When I spend time with folks across southeast and south central Missouri, whether it’s at my public roundtables, multiple small business stops or frequent listening posts, I consistently hear from families whose healthcare premiums and copayments have doubled, individuals who only have one, or in some cases no health insurance choices, and business owners who are spending more and more of their hard-earned resources trying to comply with costly Obamacare regulations than actually using those resources to provide benefits and coverage for their employees.

 

As I take the month of August to focus on farms, I have heard so many Missouri farmers tell me the number one thing they are concerned about is their health insurance costs and access. One family I spoke with is paying $20,000 a year for their Obamacare health insurance, and that is WITH the help of cost sharing subsidies. Another farmer I spoke with has sacrificed health insurance for himself because he can only afford it for his wife and daughter. 

 

During my many trips back to Missouri between votes and committee hearings, my conversations with farmers and small business owners often come back to the same question, “my costs to provide healthcare for my family and employees is through the roof, how do we get them down?” At one of my healthcare roundtables in Cape Girardeau, I heard from a packed house where nearly everyone, including doctors, said we needed more price transparency in healthcare. I couldn't agree more. At another one of my healthcare roundtables in Rolla, we had more than 40 folks in the room, nearly all of whom were concerned about the dwindling number of providers in the area. Unfortunately, under Obamacare, 26 of 30 counties in Missouri’s 8th Congressional District only have one insurer to choose from. There is no choice, and there is no competition, which means higher prices.

 

Our country is better than this. We cannot allow hardworking Americans to suffer under Obama’s failing healthcare law. The House of Representatives has made progress on bills that will allow insurance to be sold across state lines and give people who own small businesses or run farms the opportunity to ban together, buy insurance as a larger group and lower their overall costs. We have passed bills to end the anti-trust exemption for insurance providers to bring back competition. We have worked hard to give Americans relief from the burden of Obamacare, and it’s time for the U.S. Senate to do the same. In order to finish what we’ve started, Senators are going to have to stop letting politics get in the way, do what’s right for the American people and take action on legislation that will make a difference.

 

We have a president who is ready to sign a repeal bill for one of the most intrusive pieces of legislation in my lifetime, and the House of Representatives has voted to repeal and replace Obamacare multiple times. Now the Senate has a choice. Do they want to finish the work to relieve Missourians and folks all across the country of the burden that is Obamacare or continue with the status quo? People have shouldered this burden long enough, and the time to act is now.

Congressman Smith Capitol Report

A Focus on Farms

August 4, 2017

 

For the fifth year in a row, I am dedicating the month of August to focus on farms in southeast and south central Missouri, stopping in all 30 counties of our district. Meeting the people who run these operations gives me a real understanding of the challenges they are facing and how I can help them. 

 

The best way for me to represent southeast and south central Missouri is to be in southeast and south central Missouri to meet directly with the families, farmers and small business owners who are often the hardest hit by out of touch government policies. These firsthand conversations allow me to carry the message of southern Missourians back to Washington and fight for our way of life.

 

Most weekdays, I am stuck in Washington casting votes on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives or attending committee hearings. I relish the weekend when I am able to take the first flight out and get back to Missouri to spend time with friends, family, neighbors and all of the down to earth folks I am fortunate enough to represent. Not to mention, getting a break from sleeping on the floor of my office in D.C. is nice. August is a great opportunity to spend more than just Saturday and Sunday getting to know the small business owners, families and especially farmers in our area. That is why I will continue to dedicate my August to visiting the thousands of farms which call southeast and south central Missouri home.

 

The state of Missouri has over 96 thousand farm operations and more than 28 million acres of farmland. We are also the 11th largest agricultural export state in the country, shipping nearly four billion dollars’ worth of products grown in Missouri across the country and around the world. In fact, in our district alone, we have four of the top soybean producing counties in the state. We are also one of the most diverse agriculture districts in the country, producing everything from cotton and cattle to rice and wine. 

 

It is only the first week of our month-long focus on farms, and I’ve already heard about the need for less regulations and a simpler, fairer and flatter tax code. When I stopped in Iron County, Josh Campbell, who runs Campbell Farm, told me, “tell the feds to stop interfering with farmers and just let farmers, farm.” I could not agree more.

 

One of the regulations I heard most about during last year’s focus on farms was the Waters of the United States rule, which was trying to federally regulate every drop of water on Missouri farmer’s land.  Fortunately, over the last year, I have been able to work with the Trump Administration to successfully repeal this harmful rule.

 

Agriculture has a major impact on our economy and our rural way of life in southeast and south central Missouri. This is why it is so important for me to spend time with the folks who run Missouri’s farm operations. It is a huge portion of our economy, providing jobs in our area and putting food on the table for folks in Missouri and across America.  After I finish our fifth annual focus on farms at the end of August, I look forward to taking the concerns I hear to D.C. and making a difference on the issues that matter most to the people who work daily to feed and supply America.

