E-Newsletters

The Constitution says that the president shall "from time to time give to the Congress information of the State of the Union…." That time comes this week as President Obama will report on the condition of our country and outline his legislative goals for the year.

It is one of the great privileges of my job to be able to recommend a select group of individuals for admission to the United States Service Academies each year. The military academies offer a unique and rewarding experience for young men and women. And North Missouri continues to produce some of the most outstanding candidates in the nation.

I am both honored and proud to nominate nine students this year to serve their country:

The second session of the 113th Congress officially convened this past week. And while it may be a new year, I intend to continue finding commonsense solutions to the problems facing our nation using Missouri values as my guiding principles. That starts with our nation's debt and unemployment.

Every occupation has its busy season. For farmers, it's during planting and harvesting. For teachers, it's the hustle and bustle of a new year. For amusement parks, it's the summer season. It's no different for tax accountants who are busy studying up on the over 70,000 pages of tax rules and regulations.

The clock is about to strike midnight on 2013. It has been an interesting year.

The biggest story of the year is the failure of Obamacare. Throughout all of my travel, from Tarkio to Hannibal and Kansas City to Kahoka, the number one concern I heard from constituents was uncertainty about how Obamacare would impact them personally. As we have seen in recent months, Obamacare just does not work, and the failed rollout and millions of cancellation notices have only raised more questions in the minds of Americans.

Throughout the course of history, the Christmas season seems to bring people together, even during times of war. For instance, in 1914, British and German troops stopped fighting during World War I while they decorated their barracks and sang Silent Night in English, French, and German.

Later, in World War II, battle was suspended on many fronts to tune intoopera star Ernestine Schumann-Heink singing "Stille Nacht." She had one son fighting for the Axis and one son fighting for the Allies.

It has become clearer than ever that Washington is out of touch with America. Too many bureaucrats and politicians don't understand the effects of the rules and laws they create.

You probably hear a lot about the gridlock in Washington. People say that nothing is getting done in this town. Yet in the House, we have acted on a number of fronts.

Since the beginning of the year, the House has passed 189 bills that were sent to the Senate for its consideration. However, of those 189 bills, only 41 of them have been signed into law. That means that the Senate has refused to even consider a total of 148 House-passed bills.