This week I want to send my most heartfelt prayers to the Ukrainian people as they fight for their freedom. Their brutalization by the Russians is heartbreaking and I applaud the Ukrainian citizens and their leadership for defending their homeland.
It is my view that President Trump did all he could to keep this from happening. While President Obama took no meaningful actions after Russia occupied Crimea in 2014, President Trump was the first to provide lethal military assistance to Ukraine. President Trump also motivated our NATO allies to step up and provide additional military contributions to the alliance. While sanctions have only recently been broadly imposed on the Putin regime, President Trump encouraged Europe not to buy from Europe years before the invasion. I do not believe the conflict would have occurred if Donald Trump was still President.
President Biden has been a disaster for our economy and national security. Unlike President Trump, who helped make us energy independent, President Biden’s policies are doing the opposite. By stopping the Keystone pipeline and oil exploration and drilling projects, he is driving up the price of gasoline. Additionally, these policies have led him to begin actually negotiating for more oil from our adversaries such as Venezuela and Iran.
While Russia is certainly a threat to America, going forward I hope our administration follows in the footsteps of President Trump and more closely combats the menace of communist China. I encourage more economic independence to ensure our vital resources such as medicines and petroleum are produced in the United States.
This week the House passed several bills I have strongly supported. HB 1878 and HJR 94 are two pieces of legislation similar to a bill I proposed this year. They would reinstate a voter ID requirement that was approved by voters but struck down by the Missouri Supreme Court in 2020. The bill and proposed constitutional amendment would ensure Missourians present a photo ID when they go to vote, but will also allow people without a photo ID to cast a provisional ballot. In order for the provisional ballot to be counted, election officials would have to verify the voter’s signature based on voter records, or the voter would need to return later that day with a valid form of identification.
I also endorsed legislation we passed which protects the rights of belief-based student groups on college campuses. Lawmakers approved HB 1724 to protect these groups from being discriminated against because of their beliefs. The bill also prohibits discrimination against a belief-based student association based on its requirement that leaders of the association adhere to its sincerely held beliefs, sincere practice requirements, or standards of conduct.
May God bless and keep you and our great nation.
Hardy Billington represents District 152, which includes parts of Butler and Dunklin counties.