Missouri U.S. Senator Roy Blunt Archives

Hawley proposes removal of mandated renaming of U.S. military bases honoring Confederate officers

July 6, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

Missouri U.S. Senator Josh Hawley is proposing to remove a mandated renaming of U.S. military bases honoring Confederate military leaders. He tells Missourinet he wants to instead create a one-year commission to get public input first and then make recommendations.

Missouri U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

“My amendment says we will hold public hearings. We would be a commission that would hold public hearings – talk to military families, talk to veterans, talk to local communities and then make recommendations on changes to the names. I think this is a similar approach we’ve followed in the past,” says Hawley. “I think that’s the way we should move forward together to find consensus. I don’t think it should be done behind closed doors with a unilateral mandate by the Democrats – the same people who are also cheering on the tearing down of statues of George Washington, Ulysses S. Grant and Abraham Lincoln, for Heaven’s sake. It’s ridiculous.”

Since the death of George Floyd, objects viewed as symbols of racism are getting attention again. A Minneapolis police officer has been charged with second-degree murder in Floyd’s death.

“I’m against this cancel culture that just wants to sweep through and cancel anything that the Democrats and the woke mob now don’t approve of,” says Hawley. “That is not how we have proceeded as Americans. That is not how we show one another respect and honor. Let’s do this together.”

Fellow Missouri Republican U.S. Senator Roy Blunt has said he supports reviewing the names of the bases and renaming the installations.

The U.S. has ten bases commemorating Confederate officers.

Blunt repeats call for U.S. Justice Department to restore federal police reviews

June 18, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

U.S. Senator Roy Blunt, R-Missouri, is calling again for the U.S. Department of Justice to restore federal reviews of police departments to help root out misconduct and make changes. Since the death of George Floyd of Minnesota, adjusting police practices has received greater attention.

U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Missouri

Blunt says he plans to co-sponsor South Carolina Republican Senator Tim Scott’s proposed changes to police departments. Scott’s plan would focus on police training and would withhold federal grant money if police departments do not ban the use of chokeholds and no-knock warrants, among other things.

During a press conference in Washington, Blunt says the president can step in and make a difference.

“An even more speedy way to respond than the legislative process is the executive branch doing what they can, as soon as they can, to make a difference. Many of you know I think that the Justice Department has real tools to go in and give advice to departments,” says Blunt. “Sometimes asked for, sometimes the Justice Department needs to insist that they be in there giving that advice,” says Blunt. “That’s not the national government taking over police, it’s the Justice Department looking at one department with a systemic problem and deciding they’re going to help solve that problem.”

Blunt and Missouri Democratic Congressmen Lacy Clay and Emanuel Cleaver all say in the past, the federal agency has successfully used the process, including in Ferguson after Michael Brown, Jr. was killed.

Blunt’s office says U.S. Attorney General William Barr has not responded to Blunt’s request to reinstate the reviews.

Missouri congressman introduces legislation intended to prevent police brutality

June 8, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

Missouri Congressman Lacy Clay and a chorus of other lawmakers have introduced sweeping legislation today designed to crack down on police brutality problems. Clay, along with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Congressional Black Caucus, want to reign in on police using deadly force and want to require an independent prosecutor for all police killings. Clay, Missouri’s senior Democratic Congressional member from St. Louis, spoke today during a press conference in Washington to roll out the “Justice in Policing Act”.

Missouri Congressman Lacy Clay

“Now I’ve seen millions in my state and around the country – in small towns in Missouri and throughout this nation – who know there is an injustice throughout this nation that we have been treated unequally,” says Clay.

In a press release, Clay goes on to say the legislation could take generations to achieve all components, but says the bill is a “powerful, bold step forward to move American society to a new normal for both race relations and policing.”

“This remarkable legislative proposal advances a long and arduous process that I have been pursuing since the Ferguson uprising to make a course correction in our democracy to finally address centuries of oppression and unequal treatment of African Americans by law enforcement,” says Clay. “I’m very proud that three of my top police reform priorities are included in this landmark bill, including: Making the use of deadly force the last resort for law enforcement; mandating an independent prosecutor in all instances of police killings; and requiring all new and existing police officers to undergo transformative training to address racial bias, cultural awareness, de-escalation tactics, and the pervasive use of excessive force with non-white subjects.”

The plan would also require the use of police body cameras nationwide, change what qualifies in court cases as police immunity, ban police from using choke holds and create a national database disclosing the names of officers with patterns of abuse.

Last week, U.S. Senator Roy Blunt, R-Missouri, told CNN he does not think a nationalized, legislative response to policing is possible.

