Jason Smith

Mr. SMITH of Missouri

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding, and we are thrilled that he is on the Budget Committee. The rule puts in motion a process to spend trillions of dollars on a progressive wish list, all under the appearance of pandemic relief. And for what? We know all five of the last COVID-related pieces of legislation were done on a bipartisan basis. In the last few days, we have seen a framework from 10 Republican Senators laid out to get to a solution. The fact that we are moving forward with this process just goes to show that yesterday's White House meeting was just a photo-op for the President. Sadly, the Democrat majority seems to want to go a partisan route in both the House and Senate because they know there is not a bipartisan consensus in this country for the socialist policies they want to include, giveaways to their base, the far left and the coastal elite. Just look at what is being discussed by Democrats on how they plan to use the budgeting process known as reconciliation, a mechanism traditionally used to control spending and address the debt. They now talk openly about granting mass amnesty; growing the control government has over your healthcare; adding new burdens, rules, and costs on the very small businesses that they have shut down; and bailing out their political allies whose policies destroyed local economies. All of this they want to somehow hide from the American people with the label of essential items for pandemic relief. And the rule we are debating right now rewards this process. It is the first step in allowing Washington Democrats to jam this radical agenda through Congress at lightning speed. I ask the Chair, where was the rush to help American families when the Speaker was holding up support for direct aid to working-class families all spring, all summer, and all fall, eventually dropping her price tag and objections only after the first Tuesday in November? The first Tuesday in November happens to be election day. I have always kept one motto in my heart as I approach this job: Put people before politics. Unfortunately, what we are seeing from the Democrats is the exact opposite; it is all politics. In more than 30 years, a budget has not originated in the House that has not first gone through the committee process. This is truly a first. The Budget Committee has yet to even meet, to organize, to set our rules, and to ratify an agenda of oversight of the new administration. So why are we standing here right now? Why are we moving ahead like this when the President, in his inaugural address, called for unity and spoke about the power of our example? The answer is simple: So that Democrat leaders can spend more on a bunch of programs, ideas, and systems, which they have dreamed about throwing taxpayer money at since they took control of this Chamber 2 years ago. Mr. Speaker, I will close with this. The Democrats talk about unification, the need to unify as a Congress and work together, the need to unify as a country and learn to respect one another again for the good of America. But when their actions don't match their words, the value of every word they say from that point forward becomes meaningless. The actions of the Democrat majority, to start a process which will only end in more divisive partisanship, is the exact opposite of what our country is asking for right now.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Hofherr family on the 50th anniversary of St. James Winery. Since James and Patricia Hofherr first opened their business in 1970, St. James Winery has rejuvenated the local Italian wine culture in the St. James area. The Hofherr's chose this area because of its deep heritage of grape growing and winemaking. This tradition dates to 1898 when local Italian immigrants established the first vineyards in the region. With such productive Missouri soil and favorable weather patterns for grape growing, this Mid-Missouri location was nothing shy of an excellent choice to begin St. James Winery. In the first year, the winery produced 3,000 cases of wine, and 50 years later, it produces nearly 250,000 cases each year. St. James Winery now has five vineyards, totaling 185 acres, and the winery sees almost 125,000 visitors annually. Located along Old Route 66, St. James Winery brings tourists from all over the world to Mid-Missouri. The winery is also one of the most awarded wineries in the entire United States. Today, St. James Winery is being operated by the second generation of the Hofherr family and will see the third generation joining in the summer of 2021. For 50 years of excellent service to people across this nation, as well as across the world, it is my honor to congratulate St. James Winery.