Bruce Westerman
Bruce Westerman | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee | |
Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Rob Bishop |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arkansas's 4th district | |
Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Tom Cotton |
| Majority Leader of the Arkansas House of Representatives | |
| In office January 2013 – January 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Johnnie Roebuck |
| Succeeded by | Ken Bragg |
| Member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from the 22nd district | |
| In office January 2013 – January 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Nate Bell |
| Succeeded by | Mickey Gates |
| Member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from the 30th district | |
| In office January 2011 – January 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Bill Sample |
| Succeeded by | Charles Armstrong |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Bruce Eugene Westerman November 18, 1967 Hot Springs, Arkansas, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Sharon French |
| Children | 4 |
| Education | University of Arkansas (BS) Yale University (MS) |
| Website | House website |
Bruce Eugene Westerman (born November 18, 1967) is an American politician serving as the U.S. Representative for Arkansas's 4th congressional district. Previously, he served as member and the Majority Leader of the Arkansas House of Representatives.
In 2014, Westerman was elected to the House to succeed Tom Cotton, who defeated U.S. Senator Mark Pryor in the 2014 Senate election.
Background[]
Westerman was raised in and resides in Hot Springs, Arkansas.[1] He graduated as valedictorian of Fountain Lake High School in Hot Springs. He attended the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, where he played college football for the Arkansas Razorbacks football team. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in engineering in 1990 and subsequently received a master's degree in forestry from Yale University.[2]
Westerman worked as an engineer and forester before being elected to the Arkansas House in 2010. He was formerly employed as an engineer and forester by the Mid-South Engineering Company. He served as president of the Arkansas chapter of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineering. He is also a former chair of the Arkansas Academy of Biological and Agricultural Engineers, and served on the Fountain Lake School District school board.[citation needed]
Arkansas House of Representatives[]
Elections[]
Westerman ran for the Arkansas House of Representatives in 2010 without opposition to succeed fellow Republican Bill Sample, who was elected to the Arkansas State Senate.[3][4][5]
With the 2012 election, Westerman was transferred to his current District 22, in which he also ran without opposition in both the Republican primary and the general election. The incumbent District 22 lawmaker, Republican Nate Bell of Polk County, was switched to District 20.
Tenure[]
Westerman served as the House Minority Leader in 2012 and House Majority Leader in 2013.[6]
In 2013, Westerman co-sponsored the amending of state income tax rates and supported the proposed spending cap on the state budget, but the latter measure failed by a two-vote margin in the House. He joined the majority to override the vetoes of Governor Mike Beebe to enact legislation to require photo identification for casting a ballot in Arkansas and to ban abortion after twenty weeks of gestation. He co-sponsored both of those measures. Westerman supported related legislation to outlaw abortion whenever fetal heartbeat is detected, to forbid the inclusion of abortion in the state insurance exchange, and to make the death of a fetus a felony in certain cases.[7]
On gun issues, Westerman co-sponsored allowing officials of universities and religious institutions to carry concealed firearms. He voted to reduce the application fee for a concealed carry permit, but the measure was defeated in the House. Westerman supported a measure that prohibits the governor from regulating firearms during an emergency. He voted for a failed measure to prohibit the closing of schools based on a two-year pupil enrollment analysis. He voted to establish a tiered system of lottery scholarships. He voted against legislation to make the office of prosecuting attorney in Arkansas nonpartisan, which passed 63–24. He supported the bill, signed by Beebe, to permit the sale of up to 500 gallons per month of unpasteurized whole milk directly from the farm to consumers.[7]
In 2011, Westerman voted to establish dress codes and state standards for biblical instruction in public schools. He voted to prohibit cell phone usage in school zones. He voted to prohibit state driver's license tests from being administered in languages other than English. He co-sponsored the Capital Gains Reduction Act and the reduction of taxes on manufacturers' utilities. He voted against the 2011 congressional redistricting act.[7]
Committee assignments[]
- Revenue And Taxation Committee
- Subcommittee on Sales, Use, Miscellaneous Taxes and Exemptions (chair)
- State Agencies And Governmental Affairs Committee
- Insurance and Commerce Committee[6]
U.S. House of Representatives[]
2014 election[]
Westerman won the Republican primary on May 20, defeating Tommy Moll, 54%–46%.[8] In November, he defeated Democratic nominee James Lee Witt, a former associate of U.S. President Bill Clinton, 54%-43%.[9]
Tenure[]
On June 20, 2017, as the only certified forester in the House, Westerman introduced H.R.2936 - Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2017,[10] providing for the culling of overgrown federally managed woods. After passing the House, it was introduced in the Senate on November 2, 2017, where it stalled because of opposition from Democrats lobbied by anti-logging environmentalists.[11]
Westerman voted for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.[12] Project Vote Smart reports that the American Conservative Union has given him a 90% evaluation.
