U.S. Sen. Boozman discusses debt, physician shortage and VA benefits

By Patrick Massey

We recently had the chance to speak with U.S. Senator John Boozman (RAR) to discuss a broad range of national issues, from rising debt and a growing shortage of doctors to efforts he’s spearheading to assist the nation’s veterans.

The conversation began with a discussion on U.S. debt levels and the perennial battle over the debt ceiling. The U.S. Department of the Treasury places the national debt at more than $31 trillion - or about $94,000 per U.S. resident.

Earlier this year, the nation hit its debt ceiling, kicking off an ongoing debt-ceiling crisis along with a political battle to address it.

Boozman identified two significant risks associated with the nation’s debt and the debt ceiling issue - the risk of defaulting on debts both within and outside the United States, as well as the $1 trillion-a-year cost to service it.

“We really have two threats going on: we do need to lift the debt ceiling so we can meet our debt obligations within our nation and to other countries,” Boozman said. “The other threat that we have is servicing the debt. This $31 trillion debt has high interest rates and we continue to add to that deficit every year. It’s not like this debt is stable - it increases every year. Something’s going to have to give.”

Boozman also lauded efforts by GOP members of the House of Representatives to meet with the Democrat-led Senate and the White House to negotiate an effort to address the debt issue.

“I’m pleased that they’re going to meet,” Boozman said. “Both Republicans and Democrats have to negotiate. [House Majority Leader] Kevin McCarthy will be taking the lead and he’s put out a bill and said this is our marker. Let’s find common ground so we can address the debt ceiling and also this really serious problem we have with the debt and the deficit.”

Boozman also took a moment to discuss a bill he introduced this month titled the Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act. As its name suggests, the bill identifies the nationwide shortage of a well-trained physician workforce — particularly in rural states like Arkansas.

Boozman’s bill seeks to address the issue through the relatively simple expedient of increasing hospital residency opportunities for physicians in training.

“You work hard, you get into medical school, you graduate and then sadly there’s not enough residency programs,” Boozman said. “So, you have to wait and wait until you finally are eligible. So, it makes no sense to increase the size of the classes of medical schools and then not have any place to put the students.”

Boozman admits his legislation won’t alone fix the nation’s shortage in healthcare workers. The bill, he explains, needs to be part of a broader and bipartisan effort to meet the demands posed by the country’s declining birthrate and its aging population.

“When you look at the demographics, 40 percent of Arkansas healthcare providers are 60 or older,” Boozman explained. “Not only do we have a problem now, but we have a huge problem looming in front of us. That’s exacerbated by the fact that young people are now getting married much later and having fewer children. Not only do we have an aging problem, we have fewer people coming into the pipeline.”

One final topic brought up during our discussion focused on various bills spearheaded by Boozman to assist the nation’s veterans and their families. He’s advocated for expanded benefits for veterans exposed to toxins during their service, expanded mental health services and increased educational opportunities. Most recently, Boozman championed legislation to expand burial benefits and introduced a bill to study factors that best prevent veteran suicide.

Specifically, Boozman’s latest legislation would provide desperately needed options for veterans in end-of-life care and their families.

Boozman joined Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) in introducing the legislation, titled the Gerald’s Law Act. The act is named after a Michigan veteran who was denied the $900 VA burial benefit because he was not hospitalized with the VA at the time of his death.

Boozman said his legislation would allow veterans the choice to pass away at home and receive the burial benefit rather than being forced to spend their final days in a VA facility.

“If you elect to go home to be with your family in your final days, then you’re not entitled to that payment,” he said. “That makes no sense. Let’s make it fair. If a veteran wants to be at home with their loved ones, rather than in a hospital bed, they should get their benefits.”

For more information on this bill, and others Boozman has introduced to support the nation’s fighting men and women, visit www.boozman.senate.gov

Stouts

continued from page 1 emony at the school. The group left immediately for Searcy following the ceremony to arrive in Harding in time for registration. They were led by head coach and Area 14 Di- rector Aarika Cox.

Steven was able to award medals both days of the event. His wife Angela, was one of the chaperons and volunteers, assisting the preparation of the medals as each group came forward for the officers to award the athletes.

A couple of those awards included their son Matthew, who was the focus of this year’s Polk County Pulse Autism Awareness Month article (March 29). Matthew had a great weekend, winning two bronze medals at SOA. One medal was in the mini-javelin throw and the second was in the 100-meter run.

Matthew and his parents were also surprised by another award presented to the entire family — the Special Olympics Arkansas Family of the Year Award 2023.

Steven said, “Apparently, your ar- ticle made its way to Little Rock and Special Olympics Arkansas. A local member of the executive council shared [the Pulse] article with them. We were surprised and deeply humbled by this award.”

By Richie Lawry

The rain beating down on my shop’s metal roof was so loud that conversation wasn’t possible. The downpour was so heavy that I could not see the highway in front of my shop. A flash river was running down my driveway. Water streamed from the ceiling in several places in the shop bay where I was trying to work. “I hope this downpour will be over soon,” I thought. But it wasn’t over soon. The deluge continued. After hours of hard rain, an inch of water was on my shop floor.

By the time the rain ended, nine inches of rain had fallen. Rainwater flooded the floor throughout the shop. I knew that my old shop building had several leaks, but it had never flooded before. I realized that I was going to have to get my roof repaired. But we did not have another heavy rainfall for a few months, and I put it out of my mind. It was the year 2020, and it seemed that there were always more pressing things.

In November of that year, I had the roof replaced. Hearing the rain on my new roof and no leaks in my shop was delightfully satisfying. While I was reading the book of Ecclesiastes, I found this little gem; “When you are too lazy to repair your roof, it will leak, and the house will fall in.” Ecclesiastes 10:18 (GNT) “That is a little bit too close to home,” I thought.

I started working on my cold, drafty shop in the spring of last year. The building was old and needed updating. In several places, the ceiling had fallen. Some of the siding had rotted away, and you could see outside. The old, ill-fitting garage doors left significant gaps. I would stuff old blankets into the cracks to try and keep some heat in the shop. It wasn’t easy trying to keep the shop warm.

This winter, I worked in a warm, dry shop. After replacing many rotten studs and installing new insulation and siding, the project was complete with new garage doors and foam sprayed on the ceiling. I decided to continue the shop renovation this spring by repairing and remodeling the office and bathroom.

When Terry began the project, he immediately ran into problems. Every wall was out of square and out of plumb. I jokingly told him, “The original builders must not have had a square or a level.” The project