Rep. Mike Bost

07/26/2026

Small businesses and family farms across Southern Illinois count on their local community banks. But too many of those banks are getting squeezed out by regulations built for the big Wall Street players, not for Main Street. I voted for the Main Street Capital Access Act to level the playing field, so local banks can keep doing what they do best: lending to the people and businesses they know.

07/24/2026

For three years, we were promised a transformation for the people at the Choate facility; instead, they received a layoff notice or a ticket out of town. The state is cutting jobs and resources that our region can’t spare, uprooting patients’ lives, and leaving families and employees to pick up the pieces. I couldn’t be more disappointed in the state’s decision to slash operations at Choate, rather than investing in its future.

Employees at Choate Developmental Center in Anna received a letter on Thursday detailing plans to downsize the facility's mental health services in the coming months.

07/24/2026

As Chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, I introduced the Take Care of America's Veterans Act, the largest expansion of veterans' health care and benefits in a decade. We’re ending the wounded veteran tax on combat-injured heroes, empowering rural veterans to get care faster and closer to home, protecting benefits for surviving spouses, and increasing support for our most severely injured veterans. Congress needs to pass this historic legislation and deliver for the men and women who served. Our veterans kept their promise to us, now it’s our turn.

07/23/2026

Work gives people purpose and independence, and disabled Americans deserve that same shot. But too many face an impossible choice, because earning a paycheck can mean losing the Social Security benefits they depend on to get by. Today I voted for the Removing Barriers to Work for Disabled Americans Act to change that, letting Social Security test new ways to help people return to work without putting their income at risk.

07/22/2026

Peace through strength isn’t just a slogan. It means having the factories, shipyards, and supply chains to build what our military needs, and never depending on our adversaries for it. Today I voted for the National Defense Authorization Act to bring defense production back home, strengthen our deterrence against China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, and give our service members a well-earned pay raise along with better housing and childcare for the families who serve right alongside them. There’s nothing more America First than that.

07/21/2026

Taxpayers have a right to know where their hard-earned money is going. But right now billions in federal spending flows through special agreements that never show up on the public books. That's why I supported the Stop Secret Spending Act, which requires this hidden spending to be reported on USAspending.gov like everything else. When Washington spends your money, you deserve to see the results.

07/19/2026

I voted this week for an America First national security funding bill that cuts waste, strengthens oversight, and protects our country’s interests in a dangerous world. It also includes critical border funding President Trump needs to end illegal immigration, as well as the SAVE America Act to secure our elections!

07/19/2026

Appreciate receiving the National Retail Federation’s “Hero of Main Street” award this week for my voting record in support of retailers and mom-and-pop shops across America. These folks keep our Main Streets thriving and our neighborhoods working; that’s why I’ve voted to curtail organized retail crime and ease the regulatory burden on our job creators.

07/16/2026

There is no reason a credit card company should be able to monitor what fi****ms you legally purchase. For years, that’s been exactly the case, with payment networks flagging gun store transactions and building a backdoor registry of law-abiding gun owners. As an original cosponsor, I was proud to vote this week in favor of the Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act, which bans firearm-specific tracking codes once and for all.

07/16/2026

The People’s House is about to take a major vote, and the outcome will impact veterans for years to come. I’ve worked with veterans groups and stakeholders inside and outside of Congress for months on a historic veterans bill that has the strong support of the American Legion, Vietnam Veterans of America, Concerned Veterans for America, and more. The other side of the aisle tried to tank it with misleading attacks and scare tactics. I pray my colleagues do the right thing for the brave men and women who have served this country.