Support for Arkansas Week provided by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the Arkansas Times, and Little Rock Public Radio.

Welcome to Arkansas week.

I'm Michael helpline.

Congress has about a week and a half to pass a new government funding bill.

If that can't be achieved, a short term fix will be needed to avoid a government shutdown.

Joining me from Washington to discuss this and other matters is Congressman Steve Womack, Republican of Arkansas, third district.

Sir, I know you're busy.

Thanks very much for giving me a few minutes of your time.

Michael, great to be with you and always enjoy being on Arkansas Week.

Well thank you.

We enjoy having you.

So you serve on the house appropriate Committee, which last week voted to advance 12 funding bills that would make up the spending plan.

You said in a statement later that day that it's now time for the rest of Congress to finish the job.

But from what I've read, that's not looking likely at this point, at least before the deadline.

What's the latest?

Well, we're not on a good path right now.

I will tell you that the play call this week, knowing that funding is going to run out on the government on the 30th of September.

So here a week and a half before that is to occur.

The play call is to pass yet again, another short term continuing resolution.

Translated means Congress hasn't done its job.

And look, I'm a bit at odds with my own leadership team on this subject because continuing resolutions are not the answer to America's fiscal problems.

And once again, here we are at the very end.

Right, right on the cliff of a potential lapse in government funding.

And we don't have a plan for how we're going to fund today's urgent priorities at resource levels that are needed to accomplish our task.

Now, the House has done quite a bit of work.

We've passed all of our bills through our committee.

We have a handful that have crossed the floor of the House, but we haven't conference do anything with the Senate and we don't have a plan ready to go to the white House, either in part or in full, to be able to fund the discretionary part of government.

And, you know, Michael, I would argue that this is one of the most basic functions of the Congress to pass a budget and to do annual appropriations.

But yet, year after year after year, we continue to kick the can down the road, punt on our obligations, and fund the government at levels right now that are basically two years old.

And so, as a senior Appropriator, I will tell you that I'm I'm running out of patience with the Congress.

We need to do our job.

And to say right now that we need about seven more weeks to continue to finish our work, or to work toward finishing our work, knowing that we just spent five weeks at home in August, and a week after we passed the big, beautiful bill.

We did a victory lap there for people to say, now that we're running out of time and we need more time.

Save the argument.

Really.

Congress has to be much more motivated to actually do appropriations work, and we're just simply not doing that right now.

The white House has been pushing for Congress to pass a stopgap spending bill to extend funding through the end of January.

This latest proposal, as I understand it, would fund government through November 21st.

Explain what's happening with the the timing here and just what's going on.

I guess with the negotiations.

Well, I hope to make this pretty simple for the people that are viewing today, knowing that we have very small margins in both the House, in the Senate, and you still have this Senate filibuster rule doesn't apply to the House.

But on the Senate side, you've got to have 60 votes to overcome a filibuster, and the funding of the government is subject to a filibuster.

So let's begin the discussion with the notion that you're going to have to have 60 votes in the Senate.

And that's that's the case.

And if you've got to have 60 votes in the Senate and you only have 53 Republicans as we speak, and it tells me that you're going to have to work with the Democrats, Chuck Schumer et al.

You're going to have to work with them to try to find seven Democrats.

If you can keep all the Republicans on the side, you're going to find seven Democrats to join you in passing something in the Senate.

The same is true with any appropriation bill.

It's going to require the ability to get over to overcome a 60 vote filibuster in the House.

It's different.

We can do things on our own with 218 votes.

But right now we're at 219 and the Democrats have 213.

So you can only lose two votes if everybody is present and voting and still pass something under with a strictly Partizan flavor.

And so here we are today, a couple of days before they're going to expect to put the continuing resolution on the floor.

And there's immense pressure right now.

And Republicans to vote for it so that we can continue our work on appropriations.

But here's the bottom line.

We're going to kick this thing to November 21st.

That's right before Thanksgiving.

