Westerman urges forestry bill action
WASHINGTON -- With thousands of Californians fleeing wildfires, U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman called for "immediate Senate action on the Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2017."
The legislation, which is sponsored by Westerman, passed in the House on Nov. 1, but is stuck in the Senate.
A similar bill, also sponsored by Westerman, passed in the House in 2015, only to die in the Senate.
During a speech on the House floor, Westerman highlighted the devastation that's been caused by forest fires this year, noting that in Southern California, "more than 110,000 acres [are] currently burning, and 200,000 individuals [have been] forced from their homes.
"Lives and property are at risk across Los Angeles and Ventura counties," Westerman said. "The time for the Senate to act was two years ago when they failed to act on similar legislation. We can't afford for the Senate to continue to do nothing."
Westerman, a Republican from Hot Springs, has a graduate degree in forestry. His legislation would speed up the review process for certain forest management practices and make it harder for environmentalists to derail the management plans.
Arkansans meet, raise charity funds
The Arkansas State Society of Washington, D.C., had a holiday reception Monday at the 201 Bar, a highly rated Capitol Hill hangout.
The event allowed Arkansans and friends of Arkansas to gather and exchange season's greetings while also raising money to benefit a Natural State charity: Our House, a Little Rock homeless shelter.
U.S. Sen. John Boozman, a Republican from Rogers, and U.S. Rep. French Hill, a Republican from Little Rock, were among those who stopped by.
Donations will be used to buy clothing, toiletries, baby items and other goods for people in need, organizers said.
The Arkansas State Society was formally incorporated in 1939, but existed well before then. After years of inactivity, it was reorganized earlier this year.
Editor envisions run by Chelsea Clinton
Politico magazine contributing editor Bill Scher, a New York native, thinks a New York transplant, former first daughter Chelsea Clinton, should return to her roots and run for the U.S. Senate.
In Arkansas.
Bill and Hillary Clinton's only child was born in Little Rock but moved to Washington after her father's successful 1992 White House bid.
She lives in Manhattan's Flatiron District and has been mentioned as a potential candidate for the U.S. House or U.S. Senate from New York.
Democrats in Arkansas will be looking for a strong candidate if U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton gives up his seat to serve as director of the Central Intelligence Agency, something that has been proposed.
Arkansas voters, who embraced Bill Clinton during all but one of his gubernatorial elections and a congressional campaign, overwhelmingly rejected his wife Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state, when she ran as the 2016 Democratic nominee for president.
But Scher, writing for the widely read political outlet, says Chelsea Clinton has the potential to be a stronger candidate.
She "has the Clinton name but little of the Clinton baggage. She wouldn't hurt for name recognition or campaign cash," Scher wrote.
Politico, which focuses on politics and government, is widely read inside the Beltway.
Indianan lauds '41 bravery of Arkansan
U.S. Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., paid tribute last week to the late Joseph George, a Cabot man who was posthumously awarded a Bronze Star on Thursday.
George, a boatswain's mate second class in 1941, tossed a rope to sailors trapped aboard the USS Arizona after it was struck in Pearl Harbor by Japanese bombers on Dec. 7 that year.
A Georgia native, George had been ordered to help sever the lines tying his ship, the USS Vestal, to the Arizona. But he paused from his assigned duties long enough to rescue six men from the sinking and fire-ravaged battleship.
"Joe defied direct orders from his superior officer and saved the lives of six men trapped on the embattled USS Arizona," Banks said during a speech on the House floor.
The congressman lauded George's "exceptional bravery."
The lawmaker had introduced a resolution, co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., urging the Navy to review George's case and see if George merited official recognition.
If George had any ties to Indiana, Banks never mentioned them. But George's courage had caught the attention of middle school students in Warsaw, Ind. They were the ones who had shared George's story with Banks, the congressman said.
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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