{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "is_view": false, "human_description_en": "where state = \"MO\" sorted by date descending", "rows": [["https://www.hawley.senate.gov/icymi-hawley-chairs-subcommittee-hearing-exposing-flock-cameras-calls-for-accountability/", "ICYMI: Hawley Chairs Subcommittee Hearing Exposing Flock Cameras, Calls for Accountability", "2026-09-28", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Josh Hawley", "H001089", "www.hawley.senate.gov", "hawley", "https://www.hawley.senate.gov/press-releases/page/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2014 U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) chaired a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime hearing on Flock cameras and the threat they pose to national security and the privacy of everyday Americans. This hearing follows Senator Hawley\u2019s investigation into major automated license plate reader (ALPR) companies and the nationwide AI surveillance network they have created. Hawley invited the CEOs of Flock, Axon, Motorola, and Verkada to testify in the hearing and provide answers to the American people. Each declined.\n\nFlock did provide some answers in a written letter to Senator Hawley, agreeing that Congress needs to create a federal framework to regulate these cameras. Flock also admitted to instituting some guardrails on their products after coming under public scrutiny.\n\nIn the hearing, Chairman Hawley began, \u201cThere are many players in this industry, but there\u2019s one name that really stands out above the rest, and that is Flock. If you haven\u2019t heard of Flock, all I have to say is Flock\u2019s probably heard of you. In fact, the truth is, you have probably been scanned and surveilled and tagged and logged multiple times this week alone, and that\u2019s because Flock, by its own admission and its own statistics, maintains a network of 120,000 individual cameras in 49 states all across this country. It estimates that those cameras scan and then generate some 20 billion images. That\u2019s what it means: 20 billion images of individuals in their cars or on their motorcycles or other vehicles every single month.\u201d\n\nHe continued, \u201cFlock is a privately held company. Based on what we know, it\u2019s backed by a venture capital firm. It\u2019s worth about $10 billion, and it has amassed in a very short time frame a surveillance network unlike any we\u2019ve ever seen in this country. And really, what makes it unique, based on what we can tell from the reporting and the reporting on what these networks can do\u2026 What seems to make these networks unique is not just the sheer number of cameras, it\u2019s the fact that they\u2019re all linked together and powered and searchable by AI. It\u2019s unlike anything we\u2019ve ever seen in this country before.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis is still the United States of America, and it shouldn\u2019t be that when you walk out your door in the morning, you just have to agree and assent and accept the fact that you\u2019re going to be on camera morning, noon, and night,\u201d Hawley asserted.\n\nChairman Hawley asked Alasdair Whitney, Legislative Counsel for the Institute of Justice, \u201cWhat\u2019s the difference between this technology that we\u2019re talking about today, this AI-powered technology, and a traditional license plate reader technology? \u2026 My understanding is what we\u2019re talking about here today, with this linked network of private cameras all uploading to the cloud, searchable and powered by AI, is something very different.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou said it. The fact that this technology is now interlinked with cameras across the country in this network that allows a government official or an officer in one side of the country, say California, reconstruct the past movements over weeks or even months of somebody driving in Maryland or Virginia is something that is both qualitatively and quantitatively different than \u2026 a technology that we\u2019ve ever seen before, and that is why we are concerned about this,\u201d Mr. Whitney responded. \u201cA couple of years ago, you couldn\u2019t possibly sift through 20 billion images with just a few officers, or even 100 or 1,000 officers. But AI now makes it much easier to do that with, again, a click of button or a couple of keystrokes.\u201d\n\nHawley questioned, \u201cIf you have hundreds of billions of images now that are being collected and collated and available on the cloud, and you\u2019ve got AI able to search them, you really can reconstruct, or the AI can reconstruct, the very granular movements of individuals over long periods of time. Isn\u2019t that right? I mean, they could track me driving from Missouri out here, taking my kids to school, going to church, doing everything that it is that I do, and you could do it for days and weeks at a time using this this vast network. I mean, am I exaggerating? Is that is that right?\u201d\n\nWhitney answered, \u201cYou are not exaggerating. That is exactly right. I mean, again, we\u2019ve heard from the proponents of this technology \u2026 that they don\u2019t use it to track people. I think that that\u2019s just simply not true. The value of this technology is tracking the people and is determining where they are and what they\u2019ve been doing.\u201d\n\nChairman Hawley then asked Benn Jordan, a cybersecurity engineer, \u201cThe the CEO of Flock has said \u2026 that Flock has never been hacked \u2026 Now, based on what you know, is that accurate?