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate my dear friend, Blake Hurst, on his recent retirement as president of the Missouri Farm Bureau. Blake was first elected as the 14th president of Missouri Farm Bureau on December 7, 2010. His prior service with the organization included being a district board member on the Missouri state board for eight years and serving seven years as Missouri Farm Bureau vice president. Blake, and his wife Julie, raise corn and soybeans in Northwest Missouri and they also operate a wholesale greenhouse business. They are blessed with 3 children and 6 grandchildren. Looking back on Blake's years of service, what particularly stands out is his resolve in leading the entire Missouri Farm Bureau organization in responding to and working through claims from the catastrophic tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri, on the evening of Sunday, May 22, 2011. Blake and the whole Missouri Farm Bureau organization showed great courage during that difficult time. Founded in 1915, Missouri was the first state Farm Bureau in America, and during Blake's tenure Missouri Farm Bureau celebrated 100 years as an organization. Other accomplishments that Blake can be proud of include helping with the passage of Missouri's Freedom to Farm, the final rule defining Waters of the United States, and the passage of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Blake even showcased his skilled dancing maneuvers in a video supporting the USMCA. Blake is well-respected by rural communities and agricultural leaders in the state of Missouri. Blake is also a freelance writer. His work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, The American, Weekly Standard, Wilson's Quarterly, Reader's Digest, Today's Farmer and the Show Me magazine of Missouri Farm Bureau. Mr. Hurst has excelled at telling the story of agriculture in America, and he has excelled in fighting to conserve the rural way of life. I am proud to call Blake my friend and I think it's safe to say his time at Missouri Farm Bureau will serve as a legacy for generations to come.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, we will amend the rule to immediately bring up the bill establishing a bipartisan national commission on the domestic terror attack of the United States Capitol. This has been a devastating week for our Nation. Just last week, we stood right here in this very Chamber while a violent mob laid siege to the seat of American democracy. It is vital we get the facts on what went wrong last week, why the security apparatus failed, and how we can ensure it never--it never--happens again. Mr. Speaker, less than 50 feet from where we stand in this room, a young lady lost her life through those doors--through those doors. I was in this Chamber when those gunshots rang. That is real stuff. That should never happen in the people's House. For the first time, can the House Democrats and the Speaker of the House put the people before politics? Please put the people before politics. At a time when our Nation is more divided than ever before, let's put people before politics. President Trump will be leaving in 7 days. Let's try to heal this Nation. Let's listen to the American people. This is the people's House. Let's operate for the people. This country is hurting. The people are hurting. Our colleagues are hurting. This is a reckless impeachment. This will only bring up the hate and fire more than ever before. Have a conscience. Put the people before politics. Unify this country.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to commit at the desk.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, this past November, the voters rejected a socialist agenda. If this rules package is any indication for how Democrats plan to run the 117th Congress, I cannot wait for the midterm elections. These rules allow Democrats to continue deceiving the American people. Madam Speaker, I oppose this Soviet-style rules package.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Oklahoma for yielding. Madam Speaker, on only day two of the 117th Congress, House Democrats are already attempting to strip Americans of the transparency that they deserve in order to push through an expensive progressive wish list. The House rules package includes three main provisions that will allow Democrats to hide their plans to irresponsibly spend taxpayer dollars in an effort to satisfy their liberal base: a deeming resolution, signaling they do not plan on doing a budget; two, new, broad exemptions to budget rules, such as paygo, to allow passage of socialist policies with large price tags; and, three, they want the repeal of a House rule prohibiting reconciliation from increasing net direct spending, making it easier to advance a costly radical agenda. It has been 733 days since Democrats took control of the House of Representatives, and they have yet to produce one single budget. These rules will continue to let Democrats shirk their duty to write and pass a budget. Don't forget, Speaker Pelosi is the one who stated the budget is a statement of values. I couldn't agree more. I must ask: Have Democrats not done a budget because they know revealing their true plans, their true colors, will let the American people know how unpopular their ideas are? The people deserve to know, and they deserve a transparent budget to know how House Democrats plan to spend their hard-earned tax dollars and how Democrats want to increase their taxes. Furthermore, by weakening fiscal restraint rules, Democrats clearly intend to drastically increase the size of the Federal Government. This will only continue to drive up the unsustainable Federal debt while decreasing Americans' liberties and freedoms. Specifically, it includes a budgetary exemption for measures to prevent, prepare, or respond to economic, environmental, or public health consequences resulting from climate change. This exemption is irresponsible, since, arguably, it could apply to any radical, progressive, out-of-touch legislation dreamed up next by House Democrats. Clearly, this exemption was designed as a mechanism to ram through socialist policies like the Green New Deal and other ideas aimed at hurting American workers, families, and farmers.