And so I'm not convinced that much will change between now and then.

That's going to give us the ability to move anything in appropriations.

And we'll be right back where we are today.

So I think my argument has been, and I'll have a conference with the speaker.

I've already talked to the whip.

But my argument is help me understand what's going to change in the next seven weeks and the likelihood is nothing will change.

You're still going to have the 60 vote filibuster in the Senate.

You're going to have to have Democrat votes over there.

So we're setting ourselves up now for a major battle right before the holidays.

And when we get to that point, my prediction is it will say, oh, we're close.

We need more time.

And we don't need to have a shutdown right before the major holiday season.

So let's kick yet another continuing resolution after November 21st, say, into the new year.

And once you get in to 2026, it becomes very easy for what you started out with as a seven week C.R.

that turns into a full year CR and I am adamantly opposed to that strategy.

All right.

Well, on to a crisis for growers.

U.S.

agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins visited Arkansas Monday.

Speaking in your district at a national conference.

This comes as many growers are facing an untenable financial situation.

Rollins said direct financial assistance is in the works and will be presented to Congress.

Do you know details about what might be proposed?

I'm not aware of any details.

I do recognize that if we're going to get relief, to farmers and and let me tell you, I understand the plight that they have right now.

They are getting hammered from all sides, from, commodity prices to tariffs, to input prices.

The high cost of everything, that our farmers, you know, kind of the bread and butter, if you will, of our nation are just absolutely inundated right now.

And I fear that too many more farmers are going to have to throw in the towel and just say, we can't make it anymore.

That would be devastating, not just to Arkansas, but to the world writ large.

So, we're going to need to do something for farmers.

Now, we did a little bit of work and the big beautiful bill we on reference prices and some some other issues.

Some of the more expensive, you know, non-discretionary issues that would normally happen in a farm bill.

But absent a farm bill, you know, we've we've taken whatever steps we can right now.

So, if we're if there's going to be relief given to our farmers, it's going to have to come through a supplemental.

I've not seen details.

I'm not real sure what that will entail, but but I will tell you this, that whatever it is, there will be other attempts, to kind of ride piggyback on such a, such a measure in order to be able to fund other things that, that, that our government is short on right now.

So, you know, we'll see what the details are when they, when they unfold and that we're presented with a plan.

But right now, man, my heart goes out to the people, the production ag people that are moving this country, in food and fiber and suffering such a terrible situation right now.

And we've got to do anything that we can.

Anything and everything we can, to save them from complete, disaster.

Okay.

Well, another matter.

The house this week, passed a bill that you introduced to protect veterans access to telemedicine.

It now moves to the Senate.

What prompted this bill?

Well, the fact is, at the end of the year, absent legislation that I've introduced, our veterans are going to lose access to telemedicine that was installed basically during the Covid pandemic.

And the authorization for them to be able to use telemedicine for very important health care reasons is going to expire at the end of the year.

And so we introduced this measure because time is going to run out on them.

And what it simply does is it just makes permanent the fact that our veterans who have sacrificed so much for our country have access, particularly those in rural areas, to telemedicine.

And look, our country needs to understand that telemedicine is the wave of the future, and particularly for those veterans who live in the, you know, in the country, you know, in some cases, you know, maybe a couple of hours away from a qualified medical treatment facility, that to to not be able to extend the telemedicine concept is essentially denying them the quality of care that I think they so richly deserve for defending our country.

So my bill makes it permanent.

Now, we we had a bill on the floor.

It's passed the House.

It passed my voice, thankfully.

And then it'll go on to the Senate and hopefully it will be wrapped up in another series of veterans bills that can be signed into law.

And we look forward to the, to the day that that happens.

But our veterans deserve it.

And we were honored and privileged to be able to sponsor something that, that does so much for them.

Well, finally, I wanted to ask you about the trucking industry, which has been a prolonged freight recession for, about three years now.

And in a moment, I'll be talking with Shannon Newton.

