E-Newsletters
Government overreach continues to be a problem under President Obama. In addition to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) land grab threatening Missouri property owners and livestock producers, there is ongoing duplication of federal programs at the Small Business Administration (SBA).
I spent this past week doing what I enjoy most: traveling around North Missouri speaking with the people of the Sixth Congressional District. This area of land is truly an impressive place, consisting of 36 counties stretching from the Missouri River to the Mississippi River, from Nebraska to Illinois across North Missouri. In fact, this congressional district is larger than seven U.S. states.
This past week was the federal tax filing deadline, also known as "Tax Day." And I don't know about you, but I'm sick and tired of all the hassle.
According to the IRS, the tax code forces Americans to spend over $168 billion and 6 billion hours each year complying with its provisions. But the real impact of taxes on Missouri families and small businesses is not contained to a day or a season. Small businesses make tax-related decisions throughout the year that affect nearly everything they do, from budgets to hiring.
I want to take a minute to update you on an important event that takes place each year in Congress, and that's adopting the federal budget for the upcoming year – or in this case, the Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Resolution.
A budget is a statement of priorities; it is a fiscal blueprint that is fundamental to our service as elected representatives. People in Missouri's Sixth District must live within their own budgets, and Washington must do the same.
Growing up as a student who passed through Tarkio schools, of course I didn't realize it at the time, but educating the young is a passion that called many to go the extra mile for me and my future.
Lately, there has been a strong push to reform our nation's immigration system. Many of the proposals amount to nothing more than amnesty. Rather than award those who broke the law, I believe we need to start enforcing the laws already in the books.
During my time spent traveling around northern Missouri, there is one thing I continuously hear from constituents: people are frustrated that Washington acts as if it always knows what's best for them.
President Obama has made it clear that he will regularly sidestep both Congress and the law and take action unilaterally. This is contrary to our founding fathers' system of checks and balances.
A budget is a fiscal blueprint of the future. It is an outline of one's priorities that tells you what an individual or group considers important, and also what they view as unimportant.
President Obama's budget proposal for next year – which was delivered late once again, for the fifth time in six years – demonstrates that his priorities remain both higher taxes – to the tune of $1.8 trillion – and bigger government in the form of new spending.
Last week, I wrote that the House would be pursuing measures designed to reform our federal regulatory system. As part of "Stop Government Abuse Week," we cast a number of votes this week to do just that.