Washington news in brief

Lawmakers tout wilderness area

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. French Hill and U.S. Sen. John Boozman celebrated expansion of Arkansas' Flatside Wilderness on Wednesday, joining with members of the Pew Charitable Trusts at the organization's Washington office to mark the occasion.

Hill, a Republican from Little Rock, sponsored the legislation and championed it in the House, securing passage there in November. Boozman, a Republican from Rogers, helped to guide the bill through the Senate on Dec. 22 during the closing hours of the 115th session of Congress.

Hill said his colleague played a crucial role in securing last year's last-minute legislative victory.

"This would not be possible if it weren't for John Boozman's diligent work over in the Senate," Hill said.

President Donald Trump signed the Flatside Wilderness Enhancement Act in January, adding 640 acres to the 9,541-acre site northwest of Little Rock.

The extra acreage will be known as the Bethune Woods-Flatside Wilderness, in honor of former U.S. Rep. Ed Bethune, who championed the creation of the original Flatside Wilderness and fought to preserve 91,100 acres of wilderness across the state.

The event, titled "An Evening to Celebrate New Southern Wilderness," also highlighted passage of the Tennessee Wilderness Act, which will preserve 19,558 acres in the Cherokee National Forest.

U.S. Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn., said the legislative efforts had been worthwhile.

"Generations 100 years from now will be able to go and enjoy these beautiful scenic areas, undisturbed," he added.

Among those on hand for the reception was Anders Reynolds, a Wynne native and an officer with The Pew Charitable Trusts' U.S. public-lands program.

Reynolds was an early supporter of expanding Flatside, working to garner support for the measure.

Women urged to study engineering

U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman encouraged young women Wednesday to consider pursuing a career in engineering.

The Republican from Hot Springs is a 1990 graduate of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. He earned a bachelor of science degree in biological and agricultural engineering.

Westerman made his comments during the "Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day Briefing" in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington.

Before going to Washington, he worked for 22 years at Mid-South Engineering Co. in Hot Springs.

"I also happen to have a daughter who is a sophomore at the University of Arkansas majoring in industrial engineering," he told the audience.

Amie Westerman "started off in biomedical engineering, but now she's doing industrial engineering," he said.

"You all know that, generally, to be an engineer, you need to be good at science and math. You need to be analytical. ... An engineer is a glorified problem solver. What they teach you in engineering schools is how to solve problems. I use those same techniques and tools that I've learned in engineering school here in Congress. You evaluate the problem: 'What is it we're really trying to do? You come up with a plan on 'How do we solve this problem.' Then ... you do the math. You take the tools and the knowledge that you've got and you apply it to the methodology to solve the problem that's been defined. And then you present the answer."

State ranked 48th on citizenship test

Only three-in-10 Arkansans would pass a U.S. citizenship test, according to the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation.

The Princeton, N.J.-based organization surveyed Americans in all 50 states. Arkansas ranked 48th, just ahead of Kentucky and Louisiana and just behind Mississippi and Alabama.

Woodrow Wilson, the nation's 28th president, served from 1913-21. Before winning the White House, he served as president of Princeton University.

Nationwide, failing citizenship grades are the norm. On average, four-in-10 Americans scored a D or better. Even in Vermont, the best-scoring state, only 53 percent of those surveyed received a passing score.

The findings were based on a survey of 41,000 people. The margin of error for the national sample was plus or minus 1 percentage point.

"Americans don't possess the history knowledge they need to be informed and engaged citizens," said Arthur Levine, the foundation's president.

While American history is taught in the nation's schools, the information quickly fades from memory, the survey suggested.

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.

A Section on 02/17/2019

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