WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 -- Rep. Jason Smith, R-Missouri, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, issued the following opening statement at a floor debate on the BRIDGE For Workers act, on Sept. 17, 2024: * * * As prepared for delivery. "I rise in support of the BRIDGE for Workers Act to help more Americans who are out of work find employment faster. "Currently, only those deemed most likely to exhaust their unemployment benefits are eligible for job placement services provided through t  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 -- Rep. Jason Smith, R-Missouri, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, issued the following opening statement at a floor debate on the Chronic Disease Flexible Coverage act, on Sept. 17, 2024: * * * As prepared for delivery. "Six in ten Americans live with at least one chronic disease such as heart disease, cancer, or diabetes. Nearly 90 percent of the $4.1 trillion in annual health care spending in this country goes toward the treatment of patients with chronic  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 -- Rep. Jason Smith, R-Missouri, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, issued the following opening statement at a floor debate on the Find and Protect Missing Foster Youth act, on Sept. 17, 2024: * * * As prepared for delivery. "Every year, thousands of families open their hearts and welcome into their homes children who have suffered abuse, neglect, and abandonment. "Right now, there are nearly 400,000 children in foster care. "Youth in the foster care sys  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 -- Rep. Jason Smith, R-Missouri, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, issued the following opening statement at a floor debate on the Improving Social Security's Service to Victims of Identity Theft act, on Sept. 17, 2024: * * * As prepared for delivery. "I rise today in support of H.R. 3784, the Improving Social Security's Service to Victims of Identity Theft Act. "In 2022 alone, there were over a thousand data breaches which exposed the private data, such as  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 -- Rep. Jason Smith, R-Missouri, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, issued the following opening statement at a floor debate on the Protecting America's Children by Strengthening Families act, on Sept. 17, 2024: * * * As prepared for delivery. "Title IV-B of the Social Security Act provides critical resources to protect the safety and well-being of children in foster care and gives states, tribes, and territories flexibility to invest in prevention services t  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 -- Rep. Jason Smith, R-Missouri, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, issued the following opening statement at a floor debate on the Taxpayer Data Protection act, on Sept. 17, 2024: * * * As prepared for delivery. "I rise to speak in favor of the Taxpayer Data Protection Act. "When Americans file their tax returns, they expect their personal data and tax information are confidential. But between 2017 and 2021, Charles Littlejohn, who worked as a contractor fo  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 -- Rep. Jason Smith, R-Missouri, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, issued the following opening statement at a floor debate on the VSO Equal Tax Treatment (VETT) act, on Sept. 17, 2024: * * * As prepared for delivery. "I rise today in support of H.R 1432, the VSO Equal Tax Treatment Act or VETT Act, introduced by my Ways and Means colleagues Dr. Brad Wenstrup and Representative Jimmy Panetta. "In short, this legislation makes it easier for those looking to   more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 -- Rep. Jason Smith, R-Missouri, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, issued the following news release: Americans wishing to support a veterans services organization (VSO) would have more opportunity to do so with tax-deductible donations under legislation approved by the U.S. House of Representatives. H.R 1432, the VSO Equal Tax Treatment Act (VETT Act) introduced by Ways and Means Committee colleagues Representative Brad Wenstrup (OH-02) and Representative Jim  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 -- Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Missouri, issued the following news release on Sept. 17, 2024: Today, Congressman Eric Burlison (R-MO-07) introduced new legislation to block the National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB) final rule entitled "Representation--Case Procedures: Election Bars; Proof of Majority Support in Construction Industry Collective-Bargaining Relationships." The NLRB's latest rule rescinds the Trump administration's 2020 pro-worker rule and reimposes arbitrary, Bo  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 17 -- Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Missouri, issued the following news release: (Kansas City, MO) Today, U.S. Representatives Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO-05), Jake LaTurner (R-KS-02), Sharice Davids (D-KS-03), Mark Alford (R-MO-04), and Sam Graves (R-MO-06) united in a bipartisan effort to address mail delivery delays in the Kansas City area. The group called on U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to act on a recent audit's(link is external) recommendations, whi  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 -- Rep. Ron Estes, R-Kansas, issued the following news release: As Chair of the U.S. Innovation Tax Team, Rep. Ron Estes (R-Kansas) led a delegation with House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith (R-Missouri) and Tax Team Vice Chair Michelle Steel (R-California) to Silicon Valley on Sept. 12 and 13 to meet with U.S. innovators and stakeholders about the upcoming Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) expirations. Rep. Estes hosted two roundtables with small San Francisco Bay area sta  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 -- Rep. Mike Bost, R-Illinois, issued the following news release on Sept. 17, 2024: U.S. Reps. Mike Bost (IL-12) and Ann Wagner (MO-2) led efforts today calling on the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to move forward with critical improvements at the John Cochran VA Medical Center in St. Louis. In a letter to VA Secretary Denis McDonough, Bost and Wagner emphasized the urgent need to fund the replacement of the hospital's aging bed tower and modernize clinical services t  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 17 -- Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Missouri, issued the following news release: Congresswoman Ann Wagner (R-MO), Committee on Veterans' Affairs Chairman Mike Bost (R-IL), Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO), Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO), and Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO) sent a letter to Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough calling on him to advance the Department of Veterans Affairs St. Louis bed tower replacem  more