But, in the time we have left, talk about the, the, legislation you've put forward there, actually several pieces, but, obviously several trucking industries based in your district.

What are your priorities right now?

Well, first of all, I chair the Subcommittee on Housing and Transportation.

The the te hud subcommittee, as we affectionately call it, here in the House.

And in that bill, I, I write, the appropriations bill, language that, provides for all forms of transportation to include trucking and, of course, all the housing program.

So very important, Bill, and probably, I think the third most expensive bill that we have in the House, behind, of course, defense and and maybe labor, Health and Human Services.

But in our bill, one of our priorities and I'm sure, Shannon, we'll talk about this when you have her on, is that we have added $200 million into the mix for dedicated truck parking when you when you drive around this country, particularly at dawn and dusk, you can't help but notice the number of trucks because of hours of service, performance issues and having to park, you know, for rest periods.

How many of them are parked on, exit ramps and entry ramps and in other, very dangerous places up and down our, our highway system.

And we think that the Department of Transportation needs to explore the opportunity and expand on the opportunity to create, truck parking, for those 18 wheelers that are subject to these rules.

And, now that's going to have to be conferenced with the Senate.

I don't know where the Senate will be on the issue when we finally get to conference, but I'm hopeful that we can at least, provide the lion's share of that money and allow Department of Transportation to do something for our trucking community.

You know, trucks are responsible for the vast majority of the commerce, the items that you're going to consume on a daily basis.

We're usually hauled in by trucks.

And and the trucking industry is a vital part of the entire national economy.

So the things that we can do, from a regulatory perspective and also from a funding perspective are quite important to making sure that we have a vital trucking industry and capable of of moving goods up and down our interstate highways and into the warehouses and onto the shelves of the stores where our people consume these items.

So trucking is and obviously it's a big part of my district.

I've got, you know, a fortune company up there with a famous trucking name on it.

So I'm very partial, to the men and women and the executive teams that form our trucking industry and do such a a vital service to our economy.

Right.

Well, sir, we'll continue talking about this on the program, but thanks for joining me, Congressman Steve Womack.

We appreciate your time.

It's a great honor to be with you, Michael.

Thank you so much.

And we'll be right back.

And welcome back.

Picking up on a topic we were just discussing with Congressman Womack.

The trucking industry is trying to resolve a freight recession, and that began during the pandemic.

Trucking is one of the biggest industries in Arkansas, employing about 100,000 people.

With me now to discuss this is Shannon Newton, president of the Arkansas Trucking Association.

Thanks for coming by.

Absolutely.

Good morning.

Thank you for having me.

Tell me about the unique circumstances that have the industry in this position.

This, Three years in this began during the, the pandemic.

Yeah.

I think, as we were kind of talking beforehand, the economic trends that the trucking industry is experiencing is a little bit off kilter with maybe some of the headlines that most people are reading about the economic economy right now.

You know, during the Covid pandemic, the world essentially shut down.

We worked through some of our supply challenges, and everybody learned about the sensuality of the supply chain.

But when people were at home, throughout 2020 and 2021, there was a surplus of extra funds, and consumers pockets.

And so they were at home, they were buying their trampolines, treadmills, doing their home improvement projects.

And our industry was really booming during that time, delivering all of those goods to people's homes where they were spending most of their time.

Yeah, because we initially had, supply chain disruption.

Correct.

And that was really, you know, first quarter, second quarter of 2020 when we were really figuring out how are we going to continue to move freight in an environment which we're trying to keep our employees safe?

But I think once we figured out no one else was was out and about.

So we were able to figure out how to continue to provide that service and did so pretty effectively throughout 2020 and 2021.

But then as the world kind of resumed normal normalcy, people began to go back on vacation, go to concerts, and began spending their money on more services as opposed to products.

And as you might imagine, we don't deliver a lot of services.

And so that that consumer behavior trend, really left our industry, and I, in a recession.

And we talked about a recession really throughout 2023, significant year over year.

