As a Member of Congress, the most rewarding part of this job is delivering results for families, farmers, and the hardworking people of southeast Missouri. Whether it be fighting for the funding and laws that benefit Missourians back home, or helping folks cut through red tape when a federal agency lets them down, I will never stop working to ensure our Federal Government works for the people of Missouri’s 8^th Congressional district — not the other way around.

This Congress alone, I am proud to have been able to deliver $296 million in federal investment in the last two years alone. That includes roughly $195 million in grants I advocated for from agencies like the Department of Agriculture, and more than $100 million in FEMA assistance to support communities that are rebuilding after the storms and floods that have impacted our state in recent years. Much of the grant money went straight to farmers, who got disaster relief and economic assistance in some of the toughest years in recent memory.

Perryville is a good example of how important that funding is to a community. After a tornado tore through the town in March of last year and heavily damaged Perryville High School, students and teachers have been forced to attend classes in tents and temporary buildings ever since. I toured the school to see the destruction firsthand, and knew immediately that I had to step in. I worked directly with FEMA, the Department of Homeland Security, and the school district to ensure they would qualify for disaster relief funding, and in September, the agency approved $22.4 million in aid to rebuild the school. Thanks to that funding, district officials are now preparing to break ground for a new 147,500-square-foot facility.

Rural health care is another place where I’ve worked to deliver for Missourians. When I was writing the Working Families Tax Cuts, I knew we had to protect the facilities and hospitals that families back home depend on, and that’s exactly what we did with the Rural Health Transformation Program. The RHTP included a $50 billion investment in rural health care, the largest investment of its kind in American history, and Missouri was awarded more than $216 million of it in the first year alone.

Thanks to this program, it was recently announced that Salem Memorial, my hometown hospital, will receive about $1.7 million for a new roof, new windows, and air conditioning in patient rooms. Texas County Memorial Hospital in Houston will also receive roughly $580,000 for heating and cooling upgrades, as well as a new water filtration system for its surgical suite. And this program is just now ramping up, with more investment expected in the coming months. On top of that, the Trump Administration announced last month more than $45 million for rural Missouri, including 20 hospital projects, specialist access for rural providers, and EMT and paramedic training.

Some of my most meaningful work has been helping my constituents directly with issues they run into with federal agencies. Since first being elected in 2013, my office has helped southeast Missourians recover more than $116 million in IRS refunds. We have returned $11.7 million in benefits to the veterans who earned them. We have also helped constituents recover more than $8 million in Social Security benefits and more than $5 million in Medicare benefits. These are folks who call us after running out of options, and my staff and I pride ourselves on doing everything we can to help them resolve issues when federal agencies let them down.

The Working Families Tax Cuts, which I authored, is also putting more money directly back in the pockets of millions of families, farmers, and seniors. More than 7 million Americans benefited from No Tax on Tips and 29 million claimed no tax on overtime, allowing the waitress working a double and the lineman working 60-hour weeks to keep more of what’s theirs. Our seniors have a bit more wiggle room as well, with more than 35 million claiming the new senior deduction that I wrote.

I’m thankful for every day that I get to serve the people of southeast Missouri, and I take that responsibility seriously. Whether it’s a farmer, a veteran, or a family just trying to get ahead, their needs will continue to guide everything I do in Washington. I am proud of what we have accomplished this year, and will continue working every day to ensure Missourians have the resources and support they need from the Federal Government.