“My home is in heaven, I am just traveling through this world.” On February 21, 2018, Reverend Billy Graham was welcomed to his true home in heaven. This week, we honored his life and legacy with a ceremony in the U.S. Capitol. It was an honor to attend the ceremony and pay my respects to a man who lifted up our entire nation and changed countless lives. Back in 1934, Billy Graham’s father welcomed North Carolina businessmen from Charlotte to their family dairy farm so they could gather for pray... READ MORE
This past week we celebrated National FFA week. Since its founding in 1928, the National FFA Organization has brought together students, educators and private sector agriculture professionals to support agriculture education in schools across our country. More specifically, FFA teaches young adults throughout southern Missouri to do, learn, earn to live and live to serve. Countless lives, including my own, have been changed for the better as FFA provides confidence in the classroom, on the farm ... READ MORE
Rural America is roaring back. A recent report from the Department of Agriculture shows that for only the second time in the last century, we are actually increasing the number of farmers under the age of 35. With the President’s leadership, we have been able to deliver tax cuts for American farmers, reduced federal regulations at a rate of 22:1, driven down energy prices and have grown the economy to bring jobs back to rural America. Personally, I experienced this resurgence first hand during m... READ MORE
SIKESTON, MO – Today, Congressman Jason Smith presented the Mayor of Pinhook with a $1,000 donation to help the community rebuild after their homes were washed away in a 2011 flood. Smith met with Pinhook Mayor, Debra Tarver and Kyle Schott from Catholic Charities, whose organization is helping the community rebuild, to discuss progress on the current housing project. “The Pinhook community has been strong and resilient during this time and it’s incredible to see how many folks have given their ... READ MORE
The United States of America was born out of a revolt by the original colonies against their British controllers - controllers who taxed too much, took away too many rights and asked too much. When our new country rose from that great war for independence, we formed a nation which believed in individual rights over the rights of the state and a country who put protecting the constitutional liberties of each and every American above all else. Unfortunately, as it relates to the most recent presid... READ MORE
On Monday, February 5, 2018, Congressman Jason Smith’s legislation to establish the Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park as a unit of the National Park System passed the U.S. House of Representatives. Smith’s bill allows the National Park Service to help preserve the French-colonial settlement. “For years, the folks of Ste. Genevieve have known that the cultural heritage and history of their area is of national significance, with the action this week, the rest of America will soon know the sa... READ MORE
Last Tuesday night I was honored to join many of you in witnessing President Trump’s very first State of the Union address to Congress. Leading up to the speech there were many things I thought the President could say, what he should say, and ultimately what he would say. But as I thought and reflected on the 12 months since President Trump entered the Oval Office, I realized that with the lowest level of unemployment in close to 20 years, an economy on the cusp of growing at rates never seen i... READ MORE
On Friday night, January 19th, Senate obstructionism was on full display for all of America to see as a handful of Senators voted to shut down the United States government in order to advocate for unrelated illegal immigration policies. That’s right, they chose to prioritize illegal immigration over paying our troops and making sure our men and women in uniform had the tools they needed to protect our freedoms. They also said no to funding important Children’s Health Insurance Programs that more... READ MORE
I was proud to formally share my support for R.D. James with President Trump last year and at numerous steps throughout the process. Today, our persistence paid off. I am thrilled to see that the Senate has finally moved forward with confirming his nomination to Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works. R.D. is a lifelong southeast Missourian who raised his family on the Mississippi River. He has years of experience farming, running his own small business and working to ensure folks along... READ MORE
On Wednesday, Congressman Smith stopped at the Tyson Foods Plant in Dexter, Missouri to see their recent plant expansion first-hand and also to talk about how the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is reducing the federal tax burden on American companies like Tyson, leaving employers with more resources to decide best how to invest in their operations. “Before passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, like most American based companies, Tyson was being held back by one of the highest tax rates found anywhere in ... READ MORE
