Issues
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Southern Missouri is home to the farms and ranches that supply the safest, most affordable supply of food in the world. By working with members of both parties to make sure a safety net stays in place for our family farms and ranches we're working to make sure American producers to continue to lead.
I continue to work on a bipartisan basis to ensure our Farm Bill programs remain solid and stable in the agriculture business, which is rife with risk and uncertainty. Ultimately, we are working to ensure that farms and ranches in Southern Missouri are not only successful, but in a position to be safely passed to the next generation of producers. -
Veterans and active duty servicemen and servicewomen deserve the sincere admiration and thanks of a grateful nation. These brave Americans dedicate their lives to the service of their country, and I believe our responsibility to them does not simply end when they return home from a battlefield far away. Our veterans represent the very best of our country's founding principles: honor, duty, courage, patriotism, selflessness, and a willingness to sacrifice everything in the name of freedom. Our veterans here in southern Missouri provide clear evidence of their character every day.
With two close family members having served in Iraq, I know firsthand that the danger these young men and women face is serious and their sacrifices substantial. No matter where our heroes may have served, the beaches of France, the sands of Iwo Jima, the jungles of Vietnam, the mountains of Afghanistan, the deserts of Iraq, or right here in America, they remain foremost in mind every day. I have and will continue to work with members of both parties to provide for our service members.
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Safe and adequate roads, bridges and waterways are critical to attracting economic growth and development to Southern Missouri as well as getting our goods and products to market. I continue to work on a bi-partisan basis with my colleagues in the Missouri Congressional Delegation to secure the federal funds needed to ensure that the infrastructure in the Eighth District is not only safe and adequate, but always improving.In our rural part of the country, we are often required to travel some distance to reach our grocery stores, pharmacies and churches – making safe highways and roads even more important. Together we have made numerous improvements, including the widening of Highways 60 and 67 as well as the vital improvements made to Interstate-55. As many in Washington shift their focus to funding mass transportation systems used in urban areas, I remain a vocal supporter for roadways necessary to maintain the quality of life we enjoy here in rural Missouri.
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Gone are the days that the safety and security of our nation depends solely on alleviating threats from abroad. The defense of our nation not only depends on a strong, smart fighting force, but the strengthening of our borders, a robust intelligence operation, genuine diplomacy, and the ready response of our finest first-responders.We continue working to bring the attention of federal officials to the potential for a severe earthquake with calamitous effects in the New Madrid Seismic Zone. In coordination with federal, state and local officials we are working to make sure the response to such a disaster is not only adequate, but expedited.
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As a long-time and proud member of the NRA, I oppose further gun control measures and believe we must more adequately enforce the laws already on the books. In Congress, I was proud to support the exemption of off-duty law enforcement officers from the ban on carrying concealed weapons in Missouri.A strong supporter of the Houses of Worship law to protect speech in churches as well as the effort to strengthen private property rights, I am proud of my efforts to defend the personal freedoms and individual rights of all Americans. Individual freedoms are what make this country great and I will continue the fight to preserve and protect the individual freedoms of all those in Southern Missouri and across the country.
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Last spring, President Obama, Speaker Pelosi and liberals in Congress told us they know better than we do when it comes to making decisions about our own health. They told us that we just don’t know what’s good for us and despite our objections passed a massive federal government takeover of our healthcare system.
The truth is there aren’t very many things the federal government does well. The last thing we ought to do is put them in charge of personal decisions affecting our health. That’s why I so vehemently opposed this government takeover. That is why I listened and talked with you and I brought your opinions to the debate.
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Too many in Washington just aren’t listening. We need jobs. We need jobs created and sustained by the private sector, not the federal government. Last year President Obama and liberals in Congress forced through a nearly trillion dollar stimulus bill which failed miserably. Our unemployment rate remains at record levels and it seems the only entity hiring is the federal government.The government shouldn’t be in the business of creating jobs, it should be creating the conditions necessary for private employers to create jobs. This means we must keep taxes low, refrain from imposing onerous new regulations and mandates on our small businesses, and put this nation’s economy back on track.
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We face unique challenges in rural America, where our economy is intensely energy-dependant and our homes and places of employment are often separated by many miles. As a result, we must continue working to bring every advantage to our Southern Missouri economy.USDA Rural Development is a key partner in our rural communities, providing grants and loans for infrastructure improvements that attract new employers and help Southern Missouri businesses to grow and expand. I am proud to partner with local leaders in an effort to secure rural development funds for communities across Southern Missouri.
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Not a day goes by that I don’t hear from a farmer, worker, or family living here in Southern Missouri worried about the impact this misguided energy policy will have on their job and family. Like you, I understand that cap-and-trade or as it’s more appropriately called, cap-and-tax, is nothing more than a massive new energy tax on the energy we use every day to fuel our cars, tractors, and combines, as well as heat and cool our homes.As liberals in the House of Representatives forced this cap-and-tax scheme through last year, I stood strongly against it. Policies like these are exactly what have kept our unemployment rate near record levels. How could anyone, liberal or conservative, believe this is the time to raise taxes on the energy we need to operate our businesses and run our farms?
