Westerman forestry
measure nears vote
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman's forestry legislation is scheduled to be voted on in the U.S. House of Representatives this week.
The second-term Republican from Hot Springs, the only congressman with a graduate degree in forestry, is the sponsor of HR2936, the Resilient Federal Forests Act.
The legislation would make it harder for environmentalists to derail federal forest management plans, the congressman says. It also would change the way that the U.S. Forest Service is funded, making it easier for the agency to get more money in years when firefighting costs are particularly high.
Currently, the agency often resorts to "fire borrowing," taking money from its other programs and shifting it to pay for fire suppression.
Similar legislation passed the House during Westerman's first term, but died in the Senate.
Fire has claimed more than 8.8 million acres this year and forests are still ablaze out West. Firefighting costs for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30 topped $2.4 billion, according to the Forest Service.
With the vote nearing, Westerman has been promoting the bill as much as possible. Last week, he granted an interview to Oregon Public Broadcasting; Oregon is one of the states that has been hit hardest by wildfires this year.
Interest in the forestry legislation has spiked recently, Westerman said.
"I hope that's an indicator that we'll be able to get the bill passed and get it into the Senate and hopefully, eventually, get it on the president's desk."
Crawford still keen
on Cuba farm trade
Efforts to expand agricultural trade with Cuba have been hampered by the recent sonic attacks on Americans in Havana, U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford said.
The Jonesboro Republican represents the nation's top rice-producing congressional district and he's sponsoring legislation to remove existing trade barriers.
President Donald Trump has blamed the Cuban government for the mysterious audio barrage, which has injured at least 22 American diplomats and their family members.
The State Department said it isn't sure who's responsible for the attacks, which have caused hearing loss, cognitive impairment and other problems in some victims.
In late September, the Trump administration announced that it would be withdrawing more than half of its embassy staff in Havana. U.S. citizens are being warned not to travel to Cuba until the culprits have been identified.
In an interview Tuesday, Crawford said he remains committed to passing HR525, the Cuba Agricultural Exports Act. Sponsored by Crawford and co-sponsored by 61 of his House colleagues, it would allow farmers to extend credit to Cuban purchasers and enable Americans to invest in nongovernmental Cuban agricultural projects.
"The diplomatic incident that has taken place over the last few months [has] kind of grabbed all the headlines and sort of changed the conversation a little bit but we'll get to the bottom of that," Crawford said.
Once the mystery has been solved, "we'll move forward on it," he added.
Hill offers students
advice on meetings
U.S. Rep. French Hill fielded questions for about 20 minutes Thursday from students at St. Theresa Catholic School in Little Rock. The seventh- and eighth-graders generally steered clear of federal politics, instead peppering the Little Rock Republican with questions about student government.
They wanted to know whether Hill had ever served on student council. (He hadn't, at least in junior high and high school.) They sought campaign advice. (It helps, he said, to have a "servant's heart" and a strong social media strategy.) They also sought suggestions for making their student council meetings run smoothly. (Hill recommended starting and ending the meetings on time and having a set agenda. "The worst meetings in America are meetings without an agenda," he added.)
Utilizing the camera on his smartphone, Hill communicated with the students via Google Hangouts, a video chat system.
Asked about President Donald Trump, Hill said he's met the president a few times. "He's a very gregarious guy at a meeting and very direct in how he runs a meeting," he said.
Trump is focused on "getting the American economy growing faster to create more jobs and to try to raise people's wages through a faster economic growth," Hill added.
Grocers group gives
award to Harps CEO
The National Grocers Association presented Harps Food Stores' top executive, Kim Eskew, with its top advocacy award at its fall leadership meeting in Chicago earlier this month.
The Springdale company's president and chief executive officer received the Clarence G. Adamy Great American Award, which is given to people who "have demonstrated outstanding efforts in support of policy initiatives that promote the independent supermarket industry."
The association, based in Arlington, Va., represents independent supermarkets from across the country.
Peter Larkin, the trade group's president and chief executive, described Eskew as a "steadfast advocate for our industry" who has "worked hard to develop personal relationships with elected officials in areas where Harps operates."
The association praised Eskew for his outreach to members of the Arkansas congressional delegation, noting that U.S. Sen. John Boozman of Rogers, U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford of Jonesboro and U.S. Rep. Steve Womack of Rogers, all Republicans, had all toured Harps locations this year.
Eskew, who serves on the board of the National Grocers Association, also traveled to Washington in May to lobby for the industry, Larkin said.
Planning to visit the nation's capital? Know something happening in Washington, D.C.? Please contact Frank Lockwood at (202) 662-7690 or [email protected]. Want the latest from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's Washington bureau? It's available on Twitter, @LockwoodFrank.
SundayMonday on 10/29/2017