For the fifth year in a row, Congressman Jason Smith is dedicating the month of August to focus on farms in southeast and south central Missouri.

Congressman Smith visits Missouri’s agricultural operations to hear directly from farmers, ranchers and agriculture industry professionals to get a better understanding of what challenges they are facing and how he can help as they work to feed and supply America.

One of the biggest concerns Smith heard about during last August’s farm tour was the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) regulation, which sought to regulate every drop of water on Missouri farmers’ land. In the last year, Smith worked directly with the Trump Administration to stop this rule and relieve Missouri farmers from the burden of WOTUS. 

 

Congressman Smith plans to stop at farms in each of the 30 counties in Missouri's Eighth Congressional District as he has done every August since he was elected. This year’s focus on farms will highlight the people in our area who run these operations and the tremendous impact that agriculture has on the economy and rural way of life in southeast and south central Missouri.

 

Whether it is a border you can walk across or a border you can launch a missile across, it is the responsibility of Congress and the President to protect our country from those who wish to harm the United States. The last administration drew lines in the sand with foreign countries and let them blow away over and over again.

 

Instead of negotiating failed nuclear deals with Iran, this week we advanced some of the toughest sanctions to date on countries like Russia, North Korea and Iran. The Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act punishes Russia for using the internet to attack vital components of our infrastructure and imposes catastrophic economic sanctions on Iran and North Korea for their support of terror organizations, continued antagonistic missile tests and their threats to bring terror and chaos to America. With this action, we are cutting off access to resources like fuel and food and sending a message to these countries that their continued behavior will not go unpunished and that all options remain on the table in response to their aggression.

 

Simply put, America should not stand idly by as foreign regimes threaten our freedoms and way of life. We should not tolerate continued nuclear advancements by North Korea and Iran and the detainment of members of the U.S. Navy by countries like Iran. I know Congress and this President will have the resolve to take the needed further actions should they be warranted.

 

The other security measure we voted for this week is the Make America Secure Appropriations Act which will help fortify our country’s southern border. We cannot leave our borders open to dangerous gangs like MS-13 whose members illegally enter our country while smuggling drugs, weapons and criminals. 

 

This bill gives President Trump and his White House every penny they requested to shore up more than 70 miles of damaged and open border in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and San Diego, California and expand our border protections. The money will also be used for planning additional border wall construction and reinforcing the walls that are already protecting portions of the United States’ border with Mexico.

 

Making America secure at home and abroad is so incredibly important. Our work takes major steps to stop the bad guys abroad and fortify our borders at home, making sure we keep anyone who doesn’t have America’s best interest at heart from crossing both our physical and virtual borders.

 

Time away from family and friends, missing the birth of their sons and daughters, deployed overseas during holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving, anniversaries gone by… these are just a few things the men and women who serve in the U.S. Armed Forces give up in order to defend our freedom. Our troops sacrifice so much for us, and last week, I had the honor of voting for the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which will give them the resources they need to protect our great nation and make America safe and strong.

 

Our country is facing growing threats around the world, and as these threats increase, so do the needs of the brave men and women who put their lives on the line to defend our freedom. As our troops put themselves in harm’s way to defend us against threats to American values, it is our job to make sure that they are more prepared than ever.

 

The number one responsibility of the federal government is to keep you and your family safe. While we work at home to secure the border and defund Sanctuary Cities that harbor dangerous illegal immigrants, there are ever-evolving threats spreading world-wide. ISIS, North Korea and Iran are just a few of the menaces we are facing. Fully supporting our men and women in uniform is the best way to defend against these international bad actors who want to destroy America’s way of life. Unfortunately, in recent years, our military has been subject to damaging budget cuts, reducing some of our capabilities to pre-9/11 levels. But now, we are giving our Military Generals what they asked for, fully funding our military’s budget request and ensuring they have the newest most up to date resources they need to fight against threats to our freedom.

 

My vote for the NDAA will provide our troops with the equipment, personnel, weapons systems, protections and capabilities they need to accomplish their missions and thwart countries who want to hurt us, like North Korea and Iran. One of the most concerning threats from these rogue nations are intercontinental ballistic missiles which is why we are increasing spending for our missile defense programs by $12.4 billion dollars. We are also giving our men and women in uniform the best body armor and increasing spending to modernize and improve this vital and sometimes last line of defense for our troops. There is also a provision in NDAA that makes sure no terrorists from Guantanamo Bay are moved to U.S. prisons. Most importantly, the NDAA gives our brave men and women in the military a well-deserved pay raise. In fact, it’s the highest pay raise for our troops in more than seven years.

 

I often tell our troops that I am thankful for their service, but I am honored to have been able to actually show them just how grateful I am for what they do to protect us by voting to give them the resources they need and deserve.