Arkansas

Arkansas Now Ranked as Having Third Highest Rate of Hunger in the U.S.

November 16, 2009 -- Washington – U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, issued the following statement today in response to the release of the United States Department of Agriculture’s 2008 Food Security Report.

The report showed that 14.6 percent of U.S. households struggled to provide enough food to feed their families during certain times of the year in 2008, a significant increase over the rate of 11.1 percent in 2007. This is an increase of nearly 13 million individuals over just a one year period, from 36.2 million in 2007 to 49.1 million in 2008.    » read more »

Nov 13, 2009 -- LITTLE ROCK - Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe has added Saline County as the 13th county where storm and flood victims may be eligible for limited State aid from the Governor's Disaster Fund. Beebe earlier authorized the assistance for Arkansans with uninsured damage to their primary residences in Columbia, Franklin, Grant, Johnson, Lincoln, Logan, Lonoke, Ouachita, Pulaski, Scott, Union and White Counties.    » read more »

Nov 11, 2009 -- LITTLE ROCK - Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe has authorized $2,000,000 from the Governor's Disaster Fund to provide limited individual assistance for flood and storm victims in 12 Arkansas counties. Arkansans with uninsured damage to their primary residences may be eligible for State aid in Columbia, Franklin, Grant, Johnson, Lincoln, Logan, Lonoke, Ouachita, Pulaski, Scott, Union and White Counties.

"While we will request a Presidential Disaster Declaration for flooding damage to infrastructure in Arkansas, we don't believe we will meet the federal requirements for individual assistance," Beebe said. "The State can provide limited funds to help uninsured homeowners in the counties hardest hit start toward recovery."    » read more »

Nov 9, 2009 -- LITTLE ROCK - Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe has declared Arkansas, Boone, Bradley, Calhoun, Carroll, Chicot, Cleburne, Cleveland, Columbia, Conway, Cross, Dallas, Drew, Faulkner, Franklin, Fulton, Grant, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Lafayette, Lawrence, Lee, Lincoln, Logan, Lonoke, Marion, Miller, Monroe, Nevada, Newton, Ouachita, Poinsett, Prairie, Pulaski, Randolph, Saline, Scott, Sharp, St. Francis, Union, Van Buren, White and Woodruff Counties state disaster areas due to the severe storms, tornadoes and flooding of October 29.    » read more »

October 30, 2009 -- Washington – U.S. Senators Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor and U.S. Representatives Marion Berry (AR-01), Vic Snyder (AR-02), and Mike Ross (AR-04) today announced that the Senate and House have passed the Conference Report for the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2010, containing more than $4.36 million in water infrastructure priorities for Arkansas.

The annual spending bill funds the Department of Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and other related agencies.

Pryor and Berry are members of the Senate and House Appropriations Committees, respectively. Their presence on these committees allows them the opportunity to shape the legislation during the legislative process.    » read more »

Funding Provided By The American Recovery & Reinvestment Act

October 27, 2009 -- Washington – U.S. Senators Mark Pryor and Blanche Lincoln and U.S. Representative Marion Berry (AR-01) today announced that Woodruff Electric, in Forrest City, Arkansas will receive $2,357,520 in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The funding will be used to install smart meters for more than 13,000 electric cooperative customers that will provide time-of-use data, help monitor demand, and reduce outages.    » read more »

October 26, 2009 -- Washington – U.S. Senators Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor and U.S. Representatives Marion Berry (AR-01), Vic Snyder (AR-02), and Mike Ross (AR-04) today announced that Arkansas will receive $2,081,238 from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications & Information Administration to increase broadband access and adoption through better data collection and broadband planning. The funds are allocated through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and the Broadband Data Improvement Act.    » read more »

Company plans to invest $100 million, and create as many as 400 jobs

FORT SMITH, Arkansas (October 15, 2009) - Mitsubishi Power Systems Americas, Inc., (MPSA), a United States (Delaware) corporation, today announced its intention to build a wind turbine manufacturing facility in Fort Smith, Arkansas. MPSA plans to invest approximately $100 million in the project, which could employ as many as 400 people.    » read more »

October 16, 2009 -- Washington – U.S. Senators Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor and U.S. Representatives Marion Berry (AR-01), Vic Snyder (AR-02), and Mike Ross (AR-04) today announced that the Senate and House have approved the Fiscal Year 2010 Energy and Water Development legislation, which contains funding for Arkansas priorities.

