Tim on the Issues

A Better Future for Arkansas.

Progress Prevents Poverty.

Right to Live

Every woman, no matter what walk of life she comes from, has the right to live. Both she and any fetus she carries deserves the best care that medical science can provide. But in the state of Arkansas, far-right extremists have tied the hands of mothers, fathers, and doctors. They have gained control over the bodies and lives of women by using emotionally or spiritually charged rhetoric without facts. 

Arkansas has a total abortion ban that blocks all medically necessary termination. This makes getting pregnant more dangerous. It puts women’s lives in danger. It puts their fertility in danger. It forces a family to endure a pregnancy that will end a few moments after the baby is born because a fetus isn’t viable. 

I will introduce legislation that clear doctors  and patients who seek or provide care for medically necessary terminations and terminations due to sexual assault. To make sure this legislation is correctly focused, I will work with the American College of Gynecology (ACOG) on designing the bill. I believe language that speaks to saving a woman's life, preventing carrying a fetus that isn’t viable, and ensuring future fertility is vital. The legislation to proceed with an abortion will require nothing more than the signature of two healthcare licensed professionals. 

In my work at HHS, I have encountered families that couldn’t get pregnant because of complication from a previous pregnancy, or that were afraid to start a family because of the current laws. It doesn’t have to be like this. My legislation will ensure that women and their doctors have the ability to protect their own well-being as well as any potential children.

Strengthening SNAP Benefits

Every person in Arkansas, old and young, rich and poor, educated and undereducated, deserves at least one decent meal a day. They should get three. Yet political leaders continue to block access to food subsidies. Instead they push a morality narrative that blames the person facing hard times for being hungry. 

Studies have proven that well-defined and enacted social programs reduce crime, improve educational outcomes, and improve quality of life for Arkansas seniors and children.

Arkansas SNAP coverage ends when up to 130 percent of the federal poverty limit is reached. That number  includes more than income. It includes assets like cars and homes. A vehicle cannot be used to purchase groceries, nor can a primary home. Assets should not be used to calculate eligibility. You should not be forced to spend through all of your savings before acquiring assistance. 

I will fight to leverage the Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility Policy. This allows states to count only income when judging eligibility. It allows coverage to continue providing benefits until a person’s income reaches 200 percent of the federal poverty level. Thirty-seven other states use this policy. We should too.

We rank in the top 5 to 7 percent of states for poverty. I’m not proud of that statistic, and you shouldn’t be either. Elect me to the state legislature and I’ll fight to make Arkansas a better place for everyone to live.

End Domestic Violence

Nobody, no matter your age, gender, or sexual preference, should have to face violence in your own home. Yet Arkansas is above the national average for intimate partner violence. Sixty to seventy homicides a year are domestic violence related. Forty-five of those deaths are gun violence deaths. Why do we have such horrible statistics?

Our systems have failed us. 

We don’t fund public education, mental health systems, or community safety programs. We don’t focus on eliminating poverty. We have failed time and time again to protect the people of Arkansas.

It’s time for that to change. 

When you elect me, I’ll fight to use part of the fiscal surplus to fix this problem. I’ll work to invest in programs that build escape paths for victims and adequate punishment and treatment for offenders.

These pathways could include tax incentives for rental property owners to claim for deferring deposit amounts across a lease and mandatory utility deposit deferment for the first 120 days for eligible applicants. Eligibility would be based upon referral of mandated reporters, award of order of protection, a police report entailing a domestic  disturbance.

It shouldn’t be so hard to escape a dangerous situation. We can change this.