\u201d\n\nMr. Jordan responded, \u201cI would say that\u2019s inaccurate. The company has, at various times, changed the definitions of the word \u201chacked, tracked data, breached. But in the general definition of accessing unauthorized data, yes, I would say that they\u2019ve been hacked.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow how vulnerable, in your professional opinion, are flux systems that contain all of these images, billions with a B, billions of images?\u201d Hawley questioned.\n\n\u201cThe Flock devices that we tested were running on an old version of Android that has been out of service for years, and newer devices of Flocks run on a modified kernel of Android, which is far from government-grade security,\u201d Jordan answered.\n\n\u201cHow easy would it be for a bad actor to download, modify, and/or upload false ALPR data into this system?\u201d asked Senator Hawley.\n\nJordan said, \u201cI did find an administrative interface, as I mentioned earlier, online of live cameras, which is easy as clicking a link and then hitting a delete button to get rid of footage or something like that \u2026 In some cases, I was able to go back a week and read what was on someone\u2019s phone screen as they were texting somebody walking under the camera.\u201d\n\nHawley then turned to Lindsey Isaacs, a women wrongfully accused because of a Flock camera.\n\nHe said to her, \u201cI just want to come back to you and your extraordinary story, because I think it illustrates the the dangers here of this technology if it\u2019s not properly cabined and accounted for. I think we have a picture of you with your your beautiful new Durango, here it is. I think right. This is this is you, and that Durango does look like it\u2019s in pristine shape.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat was the day I got it,\u201d Ms. Isaacs responded.\n\n\u201cNow, as I understand it, the Durango that was involved in the vehicular crash that indeed caused three other people to die was a vehicular homicide. That Durango was maroon, red. Is that correct? This this Durango doesn\u2019t look red to me. What color is this?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cThis is a black Durango,\u201d she affirmed.\n\nSenator Hawley queried, \u201cYou are returned as a false positive out of an AI search in the flock system. We know it wasn\u2019t a traditional license plate search because they weren\u2019t your your car was never there, correct? There are no images of your car at the scene. Is that correct? And there was no assertion by anybody ever that you were there. Is that correct? It was just that the flock cameras, based on some description, some general description entered into them. The AI pulled out your car and said, \u2018This this is a match,\u2019 correct? And that led to 13 days in jail for you, including solitary confinement, and you very, very nearly lost your entire livelihood. Isn\u2019t that right?\u201d\n\nIsaacs responded in the affirmative to all his questions.\n\nChairman Hawley concluded, \u201cThe Constitution is as valuable and as valid today as it was when it was first written. If anything, the Bill of Rights protections are probably more important today than they were all those years ago because the threats to our liberties are actually much greater, and the technology that both bad foreign actors, private actors, corporations, and government have at their disposal are much more powerful. We need the Bill of Rights more than we ever did, and we\u2019ve got to find a way to enforce it.\u201d\n\nWatch the full hearing here.", 1, "2026-09-29T11:07:12Z", "2026-09-29T11:08:49Z"], ["https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/schmitt-celebrates-senate-passage-of-protect-college-sports-act/", "Schmitt Celebrates Senate Passage of Protect College Sports Act", "2026-09-28", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Eric Schmitt", "S001227", "www.schmitt.senate.gov", "schmitt", "https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/", "scraper", "U.S. SENATE \u2014 Today, U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) praised passage of the bipartisan \u201cProtect College Sports Act\u201d in the U.S. Senate. Schmitt is a lead cosponsor of the bill and spoke on the Senate floor before the vote to underscore the instability threatening college sports in America and emphasize the need for Congress to act to provide clarity while protecting student-athletes and the future of college sports.\n\n\u201cCollege sports are a uniquely American institution defined by legendary rivalries and some of the most prolific moments in sports history. College sports have created countless opportunities for student athletes to learn and grow\u2014both on and off the field, they unite Americans from all corners of the country, and they\u2019re responsible for some of the greatest American traditions. Yet over the last few years, college sports have come to be defined by increasing financial and regulatory instability that have thrown the entire system into jeopardy.\n\n\u201cAs an original co-sponsor of this bill, I called on my colleagues to do something the Senate rarely does: meet the moment. By passing the \u2018Protect College Sports Act,\u2019 we\u2019re delivering much-needed stability to college sports, protecting the future of women\u2019s and Olympic sports, and ensuring fans can continue to enjoy one of America\u2019s favorite pastimes. The ball is now in the House\u2019s court. It\u2019s time we send this bill to the President\u2019s desk. Let\u2019s get this done,\u201d said Senator Schmitt.