“These investments significantly contribute to the economic development and business growth of communities throughout Arkansas,” said Lincoln. “I am pleased that this legislation will enhance navigation, flood control and water quality in our state, as well as provide support for the innovative alternative energy research being conducted at our universities.”    » read more »

Funding Provided by the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act

Washington, DC – U.S. Senators Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor and U.S. Representatives Marion Berry (AR-01), Vic Snyder (AR-02), and Mike Ross (AR-04) today announced $5.1 million for forest service projects in Arkansas. The funds are allocated through the U.S. Department of Agriculture and provided by the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act.    » read more »

October 7, 2009 -- Washington – U.S. Senators Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor today announced that the Senate has approved the Department of Defense Appropriations Act 2010, which includes funding for several priorities critical to Arkansas’s military installations, research institutions, and defense contractors.

“A strong national defense requires the best military training, equipment, and technology,” said Lincoln. “I have continually fought for provisions that will strengthen our military and help us take better care of our brave men and women returning from battle. The state and local priorities included in this bill will boost our state’s economy and allow Arkansans to continue to play a critical role in strengthening the U.S. military.”    » read more »

October 6, 2009 -- Washington – Citing the right of Arkansans to know in advance what health care changes that Senators will be voting on later this month, U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark) today led a group of Democratic Senators in pressuring Senate leaders for greater transparency in the health insurance reform debate.

“Over the past few months, I have heard from many Arkansans who are frustrated and lack accurate information on the emerging health care proposals in Congress,” Lincoln said. “In response to their requests, today, I am unveiling my plan for greater transparency as health insurance reform legislation moves to the Senate floor.”    » read more »

June 18, 2009 -- Washington – U.S. Senators Mark Pryor and Blanche Lincoln and U.S. Representative Marion Berry (AR-01) today announced that Northeast Arkansas will receive federal funding from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The funds will be used to help with repairs and clean-up from the January ice storm and are allocated as follows:

City of Blytheville, $2,050,289
Clay County Electric Cooperative Corporation, $21,727,435
North Arkansas Electric Cooperative, Inc., $5,300,446
Paragould Light and Water Commission, $2,255,874
Mississippi County Electric Cooperative, $5,824,913
Craighead Electric Cooperative Corporation, $13,598,307    » read more »

June 17, 2009 -- LITTLE ROCK - Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe received word Tuesday evening that President Obama has granted his request for a major disaster declaration to help Arkansas counties recovering from flooding rains and storms in May.

The federal declaration covers all 37 counties requested by Governor Beebe two weeks ago: Arkansas, Bradley, Calhoun, Chicot, Clark, Cleveland, Conway, Dallas, Drew, Fulton, Grant, Greene, Hempstead, Hot Spring, Howard, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lee, Lincoln, Little River, Marion, Miller, Monroe, Nevada, Ouachita, Perry, Phillips, Pike, Poinsett, Polk, Prairie, St. Francis, Saline, Searcy, Stone, and Union Counties.    » read more »

June 3, 2009 -- Washington – In testimony before the International Trade Commission Tuesday, U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) said Arkansas’s workers are entitled to compete on a fair playing field in our global marketplace.

Lincoln, testifying on behalf of Cooper Tire & Rubber Company employees in Texarkana, expressed support for a United Steelworkers (USW) petition filed earlier this year seeking relief from surging imports of consumer tires from China.    » read more »