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2477, which includes some legislation to improve Medicare coverage for kidney transplant recipients. The Trump administration has made increasing rates of kidney transplantation a priority. It is more cost-effective than dialysis and results in a dramatic increase in the quality of life for ESRD patients. However, these patients must continue taking medication for the remainder of their life so that they don't reject their organs. Currently, Medicare will only cover the cost of these drugs for 36 months after a kidney transplant. Patients who do not have health insurance or lose their insurance coverage have to choose between paying thousands of dollars a month out of pocket or risk the chance of rejection of their organs. If organ rejection does occur, these patients must once again endure the painful, time-consuming, and expensive dialysis treatments paid for by the Medicare program. By simply paying for the cost of these drugs and preventing patients from crashing back into dialysis, the Federal Government can save hundreds of millions of dollars and improve thousands of lives. We should not allow such unnecessary waste and suffering to occur. These Americans should not have to worry about how they will afford the cost of the medications that allow them to live a completely normal life. Madam Speaker, I thank Representatives Kind and Burgess for their leadership and for working together on this commonsense bipartisan bill. Madam Speaker, I urge the House to pass H.R. 2477.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Hannah Strain of Rolla, Missouri for being selected as a winner of the 2018 National Agricultural Proficiency Award for her Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) project at the 91st National FFA Convention & Expo. The SAE project is one that every FFA member completes, compelling them to apply what they are learning in the classroom while gaining hands-on career experience as an agricultural entrepreneur. Out of the 600,000-plus FFA members nationwide, Hannah is one of 188 national finalists who will be competing this month in Indianapolis. This is an enormous accomplishment for Hannah and a historical milestone for the Rolla FFA chapter. Hannah started a hay business in conjunction with her family's beef ranch, Elk Prairie Farms LLC, where she manages grazing for the cattle and produces and sells hay to local farmers and ranchers. She won the local, area, and state proficiency award contests, propelling her to the national convention. Hannah excelled at this project because of her knowledge and ability in growing, managing, marketing and selling hay. Hannah has since moved on to the University of Missouri, where she is studying Agricultural Education and Leadership, hoping to work in community outreach for an agribusiness. It is my great privilege to congratulate Hannah Strain before the United States House of Representatives on her remarkable achievement.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I rise today in support of my amendment that requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to coordinate with the heads of the relevant agencies to compile a list of critical medications the Federal Government should ensure are readily available in the event of another public health emergency. In recent decades, the United States has become more reliant on foreign countries for the production of general pharmaceutical drugs. Today, only a small portion of generic drugs are produced in the United States. That is one thing that the coronavirus pandemic has taught us is that we should not be reliant on our adversaries for our generic drugs. Hostile authoritarian regimes like the Chinese Communist Party should never have the ability to decide the drugs that American people have access to. We cannot allow China to hold American lives in its hands. My amendment will ensure we are properly informed about our pharmaceutical supply chains.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, on the last day of the Obama- Biden administration, Fish and Wildlife issued a ``Director's Order'' setting in place an almost total ban on lead ammunition and tackle on Federal lands. While Fish and Wildlife claimed that the rule was based on science, we know clearly it was not. The decision by the Obama-Biden administration was made solely to limit access to public land of sportsmen and fishermen. As soon as I was made aware of this midnight rule, I worked with the incoming Trump administration to get it overturned. Fortunately, President Trump acted quickly to undo this disastrous order. And since then he has only taken steps to increase access to public lands for sportsmen and fishermen alike. Since President Trump's actions, Congress has taken additional steps to prevent the regulation of ammunition and tackle for sportsmen. Unfortunately, Democrats have decided to abandon the precedent. My amendment simply reinstates a policy that Congress has carried in a bipartisan fashion for the past several years and continues support for the rights of sportsmen to access public land for recreational purposes. I urge my colleagues to adopt the amendment.