The Obama Administration continues to hammer rural America with unnecessary, expensive regulations and rules. On Monday, the Obama Administration released the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Power Plan rule that calls for a massive reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. The plan has serious implications for Missouri, which gets 83 percent of its energy from coal power. This Clean Power Plan rule is just the latest in a long list of regulations that illustrate how ... READ MORE
This week, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to rein in federal agencies with legislation to bring all new major rules for a Congressional vote before implementation. The bloated Code of Federal Regulations is more than 175,000 pages long, and just last year federal regulators in the Obama administration issued 2,400 new rules. During Barack Obama’s entire presidency, the administration has only issued 17 rules that decreased regulatory burdens, but has added $80 billion in new regulatory ... READ MORE
Congressman Jason Smith introduced a bill to help make college more affordable for students on Wednesday. The bipartisan bill, H.R. 3409, would allow students to earn tax-free, work-based scholarships at Work Colleges across the country. At a time when students graduating college average $35,000 in student loan debt, work colleges offer an alternative by allowing students to achieve a four-year degree with little to no student loan debt in exchange for participation in a work-learning program. ... READ MORE
This week, Congressman Jason Smith cosponsored two bills to block all federal funding for Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers. The action comes after two disturbing videos were made public showing Planned Parenthood executives discussing selling body parts of unborn babies, potentially in violation of federal law. H.R. 3134, the Defund Planned Parenthood Act, completely defunds Planned Parenthood, its affiliates, and associated clinics while the organization’s activities are investi... READ MORE
Last week, Secretary of State John Kerry and the Obama Administration, along with China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and Germany, negotiated a deal to lift economic sanctions on Iran, a deal that makes a dangerous area more volatile. When it comes to the interests of America, a bad deal with Iran is worse than no deal, and this is a very bad deal. The weak deal the Obama Administration negotiated is based on the hope that in 10 or 15 years the world is dealing with a kinder, gentler Iran;... READ MORE
In 1970, Ronald Reagan said, "Welfare's purpose should be to eliminate, as far as possible, the need for its own existence." Now, more than four decades later, we have over 80 federal programs designed to help lower-income Americans, at a cost of $800 billion. These programs do not always incentivize people to become independent through work. Instead, in many cases, they encourage people to stay on assistance. That’s why I introduced the Reducing Poverty through Employment Act to make fighting p... READ MORE
This week the House of Representatives voted to improve our national forests with The Resilient Federal Forests Act. This bipartisan bill helps the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service provide more efficient land management while protecting the environment. Our district is rich with natural resources, and one of the most abundant is timber. In southeast and southern Missouri, we manufacture everything from railroad ties and telephone poles, to cabinets and wine barrels. But radical e... READ MORE
On Monday, Congressman Jason Smith presented Vietnam Veteran Frank Grosspietsch of Salem with the Purple Heart, a medal given to members of the military wounded or killed in service. Mr. Grosspietsch earned two Purple Heart medals during his service in Vietnam, but was initially only presented with one. Congressman Jason Smith’s office was able to secure the second medal for Mr. Grosspietsch, and personally thank him for his service during a presentation ceremony in Rolla. “This year we are mar... READ MORE
Within the last two weeks, the Supreme Court of the United States made some significant and controversial decisions, three of which especially impact our area. First, the Supreme Court ruled to allow same-sex marriage in all states. Second, they chose to interpret Obamacare, not as it was intended, but as they wished it was written. And, third, they appropriately reined in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Obama Administration’s overzealous regulations. The Supreme Court ruled th... READ MORE
Congressman Jason Smith released the following statement in response to the Supreme Court’s decision on Michigan v. Environmental Protection Agency : “Today’s ruling by the Supreme Court in Michigan v. Environmental Protection Agency is a win for common sense. The Court simply said that the EPA must consider the immense cost complying with regulations will have on folks. Only after looking at the cost, should the EPA determine if the ‘regulation is appropriate and necessary.’ “The power plant e... READ MORE