As I mentioned, 2022 was great.

2023 was significantly less, significantly less freight moving during that time.

And then since then we've, we've we call it stagnation because there's really not, a period over period continuing to reduce.

We're just bouncing along that bottom.

And so every, you know, thing that might appear to be a positive development, we're like waiting on bated breath.

Like, is this the recovery?

Is this the recovery?

And every time there's a positive headline we think, is this the recovery?

But it just hasn't materialized.

And so we are talking about almost three years of, of our industry, really.

Suffering.

And now we're starting to, see some financial uncertainties.

How is that impacting the industry?

Right.

I think, you know, financial uncertainty, economic uncertainty is not good for any industry.

If you talk about, you know, manufacturing, construction, those, those big industries that really drive a lot of freight demand.

Those industries are not feeling really confident about their future.

Not really confident in their investments.

And that subsequently impacts us and the need for our services and how our trucking companies, especially those in Arkansas, responding to this.

Yeah.

I think if you try to read the headlines, they're they're few and far between because we tend to not want to talk about bad news.

But if you read the headlines, you know, the publicly traded companies are reporting, less than fantastic financial performance.

There's been some major headlines about cost cutting measures at J.B.

hunt Ark.

Best.

All of those looking to how can we survive long enough?

The economy is going to return.

People are going to continue to order products.

We are going to continue to deliver the economy.

But how long can we hold on and how much, you know, that detriment to the industry or detriment to their really their cash position during this time so that they're well positioned when the recovery does come?

Yeah.

Is this impacting the delivery of goods?

No, I think, carriers are eager to, to deliver.

You know, obviously looking for that demand and trying to overperform and when given those opportunities, we just have an abundance of supply.

And that's really what drives down rates in classic economy, you know, the, supply and the laws of supply and demand and currently our industry is, has an excess of supply.

And that's really driving down the price of that service.

Yeah.

How about how trucking, you know, transportation in general is evolving.

You've got railroads, growing Union Pacific, recently announced it wants to merge with, Norfolk Southern.

Intermodal is growing, you know, putting one container on ships and then rail and then, the suggestion then truck should be the last part of getting items to the destination.

Tell me about just the evolution of the overall transportation industry.

Sure.

I think if you go back to, you know, 80s and 90s, there was a very much a competitive spirit between truck and rail.

Very much territorial in the way that they were marketing their services.

If you were to fast forward that to today, trucking is actually the number one customer of rail.

And any train that you might see, if you were to just look at the logos on those containers as they go by, a significant majority of them represent a traditional truckload carrier.

And so now it is much more of a partnership.

We talk about it as a true supply chain.

You know, from manufacturer to consumer, and that those modes often include multiple modes of transportation.

It may may be part rail, part truck, part barge.

But the last time I checked, very few consumers go to the port to pick up their groceries or their medicine or their new car.

And so we we do feel like our industry is the vital connection, whether it be either from the manufacturer to the mode or from the mode to the consumer.

And Congressman Womack, he has been a, supporter of the industry has passed several pieces of legislation or backed or introduced, them talked about some of the key issues that, have been addressed on the legislative level, either federal or state.

Sure.

Well, if you were to look at the the major employers and Congressman Womack's district, obviously our industry plays a significant role in the economy of that part of the state, and it employs a lot of his constituents.

And so he is keenly aware of the issues that are important to our industry.

The one that we've worked together most closely and most recently is the issue of truck parking.

And I think that's one of those things.

It's not very sexy, and people don't get excited about, you know, creating additional parking spots.

But if you think about the the role that the truck driver is playing and how important we do think it's really important that they're rested.

We think it's really important that they have a safe place to get off the road to have that rest.

We think it's important that they move efficiently and have a place to rest whenever they're out of hours.

We want the, you know, environmental concerns.

We don't want them driving around looking for parking.

So whatever it is that your issue is concerned about, truck parking plays a significant role in that.