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, once again, I rise to advocate in favor of the fiscal sanity of the Trump administration. Just like my last amendment, this amendment prevents the Democrats from taking us back to the Obama-Biden era policies of overregulation and overspending. The Obama-Biden EPA brought us thousands of new regulations, tens of thousands of new pages in the Federal Register, and billions in compliance costs for American farmers, small businesses, and families, much of this backed by flawed research with a political agenda. The Office of Science and Technology aids in the regulatory process and is responsible for the faulty research that led to costly regulations like the social cost of carbon and the Clean Power Plan. The American people need transparent research without an agenda. They don't need Obama-Biden era regulations and spending policies. The amendment, once again, simply reduces funding for the EPA to reflect President Trump's budget request. Madam Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, if you listen to my Democrat colleagues, you would think the EPA could not go on without this funding that we are trying to reduce. It is about being efficient. This administration, as I had said earlier, under President Trump, emissions have fallen in every major category and overall have dropped 7 percent since 2017. Right now, we have the cleanest air since 1970. Throwing money at an issue you care about is not the solution. Being efficient in government is the solution, and that is what the Trump EPA has done. So they have asked for this particular amount of money, and I am making sure that we are giving the EPA what they need, not busting the spending caps which were agreed to by Republicans and Democrats by their current proposal. Let's keep the spending caps. Let's adopt my amendment. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, waters of the U.S., social cost of carbon, the Clean Power Plan rules, these are just a few of the crushing regulations issued by the Obama-Biden Presidency. During the Obama-Biden administration, the EPA issued nearly 4,000 regulations. These rules totaled tens of thousands of pages in Federal regulations and billions of dollars in compliance costs. The families, farmers, and small businesses of Missouri could not keep up. Thankfully, since taking office, President Trump has kept his promise to deliver regulatory relief to the American people. He has removed seven regulations for every new one added, saving households thousands of dollars a year in regulatory costs. The other side would have you believe that reining in the EPA by reducing funding leads to dirtier air and dirtier water when, in fact, the opposite is the case. Under President Trump, emissions have fallen in every major category and overall have dropped 7 percent since 2017. Right now, we have the cleanest air since 1970. That is 50 years. Democrats want to take us back to Obama-Biden era spending policies with this funding bill, which breaks the recently agreed to spending caps and returns us to the regulatory machine of the prior administration that harms small businesses and family farmers. But the American people are not interested in returning to the increased costs and overregulation of that administration. My amendment simply reduces funding for the EPA to reflect President Trump's budget request. Madam Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, more money is not always the answer. The right policies, efficiency, is the answer. As I said earlier, for the first time in 50 years, under Trump's policies and Trump's spending, we have the cleanest air since 1970. I am not sure why the majority is concerned about cutting funding for the EPA when they have included $13 billion in additional emergency funding in this bill for the EPA alone. My amendment is not about preventing the EPA from doing its job. It is about ensuring that the EPA does the job we gave it to do and nothing else. Now is not the time to return to the spending habits and overregulation of the Obama-Biden era. If this funding amount is good enough for the President, it is good enough for me. