Congressman Jason Smith Archives

Four Missouri U.S. House members join Hawley in objecting to certification of Electoral College results

December 31, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

Four Republican U.S. House members from Missouri say they will vote against certifying the Electoral College results of President-Elect Joe Biden. Congressman Jason Smith of southeast Missouri’s Salem, Billy Long of southwest Missouri’s Springfield, Sam Graves of northwest Missouri’s Tarkio and Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler of west-central Missouri’s Harrisonville plan to join Missouri U.S. Senator Josh Hawley in protesting the election outcome.

Congressman Smith is a GOP Conference Secretary on Capitol Hill.

They are all strong allies of President Donald Trump. Trump has alleged widespread election fraud in November.

U.S.-Capitol

Whether House Republicans Ann Wagner and Blaine Luetkemeyer back this effort is unknown.

U.S. Senator Roy Blunt, R-Missouri, has reportedly said he will not contest the certification process.

The vote is scheduled to take place next Wednesday.

Missouri Democratic Party Chairman Michael Butler released the following statement after Hawley’s announcement:

“President-Elect Joe Biden won a fair and free election, winning both the popular vote and the Electoral College. It’s past time to stop with the malarkey and move forward with a peaceful transition of power. Refusing to listen to the will of Americans and slowing this transition or refusing to work with the Biden transition team is dangerous and irresponsible,” says Butler.

Here is a joint editorial delivered to the press today from Smith, Hartzler, Graves and Long:

Next week, your 117th United States Congress will convene for the first time. After the election of Speaker and the adoption of the Rules of Congress, the action will quickly move to reading aloud the electoral votes submitted by each state from this past November’s election – counting them, and declaring the vote tally for President and Vice President. During that process, the question will be put before your elected officials – does anyone object to the certification of electoral votes of a state. We will object. Our hope is that others will join us.

We don’t take this decision lightly, but we must protect the integrity of each vote cast by every law-abiding Missourian. For every instance of Georgia failing to follow its own state law in verifying signatures, of Pennsylvania accepting mail ballots after the legal deadline set by its state legislature, or folks from outside Nevada casting a ballot in that state – the value of every Missourians’ vote is diminished. That’s not right. And we cannot simply look the other way.

The right to freely cast your vote in elections is a sacred privilege afforded to us as Americans because of the sacrifices of the patriots who fought for that right. When that process is spoiled and abused by officials not following their own state law, it violates that right and jeopardizes the entire integrity and foundation of ‘free and fair’ elections. In such instances, where voting process changes are made without the consent of the voter, we know it is our duty and our obligation to serve as a backstop to protect the power of one person, one vote – to protect your vote as a Missourian. We must be able to have confidence in not only the agreement and expectation that this election would follow the law, but future ones will as well. We take the responsibility of upholding the Constitution seriously, and that is why we feel compelled to object to the electoral count taking place on January 6th.

The reported results of this past November’s Presidential election don’t even pass the most basic eye test. Republicans were projected to lose seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, we gained more than a dozen. Republicans were supposed to lose control of several state legislatures, we picked up multiple. We were projected to lose control of the United States Senate – we didn’t, and we won’t. All of this occurred on the same night President Trump lost? It’s hard to believe. Combined with the daily reports of voting irregularities where state election laws were discarded and not followed, something doesn’t add up. President Trump won over 74 million votes, Obama – 69 million. President Trump won 2586 counties, Obama – 873 counties, Joe Biden – 527 counties. The numbers, the evidence, and the abnormalities all speak for themselves.

We have joined lawsuits, called for a Special Counsel and demanded accountability and integrity, now we finally get to cast our vote. We have no illusions about the outcome, at the end of the day, this is still Nancy Pelosi’s House. Our only hope is that more will join us – that more will value protecting the vote of every American living in their state as much as we do fighting for yours.

Missouri town with French colonial history becomes National Historical Park

November 6, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

After about two decades in the making, St. Genevieve in southeast Missouri has officially become the state’s first ever National Historical Park.

The town – dating back to the early 1700s – was the first organized European settlement west of the Mississippi River and is the only surviving French Colonial village in America. It is known for its architecture that features unique vertical log designs.

