Rogers Republican spends the weekend on USS Hartford

WASHINGTON — Lots of people travel south for spring break, but not Steve Womack.

The 3rd District U.S. representative headed north, spending last weekend on the USS Hartford, on the surface and roughly 750 feet below the polar ice cap.

The Republican from Rogers serves on the Defense Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, and he was part of a congressional delegation that traveled to the Arctic to observe Navy exercises. The lawmakers slept on submarine bunks and visited a temporary camp that was drifting atop the frozen sea, Womack said.

U.S. Navy Ice Camp Sargo featured small, igloo-shaped buildings as well as a wooden outhouse, Womack said.

Its location changes as it drifts around the ocean.

“It’s an ever-changing environment. … It’s constantly moving and to think that we landed an airplane on literally a piece of ice floating around in the Arctic is pretty incredible,” he said. “It’s one of the most fascinating things I’ve ever done.” Warm clothes were essential; in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, the temperature dipped to 16 degrees below zero.

During their free time, submariners and some of the legislators ate dinner and watched a classic Cold War thriller — The Hunt for Red October.

TV CALLS ON COTTON AFTER TERROR ATTACKS

U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton was in high demand last week after the terrorist attacks in Brussels. The Dardanelle Republican appeared on MSNBC’s Morning Joe program and on CNN with Wolf Blitzer, where he fielded questions about Islamic radicalism.

The first-term senator also released a statement saying the U.S. must play a central role in the fight against Islamic extremism.

“The terrorists who are tearing apart the Islamic world have now shown repeatedly that they can and will strike at the heart of Europe and the West. We must turn this moment of anguish into a galvanizing event, one that steels the resolve of the United States and our allies to do what it takes to defeat radical Islamic jihadism. There are holes in our allies’ counterterror, counter-radicalization, and intelligence sharing capabilities. We must lead in helping to fill those holes. And we must finally execute a real strategy that brings the war to ISIS in Syria and Iraq, that puts America in the lead, and that destroys this civilizational cancer at its source,” it said.

FAMILY COUNCIL HEAD AT PRO-ISRAEL AFFAIR

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee invited Arkansas Family Council Executive Director Jerry Cox to attend its annual policy conference, giving him the chance to stand with 18,000 other supporters of the Jewish state.

Cox was a panelist for a Monday breakout session titled “My Israel Story,” reflecting on his trip overseas last year. He also attended a dinner along with roughly 300 other Christians who participated in the conference in Washington, D.C.

The three-day conference also was a key stop on this year’s campaign trail. Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton spoke Monday morning.

The three Republican presidential candidates spoke later in the day.

All four received enthusiastic welcomes.

“I suppose that was the most impressive thing about it, the fact we were able to see so many presidential candidates and that so many presidential candidates thought it was worthy of their time,” Cox said.

Those sessions attracted thousands of people; roughly 40 showed up for Cox’s panel.

He gave Israel high marks, at the conference and later, during an interview.

“What I realized when I got to Israel is that Israel is much more than just another country. It’s the crossroads of history, it’s the crossroads of faith. It’s the crossroads of … mankind,” he said.

A charitable organization affiliated with American Israel Public Affairs Committee paid for Cox’s trip, he said.

Although the committee is a predominantly Jewish organization, it is working to build alliances with people of other faiths.

Planning to visit the nation’s capital? Know something happening in Washington, D.C.? Contact Frank Lockwood at (202) 6627690 or flockwood@arkansas online.com.