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Lillie Davis of Willow Springs, Missouri for her heroic actions that helped save the life of her father, Seth. Lillie's father has suffered from epilepsy since he was a child. Because of this, Lillie was trained for emergency situations at a young age. When her father went into an epileptic seizure one spring morning, 7-year-old Lillie knew just what to do to help him. She acted with poise and bravery and went through the proper motions to save her dad. She calmly called her mother, who called 9-1-1, and then helped talk Lillie through the motions. Lillie made sure her dad was still breathing, then turned his head to make sure he wasn't holding his breath. She even opened the back door so the first responders could quickly enter upon arrival. First responders stated that they have never seen a young child know just what to do in an emergency like this. I commend Lillie for her acts of bravery that helped save her father's life. She is a true hero. For her heroic actions, it is my great pleasure to celebrate Miss Lillie Davis today before the U.S. House of Representatives.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Lillie Davis of Willow Springs, Missouri for her heroic actions that helped save the life of her father, Seth Davis. Lillie's father has suffered from epilepsy since he was a child. Because of this, Lillie was trained for emergency situations at a young age. When her father went into an epileptic seizure one spring morning, 7-year-old Lillie knew just what to do to help him. She acted with poise and bravery and went through the proper motions to save her dad. She calmly called her mother, who called 9-1-1, and then helped talk Lillie through the motions. Lillie made sure her dad was still breathing, then turned his head to make sure he wasn't holding his breath. She even opened the back door so the first responders could quickly enter upon arrival. First responders stated that they have never seen a young child know just what to do in an emergency like this. I commend Lillie for her acts of bravery that helped save her father's life. She is a true hero! For her heroic actions, it is my great pleasure to celebrate Miss Lillie Davis today before the U.S. House of Representatives.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Tina Brown of Kennett, Missouri, on being awarded the Teacher of the Year for District 15 from the VFW. Every year, VFW posts throughout the United States honor teachers who promote America's history, traditions and civic education. This year, the award went to a woman from Southeast Missouri who has set a profound example of patriotism and civic responsibility for future generations of Missourians. Tina Brown has been teaching at Kennett Middle School for 23 years. Every year she plans a trip for her students to attend the Wreaths Across America ceremony. She has also organized trips to treasured archives and military memorials throughout the state of Missouri and in the heart of Southeast Missouri such as the Stars and Stripes Museum in Bloomfield, Missouri. She even brought a class out to Washington, D.C. where I had the opportunity to meet these young students on the steps of the United States Capitol building and where her students were able to see the Vietnam War memorial. Trips like these are an important part of her teaching. They help students experience our nation's history in a tangible, lasting way and educate our future generations on the world of opportunities ahead of them. Tina's phenomenal generosity extends beyond the classroom. She was the Chairperson of the Gold Star Monument for Dunklin county in 2019 and helped organize middle school students to raise money for this monument. Her efforts were fueled by her firm belief that there was a need in the community to recognize the families who have lost loved ones in service to our country. The monument is now awaiting placement in downtown Kennett, where it will be a reminder of those brave lives lost and of the compassion and patriotism of community members such as Tina. I'm inspired not only by Tina's work but by her dedication to our servicemen and women. Tina's brother Frankie died while fighting for his country in Vietnam. Frankie was one of the brave young men that risked their lives for the sake of our country and tragically passed away fighting for our freedom. Tina was young when her brother died but remembers the profound loss that her family felt with Frankie's passing. By teaching the importance of leadership and patriotism to her students, she honors his memory and keeps it alive for herself and others. Tina is retiring from teaching this year to spend more time on the farm with her family. She will be greatly missed by students, faculty, and community members alike whose lives have been touched by her generosity and patriotism, as I have been. Madam Speaker, please join me in congratulating Tina Brown for receiving this award.