8th Congressional District, Missouri - 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 unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats do not understand southeast and southern Missouri. The president’s proposed rule is a power grab that exceeds the EPA’s authority under the Clean Air Act.  These emission limits will raise the price of electricity, force the closure of coal plants in Missouri and cost people jobs. It is yet another example of this administration’s war on rural America.

This rule sets standards that will make coal power more expensive and hurt rural America. The vast majority of Missouri’s electricity is created by coal-fired power plants, making the utility affordable in our state compared to others that rely on different fuel sources for energy. This week, I toured the Sikeston Board of Municipal Utilities Power Plant, which made a $5 million update to their turbines for major efficiency improvements. Shutting down coal plants like these in Missouri and across the nation, would mean higher electricity costs and make it harder for folks who rely on cheap, reliable energy to make ends meet.

Many questions have arisen about the legality of this new rule, one of the most costly ever created. I am not going to wait around while the Obama administration and the EPA drive up electricity costs for Missouri families and force layoffs. In June, with my support, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Ratepayer Protection Act which would ensure that states do not have to comply with the president’s Clean Power Plan until it is proven legal.

Since I was first elected, I have taken action to protect families and job creators in southeast and southern Missouri. I have introduced a bill called the SCRUB Act to weed out inefficient, ineffective regulations, and I am pushing to bring it for a vote. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill I cosponsored, the REINS Act, which would require rules proposed by agencies, like the EPA, to be approved by Congress before implementation. I also have cosponsored the Stop EPA Overregulation of Rural Americans Act which would repeal the EPA’s most recent rule for new residential wood heaters that disproportionately hurts folks in rural communities, and the Regulatory Accountability Act that would ensure agencies adopt the least costly alternative for a regulation.  There is much more to do, but I am staying on top of this administration and working to hold them accountable.

Age Spots by Ruth Dockins

On June 14th, Silver Haired Legislature (SHL) board members met in Jefferson City to establish their area of  concern and support for the 1,000,000 senior citizens of Missouri.  Board Members from Region two are Connie Larrew of Poplar Bluff and Doug Austin of Cape Girardeau.

From a list of 54 items, the Bills Committee selected 24 specific proposals to present to the 150 Silver Haired Legislators at their October meeting.  The final list of five priorities and two alternates will then be presented to our Missouri State Representatives, Senators and Lt. Governor and published to all Senior Centers across the state.

Missouri’s Silver Haired Legislature was founded in 1973, the first such organization in the nation.  SHL is composed of fifteen volunteers from each of the ten statewide Area Agencies on Aging.  These 150 senior advocates, elected by their peers, identify and advocate for issues critical to older Missourians. 

SHL member Doug Austin of Cape Girardeau says : "The age of our senior citizens does not automatically eliminate our ability to remain an active contributing member of society. We may drive a little slower but we get where we're going and in the Great State of Missouri, 77% of our seniors go to the polls!”

Anyone interested in learning further details about the priorities of the Silver Haired Legislature, or serving as a SHL delegate, is encouraged to contact 

Doug Austin -  ldaustin1@charter.net or Connie Larrew - cjlarrew@yahoo.com

 

Dear 151st District Constituents,

The summer heat is finally in full drive and August is just around the corner!  School is getting ready to start in a few weeks and last minute vacation plans are being made!  Everyone is very busy this time of year.  Even with all the hustle and bustle that is going on with summer winding down, please remember to take a moment and check on your elderly family, friends and neighbors.  The heat can be very hard on the elderly and many times adverse effects of the heat can come upon a person before they realize what is happening.
 
I have been surprised as a freshman legislator at how busy I am even during this interim period.  We, in Missouri, are set up in a matter that is considered a “part-time legislature”.  I am very much enjoying this time of being home in the district and the opportunities that are being afforded to me from our being set up in this manner.  I am getting to meet with various state department leaders to learn more about how each state department is structured and the duties that fall under each.  I had developed quite a list of questions regarding this during the legislative session and having this time to use learning the answers to these questions will be very helpful this next legislative session.  During session we are called upon to make decisions on funding, rules and regulations concerning each of the departments, having a limited knowledge of these made it very difficult to make these decisions with a great amount of confidence.
 
