WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Jason Smith (MO-08) and Senator Ted Cruz (TX) introduced the Student Empowerment Act, which would expand the use of tax-free 529 College Savings Plans to allow families to save for K-12 education expenses. Eligible expenses would include tuition, books and instructional materials, tutoring expenses, fees for exams related to college admissions, and educational therapy for students with disabilities. “Empowering students and working families is vital to the growth a... READ MORE
Next week, your 117th United States Congress will convene for the first time. After the election of Speaker and the adoption of the Rules of Congress, the action will quickly move to reading aloud the electoral votes submitted by each state from this past November's election - counting them, and declaring the vote tally for President and Vice President. During that process, the question will be put before your elected officials - does anyone object to the certification of electoral votes of a st... READ MORE
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Congressman Jason Smith introduced the Permanency for Audio-Only Telehealth Act, which would require the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service (CMS) to continue reimbursing Medicare providers for certain audio-only telehealth visits. At the start of the Coronavirus pandemic, Congressman Smith held a call with 50 health care providers, doctors, and other medical professionals from around southern Missouri to hear from them about what resources they need and how he... READ MORE
WASHINGTON, DC – This week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed Congressman Jason Smith’s legislation, H.R. 5534, the Comprehensive Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage for Kidney Transplant Act. This legislation ensures thousands of kidney transplant recipients continue to have access to the drugs they need to remain healthy and saves the federal government hundreds of millions of dollars in the process. Specifically, this legislation would extend Medicare coverage of immunosuppressive drugs fo... READ MORE
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Jason Smith (R-MO) has been elected to serve as the Republican Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives Budget Committee. Upon the selection, Smith made the following remarks: “Missourians know the importance of having a budget and sticking to it. Unfortunately, Speaker Pelosi does not. The fiscal challenges facing our country are great, we spent 5 times more last year paying interest on our country’s debt than we did to provide benefits to our veterans, that’s no... READ MORE
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Congressman Jason Smith called upon the United States Department of Justice to open investigations into incidences of election fraud in the 2020 presidential election. In a separate letter to state election officials, Smith also outlined his concerns with their actions and issued a reminder that the election is not over. Smith said, “President Trump is right to demand transparency and accuracy in the ballot counting process. We must count every legal vote, but only l... READ MORE
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Jason Smith (R-MO), joined by Missouri Reps. Graves, Luetkemeyer, Hartzler, Long, and Wagner introduced the Feed America by Incentivizing Rural (FAIR) Meat Packing Act to ensure a level playing field for Missouri cattlemen and to return to fair prices for both cattlemen and families. The FAIR Meat Packing Act creates two incentives to facilitate the formation of small and mid-sized meat processing facilities allowing cattle producers to compete for better prices in t... READ MORE
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Jason Smith (R-MO) introduced the Secure America’s Medicine Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to begin procuring critical medications the Federal Government should ensure are readily available for the American public in the event of another national health emergency. According to Congressman Smith, one of the lasting impacts of the coronavirus pandemic is that it has shown us our overreliance upon foreign drug manufacturing clearl... READ MORE
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Jason Smith (R-MO) introduced the Preventing SBA Assistance from Going to China Act with Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL). This legislation prevents businesses owned by citizens of the People’s Republic of China or headquartered in China from receiving any taxpayer funded assistance offered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Upon introduction, Smith said, “The fact that your hard-earned dollars would go to propping up businesses in China is unconsciona... READ MORE
NIANGUA, MO – Today, Congressman Jason Smith (R-MO) joined Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler at a roundtable with farmers to discuss the importance of regulatory certainty for the agricultural community. As part of the event, Administrator Wheeler & Smith announced EPA’s decision to approve continued use of several herbicides important for Missouri farmers, including atrazine. Atrazine is a well-studied herbicide and is the second most widely used herbicide in th... READ MORE
