Jason Smith: Nancy Pelosi driving division in our country in hopes of winning election

(From Eighth District Congressman Jason Smith)

Restore. Rebuild. Renew. This is the Commitment to America my colleagues and I presented this week to the American people should we soon be given the opportunity to be the Majority party governing your U.S. House of Representatives. 

Speaker Pelosi has controlled Congress since 2018 and over the last two years she has advanced an agenda of conspiracies, lies, and impeachment - driving further division in our country in hopes of obtaining an election victory this fall. 

Her strategy of defunding the police, our military or those who keep us safe, destroying the traditional family and our economy with massive new government spending, and dismantling the results of the 2016 Presidential elections through unjustifiable actions have only served to undermine the institutions of government meant to protect all Americans.

The 1994 Contract with America became a signature guiding document when Republicans took back control of the U.S. House of Representatives for the first time in forty years. It included clear policy proposals the new Majority party would advance to reinforce family values by ending things like the marriage penalty in the U.S. tax code, to rein in out of control spending by offering a vote on a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, to enhance the safety of American citizens by holding those accountable who were causing violence and crime on our city streets and helping families and senior citizens by cutting their taxes. The Commitment to America is our new promise for 2020.

My colleagues and I put pen to paper and outlined hundreds of policies we would immediately bring to the Floor of the United States Congress for a vote which would Restore our way of life, Rebuild the greatest economy in history and Renew the American dream. 

I was able to include several policy ideas shared with me directly from southern Missouri residents such as making permanent the new and expanded per child tax credit, developing our own domestic pharmaceutical supply chain, and expanding important telehealth services our seniors have come to rely upon. 

Also included was a commitment to build out high speed internet to every home in rural America – something I have shared with the White House and my colleagues as a top concern we deal with every day in rural America.

Through Operation Warp Speed, we will Restore our American way of life by defeating the COVID-19 virus with the fastest vaccine development ever completed by mankind. We will slash prescription drug prices, end surprise medical billing, guarantee protections for people with preexisting conditions, expand access to telemedicine, and grow our domestic stockpile of important life saving supplies and medications. 

Counter to the movement on the left, we will actually INCREASE funding for our police officers who put their lives on the line every day and for our country. We will advance an agenda which protects religious liberty, defends the unborn and safeguards our Second Amendment Constitutional right.

We will Rebuild the greatest economy we had seen in more than fifty years before it was setback by the COVID-19 pandemic. That starts with advancing policies which will increase take home pay for workers and grow domestic manufacturing and jobs here in the U.S. 

Ideas such as forgivable loans to small businesses, making permanent the child tax credit, and modernizing infrastructure like bringing high speed internet to every rural home and cutting permitting time in half to build new roads, bridges and airports – will all help us return to the lowest unemployment our country had seen in my lifetime. 

Just this week, the Census Bureau reported the remarkable economic stats from 2019. Included in the findings was that the median household income grew almost 7% for the year, by over $4,000. 

Business investment and hiring was up while child poverty declined more in one year than it did during the entire Obama-Biden Presidency. 

Under President Trump’s leadership we have the plan and policies which brought about the greatest economy seen in a generation, and with the right leaders in Congress, we can get back there.

By promoting workforce training, career and technical educations we will Renew the goal of every citizen who puts on their shoes and goes to work every day of achieving the American dream for them and their family. 

Our ideas and proposals will also reduce our suffocating national debt while also strengthening social security and Medicare, and investing in fully funding our veterans healthcare programs.

You and I know we are lucky to call America home, but too many have seemed to forget that. They would rather tear our country down, divide our citizenry and exploit our differences for political gain. That’s not right. 

The America you and I love is worth defending. Preserving our way of life is worth fighting for. Under the President Trump White House, we were able to build the greatest economy in a generation. The Commitment to America is the playbook for doing it again.