Right now, our nation is facing an unprecedented border crisis. In just December alone, more than 300,000 illegal immigrants were caught trying to cross our southern border – the most ever in one month and a 300% increase from December 2020 when President Donald Trump was in office. In total, there have been more than 10 million illegal border entries under President Joe Biden. When you look at the facts, there’s no question the Left’s radical immigration policies are responsible for the invasio... READ MORE
Pure chaos. That’s the best way to describe the situation on our southern border. President Joe Biden has spent his entire presidency taking a sledgehammer to the Trump administration’s effective border policies. Biden inherited a border that was the most secure it had ever been, but within his first 100 days in office, he issued 94 executive actions impacting immigration – including ending construction of President Donald Trump’s border wall – something which had received bipartisan funding app... READ MORE
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Representative Jason Smith (Mo.) announced that he has coauthored the Prohibition of Agricultural Land for the People’s Republic of China Act. The legislation would prohibit the purchase of public or private agricultural land in the U.S. by foreign nationals associated with the People’s Republic of China. Additionally, the legislation would prohibit the same associations from participating in any U.S. Department of Agriculture programs except food safety inspections. “Th... READ MORE
Over the last two years, we have watched President Joe Biden and his administration make a mockery out of our nation’s border security. Because of his refusal to enforce the law or keep in place strong policies adopted under the Trump administration, record numbers of illegal immigrants have crossed the border. There have been over a million gotaways, or illegal immigrants who crossed the border and evaded authorities. That’s more than the entire population of Delaware, Biden’s home state. In Oc... READ MORE
Over the weekend, we were all alarmed by the images of oil fields on fire in the Middle East. Historically, whenever there is global uncertainty around the security of the world’s oil supply, it sends energy prices soaring, which impacts the day to day lives of the hardworking people here in southern Missouri just trying to make ends meet. All of a sudden, families are forced to stretch their budgets further than expected due to higher costs to heat their homes or to fill up on gas. However, all... READ MORE
Every year, we promise to never forget. We recall where we were and what we were feeling on September 11, 2001. I remember being in law school at Oklahoma City University and knowing immediately the world would never be the same. But too often we fail to remember the totality of loss. As I pause and reflect this week, I think about the thousands of lives that were changed forever: we lost 2,977 souls on that fateful day. The victims were passengers and crew, businessmen and businesswomen, milita... READ MORE
History was made again this week in your United States House of Representatives, but as we have come to expect under the democrat majority led by Speaker Pelosi, it was for all the wrong reasons. For the last 60 years, the annual vote in Congress to authorize your Department of Defense has been conducted in a bipartisan manner with both Republicans and Democrats coming together to support our military and it’s mission. The National Defense Authorization Act is an important vote that determines h... READ MORE
Congressman Jason Smith (MO-08) blasted Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and House Democrat leadership this week for blocking his amendments to the spending package being debated in the U.S. House of Representatives. As drafted by Democrats, the spending bill in the U.S. House of Representatives prevents further wall construction on the southern border and prohibits government agencies from sharing information about potential illegal immigrants in the country. Congressman Smith authored amendme... READ MORE
What you believe is happening at the southern border is likely determined by the news channels you watch or the papers you read. In the spirit of the Show-Me State, I wanted to see it for myself without the partisan filters in the news media. I traveled with a bipartisan group of Members of Congress to the southern border this week, and what we saw completely changed what we thought we knew about the immigration crisis. More than 144,000 migrants were taken into custody just last month, the high... READ MORE
Each year I have the distinct privilege of nominating bright students in southern Missouri to attend our nation’s prestigious service academies. One of the highlights of my year is calling these young men and women in the spring and being the first to tell them they are among the few selected in the highly competitive application process. It’s an incredible accomplishment to be appointed to an academy, but then begins the real challenge of intense physical, mental, and military training at our ... READ MORE
