Jason Smith is a seventh-generation Missourian, a citizen-legislator, and a champion for the rights and values of rural Missourians.
Jason was raised in Salem, Missouri, where he still owns the same family farm that was started by his great grandfather. He attended Salem High School, where he was an active member of FFA. At the University of Missouri-Columbia, Jason earned degrees in Agricultural Economics and Business Administration. After receiving degrees from both programs in three years, he attended law school at Oklahoma City University before returning home to serve his community. Back home in Missouri Jason began running the family farm and practicing law. It was during this time that he recognized the harm that the overbearing government was inflicting on Missourians and our economy. This inspired Jason to run for office himself so he could begin to undo the damage.
The men and women who put on a uniform to defend our nation deserve the absolute best. Whether it’s fully funding the equipment they need to do their jobs or ensuring they have great healthcare when they get home from a tour of duty, I am honored to vote in favor of policies that support our Veterans.
Healthcare is personal. I believe you should have healthcare freedom and plenty of choices when making these very personal decisions for you and your family. Bottom line – the government should not be sitting in the exam room with you and your doctor.
Our Founding Fathers defined “inalienable rights” that all Americans are born with. No matter how much the world has changed since these rights were written, we must make sure that they’re not stripped away by a Washington lobbyist only concerned with representing liberal interests.
Families are the foundation of our country. As the son of a pastor, I well-know the values that you’re raising your family with, and as your Congressman, I am here to make sure the government respects and does not interfere with those values.
Agriculture is the number one economic driver in our Congressional District. As your Representative in Congress, I am focused on farms and fighting for the families who run them.
The army of Washington regulators who have never stepped foot in Missouri should not have the power to tell you what you can and cannot do. In Congress, I am constantly working to roll back regulations and keep Washington off your back.
Missourians know how to take care of what’s in their backyard. In Congress, I’m fighting to make sure Washington bureaucrats don’t restrict our natural resources.
The number one role of the US Government is to keep you and your family safe. As your voice in Congress, I am supporting policies that make America safe and strong both at home and abroad.
The economic might of the Mississippi is powerful, but so are her currents. I support policies to ensure the Mississippi River floods our local economies with jobs, and barring an act of God, does not flood the streets and towns that line the Mighty Mississippi.
You earned your paycheck, and you should be able to keep it because you know how to spend your money way better than some bureaucrat in Washington.
I am proud to operate my family’s fourth-generation cattle farm in Salem, MO and be a part of the great agricultural tradition of Southeast Missouri. Agriculture is the economic foundation of the Eighth District of Missouri. We raise and grow everything from cattle, chickens and hogs to corn, rice, cotton and soybeans. I am dedicated to advancing policies that will stimulate agriculture and economic growth in Missouri and across the country.
President Obama’s restrictive EPA regulations are out of touch with the needs of our farmers. The agriculture community is currently burdened with excessive paperwork and unnecessary legislation. I am committed to limiting the EPA’s control over farmers and their land and agricultural practices.
I am honored to represent the people of Southeast Missouri with common sense and due diligence while voting on legislation brought to the floor. I am committed to defending the ideals that we value in the Eighth District of Missouri
PRO-LIFE
I am 100% pro-life. I believe that every life is precious and deserves protection. In the Missouri House of Representatives, I stood up repeatedly for the rights of the unborn and continue to do so in Washington. I am honored to have served as a co-sponsor for H.R. 1797, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which was passed in the House of Representatives in June.
TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE
I believe in the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman. I will oppose efforts to redefine the institution of marriage.
THE 2ND AMMENDMENT
Your right to bear arms is a fundamental liberty protected by the Bill of Rights as intended by the Founding Fathers. I will work to protect your constitutionally guaranteed right by opposing efforts that restrict ownership, possession, or the carrying of a firearm. I will oppose the attempts of politicians in Washington to force registration of your firearms and of bureaucrats that work to circumvent our laws to collect your private information. I will not back down and I will not compromise our rights as American citizens.
