CAMDEN — By BRADLY GILL
Staff writer
District 4 Sen. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., detailed his fight against illegal drugs crossing the border, his efforts to pass the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and the importance of Highland Industrial Park during a visit to the Camden News on Monday.
According to his website, BruceWesterman.com, “Bruce Westerman was born and raised in Garland County. He graduated from Fountain Lake High School in Hot Springs before attending the University of Arkansas where he played football for the Razorbacks.
“After graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological and Agricultural Engineering, he received his Master’s degree in forestry from Yale University.
“For more than 22 years, Bruce worked in engineering and forestry at Mid-South Engineering in Hot Springs. Developing a passion for public service, Bruce served as a board member on the Fountain Lake School District.”
Westerman weighed in regarding the nations opioid epidemic stating,
“It affects everywhere. I think the drug crisis in our country is larger than people realize, and I hear it a lot talking to employers who can’t find people to fill job opening, and one of the big issues is they can’t find anyone to pass a drug test. But we’ve actually passed some legislation and approve funding to help combat the opioid problem.”
Westerman said that as chairman of the Natural Resource subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations that he made a trip to the Mexican border to see how policy on federal lands affects the U.S. Border Patrol’s ability to do their jobs.
Westerman said, “I wasn’t expecting to be as taken aback as I was by how drugs are coming across our southern border and the fact that we have Mexican drug cartels operating on U.S. soil helping to see these drugs make it across the border. They have spotters out in the mountains, they are watching the moves of the Border Patrol, so that they can tell the drug runners when to hide and which way to go.”
Westerman shared that during a hearing for the subcommittee, he learned that the Border Patrol seized 192 pounds of fentanyl in a three-month period.
“Literally 2 milligrams of fentanyl can be a fatal dose,” said Westerman. “So 192 pounds of fentanyl is enough to kill 43 million people.”
Westerman added that he is working to change the rules which currently limit the access of border agents at national monuments and parks.
The Border Patrol’s not allowed to build roads for access, so the only way they can get in to do their job is to hike in, ride a horse or be dropped in by helicopter,” Westerman stated
Westerman also said that he was co-sponsor of H.R.4760 - Securing America’s Future Act of 2018, which would contain language that would combat trafficking of opioids into the U.S.
Regarding the opioid problem, he said: “It’s a very serious problem and opioid and other drug addictions are doing harm to are country in many ways. Especially to our economy.”
Westerman went on to talk about economic policies he hopes to continue to develop in South Arkansas.
The senator stated:
“Reagan said, ‘The best anti-poverty program ever created is a job.’ So, what I want to do is work to create an environment so that businesses are growing, and that there is more demand for jobs, and not just jobs but careers where people can earn enough money to raise a family and communities can be built back up. And we’re seeing that right now especially in this area with the Highland Industrial Park. I know Aerojet is adding a lot of jobs and several of the other contractors out at Highland Park are expanding. Those are good jobs. I saw data a year or so ago that showed that the highest average family income int he state was in Calhoun County. “
Westerman credited some of the economic growth with the passing of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. which he says gave companies more money to grow their business. He also sited record low unemployment numbers.
Westerman noted the state’s work requirements for Medicaid, which the Trump administration passed last week and said there are efforts to add work requirements to the Farm Bill which he hopes will pass either this week or next week. He says these efforts are to move people from “welfare to work.”
Westerman, who graduated with a masters in forestry from Yale in 2001, said he is proud of SAU-Tech’s recent forestry program and recognized the importance of forestry within the area. He also noted SAU’s engineering program saying that both present great opportunity here in the state.
Finally Westerman noted Congress’s work on “The Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017,’’ which also was recently signed into law. He credits the bill with the shutdown of Backpage.com, a site which advertised services from sex workers. Westerman said the bill will have a major impact on sex trafficking in the nation.