In December 2020, Westerman was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives to sign an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Joe Biden defeated[13] incumbent Donald Trump. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by another state.[14][15][16]
During the 2021 Capitol riot, Westerman, left behind in House minority leader Kevin McCarthy's office when he was evacuated by security, took a Civil War sword from a shattered display for protection and hid from rioters on a toilet.[17]
Committee assignments[]
In the 117th Congress, Westerman serves on the:
- Committee on Natural Resources (Ranking Member)
- As Ranking Member of the full committee, Westerman can sit as an ex officio member on all subcommittees.
- Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
In the 114th Congress, Westerman served on the:
- Committee on the Budget
- Committee on Natural Resources
- Subcommittee on Federal Lands
- Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
- Committee on Science, Space and Technology
- Subcommittee on Environment (vice chair)
- Subcommittee on Research and Technology
Caucus memberships[]
- Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus
- Congressional Western Caucus
- Republican Study Committee[18]
- Working Forests Caucus (co-chair, co-founder)
- Dyslexia Caucus (co-chair)
Electoral history[]
| Arkansas House of Representatives 30th District Election, 2010 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Republican | Bruce Westerman | n/a | 100.00 |
| Arkansas House of Representatives 22nd District Election, 2012 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Republican | Bruce Westerman | n/a | 100.00 |
| Arkansas 4th Congressional District Republican Primary Election, 2014 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Republican | Bruce Westerman | 18,719 | 54.45 |
| Republican | Tommy Moll | 15,659 | 45.55 |
| Arkansas 4th Congressional District Election, 2014 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Republican | Bruce Westerman | 110,789 | 53.75 |
| Democratic | James Lee Witt | 87,742 | 42.57 |
| Libertarian | Ken Hamilton | 7,598 | 3.69 |
| Write-ins | Write-ins | 2 | 0.00 |
References[]
- ^ "About". Congressman Bruce Westerman. December 3, 2012.
- ^ "Bruce Westerman's Biography". votesmart.org. Retrieved January 12, 2014.
- ^ Westerman plans to run for Sample's seat in House. Hot Springs Village Voice. September 30, 2009
- ^ Westerman to resign from Fountain Lake school board. Hot Springs Village Voice. March 24, 2010
- ^ "State Representative District 030 – Certified, 2010". sos.arkansas.gov. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Arkansas House Of Representatives". Arkanhouse.org. Archived from the original on January 2, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c "Bruce Westerman's Voting Records". votesmart.org. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
- ^ "Arkansas Primary Election Results, May 20, 2014". KATV. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
- ^ "RealClearPolitics – Election 2014 – Arkansas 4th District – Westerman vs. Witt". Realclearpolitics.com. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
- ^ Westerman, Bruce (November 2, 2017). "H.R.2936 - 115th Congress (2017-2018): Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2017". www.congress.gov. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
- ^ "Bruce Westerman faults forest-management bill blocks on Democrats". The Washington Times. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
- ^ Almukhtar, Sarah (December 19, 2017). "How Each House Member Voted on the Tax Bill". The New York Times. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
- ^ Blood, Michael R.; Riccardi, Nicholas (December 5, 2020). "Biden officially secures enough electors to become president". AP News. Archived from the original on December 8, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
- ^ Liptak, Adam (December 11, 2020). "Supreme Court Rejects Texas Suit Seeking to Subvert Election". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
- ^ "Order in Pending Case" (PDF). Supreme Court of the United States. December 11, 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
- ^ Diaz, Daniella. "Brief from 126 Republicans supporting Texas lawsuit in Supreme Court". CNN. Archived from the original on December 12, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
- ^ Leibovich, Mark (April 25, 2021). "Kevin McCarthy, Four Months After Jan. 6, Still on Defensive Over Trump". The New York Times. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
- ^ "Membership". Republican Study Committee. December 6, 2017. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
- ^ "Committees and Caucuses". Congressman Bruce Westerman. December 13, 2012. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
External links[]
- U.S. Representative Bruce Westerman[permanent dead link] official U.S. House website
- Bruce Westerman for Congress
- Bruce Westerman at Curlie
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Profile at Vote Smart
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
| show |
|---|
| show Members of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arkansas |
|---|
Authority control  |
|---|
- 1967 births
- 21st-century American politicians
- 21st-century American engineers
- Arkansas Razorbacks football players
- Arkansas Republicans
- Baptists from Arkansas
- Engineers from Arkansas
- Fountain Lake High School alumni
- Living people
- Members of the Arkansas House of Representatives
- Members of the United States House of Representatives from Arkansas
- Politicians from Hot Springs, Arkansas
- Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives
- School board members in Arkansas
- Yale University alumni