And when we look at the limited infrastructure dollars that are available, truck parking often falls to the bottom of that priority list.

And so having that dedicated source of funding, which is something that Congressman Womack has advocated for, is is critically important to our industry.

And he knows that and has seen that and recognized that through his legislative efforts.

Yeah, it's something I see.

I drive, every other weekend down to, Texarkana, and, in the early morning hours, you see, it's apparent because their trucks are parked on the sides of, on and off ramps on the interstate.

Is this has legislation passed down enough to provide enough spaces?

Absolutely.

Absolutely not.

We are still, there is only there is one trucking, one parking spot for every 11 trucks on the road.

And so when you see those drivers pulled off on the shoulder, overflowing from the rest area, that is not where they want to be.

They don't feel safe there.

That is not where where they would choose to park.

They don't, you know, that that is that is a option of last resort.

And we've done we've put them in that position.

They're in a position of should I continue to drive while I'm out of hours, or should I park in this space that is not ideal, and us as a as a society have done them a disservice by putting them in that position.

And so certainly actually between little Rock and Texarkana is one of the worst stretches in Arkansas where we have the the trucks on the road, but not adequate parking for them to appropriately rest safely.

Yeah.

What, other measures, you know, we saw some things passed, in the, session this year by the Arkansas General Assembly.

What are, some of the key things there and maybe what needs to be done?

Yeah.

So we we took four major priorities into the legislative session.

Tort reform or litigation reform was a major issue for us.

Just the cost of insurance and the litigious environment that we were doing business in, trying to mitigate that risk or at least make it more predictable and fair.

Towing reform, which is another thing that people often don't realize is an issue about, you know, when we're involved in either an accident or an incident and require that service in order to get out of the way safely?

There's been some lack of regulation on those providers.

And so that was a legislative priority for us.

CDL regulation, making sure that the issuance of CDL is done appropriately and that every individual that receives one is deserving of that privilege.

And really just kind of we believe that commercial truck drivers are safe and held to a higher standard than regular drivers.

I want to make sure that that's consistent not only in Arkansas, but that's also been elevated to a federal issue and then cargo theft.

We passed some legislation related to defining what cargo theft is.

Strategic cargo theft is not necessarily smash and grab, but it's evolved into something a little bit more tech, not technology savvy, where the criminals have, you know, gone in and much like fishing, like, you know, we're familiar with receiving the emails of click here to to resolve this particular issue.

And that has infiltrated our industry where we have, bad actors going in and sending fake emails about wrong delivery points or redirecting a shipment, which ultimately results in it being stolen and just expecting that maybe, you know, a small percentage will click on it or will bite.

But, if you do, that makes it worthwhile.

Right?

And it has become, quite prevalent.

I think the, the cost of the economy, just in the Labor Day weekend was over $10 million in strategic cargo theft.

So, yeah, and that ultimately goes on to the consumer, whether it be insurance or the cost of goods.

And that's something we really need to crack down on.

Okay.

Less than a minute to go here.

But, this was just by chance we scheduled you.

But this is, National Truck Driver Appreciation week.

What is this?

It is, there are 3.5 million truck drivers in the United States, and they do a very difficult job delivering the standard of living that we all enjoy and have come to expect.

And this is just a week where we set aside to try to do something extra, to let them know that we appreciate them.

We've had billboards and cookouts and, little fun things to try to give them a smile and a pat on the back and appreciate the hard work that they do throughout this week.

Well, traditionally truck driving, it's been known as a difficult job, but one that truck drivers could, make a good living with.

Is that still the case?

That is still the case.

Truck drivers in Arkansas make, significantly above the average, weekly wage and for a, for an Arkansan.

And so we do take great pride in that and want to recognize them for the work that they do.

Shannon Newton, president of the Arkansas Trucking Association, thanks so much for joining us.

Thank you for having me.

And I'm Michael Helpline.

We'll see you next time.

Support for Arkansas Week, provided by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the Arkansas Times and Little Rock Public Radio.