NEWS & UPDATES

Arkansas will spend up to $379 million on school vouchers this coming school year. That's $309 million for students already in the program, plus $70 million the governor asked to set aside from the surplus for those still coming. For that money, the state will not ask a single family whether they could afford the tuition on their own. It will not ask whether a single child ever sat in an Arkansas public school. And in three years it has never once permanently barred a school

Arkansas began a "soft launch" of Medicaid work requirements on July 1. Nobody loses coverage yet. In January, the penalties start. Start with the part nobody's saying out loud. The federal deadline to have this in place is January 1. Arkansas didn't wait for it. We moved on July 1, alongside Montana, among the first states in the country to act. We went early, by nearly six months, on the one policy Arkansas has already tried and already watched fail. Here's the receipt. Ark

Supporters of the Arkansas Ballot Measure Rights Amendment are collecting signatures right now to get the initiative on our ballots this November. I hope every Arkansan voter will consider finding a petition, signing it, and passing it on. Since 1910, Arkansans have been able to put a question directly on the ballot and let voters decide it. But when the partisan theology of our legislature moved to the right of its own voters, and those voters had the audacity to show up and

On his 80th birthday, the President announced what he called a major deal with Iran. A 60-day ceasefire. The Strait of Hormuz reopened, by his account permanently toll-free. The U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports lifted. He thanked Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin for helping get it done, and he called it a win. Read the reported terms, and here is what this deal actually is. Not a deal at all. A surrender. It sets the clock back to February. Back to before any of this started

The tale of two deals… The one Trump tore up in 2018, and whatever new one the US may have to sign to climb out of the war he started this February. This is a war of his choice. It’s very important to note that Congress, specifically the Republicans, has until just recently chosen not to utilize their power to stop a war that they know is wrong. The first was a landmark, the result of a great deal of hard work, good-faith negotiation, and real diplomatic muscle from this coun

The Arkansas legislature's fiscal session is done, and the Governor got everything she asked for: more money for the LEARNS Act voucher program. The Senate rejected a modest attempt to cap homeschool accounts and tie eligibility to academic accountability. Some lawmakers went so far as to make foolish, public vows to never cap the program at all. And we already know how well that worked out for Arizona. But anyone paying attention can see the heartburn inside their own party.

I'm glad to see that the League of Women Voters and my friend Senator Bryan King have filed a lawsuit challenging Act 236, which makes it...

The LEARNS Act, the Governors' first legislative priority, is unfortunately a bill that could do more harm than good. Despite being 145...

The Arkansas Senate & House was been busy this past week, filing a number of bills that could have a significant impact on the state....

It's the age-old tale: the GOP cares about the debt ceiling until they don't. Congressional Republicans love to talk about the debt...

To the residents of Crittenden, St. Francis, Lee, Cross, and Phillips counties, for whom I've had the honor and privilege of serving both...

From the historic hallways of the most beautiful state Capitol in our nation, this is Senator Keith Ingram. The legislature got a lot...

LITTLE ROCK – When the 2023 regular session convenes on January 9, there will be 13 new members in the Arkansas Senate. The legislature...

LITTLE ROCK – The legislature’s list of accomplishments in 2022 is lengthy and significant. During a special session in the summer,...

From the historic hallways of the most beautiful state Capitol in our nation, this is Senator Keith Ingram. The past year was an...

LITTLE ROCK – Legislators finished the calendar year with a final round of recommendations for spending federal relief funds and reserve...

From the historic hallways of the most beautiful state Capitol in our nation, this is Senator Keith Ingram. In the past seven years...

LITTLE ROCK – The state Natural Resources Commission has awarded $270 million in grants for 157 drinking water and wastewater projects in...

LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas has been developing a statewide response to the growing health crisis created by Alzheimer’s disease and dementia....

From the historic hallways of the most beautiful state Capitol in our nation, this is Senator Keith Ingram. In 2019 the Senate...