Arkansas’ members of Congress reacted cooly to President Trump’s proposal to send a $5,000 “Trump dividend” to every adult American if Republicans retain their congressional majorities this November.

None of the five who answered questions explicitly endorsed the proposal, though they avoided directly criticizing it. 

In the Senate, Sen. Tom Cotton’s spokesperson said he “wants to put money back in the pockets of working Arkansans by continuing to lower taxes.” Sen. John Boozman’s office said he is “certainly interested in helping keep as much money in the American people’s pockets as possible” and looked forward to hearing more details. 

In the House, Rep. French Hill said the focus instead should be on implementing lasting policies such as his recently passed 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act along with Republican-passed tax reforms. Similarly, Rep. Bruce Westerman supports longterm policies encouraging business growth, good wages, reducing bureaucracy and regulations, lowering taxes, and reforming health care. Rep. Steve Womack said he had not seen the full proposal but had “concerns.” Rep. Rick Crawford did not respond to a request for comment. 

All of those but Boozman are up for re-election this year. Of the five, Cotton and Hill have the most competitive races.  Continue reading →