\n\nThe \u201cProtect College Sports Act\u201d:\n\nEstablishes new eligibility guardrails for athletes so professional athletes cannot return to play college sports;\n\nImplements a one-time transfer option; and\n\nAddresses critical revenue pitfalls in college sports programs, allowing schools to take advantage of new media pooling rights to generate billions in new funding for sports programs, particularly women\u2019s and Olympic sports.\n\nSchmitt, an original cosponsor of the \u201cProtect College Sports Act,\u201d drafted the legislation with Chairman Ted Cruz (R-TX), Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and Senator Chris Coons (D-DE).\n\n###", 1, "2026-09-29T11:07:12Z", "2026-09-29T11:08:49Z"], ["https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/schmitt-introduces-modern-skies-act-to-invest-in-americas-airports-support-air-traffic-control/", "Schmitt Introduces Modern Skies Act to Invest in America\u2019s Airports, Support Air Traffic Control", "2026-09-28", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Eric Schmitt", "S001227", "www.schmitt.senate.gov", "schmitt", "https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/", "scraper", "Legislation Would Invest $30 Billion in Air Traffic Control, Airport Towers, Terminals, and Infrastructure to Improve Reliability for Americans\n\nU.S. SENATE \u2014 Today, U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) introduced the \u201cModern Skies Act\u201d to update America\u2019s aviation infrastructure by investing $30 billion in air traffic control, airport towers, airport terminals, and other critical airport infrastructure. Senator Schmitt joined Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in a press conference today to announce the bill.\n\n\u201cAir travel is more accessible than ever, but for too many Americans, getting where they need to go still feels like a gamble. Travelers face long lines, aging airports, constant delays, and an air traffic control system in desperate need of attention. That is a far cry from the golden age of American aviation that St. Louis\u2019 own Charles Lindbergh helped usher in. The Modern Skies Act will launch a new era of American aviation by building a world-class system that works better for air traffic controllers, airlines, and, most importantly, passengers,\u201d said Senator Schmitt. \u201cPresident Trump and Secretary Duffy are tackling these challenges head-on, and I\u2019m proud to lead this effort alongside them to make air travel great again.\u201d\n\n\u201cUnder President Trump, we have made historic progress revitalizing our airspace. With investments from the Working Families Tax Cut, we\u2019ve already replaced the majority of outdated copper wire with high-speed fiber in our towers, transitioned nearly a third of radios controllers used, and installed new surveillance technology in half of our target airports. We\u2019ve also reimagining how we manage the airspace \u2013 deploying a state-of-the-art scheduling tool to prevent delays and cancellations,\u201d said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. \u201cBut to finally fix air travel for the American people, we need to pass the Modern Skies Act. This bill will give us the funding we need to modernize the digital architecture powering air traffic control, replace crumbling aviation infrastructure, and build world-class airports across the country. I\u2019m grateful for Senator Schmitt\u2019s partnership to help us finish the job and deliver real change for the flying public.\u201d\n\nBackground:\n\nSchmitt\u2019s legislation builds on the $12.5 billion Congress provided through the Working Families Tax Cuts for a new Air Traffic Control system to upgrade telecommunications, radar, facilities, controller training, and runway safety. The legislation provides an additional $10 billion for Phase 2 of the modernization effort. This investment would move beyond replacing aging infrastructure and begin delivering the technology needed for more integrated management of aircraft, routes, trajectories, and airspace. For passengers, the goal is to help the FAA move flights through the country more reliably and recover more effectively when weather, congestion, or equipment problems occur.\n\nThe legislation would also invest in airports and airport infrastructure, building on President Trump\u2019s success at Dulles and continuing momentum toward restoring America\u2019s airports to the world-class standard the American people deserve.\n\nThe \u201cModern Skies Act\u201d would provide:\n\n$10 billion for an Aging Terminal Pilot Program: Modernize or rebuild major terminals at up to three medium hub airports. The pilot program would demonstrate how substantial federal investment can improve aging terminals, expand passenger capacity, preserve distinctive architecture, support airline competition, strengthen service to smaller communities, and develop design approaches that could be used by other airports.\n\n$10.1 billion for Air Traffic Control Modernization: Fund the next phase of FAA air traffic control modernization, building on the $12.5 billion investment in the One Big Beautiful Bill. The funding would support consolidation of air traffic control facilities, a common automation platform and controller workstation, cloud and telecommunications infrastructure, and modern air traffic flow-management technology. These investments would help integrate the National Airspace System, improve congestion and disruption management, and support future aviation growth.