E-Newsletters

On Thursday, a terrorist, who immigrated from Sierra Leone and had previously been jailed for conspiring with ISIS, walked into an ROTC classroom at Old Dominion University and shot the professor, who was a decorated war veteran. ROTC students in the class quickly engaged, ending the attack and the attacker’s life before anyone else was hurt.

For almost five decades, the Islamic Republic of Iran and its leaders have chanted “death to America.” As the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, the regime has killed or maimed thousands of American citizens and servicemembers. During recent protests, they also killed tens of thousands of their own people. It was past time to cut the head off the snake.

Just weeks after I raised the alarm bells about illegal foreign-born semi drivers, a nightmare scenario occurred this week in Northeast Missouri.

A semi driver came barreling through Lincoln County, driving north on Highway 61 on the wrong side of the road into oncoming traffic. For several miles, he put the lives of countless Missourians in jeopardy. An alert driver quickly notified the Highway Patrol and got video of the incident. Police were able to pull over the truck before anyone got hurt.

Across North Missouri, businesses are always on the hunt for dependable, skilled workers who have received specialized training. Whether it’s welders, machinists, mechanics, IT professionals, healthcare workers, chefs, or any other skilled jobs, businesses need trained workers to fill them. Thankfully, career and technical education is becoming more available in our high schools every day to get folks trained and ready.

Last year in Tennessee, an illegal immigrant who didn’t speak English was able to get a commercial driver’s license (CDL) illegally in New York. He then got behind the wheel of a semi and caused a crash, killing one person.  In another case, an illegal immigrant from India got a CDL in California and caused a crash in Oregon, killing two people. These are only a couple of tragic stories, but the list is getting longer every single day.

“Your website is out of compliance. Give me $10,000, or I’m going to sue you, destroy the business you’ve built, and ruin your life.” That’s not something any small business owner wants to read in a demand letter. While that’s not the exact wording, it’s the gist of letters they have been receiving. Unfortunately, it’s becoming all too common, especially in Missouri. 

Federal agencies should do what’s best for you, not what’s best for the bureaucracy. Seems straightforward, but I think we all know it often doesn’t work that way. In fact, I find it’s the opposite a lot of the time. That’s why I’m always happy to step in and lend a hand.

They said it couldn’t be done. The naysayers swore up and down for the last 2 months that Republicans would never be able to get all 12 appropriations bills done to avoid a shutdown. Yet that’s exactly what we did this week. 

With the passage of the final funding bills we had left to take up, including critical funding for Transportation, Defense and Homeland Security, the House completed all 12 appropriations bills. As soon as the Senate acts, it will ensure there is no shutdown come January 30th, which is very welcome news.