On any given day that the House is in session, my schedule consists of meeting with constituents from the 3rd District, attending hearings on the House Financial Services and Small Business Committees, and going to the floor of the House of Representatives to listen to and debate legislation and cast votes on various bills.
Whenever I travel around the district and hold meetings around the 13 counties I serve, constituents always ask me questions about what bills have passed this year and what Congress has done. With September quickly approaching and with more than half the year over, I am pleased to report the House of Representatives has been listening to the will of the people and has passed bills to block many of the regulations and rules that have come from the Obama Administration and worked to put this country back on the right course.
The 3rd District is blessed to have farmers and ranchers that help feed Americans all across the country. So, you can't begin to even discuss out of control regulations in the 3rd District without talking about the EPA's ridiculous Waters of the United States rule. As a farmer myself, I know the "Waters of the United States" rule is an expansion of the Clean Water Act in an unprecedented way, by applying it to "waters" generally instead of just "navigable waters."
It would give the EPA jurisdiction over puddles, ditches and ponds, and farmers, ranchers and small business owners know that it is a disaster. The House has acted on numerous occasions to stop this and earlier this year passed a resolution to scrap the rule. Make no mistake, the president was quick to ignore all of the calls and concerns expressed by the American people, but the House listened and acted. Currently, the WOTUS rule is blocked nationwide due to a decision by the U.S. District Court in North Dakota.
While the House will continue to push to reverse the WOTUS rule, we have made progress made in terms of helping our nation's veterans. With three medical centers and numerous clinics serving veterans in Missouri, doing what I can to help ensure a better quality of life for our heroes is one of my top priorities. One bill the House passed is the VA Medical Center Recovery Act. This directs the secretary of veterans affairs to evaluate the quality of health care being provided at each medical center ensures that medical centers are meeting high standards and not under performing. This common-sense legislation passed the House in February and the Senate has yet to act on it.
Lastly, the House remains very focused on continuing its efforts to shield the homeland and protect Americans across the country. In the 114th Congress, there have been 77 bills that have passed through the House that would secure our nation's borders; protect our technology against cyber attacks; and shield our country from international and domestic threats. Of those 77 House passed bills, 18 of them have been signed into law.
One bill that has been signed into law is the Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act. This law is designed to help the Department of Homeland Security identify and stop terrorists with Western passports from entering the United States. More must still be done, but we have made progress on this issue.
While this bulletin focuses on just three areas where the House has worked to make improvements, there are hundreds more examples in every single issue area including health, education, transportation, and so forth. The House is committed to getting America back on track and we have a full slate of ideas that have already been acted on and there is certainly more to come.
U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., represents the state's 3rd District, which includes Jefferson City. His local office can be reached at 573-635-7232.
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