Rick Crawford for Congress

U.S. Representative for Arkansas' 1st Congressional District

Rick Crawford Raises $253K for Re-Election Bid

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Rick Crawford Raises $235K for Re-Election Bid

LITTLE ROCK – Republican Congressman Rick Crawford’s campaign says he’s raised more than $253,000 over the past three months for his re-election bid.

The Arkansas lawmaker’s campaign said Thursday that he has more than $618,000 cash on hand for his re-election bid. Crawford is seeking a second term representing east Arkansas’ 1st District. The campaign said he raised a little more than $253,000 between April 1 and June 30.

Crawford’s campaign said the amount surpasses the $159,000 he had raised during the same quarter during his 2010 bid.

Crawford faces Democratic nominee Scott Ellington, a local prosecutor, in the November election.

To read more, click the link above.

Tim Wooldridge to Lead Democrats for Crawford

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 Wednesday, July 11, 2012

CONTACT:

Brad Ferguson / Brad@MeetRickCrawford.com

TIM WOOLDRIDGE TO LEAD DEMOCRATS FOR CRAWFORD

Jonesboro, Arkansas –

Congressman Rick Crawford announced today that former Arkansas State Senator Tim Wooldridge will chair the Democrats for Crawford coalition for Congressman Crawford’s campaign.

“Tim has been a great friend and supporter, and I am thrilled that he has agreed to lead our Democrats for Crawford coalition. This election is not about being Democrat or Republican.  I’m proud to have supporters from both parties who are fed up with an over-reaching federal government that is trying to dominate every aspect of our lives from the way we run our farms to our healthcare decisions.  Tim not only will be a great asset to our campaign as we organize for the fall election, but as a former legislative leader in Little Rock he is also a valued advisor on policy issues affecting the First Congressional District,” said Crawford.

“Rick Crawford has been an extraordinarily effective representative for Arkansas’ First District, and I am excited to be a part of his team.

From his work fighting for our priorities in the Farm Bill to his advocacy for Arkansas on the Transportation Committee, Rick has been a strong leader for us in Washington.  Rather than focus on partisanship, Rick Crawford has pushed for policies that will lead to more job creation in Arkansas, and I know that will continue to be his top priority,” said Wooldridge, who continued:  “Everyday I hear from more people who are tired of partisan bickering and who simply want leaders who will move beyond partisanship and focus on finding real solutions.  That’s why I am stepping up to cross partisan lines and support Rick.  He is working above partisanship, and his courage deserves our support.”

Tim Wooldridge is a former Paragould City Councilman, Arkansas State Representative and State Senator. He has been an active leader in his community having been involved with several service organizations, such as Habitat for Humanity, the Greene County Scholarship Committee and the Paragould Area Chamber of Commerce.  Wooldridge served seven years as the Vice President of Development at Crowley’s Ridge College, followed by work for the Arkansas Methodist Medical Center Foundation and the Arkansas Association of Public Universities.  He is now the Northeast Arkansas project manager for MFA Oil Biomass.  Wooldridge is a graduate of Arkansas State University and is married to the former Lisa Woodson of Paragould.  They have two children.

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Paid for by Crawford for Congress / www.MeetRickCrawford.com/

 

Crawford brings books to county

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Crawford brings books to county

Arkansas First District Congressman Rick Crawford (R-Jonesboro) was in Paragould Friday morning to donate about 250 books to the Greene County Library as part of the Library of Congress Surplus Book Program.

According to a press release from Crawford’s office, the Library of Congress receives more than 20,000 items every day, but only about half of the material is retained for the library’s permanent collection. The remainder is designated for donation through the Surplus Books Program, the release said.

“Once a month, we can go to the Library of Congress and essentially take advantage of surplus books that would probably otherwise be destroyed,” Crawford said. “We can bring them back to libraries in our district.”

Crawford said Greene County Library staff members “initiated the program” by contacting his office. He said once a month, his staff searched through the surplus books for subject matter the libraries had requested. Staff members said Crawford also offered to pay the shipping cost of the books. They said the books helped the library’s book budget as well as allowed its patrons to expand their reading environment.

“It’s always good to get books for our collection — especially when they’re coming at no cost to us,” branch librarian Sandra Rogers said. “[The shipment included] a lot of textbooks that we’ll be able to furnish to students. We normally don’t buy textbook material. This is a great program.”

To read more, click the link above.

KAIT8: Crawford to donate books to Corning, Greene County libraries

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Crawford to donate books to Corning, Greene County libraries

JONESBORO, AR (KAIT) – Friday, Congressman Rick Crawford will give books to the Corning and Greene County Libraries from the Library of Congress’s Surplus Books Program.

Crawford will visit the Greene County Library in Paragould from 9:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. and the Corning Public Library from 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

“I am excited the Greene County and Corning Libraries will be able to benefit from the Library of Congress’s Surplus Books Program. My staff and I hope we can work with other libraries at home to benefit from the program,” said Crawford. “Libraries are often the first place young people begin to learn about their world and the Surplus Books Program will help libraries in Arkansas expand their collection.”

To read more, click the link above.

Crawford Announces Sen. Johnny Key as Campaign Chairman

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 Crawford Announces Sen. Johnny Key as Campaign Chairman

As returns from the Democratic runoff to pick his challenger trickle in, Congressman Rick Crawford announced Senator Johnny Key of Mountain Home serve as Campaign Chairman of his reelection bid. Warren Dupwe of Jonesboro will serve as Chairman Emeritus of Crawford’s campaign team.

“Senator Key will be an asset to Team Crawford,” said Crawford. “In Little Rock, Senator Key has worked to ensure that Arkansans are not saddled with extensive debt and has fought off efforts to implement President Obama’s healthcare law in our state. Senator Key is respected across the political spectrum and he will play a major role in moving our common sense conservative message forward.”

Senator Key will work with state, regional, and local Republican leadership as well as serving as a legislative liasion to the state legislature in Little Rock. Senator Key will also play an active role in overall campaign activities and strategy.
To read more, click the link above.

 

Crawford introduces Hatchery Funding Bill in Heber Springs

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Congressman Rick Crawford spoke to a crowd at Angler’s Depot in Heber Springs on Friday about legislation he is introducing to provide a reliable source of funding for Greers Ferry National Mitigation Hatchery

Heber Springs, Ark. —On Friday, Congressman Rick Crawford was in Heber Springs to announce legislation that will provide a reliable source of funding for mitigation fish hatcheries operations. Crawford’s First Congressional District is home to the Greers Ferry National Mitigation Hatchery in Heber Springs and the Norfork Lake National Mitigation Hatchery in Mountain Home.

“The Norfork and Greer’s Ferry Hatcheries are a huge economic boom to our rural economy. For too long, the Hatcheries have been funded on a year-to-year basis without certainty of funding every 12 months,” said Crawford.

Crawford’s bill, H.R. 5931 The National Mitigation Fisheries Coordination Act of 2012, addresses the uncertainty in the annual appropriations process by bringing the current Federal Fishery Mitigation program more in line with the successful mitigation programs in the American West.  By requiring the Water Development Agencies that cause the need for mitigation to fund that mitigation, the hatcheries, and the multi-year process needed to raise fish from eggs to a releasable size, the Heber Springs and Mountain Home communities will no longer suffer the yearly uncertainty that comes with unsteady funding.

To read more, click this link.

More Information About My Deficit Reduction Proposal

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I have read many of your comments and wanted to take a minute to explain the purpose for the legislation I will introduce next week. The premise behind the bill is not that we need more revenue (taxes) in America. I wholeheartedly believe our problem is with spending.

However, we must think strategically about how we move forward as a country. I haven’t met anyone who believes America can continue borrowing trillions annually. It is an indisputable fact our country will face economic calamity if we do not end the spending binge in Congress.

The question is how do we accomplish this mission? Having served in the military, I understand the need for strategic planning based on real-time in-theater intelligence gathering.

As I see it, the success probability for our mission to keep taxes low decreases significantly as the size of our national debt continues to skyrocket. Likewise, our mission to limit the size of government will surely be an abject failure if we do not implement permanent reforms that require Congress to balance its budget yearly or limit spending as a percentage of GDP.

How then do we accomplish our conservative mission? It most certainly cannot be done by raising taxes or by agreeing to temporary spending cuts, which is the current strategy of most Republicans. I have a newsflash – Republicans balanced the budget in the mid to late 1990s and the problem is worse today than in almost any other time in history. Why? Absent permanent budget reform government will grow ever larger and taxes will eventually skyrocket.

Looking forward there are a few scenarios that are likely to play out. Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi has united most of her members in Washington behind a strategy to position the debate to reduce the deficit as shared sacrifice (i.e. cuts to ‘vital’ programs for the poor and middle class coupled with tax increases on the wealthy). As has been reported widely, many Republicans in the House and Senate (members of the gangs of 6 and 100) are privately contemplating a compromise that would involve tax hikes and spending reductions. From my standpoint, this is more of the same absent permanent budget reform.

A second scenario is for Republicans to hold out and insist on a spending-cut only strategy. To be successful, however, one must assume the Republican members of the gangs of 6 and 100 will have a change of heart and will not strike a deal to accept tax increases in return for temporary spending cuts. I invite you to ask yourself how much confidence you have that Republicans in Congress will hold firm and not accept tax increases in exchange for temporary spending cuts? If you do, I have some nice beach-front property in Black Oak I would like to sell.

All kidding aside, even if Republicans were to hold firm, Senate Democrats will never give in because their polling shows their position has stronger support than a spending-cut only strategy. Republican know this, which is so many are working behind the scenes to strike a deal – a bad deal in my humble opinion that exchanges tax increases for temporary spending cuts.

The bill I am introducing takes into account the political realities and is an attempt to change the mindset of Republicans so that we do not get snookered once again by accepting temporary spending cuts while claiming “victory.” I believe we should only accept a tax increase in exchange for permanent budget reform that will never allow Congress to spend our country into oblivion.