\n\nFlexibility for Existing ATC Funding: Allow the FAA to transfer previously appropriated funding among components of the Brand-New Air Traffic Control System as implementation progresses, while maintaining congressional reporting requirements.\n\n$10 billion for Terminal, Tower, and Airport Improvements: Provide $2 billion to construct and modernize air traffic control towers and facilities, including digital tower technology; $3 billion for discretionary Airport Improvement Program projects; and $5 billion for airport terminal modernization. The funding would support airports of different sizes and continue the success of the Airport Terminal Program.\n\nModernize the Full Aviation System: Together, the investments would upgrade the technology used to manage aircraft, the towers and facilities controllers rely on, and the airport infrastructure passengers and airlines depend on improving how aircraft move through the airspace while modernizing the airports where trips begin and end.\n\nFAA expects commercial flights to increase by more than 40 percent by 2046, alongside continued growth in drones, commercial space launches, and new types of aircraft.\n\nStatements of Support:\n\n\u201cU.S. airlines staunchly support President Trump and Secretary Duffy\u2019s continued efforts to modernize our nation\u2019s air traffic control (ATC) system. In the past year, DOT has proven their ability to use taxpayer dollars wisely, tackling numerous navigation and telecom projects at record speed. This progress demonstrates what is possible when our leaders prioritize sustained investment in the National Airspace System (NAS), but the work is not done,\u201d said Airlines for America President and CEO Chris Sununu. \u201cWe urge Congress to provide the additional $30 billion needed to sustain this momentum and deliver a modern ATC system equipped to meet the demand of today and tomorrow. This effort is essential to bolstering safety and efficiency, supporting the needs of the traveling and shipping public and maintaining the United States\u2019 position as the world\u2019s aviation leader.\u201d\n\n\u201cModernizing our air traffic control system was long overdue, and pilots are already seeing some of the benefits from the work that started last year. Fiber is being installed, digital radios are coming online, and dozens of airports now have better tools to keep aircraft moving safely on the ground. But the first round of funding was never going to solve every problem. Many vulnerabilities still exist that can disrupt some of the busiest airspace in the country. Addressing those will require the additional funding that is being requested. ALPA supports this request, and we appreciate Secretary Duffy\u2019s leadership and continued commitment to ensuring that the funding is put to good use,\u201d said Air Line Pilots Association President Capt. Jason Ambrosi.\n\n\u201cDepartment of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and the FAA are attempting to make meaningful progress in modernizing our nation\u2019s air traffic control system, and NATCA supports Sen. Schmidt\u2019s efforts to secure an additional $30 billion from Congress to continue that work. This investment will build on the $12.5 billion Congress provided last year, accelerate the replacement of aging infrastructure, deploy modern technology, and give the professionals who operate the National Airspace System the tools they need to keep our skies safe and efficient,\u201d said NATCA President Nick Daniels.\n\n\u201cModernizing our aviation system requires investment in both cutting-edge technology and the infrastructure that supports it. AAAE applauds the Administration\u2019s proposal for an additional $30 billion, including $10 billion for ATC towers and $10 billion for airport modernization, to enhance safety, efficiency, and reliability across the National Airspace System,\u201d said American Association of Airport Executives President & CEO Todd Hauptli.\n\n\u201cAviation manufacturers continue to invest, innovate and provide solutions that improve safety. As aircraft technologies advance, so must the equipment and facilities that keep the skies safe, secure and resilient. We applaud the Administration\u2019s proposal for new investments in the air traffic control system and airport infrastructure. It is imperative that Congress work expeditiously to approve this critical initiative to modernize and strengthen the aviation system and facilitate aviation safety and efficiency,\u201dsaid GAMA President & CEO James Viola.\n\n###", 1, "2026-09-29T11:07:12Z", "2026-09-29T11:08:49Z"], ["https://jasonsmith.house.gov/2026/09/27/smith-helps-secure-small-business-grant-for-houston-small-business-incubator/", "Smith Helps Secure Small Business Grant for Houston Small Business Incubator", "2026-09-27", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Jason Smith", "S001195", "jasonsmith.house.gov", "jasonsmith", "https://jasonsmith.house.gov/category/press_release/", "scraper", "HOUSTON, Mo. \u2013 Congressman Jason Smith (MO-08), Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, released the following statement after helping secure a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Business Development Grant for the City of Houston\u2019s Idea Lab Small Business Incubator.