to the House, she accused the Environmental Protection Agency, under President Barack Obama, of treating states like "petulant children."
During each appearance, she touted what she called "cooperative federalism."
In her prepared testimony, all three times, she described the EPA as an agency that has treated states as "more pawn than partner."
With President Donald Trump in office, things are different, she argued Tuesday.
States are no longer "excluded from environmental-policy discussions," she told lawmakers in her prepared testimony. "Since my first testimony [in 2016], states have gone from asking for a seat at the table to a discussion of what happens when we arrive," she stated.
U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., who serves on the Environment and Public Works Committee, greeted Keogh, praised her service to the state and let his colleagues know that she is a fellow University of Arkansas, Fayetteville graduate.
The Razorbacks were also mentioned, but just briefly.
"We can't brag that we're doing very well in football right now, but we're rebuilding," Boozman said.
Cotton, Warren join on tomb-coin effort
U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton reintroduced legislation Monday calling for the creation of a commemorative coin marking the centennial of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
The Republican from Dardanelle has the support of six co-sponsors, including at least one presidential candidate -- Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.
As a member of the Old Guard, the U.S. Army's official ceremonial unit, Cotton has stood watch at the tomb in Arlington National Cemetery.
President Warren G. Harding dedicated the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Nov. 11, 1921. It has been guarded, around the clock, ever since.
The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
Cotton and Warren are also working together to pass the National POW/MIA Flag Act.
It would require the White House, the Capitol and other federal buildings to fly the POW banner whenever the U.S. flag is displayed.
The black-and-white banner features the silhouette of a prisoner of war with barbed wire and a guard tower behind him. It features the words "You are not forgotten."
Hill aims criticism at Venezuela leader
U.S. Rep. French Hill denounced Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Tuesday, blaming the socialist leader for the country's ongoing humanitarian crisis.
Maduro's "ineffective, inhumane and irresponsible actions" have "pushed a once-prosperous nation towards desperate poverty and open tyranny," Hill said during a speech on the House floor.
The Republican from Little Rock also voiced support for Juan Guaido, leader of Venezuela's opposition-dominated National Assembly. The United States and many other nations have recognized Guaido as interim president.
Since the rise of the socialist regime in Caracas, more than 3 million Venezuelans have left their country. Despite widespread shortages, Maduro has rejected foreign aid. Two hundred tons of U.S. food and medicine are available across the border in Colombia, but Maduro won't allow it in.
Hill is a longtime critic of the Maduro regime. In August 2017, he wrote to President Donald Trump, urging the administration to address "the crisis in Venezuela."
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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