Keeping our promises to the American people

Happy New Year! This is a time where we reflect on the last 12 months and look ahead to what's in store for the upcoming year. Whether it's the economy or the border, Americans have faced crisis after crisis ever since President Joe Biden took office. But the good news is that thanks to the American people voting in a Republican House majority, we've taken important steps to help undo the damage the Left inflicted on our nation.

As Ways and Means chairman, I'm incredibly proud that the committee is among the most productive in Congress. Compared to last year, there's been a 127% increase in committee hearings; seven of those were held in communities far beyond the halls of Congress to give real Americans — not lobbyists or think-tank academics — a direct seat at the table to craft the policies we advance. Congress passed and the president signed into law a handful of bills I authored, including one establishing a new trade agreement with Taiwan to open new markets for Missouri agriculture, and another that not only made the most substantial welfare reforms in a generation, but also clawed back $21 billion in IRS funding that would have been used to increase audits on working families. In addition, the committee advanced a bill to provide significant tax relief for those who need it most: working families, small businesses and farmers who are struggling to get by in President Joe Biden's economy. We also passed legislation to put patients back in charge of their own health care by making sure prices are transparent and clearly provided before procedures take place.

For the first two years of Biden's term, when Democrats had total control of Washington, the Left destroyed the economy by adding $10 trillion in new spending. But with Republicans in control of the House of Representatives, Congress can no longer rubber stamp Biden's radical policies and wasteful spending. One of the most important wins in 2023 was delivering the American people the largest spending cut in the history of our nation. In addition, that bill rescinded more money than all previous rescissions combined. For the first time in as far back as I can remember, Congress will actually spend LESS this year than last.

House Republicans also delivered on our promise to fight back against the Left's war on American-made energy. We passed the Lower Energy Costs Act to put our nation back on the path to energy independence and bring relief to Americans struggling to afford gas and pay their utility bills. We also passed two bills aimed at blocking Biden from further draining our nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

When Republicans retook the House, we made a commitment to make Washington work for the American people again. We passed legislation to get federal workers off the couch and back into the office so they can address the major backlog in processing Social Security claims, obtaining military and civil service personnel records, and more. We immediately reopened the U.S. Capitol to the American people, allowing students, FFA groups, and families to once again tour the Capitol and visit their representative in Washington.

Protecting farmers, workers, and small businesses from big government is a top priority for House Republicans. To fight back against the president's obsession with going around Congress to enact his costly agenda, we passed legislation to force Biden to reveal the inflationary cost of his reckless executive actions before enacting them. We also passed a measure to stop Biden from listing the Northern Long-Eared Bat as endangered, a designation that would give radical environmental groups more tools to block the harvesting of timber in our region. In addition, we passed legislation to block Biden's burdensome and overreaching WOTUS rule, which would give the federal government the authority to regulate bodies of water passing through or standing on private land, including ditches, ponds, or creeks.

As one of the three committee chairs coleading the impeachment inquiry into the president, I'll continue fighting to get Americans the answers they deserve about the Biden family's multimillion-dollar business pedaling schemes. I'll also keep pushing Senate Democrats to pass the House's Israel aid bill and our Secure the Border Act of 2023 — the toughest immigration legislation in decades. While it's impossible to predict what's in store for 2024, I will do everything I can to deliver for the hardworking folks of southeast and south-central Missouri.

Jason Smith (R-MO) represents the eighth congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives.