As 2014 and the 113th Congress draw to a close, I would like to take some time this week to look back and reflect on the 18 months I have been able to serve you in Missouri’s Eighth Congressional District. This time last year I wrote a column outlining five goals I had for the year. They were: reining in the IRS and the EPA, returning to a better appropriations process, finding bipartisan solutions for problems, protecting rural America, and watching the Missouri Tigers have another successful football season. Well, the Tigers are now back-to-back SEC East champions and just won another great bowl game, so we have that goal met! But, in all seriousness, Congress made a lot of progress on the goals
- Jan 03,
Last week the House made important progress on an issue I have been fighting since I got to Washington – protecting our farmers and landowners from intrusive federal regulations. Since I have been in office, the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers have been scheming to take away our property rights. We know this from their actions. First, they proposed the National Blueway designation for the White River Watershed that would have created “buffer zones” keeping farmers from using their land. Then they proposed the incredibly damaging “Waters of the United States” rule that threatens to regulate every drop of water on our property. It could also require federal inspectors to approve how farmers and landowners use every collection
Dec 19,WASHINGTON – Today Congressman Jason Smith announced a friendly bet on the SEC Championship game with Congressman Bradley Byrne from Alabama. The two congressmen are backing their alma maters: Congressman Smith attended the University of Missouri, while Congressman Byrne attended the University of Alabama law school. If the Missouri Tigers win the SEC Championship, Congressman Byrne will provide Gulf Coast seafood to Congressman Smith. If the Alabama Crimson Tide win the SEC Championship, Congressman Smith will send Congressman Byrne Levee High Apple Pie from The Blue Owl in Kimmswick, MO and world-famous Missouri BBQ ribs. “Unlike others in the country, I fully expected Mizzou to compete immediately in the SEC. Playing in two conference championships in three years proves
Dec 05,In case you missed it, last week our national debt surpassed $18 trillion. When I am home in Missouri, I constantly hear from parents and grandparents who are worried that their children and grandchildren will not be able to live the American dream because our national debt will cripple our economy for generations. This new record debt should be a wake-up call – now is the time to reduce the size and scope of the federal government and end Washington’s spending addiction. After years of spending money that we do not have, our nation’s economy is stagnant. If nothing is done, our nation’s debt crisis threatens the future prosperity of every American. In the six years President Obama has
Dec 05,WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Jason Smith voted in favor of H.R. 5759, the Executive Amnesty Prevention Act of 2014, which passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 219-197-3. The bill blocks the president from using executive orders to postpone deportation of illegal aliens. Congressman Jason Smith took to the House floor earlier today to speak about the president’s executive overreach. The video of the congressman’s remarks is attached and may also be viewed on his YouTube Channel here. Transcript: “On March 28, 2011, President Obama said he would not use an executive order for amnesty explaining that – and again I quote – “temporary protective status, historically, has been used for special circumstances.” Those are his words. More
Dec 04,