“I don’t think you can come up with a national, enforceable response on conduct or practice, nor do I think you can come up with a national manual that really makes sense for departments,” he said.

The Memorial Day death of George Floyd, an African-American man who was mishandled by a white Minneapolis police officer, has sparked protests around the world and has reignited calls to address police brutality problems.

Blunt among lawmakers calling for media advertising boost during coronavirus threat

April 25, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

U.S. Senator Roy Blunt, R-Missouri, has joined a bipartisan group of lawmakers urging the Office of Management and Budget to work with federal agencies to boost media advertising. In a letter, the members acknowledge how the coronavirus has taken its toll on advertising sales among newspapers, radio and television. Media organizations across the country have furloughed workers, injected pay cuts or made other cutbacks.

Missouri U.S. Senator Roy Blunt

“Our radio and television broadcasters and rural newspapers provide local and national news, emergency alerts, educational programs and more to all corners of the United States,” the letter says. “In many rural areas, broadcast stations are the predominant or only form of local information.”

They say it is important for local newspapers, radio and television to continue providing their services during the outbreak so that Americans can stay up to date on the latest information at a time when there’s increased news.

The Senators also want federal funds to state and local governments to have flexibility so they can advertise their programs with local media outlets.

View the letter here.

Blunt hopes President doesn’t pull funding to World Health Organization

April 16, 2020 By Missourinet Contributor

Missouri U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt says he hopes President Donald Trump is delivering a message and is not serious about cutting off funding to the World Health Organization.

Missouri U.S. Senator Roy Blunt

“Sending a signal to the WHO is fine, but the truth is the World Health Organization is not nearly what it should be without the United States,” Blunt tells Missourinet affiliate KFEQ in St. Joseph.

President Trump, a Republican, has announced he is instructing his administration to halt funding of the WHO while a review is conducted on its management of the COVID-19 pandemic. Trump says the United States has a duty to insist on full accountability. Trump says the review will be a very thorough investigation that should be complete in 60 to 90 days.

Trump has described the WHO in the past as “China-centric” and has criticized it for opposing travel restrictions from China, where the virus originated.

Blunt, also a Republican, says if the U.S. is not going to fund the WHO, it needs to find an alternative and he doesn’t know of any.

“So, I hope this is an important, but short-term coming together with a meeting of the minds,” Blunt says.

Blunt acknowledges the WHO made mistakes at the outset of the coronavirus and should be held accountable. But he insists the U.S. needs it.

“If the coronavirus has taught us anything it should have taught us that we are not isolated from the rest of the world no matter how well located we are.”

Blunt says he isn’t sure this is the right time to press the WHO.
“Well, whether they should be pressed right now or not, I don’t know,” Blunt says. “I think everybody is going to look at lots of things when this is over. I think the WHO was probably not insistent enough getting information from China, but we never seem to get very much information from China either, when we want it.”

Blunt says the time to assess the performance of the WHO is after the coronavirus pandemic peaks. Still, Blunt says he won’t defend the WHO and what it has done the past two to five years.

“But, I do know that a lot of things have happened during that period of time that would have created much greater danger for the United States if we hadn’t had this organization and they just simply are not who they need to be without our scientists, without our administrators, without what we bring to the table.”

The United States is the largest contributor to the WHO.

By Brent Martin of Missourinet affiliate KFEQ in St. Joseph

Missouri’s community health centers getting $27 million to address virus crisis

April 8, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

U.S. Senator Roy Blunt says Missouri’s 29 community health centers are getting more than $27 million in federal grant funding to respond to the coronavirus. The sites previously received $2.1 million from the first coronavirus response bill, bringing the total to nearly $30 million with the latest round of funding.

The federal dollars come from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Blunt, co-chair of the Senate Community Health Center Caucus, says the funding will help the centers meet staffing needs, and prevent, diagnose, and treat coronavirus patients. The Republican has strongly advocated for additional funding of community health centers.

“Community health centers are often the first place people go to get health care treatment quickly and close to home,” says Blunt in a press release. “Right now, clinics in Missouri are testing for coronavirus, providing telehealth services, and treating patients who are fighting this disease. One of my priorities in the most recent coronavirus response bill was extending funding for CHCs so they can continue providing care in local communities, especially our urban and rural underserved areas. I appreciate the tireless work our health care professionals are doing every day on the frontlines of this pandemic.”

The sites serve about 530,000 patients annually, 75% of whom are below the poverty level. They serve as a safety net through preventative and primary care to help keep patients from seeking more expensive emergency services.

Click here for a list of the grant recipients announced today.

