In Farm Bureau ArFB supports Arkansas Works During the Arkansas General Assembly’s recent fiscal session, Arkansas Farm Bureau announced support for the Arkansas Works appropriation, the governor’s proposed revision to the use of federal Medicaid reserves to fund insurance coverage for eligible participants. ArFB’s board of directors met April 19 to evaluate its grassroots policy and determined that defunding Arkansas Works is too large a threat to the state’s budget and rural health-care providers. “Arkansas Works is the best path forward for the state’s fiscal well-being and our rural communities,” said ArFB President Randy Veach. “We approached this position with an open mind and open hearts. Our members need secure rural health-care providers and a sound state budget. Those tenants compelled us to support Arkansas Works.” The appropriation bill that funded Arkansas Works did not take an easy path through the legislative process. Appropria-
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack (second from left) recently met with Arkansas Farm Bureau’s officer team to discuss key agricultural issues, including foreign trade, the farm economy and crop insurance programs. Involved in the meeting were Arkansas Farm Bureau President Randy Veach (left) of Manila, Vice President Rich Hillman of Carlisle and Secretary-Treasurer Joe Christian (right) of Jonesboro. tion bills need a three-quarters majority in both chambers, but votes were coming up just short of that number in the Arkansas Senate. By putting on an amendment that defunded the program, the bill passed, but that section was line-item vetoed upon arrival at the governor’s office. The General Assembly did not override the veto, thus the funding bill became law. “Failure to pass the Department of Human Services budget that included Arkansas Works funding would have had
Charles Maxwell (center) with Children’s Hospital in Little Rock visited child development/parenting classes at Clinton, South Side and Shirley high schools recently to discuss child car seat safety and the correct way to install a car seat. The Van Buren Co. FB Women’s Committee assisted him in the program by providing car seats from Farm Bureau.
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broad budget implications,” Veach said. “We looked most keenly at the impact to rural hospitals, the impact to our state’s economic bedrock and the communities that support our farmers and ranchers. “As an example, without the passage of the budget bill, the public school fund would take a $31 million hit, and the state’s institutions of higher education would see losses across the board. Specific to agriculture, the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, which provides
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A Publication of Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation
April 29, 2016 • Vol. 19, No. 9