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate my dear friends, Leroy and Ovia Marie McGinnis, on their 70th wedding anniversary. Married on March 10, 1950, the couple has experienced a lifetime of ups and downs, successes and failures, and many wonderful memories. Together, they raised six children, Pat (spouse Bob) Bell, Jack (spouse Edna) McGinnis, the late Kim (spouse Diana) McGinnis, Don (spouse Tina) McGinnis, Renee (spouse Ed) Bowen, and Michele McGinnis. They have also been blessed with 18 grandchildren and 34 great- grandchildren. I can only imagine the excitement and exuberance at their family get-togethers. The couple both grew up in Gainesville, Missouri, and were reunited after Leroy's discharge from the Navy. He was on his way to San Diego when he decided to stop and visit his sister, who was Ovia Marie's best friend at the time. It only took three short months for the couple to realize they had ``together forever'' in mind, and eloped. They recall the memory fondly and laugh at their lack of grandeur; Ovia wore jeans down the aisle and didn't tell her parents about the wedding until she missed her curfew that night. Over the years, Leroy and Ovia became well-respected community and business leaders in their town of Cuba, Missouri. Mr. McGinnis founded and still serves as CEO of McGinnis Wood Products, which he started in 1968. They make hand-crafted wine and bourbon barrels that are sold to some of the country's top-selling distilleries, as well as companies in Japan, Spain, and Scotland. After five generations of family involvement, I think it's safe to say this is a remarkable family-owned company that will serve as a legacy for the McGinnis family for generations to come. I am so honored for the opportunity to wish the McGinnis's a happy anniversary and many joyous returns of the occasion.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the 150th anniversary of the founding of Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T). Missouri S&T was originally established in 1870 as the University of Missouri School of Miners and Metallurgy, and it was the first technical institute west of the Mississippi River. In the last 150 years, Missouri S&T has grown into a world-class engineering school. While its name has changed over time, its focus has remained the same: to prepare the best young minds in Missouri and around the world to tackle the challenging technical demands of the modern era. Missouri S&T students achieve a level of success that is unmatched, in large part because of campus programs that emphasize practical experience. This enables S&T graduates to combine their studies with real-world practice and execution and prepare for the workforce. For instance, students can compete on one of 18 competitive ``design teams'' to build optimized models of systems such as a Baja off-roader or an underwater robot. The skills learned in these applied programs benefit S&T students after graduation, and 92 percent of recent graduates find employment or gain admission to additional schooling within 6 months of graduation. Being a student at Missouri S&T is both work and play. One fun tradition at S&T is to put on two full weeks of celebrations for St. Patrick's Day--St. Patrick being the patron saint of engineers. This tradition has been going on for 112 years, and preparation for the two weeks of celebration takes place all year, during which Miners count down to the next ``Greatest St. Pats Ever.'' A wagon with St. Pat aboard leads the annual parade through Rolla with families and alumni lining the street to greet the figure. After the two-hour parade, festivities kick off with concerts and food vendors, and they go through the night. I'm proud to represent Missouri S&T and honored to commemorate the 150th anniversary of its founding. Miners makes our community better, and after graduation, they work in the defense, engineering, technology, and other sectors to make our workforce and country better. For Missouri S&T, the past 150 years have been bright, and I hope the next 150 years will be even brighter.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, just over 12 hours ago, President Donald J. Trump stood in this Chamber and delivered an incredible State of the Union Address. He highlighted numerous successes during his time as President of the United States: Over 7 million jobs created; Record unemployment--record unemployment--for five decades; The lowest unemployment in over 70 years for women; Record unemployment for African, Hispanic, and Asian Americans; Doubling of the child tax credit from $1,000 to $2,000; Orchestrating phase one of the China trade agreement, which increases the amount of agriculture products that the Chinese have to purchase from American farmers--the largest purchase in the history of our country; Passing of the USMCA agreement. The President campaigned on it. It was a promise made. It was a promise kept; The largest military pay raise in the history of this country. The President said he was going to build a barrier along the southern border. He highlighted 100 miles of it being finished in his State of the Union Address yesterday, with 500 more miles still planned. He highlighted how his administration has approved a record number of generic drugs, and, for the first time in over 50 years, drug prices have actually gone down. He highlighted numerous successes that all Members of Congress who attended heard. It was unfortunate to sit in this Chamber and watch the Democrats on the other side not stand, not applaud for these successes for America, these victories for America, the people who sent us to Washington, the people we serve, the people who are our bosses. These are their victories. These are their successes. But just because they came out of the mouth of President Donald Trump, the Democrats oppose them. Folks, that is chaos in government. Ever since the Democrats took control of this Chamber, they have had one mission, one mission