Category Archives: U.S. Congress

Why one ex-con is ‘proud of the man that I have become’

Education, Inspirational, U.S. Congress, Uncategorized

By Steve Brawner, © 2019 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

Less than a year ago, Terrance Knowlton was in a Wrightsville prison for dealing drugs. Now, he says, “I’m proud of the man that I have become today.”

How did he get from there to here? Partly thanks to Shorter College.

Knowlton, 30, made bad choices in life and ended up selling drugs out of his house. While he was in prison, he met Stormie Cubb, a Shorter College staff member who works with inmates. The North Little Rock-based school is one of 67 institutions nationwide participating in the Second Chance Pell program, which offers government grants to educate prisoners. It teaches classes to 500 inmates in eight locations across Arkansas.

Knowlton enrolled in classes and made good grades. When he was released from prison 11 months ago, he was determined to continue his education.

“First day I came home, I went looking for Miss Stormie,” he said. “She said, ‘Mr. Knowlton, we’re happy to see you. You ready to get started? You ready to be successful? We’ll give you all the tools that you need.’ And she did that. She gave me that opportunity.”

Knowlton made that comment during a meeting Sept. 6 with Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., and representatives of Shorter College, Arkansas Baptist College and Philander Smith College. Continue reading Why one ex-con is ‘proud of the man that I have become’ →

Cotton picks Greenland

Politics, U.S. Congress

Tom CottonBy Steve Brawner , © 2019 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

Sen. Tom Cotton is serious about the United States buying Greenland, so let’s take the idea seriously and examine it from both sides.

President Trump’s interest in purchasing Greenland from Denmark was first reported Aug. 15 by the Wall Street Journal. When Denmark’s prime minister rejected what she called an “absurd” offer, Trump cancelled a planned visit to that country.

He shouldn’t have cancelled the trip.

Offering to buy Greenland? Well, he is big into real estate, and Greenland covers 836,000 square miles. It’s the world’s biggest island, although 80% of it is covered by ice. In fact, the ice sheet is three times the size of Texas. About 58,000 people live there, mostly along the western coast. The island has its own parliament and prime minister but is part of the Danish Kingdom. The United States has an air base there.

During an interview with Roby Brock in Little Rock August 21, Cotton said he had suggested Trump make an offer for Greenland and personally had proposed the idea to the Danish ambassador. Continue reading Cotton picks Greenland →

Boozman running for re-elect ‘if you had to ask me today.’ And Hutchinson?

Elections, Politics, U.S. Congress

By Steve Brawner, © 2019 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

Sen. John Boozman is 68 years old, which is still relatively young, but he’s had some past health issues and is entirely too nice to be in Washington these days. When I asked him Saturday if he plans to run for re-election in 2022, I figured he’d give me a standard non-answer to avoid saying he probably isn’t.

Instead, he said this: “If you had to ask me today, I’ve got to talk to my family and all of those kind of things, I’d say yes. … But that’s a long time. It’s not really two years. It’s like three-and-a-half years.”

My assumption was wrong. Not the first time, and not the last, and that’s just for this column.

Good Roads Foundation
Gov. Asa Hutchinson will be term-limited out of office in 2022. Then what?

Meanwhile, by 2022, Gov. Asa Hutchinson will be term-limited out of office. He’s a week older than Boozman, as both were born in December 1950, but he’s had no health issues and plays basketball pretty vigorously for a man pushing 70. Asked in March by journalist Roby Brock if he will be finished with politics when his term ends, he replied, “Wouldn’t count me out.”

So if Hutchinson isn’t “out,” where would he try to get in? There’s no place in state government after being governor. He could return to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served three terms. But being one of 435 representatives would not be a promotion after being one of 50 governors, particularly if Republicans are still in the minority there. Plus, he’d have to unseat an incumbent, presumably Rep. Steve Womack in the Third District, assuming Womack still wants to keep the seat in 2022. Continue reading Boozman running for re-elect ‘if you had to ask me today.’ And Hutchinson? →

Don’t tell them what comes after trillion

Debt and deficits, Politics, U.S. Congress

tax, taxes, debt, deficits, spending, trillion, State of the Union, deficit hawks, balanced budget amendment, Jonathan Bydlak, immigration, $98.8 trillion, $970 billionBy Steve Brawner, © 2019 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

While the nation’s attention was divided between President Trump’s back-and-forth with Democratic congresswomen and Robert Mueller’s upcoming testimony, negotiators this week crafted a deal that may “end up being the worst budget agreement in our nation’s history.”

That description came from Maya McGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

The agreement was reached by President Trump’s Treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and it was announced by an enthusiastic Trump tweet.

The deal suspends the federal debt ceiling until July 31, 2021 – after next year’s election. Suspending the ceiling wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing under other circumstances; frankly, we probably need to ditch it permanently. It accomplishes no purpose other than creating periodic crises that rattle financial markets and make the United States look like it can’t get its act together.

The problem is the deal eliminates spending limits created in 2011 that actually did slow the national debt’s growth a little. Since those will be gone, we’ll spend an additional $320 billion over the next two years on both defense and non-defense expenditures – paid for by borrowing, as always. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget says the deal could add as much as $1.7 trillion to the national debt over a decade. Continue reading Don’t tell them what comes after trillion →