Westerman

TO THE EDITOR:

How Arkansas’ U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman voted:

He voted for HR 5538 that would cut the Environmental Protection Agency by $164 million and reduce the staff to the lowest level in 28 years. The bill would cut the Land and Water Conservation Fund and ban funding for a rule to curb mountaintop removal mining. Also the bill would deny the agency funding to implement certain rules under the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act.

I wish Westerman was concerned about the quality of water, air and land in the U.S. and voted accordingly.

He voted yes to a bill that would prohibit the EPA from requiring permits for discharge into waterways of pesticides.

He voted no to a bill that was to advance a proposed payday-lending rule.

Westerman voted against the establishment of safe procedures for the removal and handling of lead paint from older structures.

HR1917 would delay indefinitely a Clean Air Act rule to curb hazardous emissions from the manufacture of brick, clay and ceramics products. Westerman voted yes.

Westerman voted to pen the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling.

He voted to block a floor consideration of HR3440 that would grant permanent legal status to the “dreamers” brought illegally to the U.S. as children.

He opposed the disclosure of the president’s tax returns. Wonder why? What is the president hiding?

Westerman voted yes to the tax bill—a bill to benefit the wealthy.

He voted to repeal the individual mandate from the Affordable Care Act. Republicans are chipping away at this since they could not repeal the ACA.

Westerman voted to relax a Consumer Financial Protection rule designed to curb predatory home lending practices. This could casue another 2008-2009 financial “meltdown.”

He voted in July 2017 for Trump’s wall proposal. Mexico was to pay for the wall. Who belives that? The total cost will be around $33.2 billion for a 2,000 mile wall that the U.S. cannot afford.

The House has done nothing to ban bumpstocks or require Americans to be 21 years of age to buy a gun, fix our broken background check system or to get weapons of war off the streets and out of our communities. What are they waiting for? How many mass shootings does it take for the branch of government to act to keep us safe?

Vote for Hayden Shamel instead of Bruce Westerman for the U.S. House of Representatives, District 4.

Check out www.haydenforcongress.com for information about her qualifications for this position in Congress. She is an educator with great ideas for Arkansas and the U.S. Mary A. McPherson

Washington, Ark.