Democratic challenger Risie Howard confronted Republican Rep. Bruce Westerman on his congressional voting history in the Oct. 10 debate hosted by Arkansas PBS in Conway.
Westerman represents Arkansas’ 4th Congressional District, covering most of southern and western Arkansas, including Camden, Hope, Magnolia and Hot Springs.
During the debate and the news conference, Howard, an attorney from Pine Bluff, said jobs are needed in Arkansas.
“It has been statistically proven that poverty has an impact on physical as well as mental health, and so I think that what we need to do is focus on making life better, improving job opportunities for people in the state, and that’s where we need to put our focus, which is another reason why I don’t understand why Congressman Westerman would have voted against the Jobs and Infrastructure Act,” she said in the debate.
In rebuttal, Westerman said, “I voted against the Infrastructure and Jobs Act because it was not about infrastructure and jobs, it was about the Green New Deal, just like the IRA was, the Inflation Reduction Act, which did nothing to reduce inflation, it actually increased inflation, as well as the American Recovery Plan. These were all unnecessary programs that were pushed by the Biden administration and the Democrat House and Senate.”
Westerman, a Garland County resident seeking his sixth term in office, said jobs need to come from the private sector, not government.
“When the government creates jobs, it creates a bigger burden on the taxpayer,” he said. “I am for the private sector creating jobs, and I’m for the government working for the people, not against the people. That’s why I’m working on permitting reform to have permitting that works but allows companies to actually do projects. I don’t want to be dependent on the government creating jobs.”
During the debate, both Howard and Westerman said lithium production could benefit southern Arkansas.
Westerman said, “Arkansas is a natural resources state. With our agriculture, with our forestry, with the opportunity to grow lithium in southern Arkansas, I think the future ahead is bright. I’m working in a bipartisan manner to move those things forward that are going to make the 4th District all that it can be.”
However, Howard said Westerman’s proposed forestry legislation would negatively impact lithium production.
“I have looked at some of the legislation that Congressman Westerman has proposed to fix our forests and the NEPA [National Environmental Policy Act], and actually there were more than 50 environmental groups that wrote a letter stating his legislation would have a negative impact on all states where there was lithium production,” Howard said.
She said, “We need to bring the manufacturers here and not only take the lithium out of the ground here in Arkansas but make the batteries and the electric cars in Arkansas as well.”
Regarding health care, Westerman said Obamacare needs to be fixed because it is costing Arkansas too much with the 10% state match.
“Medicaid is one of the programs that’s driving up the federal debt,” he said. “There’s a much better way to do health insurance and health care than depending on Medicaid from the federal government, employer or providers like the payment that they get from the Medicaid expansion. I have proposed a bill called the Fair Care Act that doesn’t repeal Obamacare, but it fixes Obamacare, and it makes things like the exchanges work like they were supposed to work.”
Howard said she is “all for” the Affordable Care Act.
“Arkansas, being a rural state, we actually have here one out of every three people that are on Medicaid, and without the Affordable Care Act, without Medicaid, these people would not be able to get insurance,” she said.
During the debate, both candidates took a pro-gun stance.
Howard said, “I think that what we need to do is concentrate more on mental health, and we also need to concentrate more on gun safety. Arkansas Game and Fish — they have hunting safety programs for young people. I’d like to see something like that expanded, but the American people have a right to bear arms.”
Westerman said, “We need to have stricter penalties for people who commit gun violence, and plain and simple, criminals don’t obey the law, and it’s always going to be a criminal that violates the law, and attacking the gun is in the wrong place to attack.”
Howard critiqued Westerman for voting against the Women’s Health Protection Act and the Violence Against Women Act because while she is personally pro-life, she is politically pro-choice.
Howard said, “I am pro-life, but that’s my personal opinion, and I don’t think that other people need to accept my point of view, and that’s why we have separation between state and religion. I have always voted pro-choice, and I believe that it’s a woman’s decision, and it needs to be made with her doctor.”
During the news conference, Howard said most women in Arkansas’ 4th Congressional District are pro-choice.
Westerman disagreed with this sentiment during his news conference.
“I don’t believe the majority of women that I’ve come across in the 4th District are pro-choice,” he said. “When you have instances where the life of the mother is at risk, which there are already exceptions for that, we should still try to do everything to save the child when that happens.”
The hour-long debate between Westerman and Howard and the separate 10-minute news conferences held afterward can be found on the Arkansas PBS YouTube page.
Early voting in Arkansas begins Oct. 21. Election Day is Nov. 5.