U.S. Representative Jason Smith (MO-08) was named a “Hero of Main Street” for consistently supporting small businesses and cutting taxes while serving in Congress. The “Hero of Main Street” Award was presented by the National Retail Federation, which represents the interests of millions of small businesses.

 

“I’m proud to work with President Trump every day to grow the economy and support small businesses, family farmers, and American workers,” said Congressman Smith. “Thanks to tax cuts, regulatory relief, and shrinking the size of the federal government, small business optimism has now reached the highest point in our country’s history.”

Congressman Smith is an original author of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which President Trump signed into law in late 2017. Since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was enacted, 1.5 million jobs have been created in the United States and last quarter’s GDP growth in the U.S. was 4.2%, the strongest growth pace in nearly four years.

 

The overwhelming majority of retailers are small businesses, with more than 98 percent of all retail companies employing fewer than 50 people.

“Retailers and consumers are feeling good about the state of the U.S. economy, and a big part of that is the result of lawmakers who have made economic growth and job creation a top priority,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “As a Hero of Main Street, Congressman Smith truly understands that the decisions made in Washington have a real impact on local businesses and communities across the country.” 

The National Retail Federation is the world’s largest retail trade association. NRF represents discount and department stores, home goods and specialty stores, Main Street merchants, grocers, wholesalers, chain restaurants and internet retailers from the United States and more than 45 countries. Retail is the nation’s largest private-sector employer, supporting one in four U.S. jobs — 42 million working Americans. Contributing $2.6 trillion to annual GDP, retail is a daily barometer for the nation’s economy.

U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.) released the following statement today after attending a ceremonial signing of the cooperative agreements that will ensure Ste. Genevieve historic properties are preserved, marking the final statutory step needed to establish Ste. Genevieve as a national park.

“Generations of Ste. Genevieve residents have worked painstakingly to preserve and share this unique part of our nation’s French colonial history,” said Blunt. “Thanks to their efforts, Ste. Genevieve will now be a part of our National Park System. This process took a lot of time and dedication on the part of all involved, and I appreciate their partnership in getting to this final step today. I hope even more Americans will take the opportunity to visit Ste. Genevieve and experience the rich history that defines Missouri’s oldest town.”

Blunt joined public officials, members of the community, and National Park Service (NPS) employees at today’s ceremony. In July, Blunt attended a roundtable discussion with the NPS and toured the Bequette-Ribault House and Amoureux House.

In March, Blunt’s legislation to establish the Ste. Genevieve National Historic Park and designate it as a unit of the NPS was signed into law. Blunt introduced similar legislation in May 2016. The NPS released its final Ste. Genevieve Special Resource Study in May 2016, which found that portions of the Ste. Genevieve historic district met the criteria for inclusion in the National Park System.

Ste. Genevieve was founded as a French colony in the early 1700s and is Missouri’s oldest town. The Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park will showcase nearly 300 years of history, including centuries-old homes featuring French colonial architecture.

 

This week at the Delta Days in the Bootheel, I’ll be wrapping up a 30-county, monthlong swing through southern Missouri’s unique agriculture industry. I’m grateful to all the farmers, organizations, and agribusinesses who have taken the time to share with me their successes, what makes their farm unique, and their concerns with the federal government. Over the past month I’ve traveled the back roads of southern Missouri to listen to local farmers because when the agriculture industry does well, the entire country benefits. And when the agriculture industry struggles, so does main street America.

 

Missouri is home to almost 100,000 different farms that supply the world with cattle, corn, soybeans, cotton, hay, and every agriculture product imaginable. Agriculture is an $88 billion industry that employs more than 1 in 10 working Missourians, making it the top employer and driver of our economy. The industry has changed some since I was growing up – younger farmers in Mississippi and Scott Counties showed me the latest technology they’re using on family farms today to make the most of their resources, and a family operation in Perry County demonstrated the applications they use to keep track of feeding, watering, and create carefully designed nutrition programs for livestock. As much as the technology is evolving, farmers still want the same thing from their federal government: to be able to work their land how they know best without the government making it harder for them.

 

Farmers brought up a wide range of topics on our stops, because just as agriculture touches everybody, every policy touches agriculture. Businesses in Howell and Wayne Counties walked me through their new expansions and investments made possible after President Trump and I cut taxes across the board and allowed businesses to fully expense internal investments. When we were writing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, we wanted Missouri’s farmers and small businesses to keep more of their hard-earned money, so they can grow both their businesses and the economy. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act lowered the tax rates for farms of all sizes and fewer farms are now subject to the death tax, which especially hits family operations hard as they pass their farms on to a new generation.

 

Missouri’s farmers and ranchers want the freedom to work their land how they know best, but each rule slapped on by career Washington bureaucrats costs them more time and money. Ninety percent of farms are family-owned in Missouri, and just like in the business world, smaller operations have a harder time keeping up with Washington’s regulators.

 

A family operation in Carter County shared with me their frustrations with a constant flow of regulations from Washington. A farm in Butler County walked me through how their healthcare costs have skyrocketed under Obamacare. And almost every farm I visited said they’re having a hard time finding help because federal government welfare programs are incentivizing too many people to stay out of the workforce. 

 

Farming is hard work, but Missourians do what it takes to put food on the table. I’m proud that Missouri’s products are enjoyed all over the world. It’s an honor to fight every day for the hardworking families who grow our country’s crops, economy, and communities.

Poplar Bluff, Missouri - Congressman Jason Smith (MO-08) will present World War II medals to Cloyd Cook, a 96-year-old WWII veteran Friday.

 

Mr. Cook joined the United States Army after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and was discharged in December of 1945, but never received his medals in the haste to bring soldiers home.

 

Friday Congressman Jason Smith will present Mr. Cook the American Campaign Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 4 bronze service stars, the World War II Victory Medal, and the Honorable Service Lapel Button at the VFW Post 6477.

 

WHO:            U.S. Representative Jason Smith (MO-08)

 

WHAT:          Presentation of WWII Medals

 

WHEN:          Friday, August 31st, 2018

                        4:30 p.m. CDT

 

WHERE:       VFW Post 6477

                        415 S. Broadway

                        Poplar Bluff, MO 63901