Westerman opens HQ, discusses new bills

The Sentinel-Record/Mara Kuhn OFFICE KEY: U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-District 4, accepts a symbolic key from Hot Springs National Park Superintendent Josie Fernandez Thursday afternoon as he officially opened his office in the HSNP Administration Building.
The Sentinel-Record/Mara Kuhn OFFICE KEY: U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-District 4, accepts a symbolic key from Hot Springs National Park Superintendent Josie Fernandez Thursday afternoon as he officially opened his office in the HSNP Administration Building.

U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-District 4, said Thursday a bill he introduced last week will give states the flexibility to create workforce requirements for able-bodied working age adults in the Medicaid expansion population, if it becomes law.

Speaking with The Sentinel-Record after officially opening his district office in the Hot Springs National Park Administration Building, Westerman said the law would not only benefit Arkansas, but other states that have applied for waivers from the Health and Human Services, and were denied.

"We're trying to put it into the statute that any state that wants to create that workforce program can do that. It doesn't state what the workforce requirements are, or that they even have to do them; it just gives the states the flexibility to do it and a lot of states are looking for that," he said.

Westerman said he has also sponsored and voted for bills that change the workweek back to 40 hours rather than the 30 hours that was outlined in the Affordable Care Act.

"We also did a bill that will hopefully employ more vets by not causing them to be in the count of the maximum number of employees under Obamacare," he said.

Westerman, who serves on the House Budget Committee, said he has been engrossed in budget hearings lately since the budget has to be completed by the first part of April.

"When you're going through $3 trillion to $4 trillion in expenditures, it takes a while to go through all that, but it's a good learning process and a good way to understand where the money is being spent," he said.

In the opening remarks before cutting the ribbon to open the office, HSNP Superintendent Josie Fernandez said, "I'm the landlady for the congressman, and the first best decision Congressman Westerman made was to choose a national park in which to have his district office."

Westerman said he felt like he would win the Nov. 4 election and had approached Fernandez before that day about having an office "somewhere on Bathhouse Row."

"With all the talk about downtown Hot Springs and how important it is to not only Hot Springs and the city, but the state as a whole, I told her I would love to have my office on Bathhouse Row.

"I knew how long it takes to get something through the federal government, so I wanted to start working on it as soon as we could, and she has been extremely helpful in working with me and others in Washington, D.C., to allow us to put our office here in the park superintendent's office, not just on Bathhouse Row," he said.

Westerman said he tells everyone in Washington that he has the "best office in the whole county," but noted that he didn't set a precedent since Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin has his office in the Lincoln Home National Historic Site.

"For me, this is a perfect fit for my office. I hope it's as good a fit for the National Park Service and for Hot Springs as it is for me," he said.

Local on 02/20/2015

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