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 - Affordable energy options for Missourians may be a thing of the past if President Obama and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) place additional burdensome regulations on coal-fired power plants. Coal is an effective, affordable means of energy that keeps Missouri’s utility rates low. Right now, EPA officials are attempting to wage war on coal by eliminating or restricting its use in energy production. This is not only a war on coal; it is an attack on our way of life in rural America. For too long, EPA regulations have unduly burdened all of us who rely on coal-powered energy to competitively operate businesses or farms. Some experts believe the EPA’s proposed carbon rule will be the most expensive
Nov 21,Well, it has happened again. President Obama is threatening to use his self-imposed executive authority to take sweeping action the majority of Americans oppose. This time he is talking about granting amnesty to millions of illegal aliens. Congress is back in Washington for the end of this session and hard at work, but instead of working with the House and Senate to find solutions on immigration, President Obama has been telling the media he is considering acting solo. In an exit poll from the November 4th election, The Polling Company, Inc. found that 74 percent of voters want President Obama to work with Congress to fix immigration rather than take action on his own. He must not have gotten the
Nov 14,Last fall, millions of Americans and families right here in Missouri had their health insurance plans cancelled despite repeated promises from President Obama that if you liked your health plan, you would be able to keep it. Now, millions more with employer-sponsored coverage are also facing plan cancellations because their plans do not meet ObamaCare’s requirements. In response to this problem, this week the House passed H.R. 3522, the “Employee Health Care Protection Act.” This bill would help American workers keep their current health insurance plans and fulfill President Obama’s broken promise. It would also give Americans in the group insurance market the opportunity to keep their current health insurance policies. Additionally, the bill we passed would give small businesses
Sep 13,