Looking back on 2012, I feel grateful to again have served as your voice in Congress. It has been a year of great turmoil in Washington but it also has been one in which several issues facing the people of the 9^th District were tackled head on and I am proud of what we have accomplished for a wide cross-section of folks.

Earlier this year, after months of negotiation and face-to-face meetings with the U.S. Secretary of Education, I was successful in staving off attempts by the Department of Education to compel school districts to convert their entire accounting systems because of an affiliated career center. Had this bureaucratic regulation gone into force, Missouri school districts and affiliated career centers would have faced new, unnecessary accounting costs, and a number of these career centers would have been forced to close their doors as a result 

Also this year, I was pleased the president signed into law legislation I sponsored to allow for the minting of a Mark Twain commemorative coin. This coin will be produced by the U.S. Mint for a limited time and will boost economic development in Hannibal and Missouri at no cost to taxpayers. Meanwhile, the president also signed into law a bill that I authored to eliminate the requirement that ATMs display duplicative signs disclosing their fees. This legislation was critical in protecting consumers by cracking down on nuisance lawsuits that have been plaguing institutions and driving up costs for their hard working customers throughout Missouri.

While I was pleased with these accomplishments, I was also proud to support critical bills that would hold the line on job-killing taxes, cut government spending, repeal Obamacare and put in place a responsible budget that would help reduce the out-of-control deficit. I was also proud to vote in favor of adding a balanced budget amendment to our Constitution.

In March, the House sent to the Senate the House Republican Fiscal Year 2013 budget resolution. This resolution, known as The Path to Prosperity, cuts spending by $5.3 trillion, relative to the president’s budget, and reforms our broken tax code to make it simpler, fairer, and more competitive. This legislation would put the federal budget on path to balance, while preventing deep cuts to defense and protecting and strengthening Medicare for current and future beneficiaries by not allowing it to go bankrupt.

Additionally, in August, the House passed the Job Protection and Recession Prevention Act of 2012 (H.R. 8) that would extend current tax relief; and the Pathway to Job Creation through a Simpler, Fairer Tax Code Act of 2012 (H.R. 6169) that would set the stage for long-term tax reform. I was also a proud supporter of legislation that would restrict the enactment of any significant regulations until the unemployment rate reaches 6 percent or less. I also backed a bill requiring the U.S. Federal Reserve to conduct a first-ever complete audit of its books and provide details about its monetary policy discussions. Both bills passed the House and are still awaiting Senate action.

Despite these modest successes, the next Congress will provide new challenges. There is a lot of economic uncertainty both at home and abroad and the decisions we make will have a significant impact on the future of our nation. I certainly cannot predict the future, but my goal is to continue serving as your liaison to the federal government by addressing issues that impact all of us. It is my belief that 2013 will require us all to make some tough decisions as we work together to make our country a better place not only for us, but also for our children and grandchildren.