Weekly Columns
When the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced at the end of May that it would be closing nine Civilian Conservation Center (CCC) programs across the country, I was discouraged to learn that the Cass Center in Ozark was one of the nine. Senators John Boozman and Tom Cotton and I immediately wrote to the USDA and Department of Labor (DOL), expressing concern about the proposed closures, the lack of congressional notification and what that would mean for rural parts of our state.
There's no denying it: these have been hard weeks for Arkansas. I've traveled all along the Arkansas River to assess flood damage, speak with the Arkansas National Guard and lend a helping hand to struggling communities, but the work is just beginning. Our state leadership and first responders have done an incredible job providing immediate relief on the ground, and President Trump's emergency declaration allowed the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to aid the most affected counties.
I'm honored to represent many incredible men and women in uniform, both active-duty and retired. They and their families have made countless sacrifices during training and deployments. However, our nation's veterans are not always aware of the treatments available if they're facing facing mental health issues because of their service.