Forty-five years after American innovation sent man to the moon, the VA is still processing claims on paper. The Department of Veterans Affairs was created in 1930 and has been reluctant to accept technological and administrative advancements throughout its 84 year history. The result is a backlog that makes the process of seeing a doctor a troublesome or sometimes unnavigable task for our veterans. I am committed to assisting veterans in Southeast and South-Central Missouri who truly deserve a ... READ MORE
Congressman Jason Smith visited the SEMO Food Bank in Sikeston to highlight his support for the America Gives More Act. Pictured from left to right are SEMO Food Bank employee Missy Rice, Smith, and SEMO Food Bank CEO Karen Green. On Friday, July 18, 2014, Congressman Jason Smith visited the Southeast Missouri Food Bank in Sikeston to highlight his support of H.R. 4719, the America Gives More Act. The legislation will make permanent a provision to allow pass-through businesses, such as partners... READ MORE
During his State of the Union speech in January, President Obama said he hoped 2014 could be “a year of action.” Six months have passed since the President issued his challenge, but leaders in the Senate are still refusing to even hold a vote on common sense bills passed by the House. National news personalities like to refer to Congress as a “do-nothing” body. The truth is, Senate leaders have refused to take up 148 of the 189 bills the House has passed. These are bills that would ease burdenso... READ MORE
Today, Congressman Jason Smith (R-MO) announced that his provision to prohibit any federal funds from being used by the Corps of Engineers to enforce the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed “Waters of the United States” rule was included in the legislation that passed the House. The proposed new regulations would potentially allow the EPA to regulate nearly every area of the ground that gets wet or has flow during rainfall. The rule is too broad and could be interpreted to expand t... READ MORE
Today, Congressman Jason Smith (R-MO) sent a letter to United States Postal Service (USPS) officials asking for the Fremont, Missouri Post Office to be reopened as soon as possible. The facility has been closed since flood waters damaged the town at the end June. “In an effort to help the residents of Fremont recover from these tragic circumstances, I ask that the USPS facility be reopened as soon as possible and all services that were in place prior to the flood be resumed. Post offices in com... READ MORE
This week the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency spent two days in Missouri pushing the agency’s latest attempt to regulate our rural way of life. In the last few years the EPA has attempted to regulate everything from how we meet our energy needs to prohibiting young people from working on the family farm. Just when I thought the EPA could not get any more extreme, now they are trying to place new intrusive and ineffective rules on every body of water in the United States. In ... READ MORE
Today, Congressman Jason Smith (R-MO) called on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy to listen to the concerns of farm families during her two-day visit to the Show-Me-State. McCarthy is in Missouri Wednesday and Thursday to push proposed new regulations that would expand her agency’s reach into the lives of every American. The proposed new regulations, known as the “Waters of the United States” would potentially allow the EPA to regulate nearly every area of the gr... READ MORE
Today, Congressman Jason Smith (R-MO) expressed his concerns over the Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) “Nonpoint Source Management Plan” and interactions with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed “Waters of the United States” rule. Smith has voiced sharp criticism over the EPA rule change that could give the federal agency control over every pond, gully, dry creek bed, irrigation ditch, puddle or other similar collection of water. Now Smith is concerned that Misso... READ MORE
Independence Day is marked with fireworks, BBQ and family gatherings. More often than not we forget about the significance of the day and the brave Americans who put their lives on the line to establish our nation. Fifty six men signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The most famous, and largest signature belongs to John Hancock who served as President of the Continental Congress. The youngest signer was Edward Rutlege at the age of just 26. Benjamin Franklin, the oldest signer,... READ MORE
Today, Monday, June 30, 2014, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Hobby Lobby in the case of Burwell v. Hobby Lobby. The case involved a challenge to the HHS mandate that requires businesses to provide insurance coverage for certain drugs and devices that are contrary to the religious and moral beliefs of the family-owned business. “Today’s landmark decision is a victory for religious liberty and Constitutional freedoms. The Supreme Court recognized that Americans do not lose their religious fr... READ MORE
