151st District - MO - Tila Hubrecht announced this weekend a new staff member for the 151st District.
They would like to welcome the newest staffer for District 151, Adam Plunkett!
Adam is a highly motivated young man that has worked in the State Capitol since February, and we are excited to have him on our team. He is from Kansas City, Missouri and studied at Missouri State University in Springfield.
Please know that the constituents of District 151 will always have an advocate in Jefferson City; Adam will be in the office to take any phone calls, emails, or constituent concerns that the people may have.
You can reach him at 573-751-1494 or by email at adam.plunkett@house.mo.gov.
Missouri - Congressman Jason Smith media statement regarding President Trump's approval of Governor Gretiens' request for a federal disaster declaration from the storms on April 29, 2017.
Communities across southern Missouri have done an incredible job of helping each other recover from this historic flooding.
I have seen much of the devastation first hand and have been in constant communication with families, farmers, small business owners, first responders and community leaders impacted by this disaster.
I have relayed the needs of our area and the vast impact to our Governor and directly in conversations with the White House.
I am pleased to see the Administration expeditiously approved federal disaster declarations for numerous counties in our area so that additional resources can be provided to help the families, farmers and business owners of southern Missouri get their lives back to normal.
Congressman Smith Capitol Report
Missouri Heroes
May 26, 2017
Time at the lake or on the river, barbeques and kicking off summer with family and friends – Memorial Day is a time where we celebrate our freedom, but we must stop to remember the cost. It is a day for us to remember those who died fighting for our country and protecting our way of life. Before you set off to enjoy summer, I ask that you pause to remember and honor Memorial Day with me.
I visited the local VFW in Cape Girardeau recently which is named after three Missouri heroes. Lloyd Dale Clippard, Richard Gene Wilson and Robert Lee Taylor, Jr. Clippard was a member of the U.S. Navy and just 19 years old when he became Cape Girardeau’s first WWII casualty. He had been on duty for three short months when he and his fellow sailors were attacked by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor. His remains were never recovered and are entombed in the hull of the USS Utah. Wilson was a combat medic for the U.S. Army in the Korean War. He died trying to rescue a wounded soldier at the Battle of Yongju. Taylor was an Army Infantryman in Vietnam. He died in combat in the Dinh Tuong Province, fighting against the threat of Communism, and was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star.
This week, I heard stories from Forest O’Neill of Rolla who recalled many of his fellow Marines that were lost in battle against North Korea. It was December of 1950, Forest and his fellow Marines were fighting their way out of the Chosin Reservoir in temperatures that were 20 and 30 degrees below zero. Sadly, not everyone made it out alive, but Forest and his fellow Marines made sure everyone, dead or alive, made it home.
During the Vietnam War, Missouri lost 1,422 brave soldiers. Earl Wayne Ellis, Dennis Edward Isgrig, Charles Wayne Buntion, Warren Paul Seawel, Frederick John Shuh and Larry Lee Thomure along with too many others are honored on the Vietnam Memorial Wall in D.C. If you aren’t able to pay tribute in person, I encourage you to visit VirtualWall.org and learn more about those from Missouri who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
Today we fight a new war, the Global War on Terror. This war has presented new challenges but the bravery, heroism and sacrifice of Missourians has remained unchanged. Army Sergeant Robert Gene Davis from Jackson, Missouri gave his life for freedom in Afghanistan. As Davis’ convoy charged forward, an improvised explosive device detonated underneath his Humvee. Army Specialist James R. Burnett, Jr. from Stoddard County was killed in action by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan as well. Staff Sergeant Bradley Joe Skelton of Gordonville volunteered to come out of retirement and go on another tour of duty with the Missouri National Guard. It was during this second tour when he was killed by a roadside bomb in Baghdad.
As we pause to remember those we’ve lost, I am inspired by Korean War Veteran Forest O’Neill who said “Don’t give up. Never quit.” It’s difficult to put my depth of gratitude into words. Thank you feels insufficient compared to what these families have endured. From World War II, The Korean War and Vietnam to the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Missourians have fought bravely and died valiantly. Their families have sacrificed dearly, but as we celebrate our freedoms this weekend, we know their sacrifices are not in vain.
