Press Releases
Hawley Announces New Legislation to Compensate Victims of Nuclear Waste in St. Louis Area
Today U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) announced new legislation to create a fund for the victims of radioactive contamination in the St. Louis region. His announcement followed a disturbing new report that details how the federal government and companies responsible for Manhattan Project waste in the region “were aware of health risks, spills, improperly stored contaminants and other problems but often ignored them.” “The people of St. Louis have borne the burden of [the Manhattan Project] — and now it’s time for their government to make it right. What needs to happen is this: The federal government needs to pay the medical bills for any St. Louis resident who has contracted cancer or an autoimmune virus or a genetic disorder because of exposure to radioactive...
Hawley, Colleagues Demand Answers from Biden DoD on Ukraine Aid Accounting Error
U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), joined by Senators JD Vance (R-Ohio), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), and Mike Braun (R-Ind.), sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin demanding an explanation from the Department of Defense (DoD) for the reported $6.2 billion accounting error in U.S. security assistance to Ukraine. As President Biden arrives in Lithuania for a critical NATO summit, the Senators called for limits on military aid to Ukraine and questioned the DoD’s accounting procedures. "On June 20, 2023, a DoD spokesperson asserted that DoD had been 'overestimating the value' of U.S. security assistance to Ukraine by a combined $6.2 billion over fiscal years 2022 and 2023," the Senators wrote. "These so-called...
Hawley, Graves, and Missouri Members Urge the USDA to Assist with Drought Impacting Farmers and Ranchers
Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) joined Representative Sam Graves (MO-06), Senator Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), and Representatives Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-03), Jason Smith (MO-08), Mark Alford (MO-04), and Eric Burlison (MO-07) in sending a letter to United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack urging the USDA to open Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) lands for emergency haying in order to provide immediate relief for Missouri's farmers and ranchers. "Over 80 percent of Missouri is currently experiencing at least a moderate drought, with more than half the state in a severe drought, and 20 percent suffering under extreme drought conditions. These conditions have left Missouri farmers and ranchers with few remaining options to feed their livestock through the winter...
Hawley Urges EPA to Report on Coldwater Creek Chemical Spill
U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan, requesting a briefing from the EPA on the chemical spill near St. Louis Lambert Airport and Coldwater Creek. The EPA initially responded to contaminated industrial wastewater last week, and reports suggest the public was not immediately notified of the spill. "Last week, your agency responded to a chemical spill near St. Louis Lambert Airport and Coldwater Creek. While the EPA originally stated that approximately 1,000 gallons of wastewater, contaminated with trivalent chromium, may have made its way into the creek area on June 27, subsequent reports have provided additional information," wrote Senator Hawley. "These new reports...
Hawley, Braun Slam Biden Administration for Failure to Release All Information on COVID-19 Origins, Demand Full Report
Today U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Mike Braun (R-Ind.) sent a letter to Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, after the Director and the Biden Administration failed to comply with the Senators' COVID-19 Origin Act of 2023, by releasing an incomplete report on the origins of COVID-19 well beyond the statutory deadline. The Senators demanded that Director Haines provide a new, complete report including any and all information pertaining to the origins of COVID-19, within seven days. "On March 20, President Biden signed the COVID-19 Origin Act of 2023, which we introduced in the Senate to help get to the truth about China and COVID-19," the Senators wrote. "That law required the Director of National...
Hawley Demands Oversight Hearing After Biden Energy Secretary’s False Statements About Holding Stocks
U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) yesterday, urging him to schedule an oversight hearing to investigate the false statements Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm admitted to making to Senator Hawley during an April committee hearing. During the hearing, Secretary Granholm claimed she did not own any personal financial stocks, when in fact, she held individual stocks as recently as May of this year. "I write in response to Secretary Granholm’s letter to the committee dated June 9, 2023 admitting that she made false statements concerning her ownership of individual stocks," wrote Senator Hawley. "Secretary Granholm needs to return to...
‘Any Man Could’ve Walked Into Our Locker Room,’ Riley Gaines Recounts to Senator Hawley
Today in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) questioned Riley Gaines, decorated collegiate swimmer and female sports advocate. Gaines described to Senator Hawley her experiences competing against a transgender athlete, and the trauma she and her teammates endured when their privacy was invaded by being forced to undress in front of a biological male. "You were talking about just the incredible surprise, shall I say to put it gently, of finding a biological man, a 6-foot-4 biological man, in your locker room and having to accept that without being asked about it, without being told about it even. What was that like for you—tell us about that," said Senator Hawley. "I—again we only became aware we would be undressing next to a man was when...
Hawley and Braun Demand Biden Implement COVID Origins Act
U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Mike Braun (R-Ind.) have sent a letter to President Biden demanding he implement the COVID-19 Origin Act of 2023, and declassify and release all information related to the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. "We introduced the COVID-19 Origin Act of 2023 earlier this Congress to hold China accountable for its obfuscation during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic," wrote the Senators. "The American people deserve to know how this pandemic began, and their democratically elected representatives have expressed their will unanimously." In March, Senator Hawley's COVID-19 Origin Act of 2023 was signed into law by President Biden. The legislation requires the Biden administration to declassify...
Hawley, Peters Bill to Improve and Protect Rural Hospitals’ Cybersecurity Advances in Senate
Today U.S. Senator Josh Hawley's (R-Mo.) Rural Hospital Cybersecurity Enhancement Act, cosponsored by Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) Chairman Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and Senator Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), passed through committee and now heads to the Senate floor. This legislation was originally introduced in May 2023. It addresses the critical need for skilled cybersecurity professionals and digital security enhancement protocols in rural healthcare settings. In March, HSGAC members held a hearing that identified rural healthcare facilities as soft targets for cybercriminals. Unlike larger urban hospitals, rural hospitals often have little to no full-time cybersecurity personnel and are particularly exposed to cyberattacks. The...
Hawley, Blumenthal Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Protect Consumers and Deny AI Companies Section 230 Immunity
Today U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) – the Ranking Member and the Chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law, respectively – introduced the No Section 230 Immunity for AI Act. This new bipartisan legislation would clarify that Section 230 immunity will not apply to claims based on generative AI, ensuring consumers have the tools they need to protect themselves from harmful content produced by the latest advancements in AI technology. For example, AI-generated “deepfakes” – lifelike false images of real individuals – are exploding in popularity. Ordinary people can now suffer life-destroying consequences for saying things they never said, or doing things they never would. Companies complicit...