Bruce Westerman

Bruce Westerman
Chair of the House Natural Resources Committee
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2023
Preceded by	Raúl Grijalva
Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee
In office January 3, 2021 – January 3, 2023
Preceded by	Rob Bishop
Succeeded by	Raúl Grijalva
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arkansas's 4th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2015
Preceded by	Tom Cotton
Majority Leader of the Arkansas House of Representatives
In office January 14, 2013 – January 3, 2015
Preceded by	Johnnie Roebuck
Succeeded by	Ken Bragg
Member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from the 22nd district
In office January 14, 2013 – January 3, 2015
Preceded by	Nate Bell
Succeeded by	Mickey Gates
Member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from the 30th district
In office January 11, 2011 – January 14, 2013
Preceded by	Bill Sample
Succeeded by	Charles Armstrong
Personal details
Born	Bruce Eugene Westerman (1967-11-18) November 18, 1967 (age 57) Hot Springs, Arkansas, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Sharon French
Children	4
Education	University of Arkansas (BS) Yale University (MS)
Website	House website

Bruce Eugene Westerman (born November 18, 1967) is an American forester and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Arkansas's 4th congressional district. Previously, he served as member and the majority leader of the Arkansas House of Representatives.

In 2014, Westerman was elected to the House to succeed Tom Cotton, who defeated U.S. Senator Mark Pryor in the 2014 Senate election.

Background

Westerman was raised in and resides in Hot Springs, Arkansas.^[1] He graduated as valedictorian of Fountain Lake High School in Hot Springs. He attended the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, where he played college football for the Arkansas Razorbacks football team. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in engineering in 1990 and subsequently received a master's degree in forestry from Yale University.^[2]

Westerman worked as an engineer and forester before being elected to the Arkansas House in 2010. He was formerly employed as an engineer and forester by the Mid-South Engineering Company. He served as president of the Arkansas chapter of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineering. He is also a former chair of the Arkansas Academy of Biological and Agricultural Engineers, and served on the Fountain Lake School District school board.^[1]

Arkansas House of Representatives

Elections

Westerman ran for the Arkansas House of Representatives in 2010.^[3][4][5]

Tenure

Westerman served as the House Minority Leader in 2012 and House Majority Leader in 2013.^[6] He was the first Republican House Majority Leader in Arkansas since Reconstruction.^[7]

Committee assignments

• Revenue And Taxation Committee
  • Subcommittee on Sales, Use, Miscellaneous Taxes and Exemptions (chair)
• State Agencies And Governmental Affairs Committee
• Insurance and Commerce Committee^[6]

U.S. House of Representatives

Westerman speaking at an event in June 2022

2014 election

Westerman won the Republican primary on May 20, defeating Tommy Moll, 54%–46%.^[8] In November, he defeated Democratic nominee James Lee Witt, a former associate of U.S. President Bill Clinton, 54%-43%.^[9]

Tenure

In 2015, Westerman cosponsored a resolution to amend the US constitution to ban same-sex marriage.^[10]

On June 20, 2017, as the only certified forester in the House, Westerman introduced H.R.2936 - Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2017,^[11] providing for the culling of overgrown federally managed woods. After passing the House, it was introduced in the Senate on November 2, 2017, where it failed.

Westerman voted for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.^[12]

In December 2020, Westerman was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives to sign an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by another state.^[13][14][15]

Westerman voted to certify both Arizona's and Pennsylvania's results in the 2021 United States Electoral College vote count.

During the 2021 Capitol riot, Westerman, left behind in House minority leader Kevin McCarthy's office when he was evacuated by security, took a Civil War sword from a shattered display for protection and hid from rioters on a toilet.^[16]

As of October 2021, Westerman had voted in line with Joe Biden's stated position 8% of the time.^[17]

In the October 2023 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election, Westerman received one vote for speaker from representative Pete Stauber of Minnesota.^[18]

Committee assignments

For the 118th Congress:^[19]

• Committee on Natural Resources (Chair)
  • As Chair of the committee, Rep. Westerman is entitled to sit as an ex officio member in all subcommittee meetings per the committee's rules.
• Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
  • Subcommittee on Aviation
  • Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials
  • Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment

Caucus memberships

• Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus
• Congressional Western Caucus
• Republican Study Committee^[20]
• Working Forests Caucus (co-chair, co-founder)
• Dyslexia Caucus (co-chair)
• U.S.-Japan Caucus^[21]
• Congressional Coalition on Adoption^[22]

Political positions

Abortion

Westerman believes that "Life is a right. Abortion is not." He supported the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade.^[23]

Environment

Westerman considers himself a conservationist.^[24] He introduced the Trillion Trees Act on April 19, 2021, which planned to plant a trillion trees, but the bill was criticized by scientists and environmental groups.^[25] Westerman has a 4% lifetime score from the League of Conservation Voters.^[26]

Gun law

Westerman has received consistent "A" ratings from the NRA Political Victory Fund for his pro-gun rights legislative voting record.^[27][28] He voted against the Enhanced Background Checks Act in 2021.^[29]

Electoral history

Arkansas House of Representatives 30th District Election, 2010

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bruce Westerman	n/a	100.00

Arkansas House of Representatives 22nd District Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bruce Westerman	n/a	100.00

Arkansas 4th Congressional District Republican Primary Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bruce Westerman	18,719	54.45
	Republican	Tommy Moll	15,659	45.55
Total votes			34,378	100.00

