As a Member of this Committee, I will have the opportunity to write and develop legislation that will improve the quality of life for Arkansas’s working families. Having served eight years on the Arkansas State Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committees, combined with my knowledge of health care issues as a small town pharmacy owner, I can bring a lot to the table. I look forward to playing a major role in all aspects of the health care debate – aspects of which the Energy and Commerce committee will oversee.

As I travel throughout the Fourth Congressional District, the number one recurring theme I hear from my constituents is the fear that they will lose their health insurance due to the rising cost of health care. And there are many hardworking men and women in my district who don’t even have health insurance because their employers don’t provide benefits, and they can’t afford health insurance on their own. The House Committee on Energy and Commerce develops and oversees legislation concerning health care issues, and as a Member of this Committee, I will have a hand in developing legislation concerning this issue.

Another concern I hear often from our farm families is that they are increasingly less able to afford energy sources for their farming needs, and working families and seniors throughout my district are concerned about the rising cost of energy sources. The Energy and Commerce committee is the committee that writes the Energy Bill, and it also oversees legislation concerning natural gas pricing, distribution and some production cost of energy sources. I look forward to working to lower the high-cost of natural gas, gasoline, and diesel fuel and working with the Committee to expand research and development of alternative fuel sources with the hope that our farm families, loggers, working families and seniors will have more affordable sources of energy.