Columns
Blaine's Bulletin: Keeping You Informed
Washington,
March 18, 2016
Winter came late this year, but it seems that spring is arriving right on time. With the beginning of spring, Capitol Hill kicks into high gear with busy legislative days, hearings, meetings, and having the opportunity to talk with many folks in the 3rd District.
Winter came late this year, but it seems that spring is arriving right on time. With the beginning of spring, Capitol Hill kicks into high gear with busy legislative days, hearings, meetings, and having the opportunity to talk with many folks in the 3rd District. Early in the week, I held a tele-town hall phone conference which gave me the opportunity to listen to and answer questions from constituents from across eastern and central Missouri. From repealing Obamacare to veterans and their benefits, many topics were covered and, as always, it was always a pleasure to have such a great turnout and such high participation on the call. Stay tuned for my next phone conference which will be held in April. More details will follow and if you have any questions in the meantime, please be sure to call any of my offices. In addition to visiting with constituents over the phone, I’ve had a lot of meetings with the many Missourians who have come to walk the halls of Congress this week. It was a pleasure to sit and talk with the Missouri Press Association about the state of the newspaper industry and the representatives from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation about the work they are doing to educate everyone about diabetes. In addition, I had the opportunity to address a large group of Missouri Farm Bureau members about onerous Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations and what Congress is doing to help alleviate the pain. On the House floor, we passed a resolution to allow the House to file an amicus brief in the United States v. Texas case, which asserts that President Obama’s Executive Orders on immigration are unconstitutional. The case challenges the president’s 2014 Executive Orders that change the priority for deportation of illegal immigrants and would have provided legal status to millions of immigrants in this country illegally. By giving the Speaker authority to file this amicus brief on behalf of the House, we take a step towards stopping the president’s unconstitutional actions in dealing with immigration. It’s also an important step forward to restoring the separation of powers and the checks and balances between the executive and legislative branches of the government that President Obama has repeatedly tried to undermine. Lastly, I know many of you were as shocked and devastated as I was when the awful news broke about the murders that took place in Montgomery County and in Kansas City. Information has since come out that the alleged murderer, Pablo Serrano-Vitorino, was once deported from the United States in 2004 and had been arrested numerous times in our country since he illegally re-entered, but he was never deported again. Just this week, I insisted on answers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials to figure out where the system failed. I will continue to demand accountability so we can start to get to the bottom of this and ensure it never happens again. There is a lot going on both at home and in Washington and I will continue to keep you on top of everything so you are informed. |