Arkansas 4th Congressional District Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bruce Westerman	110,789	53.75
	Democratic	James Lee Witt	87,742	42.57
	Libertarian	Ken Hamilton	7,598	3.69
	Write-in		2	0.0
Total votes			206,131	100.00
	Republican hold

Arkansas 4th Congressional District Election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bruce Westerman (incumbent)	182,885	74.9
	Libertarian	Kerry Hicks	61,274	25.1
Total votes			244,159	100.00
	Republican hold

Arkansas 4th Congressional District Republican Primary Election, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bruce Westerman (incumbent)	40,201	79.8
	Republican	Randy Caldwell	10,151	20.2
Total votes			50,352	100.00

Arkansas 4th Congressional District Election, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bruce Westerman (incumbent)	136,740	66.7
	Democratic	Hayden Shamel	63,984	31.2
	Libertarian	Tom Canada	3,952	1.9
	Write-in		216	0.1
Total votes			204,892	100.00
	Republican hold

Arkansas 4th Congressional District Election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bruce Westerman (incumbent)	191,617	69.7
	Democratic	William Hanson	75,750	27.5
	Libertarian	Frank Gilbert	7,668	2.8
Total votes			275,035	100.00
	Republican hold

Arkansas 4th Congressional District Election, 2022

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bruce Westerman (incumbent)	153,850	71.0
	Democratic	John White	56,745	26.1
	Libertarian	Gregory Maxwell	6,101	2.8
Total votes			216,696	100.00
	Republican hold

References

1. "About". Congressman Bruce Westerman. December 3, 2012.
2. "Bruce Westerman's Biography". votesmart.org. Retrieved January 12, 2014.
3. Westerman plans to run for Sample's seat in House. Hot Springs Village Voice. September 30, 2009
4. Westerman to resign from Fountain Lake school board. Hot Springs Village Voice. March 24, 2010
5. "State Representative District 030 – Certified, 2010". sos.arkansas.gov. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
6. "Arkansas House Of Representatives". Arkanhouse.org. Archived from the original on January 2, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
7. "Bruce Westerman Enters the Speaker Chat". WSJ. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
8. "Arkansas Primary Election Results, May 20, 2014". KATV. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
9. "RealClearPolitics – Election 2014 – Arkansas 4th District – Westerman vs. Witt". Realclearpolitics.com. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
10. Huelskamp, Tim (February 12, 2015). "Cosponsors - H.J.Res.32 - 114th Congress (2015-2016): Marriage Protection Amendment". www.congress.gov. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
11. Westerman, Bruce (November 2, 2017). "H.R.2936 - 115th Congress (2017-2018): Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2017". www.congress.gov. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
12. Almukhtar, Sarah (December 19, 2017). "How Each House Member Voted on the Tax Bill". The New York Times. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
13. Liptak, Adam (December 11, 2020). "Supreme Court Rejects Texas Suit Seeking to Subvert Election". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
14. "Order in Pending Case" (PDF). Supreme Court of the United States. December 11, 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
15. Diaz, Daniella. "Brief from 126 Republicans supporting Texas lawsuit in Supreme Court". CNN. Archived from the original on December 12, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
16. Leibovich, Mark (April 25, 2021). "Kevin McCarthy, Four Months After Jan. 6, Still on Defensive Over Trump". The New York Times. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
17. Bycoffe, Anna Wiederkehr and Aaron (April 22, 2021). "Does Your Member Of Congress Vote With Or Against Biden?". FiveThirtyEight.
18. Perry, Kati; Dormido, Hannah; Zakharenko, Hanna; Blanco, Adrian. "How each House member voted for speaker". Washington Post. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
19. "Bruce Westerman". Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
20. "Membership". Republican Study Committee. December 6, 2017. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
21. "Committees and Caucuses". Congressman Bruce Westerman. December 13, 2012. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
22. "About Us". www.ccainstitute.org.
23. Westerman, Bruce (June 24, 2022). "Westerman Reacts to the Reversal of Roe v. Wade". Congressman Bruce Westerman. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
24. "Conservation is Conservative | Congressman Bruce Westerman". westerman.house.gov. April 23, 2021. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
25. Joselow, Maxine (August 2, 2023). "Republicans want to plant a trillion trees. Scientists are skeptical". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
26. "Check out Representative Bruce Westerman's Environmental Voting Record". League of Conservation Voters Scorecard. July 26, 2023. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
27. "NRA-PVF | Grades | Arkansas". nrapvf.org. NRA-PVF. Archived from the original on November 4, 2014.
28. "NRA-PVF | Grades | Arkansas". nrapvf.org. NRA-PVF. Archived from the original on November 7, 2022.
29. "The Voter's Self Defense System - Bruce Westerman". Vote Smart. Retrieved June 26, 2022.

External links

• U.S. Representative Bruce Westerman official U.S. House website
• Bruce Westerman for Congress
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
• Profile at Vote Smart

Arkansas House of Representatives
Preceded by Bill Sample	Member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from the 30th district 2011–2013	Succeeded by Charles Armstrong
Preceded by Nate Bell	Member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from the 22nd district 2013–2015	Succeeded by Mickey Gates
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Tom Cotton	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arkansas's 4th congressional district 2015–present	Incumbent
Preceded by Raúl Grijalva	Chair of the House Natural Resources Committee 2023–present
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by Bonnie Watson Coleman	United States representatives by seniority 176th	Succeeded by Trent Kelly