U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.) and U.S. Representative Jason Smith (Mo.) at a ceremonial signing of the cooperative agreements in Ste. Genevieve, Mo., on August 31st, 2018. This marked the final statutory step needed to establish Ste. Genevieve as a national park.

Some of the historic properties include the Felix Valle House, the Shaw House, the Green Tree Tavern, the Creole House, the Bequette-Ribault House, the Zarinelli property, the Delassus-Kern House and the Zerwig property.

During a ceremony there this week to celebrate the town’s designation, U.S. Senator Roy Blunt, R-Missouri, said St. Genevieve is taking its rightful place among the nation’s most historically and culturally significant destinations.

“This is a story that is an important part of who we are. It’s an important of our state. It’s an important part of the country,” said Blunt. “These buildings each have their own stories to tell. Essentially the houses are houses that you could find the core of those houses anywhere in Normandy if you just looked hard enough.”

Blunt and Congressman Jason Smith, R-Missouri, lead efforts in Washington to make the town of about 4,500 a National Historical Park. In 2018, Congress and President Donald Trump approved the designation after a National Park Service study declared dozens of the area properties as historically significant. The action authorized the National Park Service to acquire about 13 acres of land.

“This has such potential to be one of the great historic walking parks in America,” said Blunt. “The story, in so many ways, can tell itself with just a little bit of help. And that little bit of help is what happens when the community, the state, the federal government come together.”

St. Genevieve welcomes thousands of tourists each year who want to see for themselves the rich history the town has to offer. During this week’s ceremony, Missouri Department of Natural Resources Director Carol Comer was hopeful the partnership would give the community a boost.

“This new historical park is expected to have a major impact on local and state tourism as people from all over the country and the world learn about the significance of this area,” said Comer.

Ste. Genevieve’s government and the National Park System will together manage the park, the 422nd park to join the system.

Missouri congressman: COVID-19 has been devastating for businesses and American workers (AUDIO)

April 23, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

A southwest Missouri congressman who serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee has been chosen by President Donald Trump to serve on the President’s task force on reopening the economy.

U.S. Rep. Billy Long, R-Springfield, represents southwest Missouri on Capitol Hill (official photo courtesy of Congressman Long’s Washington office)

U.S. Rep. Billy Long, R-Springfield, emphasizes that it’s a bipartisan task force.

“There’s some Democrats on there and it’s really interesting to hear them on our conference calls, bragging on the president, telling him what a good job he’s doing, and then the rest of the year they don’t have such kind things to say about him,” Long says.

Long is confident we can protect our citizens, “without crushing our economy.”

“Folks are ready to get back to work. They want to open up the stores and go out and get a haircut and get their dog groomed and go out to dinner and sit down and have a nice meal,” says Long. “And the people that work in those places are more than ready to get back to work.”

Long says COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on American businesses and workers.

Springfield health officials say there have been 93 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Springfield and Greene County, including eight deaths. 35 are active cases, and 50 have recovered.

Congressman Long tells Missourinet that three weeks ago, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was considering building temporary hospitals for coronavirus, in his district.

“And as of the night before last, there was a total of six COVID patients in hospital beds in the 7th (congressional) District,” Long says.

He says five of those patients are in Springfield, and one is hospitalized in Joplin. Long’s district includes Springfield, Branson, Joplin and Republic.

Long also says Springfield’s Cox Hospital completely converted an empty floor for COVID-19 patients, and that it has not been used. He praises CoxHealth’s preparation.

He also says rural hospitals have been hurting financially, because they haven’t been able to perform elective surgeries.

Long voted for the bipartisan COVID-19 legislation on Capitol Hill on Thursday, which contains $75 billion for personal protective equipment for health care employees and another $25 billion to expand testing.

Instead of flying to the nation’s capitol, he rode in a vehicle with U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, R-Salem, who met Congressman Long on Wednesday morning in Rolla. Smith drove the vehicle, and they arrived in Washington D.C. late Wednesday night.

State health officials say there are now 6,321 confirmed coronavirus cases in Missouri, along with 218 deaths. The state Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) announced the latest statistics Thursday afternoon. The number of deaths has increased by ten, from Wednesday’s number of 208 deaths.

Click here to listen to the full five-minute interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and U.S. Rep. Billy Long, R-Springfield, which was recorded on April 22, 2020: