Pat L. Smith is a life long resident of east central Indiana. Her ancestors have been Indiana farmers since 1863. She grew up on the family farm, which her brother still operates today. Pat is an independent small business owner supplying homeowners, professionals and municipalities with building materials. She is proud to have been a part of numerous area downtown revitalization projects during her last 20 years in the building industry. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Indiana Builders Association and is an active member of the Green Building committee. She was named Greater Muncie Habitat for Humanity Volunteer of the Year in 2004. She is a ten- year member of the First Muncie BNI.

Her top priorities will be jobs and education believing that economic prosperity & education are intertwined. She will use her strong work ethic & business experience to be a more active and involved voice for the residents of District 35

Pat and her husband of 38 years, Jerry, reside in Yorktown and have one son, who is a retired Marine Infantry officer.   

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News Behind the News

"Record number in government anti-poverty programs" reports USA Today: "[They] now serve a record one in six Americans and are continuing to expand ... More than 40 million people get food stamps, an increase of nearly 50% during the economic downturn ... 'This program has proven to be incredibly responsive and effective,' says Ellin Vollinger of the Food Research and Action Center ... More than 4.4 million people are on welfare, an 18% increase during the recession. The program has grown slower than others, causing Brookings Institution expert Ron Haskins to question its effectiveness in the recession."

HuffPost's Robert Kuttner writes that Alan Simpson's "dopey comments" not only smear Social Security, but misinform about the economy: "[The White House debt commission] it has lent credibility to the idea that Social Security is somehow a drag on the economy ... The reality, of course, is that if the economy (and Obama's fortunes) are going down the drain, the reason has nothing to do with Social Security's finances in 2037 -- and everything to do with slow growth, high unemployment, and the lingering effects of a damaged banking system right now. Yet the storyline being peddled by the commission, of a dire fiscal crisis, makes it politically more difficult for Obama to take the necessary steps to get a recovery going."

Sen. Dodd never held any nominee to the standard he suggests for Elizabeth Warren. HuffPost's Shahien Nasiripour: "A review of transcripts from past confirmation hearings shows that Dodd has never questioned the management experience of nominees to head federal agencies his committee oversees."

Immigration enforcement agency moves to clear case backlog, cancel deportations of those likely to gain legal status. NYT: "[Homeland Security Asst Sec John Morton's] memorandum refers to a particular group of illegal immigrants: those who have been detained in ICE operations because they did not have legal status, but who have active applications in the system to become legal residents. The memo encourages ICE officers and lawyers to use their authority to dismiss those cases ... if they determine that the immigrants have no criminal records and stand a strong chance of having their residence applications approved ... if an immigrant's application for legal residence was ultimately denied, ICE could reinstate the deportation ... But Republican lawmakers said the Obama administration was moving toward a de facto legalization program..."

The American Prospect's Harold Pollack urges Congress to accelerate implementation of health reform: "...the [interim high-risk] pools can cover only a small minority of people in serious difficulty ... The best way to address these problems would be to accelerate the timetable for health reform -- for example by subsidizing states to start up the [health insurance] exchanges before 2014."