Smith congratulates finalists and announces winner, Makayla Cahill with “Reflections of Youth”
Park Hills, Missouri - Congressman Jason Smith congratulated Congressional Art Competition finalists and announced the winner during a reception at Mineral Area College on Saturday. Makayla Cahill from Salem R-80 High School won the 8th Congressional District Competition with a mosaic of a young girl from Salem entitled “Reflections of Youth.”
“Makayla’s piece had so much detail and truly captured the life and joy in the young girl’s eyes,” said Congressman Smith.
Cahill said she chose to do a mosaic because it was something she had not tried before and thought it would be a good medium to present her artistic vision.
Cahill’s piece “Reflections of Youth” will be displayed in the United States Capitol for a full year and she will receive two round trip tickets to Washington, D.C. to attend the Congressional Art Competition reception with other art competition winners from across the country.
There were six finalists from across the 8th Congressional District. In addition to Cahill, Baylee Bilyeu from Salem R-80 High School was a finalist along with Sophie Bollinger from Perryville High School, ZuZu Smugala from Farmington R-7 High School, Alicia Aubuchon from Bismarck R-5 High School and Rachel Wichern from Saxony Lutheran High School in Cape Girardeau.
“All of the finalists are so talented and I know it was difficult for the judges to choose a winner,” said Congressman Smith. “As always, I am extremely impressed with the students’ artistic gifts and am glad I was able to get to know these incredible young artists.”
The Congressional Art Competition is an annual event for high school students held each spring.
President Donald J. Trump Proclaims Memorial Day, May 29, 2017, as a Day of Prayer for Permanent Peace
PRAYER FOR PEACE, MEMORIAL DAY, 2017
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
Memorial Day is our Nation's solemn reminder that freedom is never free. It is a moment of collective reflection on the noble sacrifices of those who gave the last measure of devotion in service of our ideals and in the defense of our Nation. On this ceremonious day, we remember the fallen, we pray for a lasting peace among nations, and we honor these guardians of our inalienable rights.
This year, we commemorate the centennial anniversary of America's entry into World War I. More than 4.7 million Americans served during The Great War, representing more than 25 percent of the American male population between the ages of 18 and 31 at the time. We remember the more than 100,000 Americans who sacrificed their lives during "The War to End All Wars," and who left behind countless family members and loved ones. We pause again to pray for the souls of those heroes who, one century ago, never returned home after helping to restore peace in Europe.
On Memorial Day we honor the final resting places of the more than one million men and women who sacrificed their lives for our Nation, by decorating their graves with the stars and stripes, as generations have done since 1868. We also proudly fly America's beautiful flag at our homes, businesses, and in our community parades to honor their memory. In doing so, we pledge our Nation's allegiance to the great cause of freedom for which they fought and ultimately died.
In honor and recognition of all of our fallen service members, the Congress, by a joint resolution approved May 11, 1950, as amended (36 U.S.C. 116), has requested the President issue a proclamation calling on the people of the United States to observe each Memorial Day as a day of prayer for permanent peace and designating a period on that day when the people of the United States might unite in prayer. The Congress, by Public Law 106-579, has also designated 3:00 p.m. local time on that day as a time for all Americans to observe, in their own way, the National Moment of Remembrance.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Memorial Day, May 29, 2017, as a day of prayer for permanent peace, and I designate the hour beginning in each locality at 11:00 a.m. of that day as a time when people might unite in prayer. I urge the press, radio, television, and all other information media to cooperate in this observance.
I further ask all Americans to observe the National Moment of Remembrance beginning at 3:00 p.m. local time on Memorial Day.
I also request the Governors of the United States and its Territories, and the appropriate officials of all units of government, to direct that the flag be flown at half-staff until noon on this Memorial Day on all buildings, grounds, and naval vessels throughout the United States and in all areas under its jurisdiction and control. I also request the people of the United States to display the flag at half-staff from their homes for the customary forenoon period.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fourth day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand seventeen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-first.
DONALD J. TRUMP
