"It was a pleasure to visit with Richland High School as well. Congratulations on being named a National Blue Ribbon School! This is a major academic achievement and I was thrilled to help them celebrate," commented Congressman Jason Smith
Thank you to everyone who made time to talk with me over the past few weeks. Whether it's a public listening post or visiting with farmers, families and small business owners in places like Dexter, Poplar Bluff and Sullivan, conversations like these help me better represent southeast and south central Missouri.
I was also able to visit several schools including Dexter High School, Jefferson High School in Festus, and Central High School in Park Hills. It is a tremendous honor to be able to nominate talented and brave young men and women to our prestigious United States military academies. During these school visits, I had the privilege of presenting several students at these schools with their hard-earned appointments to a military academy.
I also dropped by several public Listening Posts throughout our area, including stops in Rolla, Farmington, Jackson, Poplar Bluff and West Plains, and heard from people who were concerned about healthcare, government regulations, the EPA and the federal tax code. At my Listening Post in Jackson and during my visit to the American Legion and VFW Post #99 in Salem, I heard from several veterans who needed help with their Veteran's Benefits. Making sure the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) serves our veterans is one of my biggest priorities. Last year, I worked with the American Legion and VFW Post #99 to extend the VA clinic hours in Salem. If you or someone you know needs help from places like the VA - please reach out and let us know!
During a stop in Caruthersville I visited Trinity Industries. Their facility in Caruthersville provides hundreds of jobs and can build 12 barges a week! But like me, they're concerned about countries who cheat on trade and make it harder for American manufacturers to compete. SLP Lighting in Sullivan was another great opportunity for me to learn about how government burdens have been keeping our small businesses from reaching their potential. SLP Lighting is proud to be made in America, but like Trinity Industries, they are fighting an unfair trade system. The folks at Trinity Industries and SLP Lighting are why I wrote and passed the ENFORCE Act. This trade bill was signed into law and helps end unfair practices by allowing places like Trinity Industries to take real and meaningful action when foreign countries violate trade agreements.
In New Madrid, I visited the Power Plant and talked to the folks there about the challenges they face as they work to provide power to Missourians. The New Madrid Power Plant was dealing with a major regulatory burden under the previous administration and are quickly seeing relief under President Trump - allowing them to continue their work to provide clean, affordable power to farmers, small businesses and families in Missouri.
It is an honor to serve the thirty counties which make up the 8th Congressional District in southeast and south central Missouri. The best part of my job is getting to spend time with the hard-working families, farmers and business owners who make our district the greatest place to live in the world. Over the past few weeks, I had the opportunity to visit over twenty counties in our area and meet with the people who provide power, work on manufacturing lines, serve our country, care for our veterans, farm our land, teach our students and bring jobs to our area.
Congressman Smith Capitol Report
American Made
April 14, 2017
Across southeast and south central Missouri, I have met some of the hardest working people found anywhere in America. Whether they are farmers, manufacturers or small business owners, they all have one thing in common – they want to do their jobs free of government overreach and interference, and provide their products, services and goods to others in Missouri and around the world.
American made goods are the best and highest quality found anywhere in the world, but in order for our farmers and businesses to survive and grow, other countries and businesses they are competing against must follow the rules. For too long we have simply sat back and accepted allowing other countries to subsidize their businesses, illegally flood our borders with their products or use various measures to circumvent U.S. trade laws. It’s time we finally say – play by the rules or there will be consequences.
Last week in the Oval Office, President Trump took major steps to stop countries from cheating on trade. He signed documents demanding that we fully collect all duties and tariffs imposed on foreign importers that cheat and second, that we conduct the first comprehensive review of all violations of trade rules that harm U.S. manufacturers. Trump’s action builds on my legislative work of authoring and passing the ENFORCE Act in 2015 which helps end unfair practices by allowing companies in Missouri to take real and meaningful action when foreign companies violate trade agreements.
Missouri manufacturers work too hard to compete against an unfair system abroad and a tax and regulatory environment which punishes them here at home. In December of 2016, I met with and sent a letter to the incoming Trump administration asking them to eliminate 14 federal rules and regulations, many of which would impact Missouri manufacturers. In his first 85 days, President Trump has halted or repealed more than half of the regulations outlined in my letter. Two of the biggest regulatory wins for Missourians included stopping a regulation which would have tripled some residents’ utility rates in Missouri and ending Obama’s plan to try and regulate every pond, bucket of water or raindrop on a farmer’s private land. Ending these regulations is a major victory and will keep money in the pockets of Missouri families, farmers and small businesses.
There is huge potential for Missouri farmers, small businesses and manufacturers to sell their American grown or made products around the world, but we must create an environment that is competitive and makes their efforts worthwhile. The ENFORCE Act along with having a President in the Oval Office who is willing to hold countries engaged in illegal trade practices accountable is a huge first step to putting American manufacturers, farmers and workers first, but more work remains to be done. We must enact policies and create an environment where those businesses can bring their products to market with greater ease and lower costs – that means reducing the highest tax burden in the industrialized world, repealing onerous regulations driving up the costs of everything from energy to transportation of goods, and rewarding investments made here in the United States to grow one’s business or farm, not punishing it. Along with the Trump Administration, I am committed to restoring confidence in the American economy and standing by American farmers, workers and employers.
