It’s been a busy few weeks in Missouri and Washington. After celebrating Easter with my family in St. Elizabeth, I hit the road to meet with folks on the ground to listen to their concerns and bring some Missouri commonsense back to Washington.

One highlight of the past couple of weeks was meeting the phenomenal team at Pro Food Systems in Holts Summit. Pro Food Systems distributes chicken and a number of other products, primarily to quick stops, to over 35 states. Think about that: the food distributed from a 65,000 square foot facility in Holts Summit reaches 70 percent of America. That’s a testament to the hardworking and entrepreneurial spirit of the people of Missouri. The Holt Summit facility is state of the art, but its success is directly a result of the people who work there; the team at Pro Food Systems was really impressive and stood out to me. Another highlight was addressing the Jefferson City Rotary Club. We had a great discussion, and, again I was really impressed with and inspired by the people that took part in that meeting.

In those meetings and a few others, a number of topics were discussed. One common theme I took away from our discussions was the continued failure of the IRS to get its act together.

That’s why when IRS Commissioner John Koskinen testified in front of the Small Business Committee this week, I pressed him about the agency’s continued mismanagement, why the Jefferson City IRS Taxpayer Assistance office was closed in the midst of tax season, and how a different tax system, such as flat tax might work better for the American people. Commissioner Koskinen’s responses were not adequate and I am more determined than ever to hold the IRS accountable for its performance.

Another issue my colleagues in the House of Representatives and I are working on is reining in President Obama and, particularly, restoring the Constitutional balance of power between the executive and legislative branches of government.  Just a couple of weeks ago, the House passed legislation to challenge the president in a Supreme Court case on his executive actions on immigration.  I’m pleased to announce that the Supreme Court will begin to hear oral arguments in this case, United States v. Texas, on April 18 and the Court has granted time for the House to make oral arguments. The House will argue that the president has once again ignored Article I of the Constitution. Be sure I will keep you updated with all the news and information.

The brightest highlight of my week was visiting with Jefferson City resident, Elijah Mayfield. This young man was honored with one of the highest awards, the “Self-Advocate of the Year” award, from the National Down Syndrome Society (NDDS). I had the pleasure of introducing Elijah at the NDDS award ceremony and I got to share with hundreds of individuals stories about his work in the Governor’s office in Missouri, his work at a local hospital, and about his love for the St. Louis Cardinals. Elijah is a remarkable individual and having the opportunity to spend time with him and his family is something that I will always remember. It is an honor to represent Elijah, and all of the constituents of central and eastern Missouri, in the United States Congress.