This is "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of May 4, 2025! I'm Alex Thomas, Washington Correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, with your look at national politics and the Arkansans influencing the discussions.

The Senate and House of Representatives are back in action on Capitol Hill, and some House committees did not waste any time considering their portions of the reconciliation package.

Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., and the House Financial Services Committee approved its section authorizing steps for reducing the deficit by $1 billion over the next 10 years.

Committee Democrats opposed the language, arguing their Republican colleagues are pushing for potentially harmful spending reductions for the sake of extending the 2017 tax law.

STORY: Hill, U.S. House committee approves portion of reconciliation plan

Disability Rights Arkansas has stopped accepting new cases amid a snafu concerning federal funding.

The organization, which provides advocacy and litigation services to Arkansans with disabilities, was supposed to receive federal grant dollars in the weeks after Congress approved its most recent continuing resolution funding the government. The Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education, however, have not delivered that funding.

STORY: Disability Rights Arkansas not accepting new cases, citing undelivered federal support

Warren Stephens is the new ambassador to the United Kingdom.

The Senate confirmed Stephens — a longtime investment banker and former leader of Stephens. Inc. — last Tuesday in a 59-39 vote.

STORY: U.S. Senate confirms Warren Stephens as United Kingdom ambassador

Thank you for checking out this week's "Arkies in the Beltway!" You can stay up to date with all Arkansas news at ArkansasOnline.com, or follow me on Bluesky for developments from the nation's capital!