Three years ago, a number of constituents brought to my attention their concerns that the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) was involved in political and lobbying activities that were in direct violation of its 501(c)(3) tax-except status that prohibits such activities. To be clear, HSUS is not affiliated with your local animal shelter. In fact, only 1 percent of the money HSUS raises makes its way to animal shelters at all. Instead, it spends millions of dollars on lobbying, ballot initiatives, and other political activities. For three years, and after providing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) with more than 3,000 pages of documents exposing HSUS’ activities and calling for an investigation, the agency told me they could not discuss ongoing investigations and were also unable to confirm or deny whether or not an investigation was underway.
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The month of May is National Foster Care Month which provides a great opportunity to spread awareness not only about foster care but also adoptions. While I support a dedicated month to raising awareness of these children and honoring the dedicated foster families, caregivers, and volunteers who serve them, our attention to this vulnerable population must be continuous. There are several activities and celebrations throughout Missouri to help build awareness about foster care and adoption, and I encourage everyone to participate in any way you can. Community organizations arrange and host programs and events to share positive stories about foster care and adoption and also draw attention to the thousands of children in foster care and waiting for permanent families.
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Recently we observed a National Day of Prayer and I was asked to speak at a gathering that day. My staff thought it would be of interest to many of you if our weekly column would be excerpts from the speech. Hope you enjoy it.
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Like many of you, I have been increasingly frustrated by federal agencies that are determined to circumvent the elected representatives of the American people in Congress and instead impose their will on Americans through rules and regulations. But nothing upsets me more than a federal agency that seeks to impose its will through the power of its purse strings, on our children.
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As vice chairman of the House Small Business Committee, I recently joined my colleagues in a hearing examining the impacts of Obamacare on America’s small businesses. It was an eye-opening and jarring experience.
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As I traveled around the 3rd District earlier this month, I had the opportunity to speak with many of you and one reoccurring concern was about our broken tax system. Many believe it is far too inefficient, time-consuming and costly.
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After recently spending two weeks in the district touring local businesses and talking to folks from Camdenton to St. Charles, there is a hunger out there for some good news about the economy not just on a national scale but also right here in the 3rd District of Missouri.
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With technology becoming more pervasive in our society, I was pleased to learn firsthand during recent visits to schools in our district that young people are taking steps to stay safe and secure on the internet.
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Last week, members of the United Nations (UN) began another, and likely the final, round of negotiations on what could become the first international treaty to regulate $70 billion global conventional arms trade.
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Just hours after taking my first oath of office as a member of Congress in 2009, I put my name to a bill that would require the federal government to balance its budget just like Missouri lawmakers are required to do and just like hard-working Missourians must do so they can makes ends meet.
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