Newsletter: View from the Capitol - Congresswoman Hartzler's Weekly Newsletter for the Week of April 20, 2015

Statement

Dear Friend,

I had the opportunity this week to visit with some great people and tour some wonderful places before heading out to Washington. I first visited LEAF Commercial Capital, in Moberly, where I toured their operations and met with some of the men and women working there. LEAF employs around 80 people in Randolph County, providing financing tools to businesses all across the county. Keep up the great work!

Also in Moberly, I stopped by the Central Christian College of the Bible. Here, young men and women are prepared for leadership roles in the Kingdom of God on both national and international levels. I commend them for providing a well-rounded education to their students, and I look forward to hearing more great stories of how their alumni and students are making an eternal difference in this world.

Just down the road I toured the Randolph County Ambulance District. Here I got to see first-hand all of the equipment they use to make sure that the good people of Randolph County receive quality emergency care. These dedicated individuals go on over 3,000 "runs" per year in response to various accidents and emergencies. I had my pulse checked -- 59 -- they gave me a clean bill of health!

From there I traveled to Mexico to visit the Missouri Military Academy. The cadets here receive a "360° Education", including academics, character building, leadership skills, and physical development. This excellent institution has been helping boys become men for over 125 years. Multiple national leaders have come from this fine institution, which is truly a Missouri treasure. I am proud to represent them and I wish them a successful 125 more years of developing leaders!

Later that day, I held a press conference with my colleague, Missouri Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer, to discuss the Regulatory Integrity Protection (RIP) Act, a bill that I am on original co-sponsor of. This legislation would force the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to withdraw the flawed "Waters of the U.S." rule and actually listen to the states and citizens when crafting a new rule to define "navigable water".

Under the current proposed rule, man-made ponds, seasonally wet areas, and even roadside ditches could be considered "navigable" because the runoff may find its way into navigable water. The EPA overstepped its bounds when it made this rule, to the detriment of our farmers, county road departments, developers, and the jobs and local economies they support. To think that a farmer might have to get a federal permit to take care of his crops because he has a ditch along the side of his field shows just how flawed this rule is.

The RIP Act would get rid of this bad rule and return power to the states, restoring the federal-state partnership that was in place before this rule. I am proud to help move this legislation along. The American people do not need more big government dictating what can or cannot be done with their land. State and local governments are better positioned to ensure we have clean water by listening to the needs of the local farmers and county road developers to plan for development at home.

I want to thank all those who came out to support this effort. It was a wonderful event, and we had a great showing of support. You can see more video and read more about the press conference on my website by clicking here.

Out in Washington, I continued my push to get rid of bureaucratic red tape and ease the burden of brazen federal regulations. I introduced a measure aimed at protecting small businesses by giving them time to comply with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) codes rather than facing an immediate arbitrary fine for non-serious violations. Facing an immediate fine -- sometimes up to $7,000 - because a yellow line was not painted 10 feet from the edge of a flat roof, or because the emergency eye wash water was too cold is just silly. It saps businesses of valuable capital and makes it harder for them to produce American-made products.

My bill would require OSHA to allow a business to come into compliance with code in a reasonable amount of time, should an infraction be found. It is designed to promote an environment where businesses constantly improve worker safety while being able to use their resources to continue boost the economy and create jobs. With the current state of the economy and job market, we do not need to hamper businesses; we need to unleash them and their enterprising spirit so we can bring jobs to Missouri and bolster the local economy.

Lastly, I wanted to make sure you were aware of some of the services my office can help with. If you can't get an answer from a federal agency in a timely fashion, my office may be able to help resolve a problem or get you the information you need. While we cannot guarantee you a favorable outcome, we will do our best to help you receive a fair and timely response to your problem. Be sure to tell your friends and family that my office is here to serve you!

Visit my website by clicking here, or call my office at (202) 225-2876 to get the process started!

Have a great week!

Sincerely,

Vicky Hartzler
Member of Congress

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