Whenever I am working in Washington, my fellow Republicans and I open our weekly meetings with prayer before declaring our allegiance to the American Flag. This time of reflection sets our intentions and reminds us that we are truly “one nation under God.” Opening with prayer is a long-held practice in our great nation. In fact, Benjamin Franklin began the Constitutional Convention by reminding his fellow founders to bow their heads in prayer. In 1776, when crafting the United States Constitutio... READ MORE
Forty-four years have passed since the Supreme Court’s ruling in Roe v. Wade, and as a result more than 59 million innocent lives have tragically been lost. To put that into perspective, that would be like aborting every baby born in the United States since 2002. Every representative, every physician and every American must be reminded that at the center of our Pro-Life struggle is the protection of innocent lives. Life is precious. Just this week, we were reminded of the fragility of life yet a... READ MORE
On Wednesday, President Trump stood before a huge crowd of people in Indianapolis, Indiana and laid out the details on how he planned to reduce the tax burden on American businesses, families, farmers and workers - giving Americans one of the largest pay increases a president has ever proposed. At that same time 592 miles away in Washington, Members of the House of Representatives were gathered at the National Defense University to discuss the specific rate reductions and simplifications to the... READ MORE
This week, President Trump addressed the United Nations in a way our last President never did – he put America First. When President Trump delivered his speech to the United Nations on Tuesday, he stood strong in front of a group that was used to former President Obama apologizing for America’s strength and power. Under the Obama Administration, American taxpayer dollars were wasted on funding the ineffective and scandal plagued United Nations – an organization that has done less and less to pro... READ MORE
How to be more popular online, what causes my fear of the dentist, angry birds. Does this sound like someone’s Google search history or over $6 million dollars of wasteful government spending? If you guessed spending, you would be correct. A recent report found billions of government dollars wasted on everything from training monkeys to use a treadmill to paying government employees to do nothing. President Obama and his army of liberal bureaucrats added more than $9 TRILLION dollars to our debt... READ MORE
Over the past month, farmers across southeast and south central Missouri have let me into their day to day lives, opening up their homes – and their barns – sharing the issues they struggle with and talking about what I can do to help. During last year’s focus on farms, the biggest concern I heard about was government overreach and regulations. Fortunately, President Trump and I have begun the work to remove many of those burdensome regulations. We’ve made a difference, but there’s always more t... READ MORE
Our tax system is rigged, designed to help only the most powerful people who can afford the most expensive tax lawyers to find their way through tricky tax loop holes. This week, I joined President Donald Trump in Springfield to talk about our complicated and unfair tax code, the work we must do to fix it, and how we are going to give hardworking Americans a pay raise in the process. Since 2001, the tax code has changed 6,000 times. That’s more than one time a day. Due to these constant changes,... READ MORE
Another school year has begun and the sights and sounds of Friday night lights are filling the air. The beginning of a new school year and the return of high school football also reminds me about the importance of local choice, local control and local leadership over the education of the children raised here in south central and southeast Missouri. Parents and educators who live here, who raise their families here and who know what’s best for our children should be making the decision about thei... READ MORE
On Monday, August 21, 2017, Missourians and folks all across the United States will experience a once in a lifetime event, the 2017 Great American Solar Eclipse. The last time this happened in the continental U.S. was nearly 40 years ago. What’s even more exciting is that a total solar eclipse has not been seen in our area since 1442! For a couple of minutes around noon on Monday, you can expect total darkness. Birds will stop singing, crickets will start chirping, and your farm animals may thin... READ MORE
Whether it is a border you can walk across or a border you can launch a missile across, it is the responsibility of Congress and the President to protect our country from those who wish to harm the United States. The last administration drew lines in the sand with foreign countries and let them blow away over and over again. Instead of negotiating failed nuclear deals with Iran, this week we advanced some of the toughest sanctions to date on countries like Russia, North Korea and Iran. The Count... READ MORE