alone, and that is to remove the duly elected 45th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump. Their mission wasn't about lowering the cost of prescription drugs. Their mission was not getting government off the backs of small businesses, family farmers, and individuals. Their mission was about removing Donald Trump. This partisan impeachment sham, this impeachment circus will be done today. In the United States Senate, President Donald J. Trump will be acquitted for life. You will see the process that happened in the House of Representatives was clearly a sham in impeaching the President of the United States. It was so unfortunate yesterday to be sitting here and watching Speaker Pelosi, after the end of the speech, tear up the official speech of the President of the United States. That shows the true hatred that the Democrat socialists have for the President of the United States. That conduct is not fitting for the Speaker of the House. When the Speaker tore up that State of the Union speech, she ripped up the words that recognized one of the last living serving Tuskegee airmen. When she ripped up that speech, she ripped up the story of a 21-week- old surviving child who was born in a Kansas City, Missouri, hospital. When she ripped up that State of the Union speech, she ripped up the story and the recognition of the families of Rocky Jones and Kayla Mueller.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I thank Mr. Newhouse for yielding and for organizing this Special Order. I thank him for presenting to this body this piece of legislation with all the reforms of the Endangered Species Act. It is something that is extremely important. Coming from the State of Missouri, we have folks who come from all over the country to hike our trails and to float our rivers. We are also home to the first Ozark National Scenic Riverway designated by a national State park in southern Missouri. So we have many people who come to southeast and south central Missouri to look at our nature, to see the native plants and the native species, which several of them are designated within the Endangered Species Act. Mr. Newhouse made a comment earlier about only 3 percent of the species come out of the Endangered Species Act, that they come back. By any other measure, that would be a complete failure, and that is why we need these reforms. That is why we need these revisions. Nowhere is the pain of the Endangered Species Act regulations, no greater place are those burdens felt than in local communities, and that is why we have the legislation, the EMPOWERS Act. And it mandates--not mandates the communities, it mandates the Federal Government to make sure that they get local input from communities in any kind of designation for an Endangered Species Act. It is common sense. It is an easy approach. It is something that I think we can all get behind since they know their area better. When you talk about the Endangered Species Act, this is something that is very personal to me, and it is personal to the people that I represent in southern Missouri. Just a few years ago, we had a young lady, 13 or 14 years old, who was floating with her family on the White River, and a very unfortunate event happened where she got caught up underneath a broken dam and she lost her life. That family outing turned into a day that they will never forget, a day that I won't forget. The big issue here is that dam shouldn't have been there, or it should have been rebuilt or replaced. You see, the dam was broken in a flood several years earlier but was never replaced and couldn't be torn out, even with the local community wanting to tear out the dam, the reason being because of an endangered species, one called the Ozark hellbender. It is a salamander. It was found in the White River near the dam, so that could be a resting place for this endangered species. Because of that, a young lady will never graduate high school. She will never go to college. She will never walk down the aisle. That is unacceptable. We are fortunate now that dam no longer exists, but it shouldn't have taken the loss of a life for Federal bureaucrats to get their act together to get that dam removed. So this is one example that is extremely personal to the people I represent and it is extremely personal to me why we need these reforms in the Endangered Species Act. Government should not stand in the way of safety. An endangered species should not have more importance than a human life. I am looking forward to these reforms. These reforms bring sanity back to the Endangered Species Act through commonsense reforms, Missouri commonsense reforms, reforms such as transparency of the rulemaking process. It helps put a stop to nuisance lawsuits from extreme environmental groups, using the best science available and, critically, bringing local communities into the decision-making process through my bill, the EMPOWERS Act. We all agree commonsense review is needed, but what we don't need is redundant and unnecessary paperwork that only serves to keep Washington bureaucrats employed. Madam Speaker, I thank Mr. Newhouse for having me here tonight. He is doing the Lord's work, and I appreciate the honor of being here with him.