View from the Capitol - Congresswoman Hartzler's Weekly Newsletter for the Week of March 9-13, 2015

Good Day,

As a staunch supporter of our Second Amendment rights, I was very pleased to learn this week that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is officially withdrawing its proposal to ban AR-15 “green tip” ammunition.

The Obama Administration has made no secret of the fact it wants to restrict the rights of law-abiding Americans who wish to own and protect their families by owning firearms. This proposal was a backdoor attempt by the administration to get around the Second Amendment by trying to ban the bullets used in certain firearms.

I join gun-owning, law-abiding citizens across the country who want to keep criminals from using firearms against our law enforcement officers; but we cannot allow government to violate our Constitutional rights by interfering with the lawful ownership. The ATF listened to the wishes of the American people, who expressed strong opposition to the proposed ban. I will continue to monitor the ATF's actions and the situation to ensure this and other potential actions like this are fully stopped. I will never stop fighting to make sure that our Second Amendment rights remain intact and the American people are not subjected to unilateral power grabs such as this one.

With Congress working in-district this week, I had chance to spend time visiting with some of the people who make our district such a great place to live. I visited Whiteman Air Force Base to meet with some of the brave airmen who recently returned from deployment in Afghanistan. I am so proud to serve the men and women of Whiteman.

A trip to the nearby University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg provided an opportunity to meet with UCM’s Student President Mackenzie Martin. Mackenzie is a perfect example of a student who gets involved. In addition to serving as student body president, Mackenzie is president of UCM’s Young Republicans and Young Women for America. She is planning on taking a year off to do mission work before she resumes her studies. Good luck to Mackenzie and all the students as they prepare for upcoming exams.

On another matter, I also visited the Lime Tree women’s recovery house in Warrensburg. This faith-based treatment program is helping women, many of whom have been in and out of other treatment programs, to overcome drug and alcohol addictions.

I heard the personal stories of several women who have benefited from the loving care provided by the staff at Lime Tree. The women being helped cover all segments of society, from those who have suffered through lifelong addictions to former members of the military who have had trouble readjusting. The Lime Tree program is helping women with addictions to get on the path to recovery and to stay clean.  It was very encouraging to hear how their lives have changed since coming to Lime Tree.

Recovery Lighthouse, which operates Lime Tree, has benefited from federal Access to Recovery grant funding. The Obama Administration, however, greatly reduced grant funding, which leaves Missouri programs of this kind without financial assistance. I have spoken in support of restoration of federal Access to Recovery grant funding for Missouri and will continue to fight for it. These are good programs that change lives, restore families, and keep many of our citizens out of prison.  Recovery Lighthouse and similar programs deserve our support at every level possible.  I commend them for the great work they are doing.

Have a great week.