US Rep. Bruce Westerman on SOTU, tariffs, federal park layoffs

U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Hot Springs, said he heard good things for Arkansas in the president’s address to the nation last week, and he’s hopeful that federal layoffs and tariffs can avoid significant harm to the Arkansas economy.

In an interview with Talk Business & Politics, Westerman said the priorities President Donald Trump laid out in his State of the Union speech to Congress will help several industries that are thriving or launching in the Natural State.

“Trump talked about several issues that I think hit home in Arkansas,” Westerman said. “He talked about more domestic steel production, and Arkansas is now, I believe, leading the country in steel production. That’s not in my district, but it’s in Arkansas, and that makes us all proud. He talked about more domestic lumber production. That’s definitely in my district.

“He also talked about the Golden Dome, which a lot of those components in the high altitude missile defense system will be made down in Camden, also in the 4th District at the Highland Industrial Park. So all those things along with energy, I think Arkansas has got tremendous energy potential, the lithium deposits, and the role that that plays in the energy sector. I really see a bright future for Arkansas with the things that President Trump talked about in his State of the Union address.”

FEDERAL PARK LAYOFFS, TARIFFS
Since Trump took office, his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by businessman Elon Musk, has been making major cuts to various federal government agencies. Federal parks in Arkansas were affected by the cuts. Westerman said he has talked to Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum about the cuts.

“There were five park service employees on the probationary status that were terminated,” said Westerman. “Four of them were in the Buffalo National River unit, one at Pea Ridge Battlefield. I think that’s going to get resolved. I’ve talked to Secretary Burgum about that, and he was a little bit surprised to find out that that happened because he said a lot more people like in Yellowstone were probationary employees that were terminated and said none of the services had been disrupted in big parks like that.

“They’re also reviewing a lot of these terminations. So I don’t know if that means people are going to be rehired. We’ve certainly seen that with some of the stuff that Doge has done. But at the end of the day, I think it’s going to all work out, and Americans are going to actually have a better experience on their federal lands.”

Trump’s tariff wars have also put pressure on the U.S. economy. Consumer and business confidence has been shaky. The Federal Reserve Bank has cautioned it won’t cut interest rates anytime soon.

“We saw this with tariffs in President Trump’s first administration, and it all pretty much equaled out, and I think some good things came from it,” said Westerman. “I believe he’s using this as a negotiating tool. If you look, it’s always reciprocal tariffs. It’s countries that are putting tariffs on our goods. It’s painful being in Congress when an administration puts tariffs out there because you start getting calls from businesses who are being adversely affected.”

Westerman said that as tariffs are applied, he is willing to visit with administrative officials to seek exemptions.

“You have to start going to the administration and through a program, submit things that get an exemption for the tariff, that it’s going to adversely harm jobs in the country,” he said. “I don’t like going through all of that, but I know that if we need to help people out who are being adversely affected directly like that, there’s ways that we can do it.”

Westerman shared thoughts on his Fix Our Forest Act that is about to move in Congress. The measure addresses work on federal lands in an attempt to manage forests and better prevent wildfires.

You can watch Westerman’s full interview at this link.