PROPERTY RIGHTS
Our private property rights are under attack from Washington bureaucrats and environmentalists who do not understand or appreciate our rural way of life. As your representative in Washington I am fighting any attempt to limit how we use our land in the Eighth District. One of the biggest successes from my time in Congress has been stopping the Interior Department from designating the White River Watershed a National Blueway. I joined with property rights advocates in our district to oppose the Blueways designation and our efforts were successful.
We are blessed to live in a region with beautiful forests and rivers. Moving forward I will continue to fight any effort that would limit how we use our lands and rivers in the Eighth Congressional District.
I believe that local education decisions should stay local. Parents and local school boards are best informed about their schools and are therefore best equipped to create school systems that they are proud of. I believe in relieving local school systems of federal mandates that burden educators with a one-size-fits-all approach to education. The federal government should not try to predict the problems faced by schools in Southeast Missouri, but should give teachers and local school officials the tools to better their schools.
We have vast and valuable energy resources in America and Southeast Missouri. The Obama administration has rejected opportunities to create energy independence. President Obama’s pursuit of cap-and-trade legislation is out of touch with our energy needs. As energy prices remain on the rise, we cannot continue to support foreign dictatorships when we have viable resources here at home. Dependency on foreign oil threatens our economic and national security.
Building oil refineries, ending the drilling suspension, and increasing onshore and offshore production will create jobs and lower energy prices. We can create strengthen our economy by pursuing opportunities to harvest our own oil, gas, coal, nuclear, wind, solar, hydropower and geothermal energy.
Freedom of choice and a competitive market have led America to cultivate the finest doctors, nurses, treatments, procedures and healthcare facilities in the world. President Obama’s healthcare bill threatens to suppress this growth and weaken our economy. I am committed to fully repealing and defunding Obamacare.
President Obama’s regulations are overly complicated and costly for small businesses and their employees. I will work to ensure that small businesses have insurance options that allow them to hire the fulltime employees they require.
A government run health care program puts a bureaucrat between you and your doctor. With common sense free market solutions, we can increase competition and grant individuals access to their own healthcare.
In June 2013, the Democratic controlled United States Senate passed a bill that would provide a pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens. In my view, the Senate’s immigration bill does not adequately secure our borders and it grants amnesty to people who knowingly break the law. I do not support the Senate amnesty bill and I am working to ensure it does not come to a vote in the House of Representatives.
My view on immigration is simple and will not change:
The House of Representatives has a much different approach to immigration reform than the 1,000 page amnesty bill passed in the Senate. The House is focused on securing our borders. As a member of the Judiciary Committee, I voted for legislation that will provide a strong enforcement strategy and strengthen the security of our country. The Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement Act, also known as the SAFE Act, grants state and local law enforcement officials the authority to enforce federal immigration laws. It also strengthens national security, protects American communities from dangerous criminal aliens, improves visa security, aids U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in doing their jobs, and strengthens border security.
Like many of you, I am concerned about the U.S. Senate’s controversial immigration bill. In contrast to the SAFE Act, the U.S. Senate’s bill lacks sufficient border security and allows amnesty for illegal aliens. I oppose the Senate’s comprehensive approach to immigration reform. Please know I will continue to work with my colleagues in the House of Representatives to protect our Nation’s borders, oppose amnesty for people who have knowingly broken the law and promote stronger immigration policy.
Small business is the backbone of our economy in the Eighth District of Missouri. Government regulation does not create jobs, but instead inhibits small businesses. Seven out of ten jobs are created by small businesses. Washington should encourage, not overregulate job growth and small business creation.
We must focus on reforming our tax code. By simplifying the thousands of pages of IRS regulations, small business owners can focus on building their business instead of filling out complicated tax forms. Red tape is strangling our small businesses and money spent on regulations detracts from budgets that could be spent on growing businesses and hiring more employees.
The nation’s debt has surpassed a staggering $17 trillion. This deficit is a result of irresponsible spending in Washington and tax increases are not the solution. We need to control our spending and create a budget that reflects our means just as taxpayers do in their own families. I pledge to vote against tax increases and I am proud to have signed the Americans for Tax Reform Pledge. I am dedicated to creating responsible spending an reducing taxpayer burdens.