• This week the House of Representatives authorized a lawsuit against President Obama for his failure to faithfully execute laws passed by Congress. While the President has largely ignored the lawsuit and even called it a “stunt,” this is no joking matter. The lawsuit is needed to preserve the separation of powers clearly outlined in our Constitution. No person, not even the President of the United States, is above the law. This lawsuit is a check on the President’s disregard for laws enacted by Congress. Article I of our Constitution gives the power of legislating to Congress. Article II says the President should “take care that the laws be faithfully executed.” No part of the Constitution gives the President the authority

    Aug 01,
  • Forty-five years after American innovation sent man to the moon, the VA is still processing claims on paper. The Department of Veterans Affairs was created in 1930 and has been reluctant to accept technological and administrative advancements throughout its 84 year history. The result is a backlog that makes the process of seeing a doctor a troublesome or sometimes unnavigable task for our veterans. I am committed to assisting veterans in Southeast and South-Central Missouri who truly deserve a VA that is working for them. The failings of the antiquated VA have had real and serious consequences for far too long. Wait times of more than three months for the patriots who defend our freedoms is absolutely unacceptable. Once our

    Jul 25,
  • During his State of the Union speech in January, President Obama said he hoped 2014 could be "a year of action." Six months have passed since the President issued his challenge, but leaders in the Senate are still refusing to even hold a vote on common sense bills passed by the House. National news personalities like to refer to Congress as a "do-nothing" body. The truth is, Senate leaders have refused to take up 148 of the 189 bills the House has passed. These are bills that would ease burdensome regulations on small businesses and families, establish America's energy independence and stop ObamaCare.   Like you, I am concerned about federal regulations imposed by the Obama Administration. In the House

    Jul 18,
  • This week the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency spent two days in Missouri pushing the agency’s latest attempt to regulate our rural way of life. In the last few years the EPA has attempted to regulate everything from how we meet our energy needs to prohibiting young people from working on the family farm. Just when I thought the EPA could not get any more extreme, now they are trying to place new intrusive and ineffective rules on every body of water in the United States.   In April, the EPA announced it would attempt to expand the regulatory reach of the Clean Water Act through a new “Waters of the United States” plan. The proposed new rule would

    Jul 11,
  • Washington, D.C. - As of today, the national average price for a gallon of gas is $3.67. In 2009, that same gallon of gas would have cost just $2.35. As the summer sets in, gasoline prices are continuing to rise with the summer temperatures. At a time when our economy is struggling, higher gas prices will put a huge burden on working families trying to make ends meet. The rising cost of gas not only affects Missourians at the pump, it will also drive up the cost of goods and services. This week the House of Representatives took action to help lower the price of gasoline and natural gas for all Americans. I supported H.R. 4899, the Lowering Gasoline

    Jun 27,

Upload Date