West Plains, Mo. – On Saturday, Republican Senate candidate and sitting Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler was in West Plains gathering support for the Missouri Primary Election to be held on Tuesday, August 2, 2022.
Ozark Radio News was able to sit down with the congresswoman and ask her about her platform, legislation, and thoughts about the election and her Republican competitors.
Transcription:
Nate Hudson:
This is Nate Hudson with Ozark Radio News, and this morning, I am speaking with Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler, who is running for Senate. She is running for a seat that will be open, as incumbent Roy Blunt has decided not to run again. So good morning, Vicky.
Vicky Hartzler:
Good morning, Nate. Glad to be here in West Plains.
Nate Hudson:
Well, yes. Thank you so much for coming in and getting a chance to talk with us. So, you are running for Senate. You’ve been a Congresswoman for a while now, correct?
Vicky Hartzler:
Yeah, 12 years.
Nate Hudson:
So why did you decide to run for Senate?
Vicky Hartzler:
Well, because our nation’s in crisis, and I’m very, very concerned that if we don’t turn this thing around now, we’re not going to recognize our country. And so I am all in. My family and I and the people of my area say, “We’ve got to turn things around.” I’m the true fighter that has the experience and the track record of getting things done in Washington, standing up against the woke Liberals and that we need on day one to be able to turn things around.
Vicky Hartzler:
And I’m also different from other people in this race, in that I’m really one of the Missourians fighting for them. I’m a wife, mom, of course, but I’m also a lifelong farmer. I’m a small business owner. My husband and I have a farm equipment dealership; we sell some tractors and things. And I’m a former school teacher, and I think it’s important that we have somebody with an education background to push back against this indoctrination happening to our kids. I say we should be teaching the ABCs and not CRT, and I’ve been banned from Twitter because I’ve spoke up for girls sports and said that women’s sports should be for women, not men pretending to be women. I used to be a track coach, and I have those experiences of working with young people that I think is very important.
Vicky Hartzler:
But I also am a senior member of the Armed Services Committee. I represent Whiteman Air Force Base in Fort Leonard Wood, and according to the Constitution, there’s only a few things we should be doing, and providing for the common defense is the most important thing. And I’m very concerned about where we are, and right now in the world, we’re sitting on a tinder box. And of course, there’s a war with Russia and Ukraine that could go into a NATO nation. Xi Jinping in China could attack Taiwan any minute, and we need somebody with that national security expertise to be able to make those decisions and keep us safe.
Vicky Hartzler:
But I’m also a lifelong farmer. In Missouri, that’s our number-one industry, and I think it’s important. Others in this race are from St. Louis and they’re attorneys, but until you’ve been out there on the tractor, until you’ve had trouble, seen your crop burn up and not make ends meet and know how hard it is to produce food and fiber for the world, you don’t understand agriculture. And next year, we’re going to make another farm bill in Congress, and it’s important we have somebody at the seat from rural Missouri, and that’s me.
Vicky Hartzler:
Being a small business owner, I’ve signed the front of a paycheck and not the back, too. Once again, that’s different than other people in this race, who’ve never created a job. And when we’re looking at rebuilding our economy, like we need to right now, we need a fighter in there who is fighting for lower taxes and less regulation on our businesses and who knows how to create jobs, and that’s me. And so that’s why I think people are coming to us. We have the momentum in this race. It could be close next Tuesday, but I’m feeling very optimistic that we’re going to prevail. And we’re going to send a fighter farmer from a small town Missouri to the Senate.
Nate Hudson:
So when it comes to a lot of our local voters, I believe that you’re one of the top three front-runners on the Republican ticket right now, between you, Eric Greitens, and Eric Schmitt. So what sets you apart from the two Erics, aside from obviously a first name?
Vicky Hartzler:
Well, sure. Well, Eric Greitens, sadly, doesn’t deserve this state. His deplorable behavior in the past is not representative of who we are. We are a Conservative state. We believe in family and God and faith, and he was just deplorable. So I think really, this race us between Eric Schmitt and myself. And the differences there, not only, as I said, his background. He’s a lifelong attorney, but he is really a lifelong politician from Jefferson City, who was very liberal when he was a State Senator, and he’s trying to cover that up now. He filibustered tort reform, which is very important to lower cost on our businesses and on healthcare. And he voted to sell Missouri farmland to China, and he was the lead sponsor in a bill to use $480 million of our state tax credits to incentivize the Chinese Communist Party to come to the St. Louis Airport and build a China hub there. And he actually went to China and negotiated with the Chinese Communist Party.
Vicky Hartzler:
Now, I have been very focused on China for years as a senior member of the armed services committee. I produced a four-part video series that people hopefully will go to, your listeners, at hartzler.house.gov and see more of the threat facing China. It covers the economic threat, the military threat, the malign influence and the human rights abuses. But I’ve successfully passed legislation taking on China, and I’ve been sanctioned by the Chinese Communist Party because of my outspokenness against their human rights abuses. And yet, Eric Schmitt is trying to look tough on China and tried to sue them. Of course, a judge threw it out, because that’s really not possible. And so that’s a huge difference between us. I’m a lifelong conservative, he’s not. I’m the one that’s really competent and knowledgeable and is an expert on China. He’s not. And I’m the one with the track record of getting things done in Washington, and he’s not.