Smith tours plant and meets with power providers, discusses recent action to stop bad regulations
Marston, Missouri - On Friday, Congressman Jason Smith was in Marston to tour the New Madrid Power Plant and discuss his work to relieve the regulatory burden on energy providers in Missouri.
Before touring the New Madrid Power Plant, Congressman Smith sat down with the hard-working people who keep the plant running and talked about recent actions by President Trump to eliminate Obama’s so-called “Clean Power Plan.” This was a major regulatory issue that would have increased production costs for the plant.
“The so called ‘Clean Power Plan’ is just the latest in a long list of regulations that show how unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats do not understand southeast and south central Missouri,” said Congressman Smith. “After President Trump was elected, his team asked me to help identify regulations hurting rural America, and I immediately thought of the folks back home who told me that their utility bills were going to triple in cost after the Obama Administration and the EPA rolled out this ridiculous rule.”
Recently, major components of the Clean Power Plan, a high-cost regulation U.S. Rep. Smith asked the Trump Administration to take quick action on, were suspended and rescinded. In December of 2016, Rep. Smith met with and sent a letter to the incoming administration asking them to eliminate 14 federal rules and regulations, one of which was the Clean Power Plan. Smith’s work with the Administration will save jobs and money for Missourians.
If implemented, this rule would have increased the cost of electricity and made it unaffordable for many residents in the state. Rescinding the Clean Power Plan stops the Obama Administration’s costly rules for energy production, helps prevent skyrocketing utility rates, ensures coal plants stay open and keeps jobs in Missouri.
“Missouri residents get 83% of their energy from coal-fired power plants,” said Congressman Smith. “Eliminating Obama’s ‘Clean Power Plan’ means folks at the New Madrid plant can continue their work without the burden of government regulations and provide clean, affordable power to farmers, small businesses and families in Missouri.”
Missouri coal is some of the cleanest in the world. Before Obama’s “Clean Power Plan” existed, operations like New Madrid invested billions of dollars to keep their coal-fired power plants clean. The New Madrid Power Plant is part of Associated Electric Cooperative, Inc. and employs 180 people.
Before touring the New Madrid Power Plant, Congressman Smith will sit down with the hard-working people who keep the plant running and talk about recent actions by President Trump to eliminate Obama’s so-called “Clean Power Plan.” This was a major regulatory issue that would have increased production costs for the plant. Press is invited to join this conversation. If you are interested in attending, please email maggie.starks@mail.house.gov.
WHO: Congressman Jason Smith
WHAT: New Madrid Power Plant Tour
WHEN: Friday, April 7, 2017 1:45pm to 2:45pm
WHERE: New Madrid Power Plant, 917 E Elm St., Marston, MO 63866
“When everyone in your family is healthy, you have lots of problems; when someone is sick, you only have one problem,” Blunt said. “I’ve been proud to lead efforts as chairman of the Labor/HHS appropriations subcommittee to increase resources for life-saving biomedical research at the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute. Responsibly prioritizing resources for NIH and NIC will pave the way for new treatments and cures, reduce health care costs over the long term, and help maintain America’s competitive edge in innovation.”
Through his position as chairman of the Labor/HHS appropriations subcommittee, Blunt secured a $2 billion increase for NIH in the FY 2016 omnibus appropriations bill, which included a five percent increase for NCI. This was the first significant increase for NIH in over a decade.
In June 2016, Blunt secured another $2 billion increase for NIH in the bipartisan, committee-passed FY2017 Labor/HHS appropriations bill.
Blunt continued, “Maintaining a robust, sustained federal commitment to medical research will give hope to more families battling cancer and other diseases. It’s an incredible honor to receive this award, and I’ll continue working to establish a pattern of responsibly investing in groundbreaking medical research, especially in areas such as cancer research.”
At the award ceremony, Blunt discussed the subcommittee hearing he chaired last month on the importance of investing in medical research. Blunt highlighted the testimony of Dr. Timothy Eberlein of St. Louis’ Siteman Cancer Center, who talked about the success that the NIH-led Precision Medicine Initiative, which Blunt started in last year’s Labor/HHS bill, has had in allowing doctors to use specific genetic information to tailor treatments to patients and improve outcomes of care.
In addition to his efforts as Labor/HHS subcommittee chairman, Blunt recently cosponsored the Childhood Cancer Survivorship, Treatment, Access, and Research (STAR) Act. The STAR Act is a bipartisan, comprehensive bill that would expand opportunities for childhood cancer research, improve efforts to identify and track incidence of childhood cancer, and enhance the quality of life for childhood cancer survivors.