My office has been receiving quite a lot of calls regarding healthcare related issues.  We are working through these issues as well as looking at possible legislative action for the upcoming session.  We are hoping to resolve these issues with the help of the various departments and will be prepared to offer legislation that will allow these departments to conduct their work with great efficiency while being aware of the duties to the taxpayers in spending state money wisely.

I have noticed in the local papers recently, that quite a few people have celebrated retirements after a long and dedicated career in our local communities and businesses.  If you or someone you know, has or will be retiring, please contact my office, (573) 751-1494, we will be happy to get a resolution or certificate ready for this event to honor all that the retiree has accomplished throughout their career.     

Work is still ongoing regarding the Unclaimed Property List.  If you think you may have unclaimed property, please go to www.ShowMeMoney.com.  This website has all the items you will need to begin the process to claim your property.

If you would like to talk with me or set up a meeting, please call the Jefferson City office, 573-751-1494.

8th Congressional District - Missouri - 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; that is not reality. The government of Iran is still a leading sponsor of terrorism and violator of human rights, and until these situations change, we must keep economic sanctions in place. Instead of forcing Iran to abandon nuclear ambitions and their sponsorship of terrorism, we are giving Iran access to $150 billion in relief, money they are going to use to fund the next generation of terrorists.

The short timeframe for stipulations will allow Iran to quickly cultivate the technology required for a nuclear weapon. Many of the deal’s provisions expire in ten years or earlier. Iran is allowed access to arms in five years if they adhere to the arms embargo, and in just eight years, the missile ban will be removed. All the while, Iran is allowed to enrich massive amounts of uranium. Even more, the deal allows two Iranian atomic scientists previously under sanctions – including one who admitted to lying about Iran’s nuclear program – to get back to work.

With the stakes so high, America needs “anytime, anywhere” short-notice inspections of Iran’s nuclear sites. This deal only includes “managed” inspections which might as well be called “manipulated” inspections. It could take 24 days to get access to nuclear sites, and by then Iran will have had all the time they need to cover up their deceitful actions. America requires surprise inspections on farms and in manufacturing plants and restaurants; we should definitely require it of our enemy’s nuclear sites.

Furthermore, all Americans should be outraged that this deal does not free the four Americans being held in Iran. Refusing the freedom of Americans being held unjustly should be a deal-breaker for the Obama Administration on lifting sanctions on Iran and letting them return to business as usual.

We cannot give Iran the benefit of the doubt on nuclear weapons; the safety of American citizens and our allies, such as Israel, is too important. Iran has a history of breaking its international obligations, and this deal is not strong enough. The president has the authority to decide our vote in the United Nations, but Congress does not have to agree. I will not be supporting this disastrous deal.

8th Congressional District - 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 poverty through work a priority of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. A federal program does not make people’s lives better, a job does.

The poverty trap happens when people on government assistance don’t have an incentive to work or earn more money. For single parents earning minimum wage and utilizing a few government programs to make ends meet, a raise at their job could bump them off assistance. Because of the way the government taxes that additional income, they wouldn’t take home enough to overcome what they lost in government benefits. In certain cases, the person paying the highest marginal tax rate in the U.S. is not the extremely wealthy like Warren Buffett or Bill Gates, it is the single parent making $30,000 with two kids who loses around 80 cents on the dollar in benefits by taking a job and working more. Even after a raise, they could be worse off than before.

Fighting poverty is especially important for our district and across the country. The gap between rich and poor is growing and hardworking families are doing all they can just to pay the bills and put food on the table. My legislation will help reform the welfare system to reduce poverty and promote work. When it is signed into law, it will help propel folks from government dependency to financial independence.

We need to be promoting work not discouraging it. Government programs should be judged a success by how many people are transitioned off of assistance, not by the number of new sign-ups. My bill is one step toward making sure we focus on addressing the root causes of poverty by promoting work, not trapping people in the system.