Nate Hudson:
Well, thank you for that. Another thing that I was wanting to ask you about was, I knew you that you were a local farmer. Well, a Missouri farmer.
Vicky Hartzler:
Sure.
Nate Hudson:
And I saw that you had recently been endorsed by the Missouri Farm Bureau, is that correct?
Vicky Hartzler:
Absolutely. I’m so grateful for that. That is our state’s largest agricultural organization. But I’ve also received the endorsement in the Missouri Cattleman’s Association, the Missouri Corn Growers, the Missouri Soybean Association, even the cotton growers, as well as the rice industry. And they endorse me because I am a farmer first and foremost, the only one in this race who is, who grew up on a farm raising corn, soybeans, wheat. I had cows and a lot of hogs. And my husband and I farm too. That’s how we make our living. We have a corn, soybeans, wheat, and we have a cow calf operation. And I’m the only one of four members of the House of Representatives who is a farmer, lives on a farm. And if I’m elected to the Senate, I’ll be only one of three. And we are going to do this farm bill next year and it’s imperative that we have somebody at the seat of the table who understands agriculture. Like I said, it’s our number one industry. That’s why Missouri Farm Bureau and all the agriculture organizations are endorsing me because we need a Senator with that background so we can represent our state.
Nate Hudson:
And along that, some of the legislation that I saw dealing with farms that you had put forward was the A Plus Act. Can you tell us a little bit about that?
Vicky Hartzler:
Yeah. Our cattle producers have really had a struggle the last few years and we’re seeing there’s a huge price disparity between what they’re getting at the sale barn and what the meat packers are getting at the retail store and so there is an investigation underway that I’ve been very supportive of by the Department of Justice to see if there’s price fixing that has gone on or collusion between the four big meat packers. But that brings me to my bill, which would help incentivize more local meat packing plants to come and come to beans so our cattle producers have more options so they’re not so dependent on the big four. And currently, there’s a glitch in the law that says, if you own a sale barn, you cannot invest in, or be part owner in a local meat packing plant. And yet those are the ones who really understand the industry better than anybody. And it makes perfect sense for them to help start a regional meat packing plant. So my legislation fixes that and I’m hoping that we can get that passed and there’ll be more options for our cattle producers and ultimately better prices that they will get when they go sell their cattle.
Nate Hudson:
And mentioning investments, I noticed that there was another piece of legislation, the Banning Insider Trading in Congress Act. And I know a lot of our voters in the area, a lot of our listeners as well, are really worried about the money trails, where’s the money going to our politicians. So how would this interact with all that?
Vicky Hartzler:
Sure. Yeah, my bill and Josh Holly has the same bill in the Senate. And by the way, he has endorsed me for this race. And I’m so grateful for his endorsement. And he said, “Vicky has the heart, integrity, and the toughness that Missouri needs. And I can’t wait to work alongside her.” So I appreciate that. But what my bill does is it says that members of Congress, if you’re elected, you’ve got to put any investments you have, you either got to sell them or put them in a blind trust. No more being able to control and buy more stocks or sell more stocks. And because we see that there are dozens of my colleagues that are doing this despite a bill that passed several years ago, saying that if you sell or buy stocks, you have to report it within just a maybe 30 days. I can’t remember exact, but a short amount of time and they’re ignoring it.
Vicky Hartzler:
There really isn’t enough teeth in the bill. So I say, let’s just ban it completely. I think the public needs to have trust in their elected officials that they’re not benefiting off of their legislation and the inside information that you may have about legislation. And a perfect example is Nancy Pelosi’s husband. He’s made millions of dollars off of stock trades, and many of them in a tech industry, and yet Nancy Pelosi controls legislation on it. And I heard this week, he even just made a huge sale and many millions of dollars in the chips industry and the House of Representatives voted on a bill to impact the chips industry. It just doesn’t pass the smell test. So my bill just says, “Hey, let’s prevent this.”
Nate Hudson:
All right. Well, Hey, thank you so much for coming in, getting to speak with us. Is there anything else you would like to let our listeners know about you?
Vicky Hartzler:
Well, just that I am so, so grateful for their consideration. I would love to have their support and their vote, and I would be honored to represent the people here. I feel such a connection here because I’m from a small town, rural Missouri myself, and I really understand and appreciate our way of life. I’m a huge supporter of our Second Amendment, as well as First Amendment. As I say, a lot of my district anyway, and certainly Missouri, we’re small towns. We love our families. We’re farms. We hunt on weekends. We go to church on Sundays and we just want the government to leave us alone. And I think that’s the way a lot of us feel. And that’s who I am. My faith is very important to me. And ultimately we got to have the right policies in Washington. We have to have the right people, but as I’ve been saying to people on our Heartland tour, as I go around the state, we also need prayer. And so I ask you to join me in praying for our nation and for our state and for this election next Tuesday. And I’d be honored to have your support and vote as well.
Nate Hudson:
All right, well thank you again, Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler.
Vicky Hartzler:
Thank you, Nate.
