Hill admonishes Wells Fargo CEO
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. French Hill told Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf that he was surprised and disappointed by news of the company's 2 million fake accounts, created by employees under pressure to meet sales goals.
"I've been a customer of your company, and I've admired your company and I've used your company as an example for my own businesses in the past 20 years," Hill said Thursday.
After learning of the misconduct that cost 5,300 Wells Fargo employees their jobs, "I have the same knot in my stomach that you probably have," Hill said.
Stumpf appeared Thursday before the House Financial Services Committee; Hill is a member of the committee.
Hill, the founder and former CEO of Delta Trust and Banking Corp., is a first-term Republican from Little Rock. He told Stumpf that Wells Fargo's actions have been damaging to customers, "including the 903 people in Arkansas that have been affected by this."
Womack to hold 'coffee' in Pindall
U.S. Rep. Steve Womack will hold a "Coffee with the Congressman" event 9-10 a.m. Monday in the Pindall Community Center at 133 Pindall Grove Road in Pindall.
A news release said the event will be informal. "You can shoot the breeze or discuss the national debt," it said.
Also on Monday, the Rogers Republican will tour McClain Forestry Products in Western Grove, hear about the NorthArk Manufacturing Program during a visit to Pace Industries in Harrison, and stop by the Winkler Logistics Center in Harrison.
Tuesday's schedule includes a trip to St. Vincent de Paul Catholic School in Rogers.
Rutledge in East, champions Trump
Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge was on the East Coast last week. On Monday, she served as a surrogate for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump at Hofstra University in New York, advocating for him on the airwaves on the same day that he debated Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. Rutledge argued that most Americans don't care whether Trump releases his tax returns.
On Tuesday, she was in Washington at the U.S. Court of Appeals as the District of Columbia Circuit heard a legal challenge to the administration's Clean Power Plan, which would place limits on carbon pollution. After the oral arguments, she appeared at a news conference along with several other attorneys general, as well as Capitol Hill lawmakers.
Twenty-nine states, including Arkansas, have challenged the new Environmental Protection Agency pollution restrictions.
On Wednesday, Rutledge took to the airwaves again, defending Trump's statements about a beauty pageant winner who had gained weight.
Boozman praises state rice growers
U.S. Sen. John Boozman spoke on the Senate floor last week, paying tribute to rice farmers and highlighting September as National Rice Month.
During a nearly four-minute speech, the Republican from Rogers stressed the importance of the crop in the Natural State.
"Arkansas holds the proud distinction as the nation's leader in rice production. Last year, Arkansas produced more than 50 percent of the total rice grown in the country. On average, farmers in Arkansas grow rice on 1.5 million acres each year. Ninety-six percent of those farms are family owned and operated," he said.
Before finishing, Boozman said rice farmers would benefit if trade and travel restrictions to Cuba are loosened. He also emphasized damage caused by flooding in northeast Arkansas this year and urged Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to provide federal disaster assistance.
Crawford talks up farm-savings plan
U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford last week introduced HR6167, the Farm Risk Abatement and Mitigation Election Act. It would allow farmers to put money in tax-deferred farm-savings accounts and withdraw it when times get tough.
"Farming is a risky business. ... From crop failure, changing markets, insect damage, unusual weather, and natural disasters, producers' livelihoods are threatened in many different ways," the Jonesboro Republican said.
Farmers could withdraw the money "whenever they needed it to cope with a disaster, independent of government or state designation, which can often be slow in coming," his office said in a news release.
Westerman touts forest-trails vote
U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman highlighted last week's passage by the House of HR845, the National Forest Trails Stewardship Act.
"Our national forests and public lands are a treasure to the people of America, but the maintenance backlog on our public lands hinders access to our national forest system," the Hot Springs Republican said.
"This bill requires a strategy be developed in five years so the U.S. Forest Service and volunteers can work together to maintain federally-owned trails. To keep our forests and public lands beautiful, and ensure citizens have the access they deserve, it is imperative that this legislation be signed into law."
Cotton co-writes op-ed on migrants
U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, a Republican from Dardanelle, joined U.S. Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Kan., in penning an op-ed piece for The Wall Street Journal that appeared last week.
Titled "What We Learned In Scandinavia About Migrants," it described a recent visit there and contrasted Sweden's wide-door immigration policy with Norway's far more limited policy.
Claiming that U.S. elites are out of touch on immigration, the lawmakers wrote: "Immigration is the central issue of Donald Trump's presidential campaign. He saw legitimate concerns about stagnant wages, low workforce-participation rates and lower levels of immigrant assimilation. ... One need not support Mr. Trump to acknowledge these reasonable concerns of the 14 million Republicans who voted for him in the primaries and the tens of millions who will vote for him in November. These voters are not xenophobic or racist. They simply want the priority of America's immigration policy to be the economic and social interests of American citizens."
Planning to visit the nation's capital? Know something happening in Washington, D.C.? Please contact Frank Lockwood at (202) 662-7690 or flockwood@arkansasonline.com. Want the latest from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's Washington bureau? It's available on Twitter@LockwoodFrank.
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