State Democrats respond to Sanders’ SOTU response
LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas Democrats responded last week to Governor Sarah Sanders's national address, rejecting her partisan vision for Arkansas, specifically in the realm of education, saying, “President Biden's investments are putting Arkansans to work at a historic pace, and they are building up the communities that will support Arkansas’s next generation of entrepreneurs, workers, and leaders in commerce.
Because of these Democratic Party accomplishments, our Arkansas future is brighter.”
State Representative Ashley Hudson (D-Little Rock, District 75) provided the Democratic Party of Arkansas's response to Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders's national televised address. In her speech following President Joe Biden's State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress, Governor Sanders falsely claimed that his administration had fallen short on delivering real solutions and leadership. In fact, President Biden is already making historic investments in Arkansas by delivering over $4 billion for roads, bridges, rebuilt schools, waterways, and broadband.
The Biden-Harris administration and Arkansas Democrats at the state legislature are successfully building an economy from the bottom up and middle out, not the top down.
President Biden’s predecessor — and Governor Sanders's former boss passed a nearly $2 trillion unpaid for tax cut with benefits skewed to the wealthy and large corporations, and the deficit went up every single year. Under President Biden, the deficit has fallen by $1.7 trillion, and his reforms to take on Big Pharma, lower prescription drug costs, and make the wealthy and large corporations pay their fair share will reduce the deficit by hundreds of billions more. His administration's $35 a month cap on insulin is saving thousands a year for senior citizens in Arkansas on Medicare.
Below is a portion of Rep.
Hudson's remarks concerning the state's public education system. Her full remarks and photo from the event are attached to this email.
'Currently, Arkansas has the dubious distinction of paying its teachers less than most other southern states,' said Rep. Hudson in her remarks. 'And, as the pay gets less competitive, we lose great teachers to other states and professions, and we see our kids’ education outcomes suffer.
Over time, this slow march of teachers out of the classroom makes our state’s workforce less competitive. 'To solve that problem, Arkansas Democrats recently proposed the RAISE Act, legislation that will give Arkansas teachers a substantial raise and boost their starting salaries to $50,000. We currently have the lowest teacher pay in the South. We also filed legislation to increase pay for our hardworking school staff.'
'While some of my Republican colleagues are writing laws to police school bathrooms, regulate drag shows, and ban books they haven’t read but don’t like, Democrats in Arkansas remain focused on making Arkansas the very best place in the country to receive a public education.'
***
PARAGOULD — A Clay County man was killed early Sunday after authori-
See STATE, page A3 STATE
From page A2
ties said he stole a vehicle and crashed it near a school.
David M. Crawford Jr., 28, of Corning, died in the crash, according to Arkansas State Police.
The Greene County Sheriff’s Office said on social media over the weekend that deputies got a call around 12:20 a.m.
Sunday about a one-vehicle crash near Oak Grove Elementary/Middle School on Highway 135.
The vehicle, a 2003 Jeep Liberty, took out a large power pole and caused a power outage in the area, authorities said.
Deputies later found Crawford Jr. dead inside the vehicle.
Greene County authorities also said they discovered that the vehicle had been reported stolen from the Kum and Go in the 4600 block of West Kingshighway around 11:30 p.m. Saturday.
Paragould police are investigating the vehicle theft while Arkansas State Police are investigating the crash.
However, Greene County authorities said there had been no pursuit of the vehicle when it crashed early Sunday.
“Law enforcement was not engaged in any way with this vehicle at the time of the crash,” Greene County authorities said on Facebook.
Craighead Electric crews helped to restore power Sunday to people who lost electricity due to the crash.
Greene County deputies also responded to a separate crash earlier Sunday morning. Around 12:10 a.m. Sunday, Paragould Emergency Services got a 911 call about a two-vehicle crash on Highway 69 just south of the city limits near the intersection of County Road 907.
A person was airlifted to a hospital due to their injuries. However, their condition and others involved in the crash was not known, authorities said. The Arkansas State Police are also investigating the crash.
