America is indeed great again

This Christmas season, we have much to celebrate. For one thing, America is thriving. By every measure, the national economy is booming. A record number of Americans are participating in the labor force, and unemployment is at record lows for blacks and Hispanics. Under President Trump, America is indeed great again.

Unfortunately, the liberal Democrats in Congress are focused on putting a giant lump of coal in Americans’ stockings. By going full-bore toward impeachment, they are not only trying to overturn the will of the voters; they are also failing to address the issues most important to Americans, such as securing the border, online data privacy, and lowering the cost of prescription drugs. Our country will be much better off when this circus is completed and important business of the people resumes.

This will be my last column before the date on which we observe the birth of Jesus Christ. I sincerely hope you and your loved ones enjoy a happy and blessed holiday and keep in mind the “reason for the season.”

A constitutional amendment introduced during the bill pre-filing period is aimed at protecting the integrity of elections in Missouri by fixing a loophole in the state’s constitution. HJR 75 would place on the state ballot a three-word fix to the state’s constitution, stating only a U.S. citizen can vote in Missouri.

The amendment’s sponsor said Missouri’s constitution should make clear that one must be a U.S. citizen in order to vote. His constitutional amendment strikes the word “all” citizens and replaces it with “only” to read that only a citizen can vote in Missouri elections. He noted that San Francisco, Chicago, Montpelier, Vermont and 11 cities in Maryland currently allow non-U.S. citizens to legally vote in their elections, and that more efforts are underway in other states to give non-citizens the right to vote.

The bill’s sponsor said, “The integrity of our elections depends on the voters having faith in the outcome of our elections regardless of their personal views or political party. In order to strengthen the integrity of our state’s elections, it is imperative we clarify who can and cannot vote in our elections. This amendment would ensure that every election in Missouri is limited to citizens of the United States. This common sense amendment respects the right to vote, defends the liberty of U.S. citizens and maintains the trust in the institutions of our republic.”

North Dakota was the first state to protect the integrity of elections with passage of a constitutional amendment in 2018 stating only U.S. citizens can vote in North Dakota elections.

As bill pre-filing began in the Missouri House, one lawmaker filed several bills aimed at fighting the rising cost of health care by making care more available and affordable for Missourians.

The sponsor of the bills said his legislation is necessary because the major policies that have come out of Washington, D.C. have only made health care more expensive for all. As a result, Missourians today have fewer provider choices and pay much more for the same services they received than just 10 years ago.

He stated, “The greatest problem we face in health care is how much it costs, not who pays for it. We’ve got to get this rising cost under control.”

Another piece of legislation introduced during the bill pre-filing period would give voters the opportunity to provide property tax relief to disabled veterans living in Missouri. The legislation is a proposed constitutional amendment (HJR 67) to provide a tax exemption for certain real and personal property owned by disabled veterans.

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Contact Rep. Billington at hardy.billington@house.mo.gov or by calling 573-751-4039.