Liberty Tribune: Second Amendment, government spending highlights of Graves’ visit

Kearney, MO – An hour-long town hall meeting Aug. 17 brought discussions of gun violence, trade and government spending between constituents and U.S. Rep. Sam Graves when the Republican stopped at Reece & Nichols real estate agency, 307 S. Jefferson St. in Kearney, during a tour of the 6th District of Missouri.

At the start of the event, Graves updated a crowd of nearly 70 people on potential points of focus for the upcoming congressional session.

Graves said the Second Amendment has come to the forefront as recent gun violence issues, including the shootings of unarmed African-Americans by police and the shootings of officers, have gripped nation.

Some cities, Graves said, have attempted to pass legislation placing high taxes on firearms sales.

“We are blocking all we can,” he said.

Republicans, he said, are also trying to fight executive orders allowing illegal immigrants to stay in the country.

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Lawmakers find new ground to fight EPA

In the battle against regulations of the Environmental Protection Agency, members of Congress feel they have found new ground on which to skirmish.

Lawmakers believe an EPA-funded informational campaign about its Clean Water Rule crossed the line into advocacy and “propaganda,” at variance with federal law.

A report by the Government Accountability Office in December had already put the agency on notice about these practices.

North Missouri Congressman Sam Graves, long a critic of EPA policies, spoke out this week about the “covert propaganda” spread by the agency regarding a campaign for stricter regulations on agriculture in Washington state.

“The EPA has shown that it’s willing to do whatever it takes to force its radical agenda on rural America,” Graves, a Tarkio Republican, said in a statement.

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Graves supports C-130 revitalization

U.S. Representative Sam Graves gave his public support Thursday for full funding of the Air Force’s C-130H modernization plan and for the construction of four new ‘J’ model transport planes.

“The aircraft is critical for the 139th Airlift Wing (based at St. Joseph’s Rosecrans Memorial Airport) and its ability to support our military men and women across the globe,” Graves said.

The Congressman, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, is working alongside the Chairmen of the House Appropriations Committee and its subcommittee on defense to ensure the Air Force’s plan is funded for full completion.

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U.S. Rep. Sam Graves promotes regional approach to Upper Mississippi river issues in Hannibal

River supporters in Missouri, Illinois and Iowa are working together to get the kind of comprehensive flood control on the upper Mississippi River that has been used on the lower Mississippi for more than 85 years.

U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Tarkio, met Friday with members of the Upper Mississippi, Illinois, Missouri River Association to announce the effort to “work regionally” on river issues. In a letter sent this week, Graves and four other members of Congress called on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to work on a comprehensive flood control plan and river management plan.

“We’ve got $250,000 that’s being appropriated,” Graves said.

He wants to get to the point where funding is closer to the $300 million a year that’s spent on the lower Mississippi.

Graves said one of the big problems now is that disparate funding levels are used in the upper basin and coordinating priorities for the betterment of the entire basin would be a better course of action.

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Graves talks MoDOT funding, Baltimore Street during Kirksville town hall

A.T. Still University, along with local residents, received a visit from one of Missouri’s elected officials to Congress.

U.S. Congressman Sam Graves (R-Mo.) stopped in Kirksville on Thursday to tour A.T. Still University and meet with local residents for a town hall discussion.

While on ATSU’s campus, Graves visited the Inter-Professional Education Building, where he toured the School of Dentistry and Oral Health and the Human Patient Simulation Center.

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Graves presses DHS to enforce visa laws

U.S. Rep. Sam Graves (R-6) introduced legislation on Thursday, March 10, forcing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to deport illegal immigrants living in America on expired visas. H.R. 4726, the Preventing Illegal Visa Overstays Act, would withhold pay for the Secretary of DHS until the Department enforces standing visa laws.

“This week we tragically saw what can happen when we fail to enforce immigration laws,” Graves said. “There are 12 million illegal immigrants in this country – drawing welfare benefits, sending their children to public schools, and pushing down wages for American workers – but the problem extends well beyond amnesty and open borders.”

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Aviation’s Man in Washington

A pilot with a commercial rating and more than 3,000 hours of flight time, Sam Graves co-chairs the General Aviation Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives. He helped found the annual Wing Nuts Flying Circus, an annual airshow in his hometown of Tarkio, Missouri, and is restoring a 1943 Beech AT-10. He talked to Air & Space Editor Linda Shiner in October.

Air & Space: Why did you see a need for a congressional General Aviation Caucus?

Graves: When I got to Washington [in 2000], I noticed that there are so many people who are regulating aviation who don’t understand it. And in Congress, there were very few people advocating for aviation. And you have people out there who have medical issues related to pilots’ licenses and are trying to sift their way through. Or they have certification issues, or problems with their local [Flight Standards District Office]. When they would go to their member of Congress, there was very little understanding of what the problems was, or what the regulations are. That’s how I got started doing this stuff, and trying to help…

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Graves presses for levee funds in the St. Joseph area

U.S. Rep. Sam Graves said he is advocating for federal funding to repair Missouri River levees protecting St. Joseph, Elwood, Kansas and the 139th Airlift Wing at Rosecrans Memorial Airport.

The levee system protects more than $2 billion worth of property and assets, his office said.

“The Army Corps (of Engineers) headquarters has largely failed to recognize the importance of the Missouri-Kansas levee project,” Graves said in a press release. “They’ve brushed off maintenance of the levee system, despite the fact that a major flood could cripple the 139th Airlift Wing and destroy St. Joe’s economy.”

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Graves talks transportation options with Missouri Chamber of Commerce

Congressman Sam Graves, R-MO, visited Jefferson City Thursday to keynote the Missouri Chamber of Commerce’s Conference on Transportation. Graves served as the Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Small Business for six years before terming out of the position. He now serves as Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, where he is hosting the federal transportation funding debate.

“We’ve got our our own funding issues in D.C.,” Graves told the conference attendees. “We have to figure out long-term funding proposals and how to fund transportation projects in the future.”

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Connect to Congress: Sam Graves

KHQA’s Rajah Maples sits down with Missouri Congressman Sam Graves (R).

Here are some of the questions we asked him:

1.What do you expect to hear from Pope Francis when he addresses Congress next week?

2.Do you plan to watch the GOP Debate tonight? Have you endorsed a candidate? What big issues are the candidates not addressing, so far?

3.The Iran nuclear deal seems all but certain to go unchallenged by Congress. So what’s next? What type of oversight do you think Congress should provide to make sure the deal is properly implemented?

4.Will Congress be able to come to an agreement to keep the government funded past the October 1st deadline? Do you think it will be a short-term measure or something more long-term?

5.What role should the U.S. move to play in the crisis in Syria – given the massive influx of refugees flowing into Europe?