Agriculture and Manufacturing

Values

Homeland Security

Jobs

Individual Rights

Prescription Drugs and Health Care

National Security and Veterans

Energy

Agriculture and manufacturing are the lifeblood of the Southern Missouri economy, and although both industries have faced difficulties through the years, Jo Ann has been working hard to enhance profitability in these vital areas. A strong supporter of building the region's infrastructure, Jo Ann has led the fight to make the district more accessible. Better roads and ports will enable farmers to get their products to market easier and at less cost. Infrastructure improvements give manufacturers an added incentive to move into our region. She's co-sponsored legislation to develop and promote bio-diesel fuel, and she has been a strong supporter of value-added products such as ethanol. Jo Ann has diligently worked to open foreign markets to Southern Missouri  products, including rice and grain markets from Cuba to Iraq to the European Union. She has also been among the first to advocate for lending assistance to Southern Missouri 's farmers when they've needed a helping hand. Her position as a member of the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee allows Jo Ann to continue the fight to keep America 's farmers in the forefront of our expanding economy.

In Congress, Jo Ann has repeatedly voted for measures to simplify the tax code, including a measure to provide $4 billion in relief from the Alternative Minimum Tax for small businesses. She continues to support full funding for Farm Bill programs, and she has succeeded at bringing agricultural research projects to Southern Missouri universities and research institutions. As an advocate for job training and workforce development programs, Jo Ann has worked hand-in-hand with experts and officials at every level of government for the common good of our rural economy.

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As a wife, mother, and grandmother, the values our nation holds dear are important to Jo Ann. She understands that the morals we teach and uphold in Southern Missouri are the backbone of our way of life. That's why she has worked to defend the sacred institution of marriage and to protect the rights of the unborn. She believes those rights ought to be reflected in the highest laws of our land, the U.S. Constitution, along with the protection of prayer and our American flag. Jo Ann Emerson champions the Southern Missouri family at every opportunity.

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September 11th, 2001, forever changed the way in which we live. It is paramount that we protect America against both foreign and domestic terrorism. Jo Ann is meeting this challenge head on as a member of the Homeland Security Subcommittee. Her position allows Jo Ann to make sure that Southern Missouri's first responders have the best equipment and training possible, and that our roads, bridges, ports and other vital infrastructure are protected from attack. She believes that secure borders are one of the first objectives that must be met for our security. Jo Ann has voted repeatedly to stem the tide of illegal immigration and to remove incentives for people to defy the immigration laws of our nation.

Not only did Jo Ann work on the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, she continues to balance the laws that guide law enforcement with the rights to privacy and freedoms of all law-abiding Americans. Through her work on funding the Department of Homeland Security, Jo Ann has identified priorities here at home, such as inland ports and over-the-road buses, for federal attention.

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Our families and workers need good, high paying jobs inside Southern Missouri to keep our economy vital and our quality of life high. Jo Ann is hard at work to provide businesses incentives to relocate to the area and to make sure those who want to work have a job available. Southern Missourians can rest assured that their Representative in Congress is doing everything in her power to help create good jobs and to raise the standard of living in our district. Jo Ann supported the American Jobs Creation Act, and she continues to work with economic development experts and public officials to create job opportunities and attract new employers to Southern Missouri.

Small businesses provide the majority of jobs in America, yet they face the biggest challenges. Jo Ann voted to increase the amounts small businesses can expense by four times so small business owners can continue to grow. She is also a major supporter of Association Health Plans to reduce the burden to small businesses of providing health insurance to their employees.

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A long-time member of the NRA, Jo Ann opposes gun control and supports tougher enforcement of laws already on the books. She is fighting to strengthen our private property rights and to limit the control federal bureaucrats have over not only our land, but our lives. In Congress, she has supported the exemption of off-duty law enforcement officers from the ban on concealed-carry weapons in Missouri. At the same time, she is an ardent supporter of the Houses of Worship law to protect speech in churches, as well as other freedom of speech issues. Individual freedoms are what have made this country great, and Jo Ann will continue to fight to keep America, and Southern Missouri, the land of the free.

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Jo Ann has led the charge in Congress to increase rural Missouri's access to healthcare and to reduce the costs of prescription drugs. She is a relentless advocate for the safe importation of prescription drugs from Canada, a policy that would greatly help to reduce pharmaceutical prices. As taxpayers, we are all invested in the Medicare system. Jo Ann is the sponsor of legislation that demands Medicare negotiate the prices of prescriptions on behalf of the program's 40 million beneficiaries. She insists that Americans get better access to generic medicines and authored a bill that has become law to speed the approval process for new generic medications. Her efforts on lowering prescription drug prices are the hallmark of her service to the Eighth District.

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Southern Missouri has a long tradition of serving our nation. In Iraq, where her own stepdaughter is serving in the U.S. Army, our troops have transformed a nation ruled by fear into a free, sovereign nation well on the path to self-government. Jo Ann is proud of the service of our men and women in uniform and believes they should receive the benefits they have earned and deserve. Our freedom rests on the shoulders of our troops, and Jo Ann has advocated for measures to increase pay and benefits. Whether at Ft. Leonard Wood or halfway around the world, Jo Ann is in constant communication with military officials and liaisons to make sure our troops have the support they need to do the job right and return home soon.

The sacrifices of our veterans deserves and demands our respect. Jo Ann insists Congress improve health care services, introducing legislation to create a Medicare Eligible Military Retiree Health Care Consensus Task Force to provide our veterans with the health care assistance they need. She is a cosponsor of measures that specifically target rural veterans health care for additional funding, as well as a bill to increase annuity payments for surviving military spouses. Jo Ann also worked on the implementation of full concurrent receipt for military retirees included in the Department of Defense bill for the coming year.

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Aside from repeatedly voting for the National Energy Policy Act, Jo Ann has contributed to the bill in a number of important ways. First, she is a leading voice for ethanol, bio-diesel, and other alternative fuels. She looks forward to the day when America's energy independence will be based on the ability to grow fuel in our Southern Missouri fields. She has worked to stabilize and strengthen the supply of electricity in rural America. And she is a supporter of exploratory drilling in Alaska to bolster our oil supplies and reduce dependence on oil from OPEC and the Middle East.

Gasoline prices affect every product we grow and manufacture in Southern Missouri, as well as every good on the shelves of our stores. Jo Ann has worked to lower prices at the pump by simplifying the number of gasoline blends produced by our refineries and by creating incentives for alternative fuels. She is adamantly opposed to increasing the federal gas tax.

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