Blunt says many Missourians could get $1,000+ from stimulus package

March 19, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

Congress could pass a rescue plan next week with one or two cash payments for millions of Americans. The package is meant to give the tumbling economy a boost from the coronavirus’s fallout. U.S. Senator Roy Blunt, R-Missouri, hopes lawmakers can get it to the president’s desk next week.

Senator Roy Blunt addresses the Missouri House on April 4, 2018 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

“We’re looking somewhere in the $1,000 per adult that makes less than $75,000 as something that they would get one time,” says Blunt. “And then if the economy needs that, maybe three months later we might do that one other time.”

Blunt says Missouri adults with kids at home could get another $500.

“Clearly what we’re trying to do is to do what we can to both stabilize and encourage an economy that’s really got a set of consequences going on and actions going on we haven’t seen before,” says Blunt.

The plan could also include business loans for certain industries getting nailed by the coronavirus, including airlines, hotels and others.

Ford and General Motors are putting the brakes on production at its North American plants through at least March 30. The move – meant to slow the tide of the coronavirus outbreak – will impact thousands of workers at the General Motors plant in the St. Louis suburb of Wentzville and the Ford factory near Kansas City. Blunt says he hopes the companies will be up and running again sooner rather than later.

“There are other places where people have to work – law enforcement, firefighters, first responders, people in hospitals, people in food processing facilities. There’s a broad spectrum of economic challenges here in trying to be sure that the ones that have to function continue to function really is a priority,” says Blunt.

The Ford plant in Claycomo has about 7,200 workers with about 6,900 of those being hourly employees. As for the Wentzville GM plant, it has about 4,100 workers – 2,800 are paid by the hour.

Blunt proposes to revamp lower Missouri River management

March 6, 2020 By Missourinet Contributor

Missouri U.S. Senators Roy Blunt and Josh Hawley, along with Senators from Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas, want to overhaul the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers’ management of the lower Missouri River. Blunt, a Republican, says their bill introduced this week is designed to reduce flood risk and improve flood protection along the lower river basin. He says last year’s flooding from March through August made for an unbelievable year.

Missouri U.S. Senator Roy Blunt

“We think the Corps can plan better,” he tells Brownfield Ag News. “But we think the Corps needs some direction and some flexibility to be able to plan better and that’s what this legislation would do.”

Blunt says the bill requires the Corps to come up with a project feasibility study and gives it flexibility for any project where the federal share is less than $75 million to be able to move forward more quickly.

Blunt says it lets the Corps look at the southern Missouri River basin as a unique waterway.

“We’re not trying to get into opening the entire plan or needlessly involve our friends north of us on the Missouri River when they don’t need to be involved. Certainly would welcome input from them,” he says.

Blunt says the Corps will have to look at how navigation and flood control can be a bigger priority.

“All of our input from farm families, farm organizations, businesses and communities along the river has been very positive so far and we hope we can continue to move forward in a unified way to get this done,” says Blunt.

Missouri Farm Bureau President Blake Hurst applauds the bill and says it is a huge step forward.

By Julie Harker of Brownfield Ag News

Blunt announces emergency funding bill for coronavirus (VIDEO)

March 3, 2020 By Ashley Byrd

Senator Roy Blunt says funding help is on the way for the national response to the coronavirus (COVID-19).

Blunt is chairman of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies told fellow senators the coronavirus emergency funding bill is expected to be introduced shortly. He urged Congress to quickly approve emergency funding to ensure the government has the resources needed to continue coronavirus response efforts.

Hawley: House Democrats have given America first purely partisan impeachment

February 6, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

Missouri U.S. Senators Roy Blunt and Josh Hawley have voted in favor of clearing President Trump of corruption and abuse of power charges. The Senate has found the president not guilty. On the Senate floor, Hawley says impeachment is a pipe dream by Democrats who engineered a train of abuses, distortions and outright lies.

U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley’s official portrait (2020 photo courtesy of Senator Hawley’s office)

“The House Democrats have given us the first purely partisan impeachment in our history,” says Hawley. “We must leave this impeachment circus behind us and ensure that our Constitution is never again abused in this way.”

Hawley says it is time to turn the page.

“When I listen to the people of my state, I don’t hear about impeachment,” says Hawley. “I hear about the problems at home and neighborhood, of family and community, about the loss of faith in our government and about the struggle to find hope for the future.”

In a statement from St. Louis Democratic Congressman Lacy Clay, he says the Senate’s vote was not an exoneration, but a “spineless perpetuation of a dangerous coverup.” He says Senate Republicans fear Donald Trump more than the judgement of history and the will of the American people.

New York Congressman Jerry Nadler, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, says the House will likely subpoena former National Security Advisor John Bolton. Bolton has a book coming out soon that could give key information about Trump’s dealing with Ukraine.