\n\n\u201cSmall businesses are the backbone of our economy, and everyone with the drive to start one should have a fair shot at success \u2014 no matter if they grew up in a small town like Houston or a city like St. Louis,\u201d said Congressman Smith. \u201cWhen a small business has the resources it needs to succeed, it creates jobs, keeps dollars in the local economy, and gives families the chance to build something of their own. That\u2019s the American Dream, and that\u2019s exactly why I pushed so hard for this grant.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m proud to have helped bring more than $127,000 to Texas County to make the Idea Lab a reality and provide folks in the area with the space, tools, and mentorship they need to turn their ideas into thriving businesses. I want to thank Houston\u2019s Economic Development Director Travis Witzemann, USDA Rural Development, and everyone who contributed time, effort, and funding to invest in Houston\u2019s entrepreneurs.\u201d\n\nBackground:", 1, "2026-09-28T11:29:07Z", "2026-09-28T11:30:58Z"], ["https://jasonsmith.house.gov/2026/09/25/smith-helps-secure-more-than-45-million-for-rural-missouri-hospitals/", "Smith Helps Secure More Than $45 Million for Rural Missouri Hospitals", "2026-09-25", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Jason Smith", "S001195", "jasonsmith.house.gov", "jasonsmith", "https://jasonsmith.house.gov/category/press_release/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 This week, the Trump Administration announced more than $45 million in federal investment to upgrade rural Missouri hospitals, connect providers with behavioral and maternal health specialists, and grow the emergency care workforce in rural Missouri. This investment is part of the Rural Health Transformation Program\u2019s (RHTP) historic $50 billion investment in rural healthcare, which Rep. Jason Smith (MO-08) authored as part of the Working Families Tax Cuts, also known as the One, Big, Beautiful Bill.\n\n\u201cRural hospitals are the backbone of communities like the ones I grew up in. When a rural hospital shuts its doors, that often means an extra hour on the road to see a doctor, and that extra hour can be the difference between life and death,\u201d said Rep. Jason Smith. \u201cThat\u2019s exactly why I fought to create the Rural Health Transformation Program when I was writing the One, Big, Beautiful Bill. I knew we had to make a real investment in rural healthcare, so hospitals, clinics, and EMS crews have the resources they need to continue serving the families who depend on them. I was glad to see it pay off for my hometown recently when Salem Memorial hospital received $1.7 million through the RHTP, and this announcement is just further proof that the One, Big, Beautiful Bill is delivering for families and rural communities across the nation. I will never stop fighting to make sure our rural communities have access to the quality healthcare they deserve.\u201d\n\n\u201cPresident Trump understands that every American deserves high-quality healthcare, no matter where they live,\u201d said Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. \u201cWe are putting resources directly into rural communities to strengthen the health workforce, modernize infrastructure, expand access, and bring care closer to home. We are giving states the flexibility to build solutions around the people they serve, while demanding accountability for results. That is how we strengthen rural health, improve the lives of patients and families, and Make America Healthy Again.\u201d\n\n\u201cPresident Trump made a historic commitment to rural America, and these investments are turning that commitment into better care for patients in communities across Missouri,\u201d said Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz. \u201cThis is what rural health transformation should look like: federal investment that is putting patients first, driving lasting improvements and expanding healthcare for the hardworking Americans who call these communities home.\u201d\n\n\u201cA person\u2019s ZIP code should never determine whether they can see a doctor, receive emergency care, or access the services they need to live a healthy life,\u201d said Gov. Mike Kehoe. \u201cWith this investment, we can continue to deliver meaningful improvements in rural healthcare for generations to come. We\u2019re grateful to President Trump and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for their continued partnership as we work to build a stronger, healthier future for rural Missouri.\u201d\n\nBackground:", 1, "2026-09-26T09:43:57Z", "2026-09-26T09:44:55Z"], ["https://bell.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-bell-announces-over-2-million-missouri-hbcus", "Congressman Bell Announces Over $2 Million for Missouri HBCUs", "2026-09-24", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "House", "MO", "Wesley Bell", "B001324", "bell.house.gov", "bell", "https://bell.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Today, Congressman Bell announced $2,677,061 for Missouri Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Harris-Stowe State University and Lincoln University\n\nCongressman Bell: \u201cWith adequate federal funding, they [HBCUs] can continue to educate Black Americans from Missouri and beyond for generations to come\u201d\n\nWashington, D.C. \u2013 Today, Representative Wesley Bell (D-MO-01) announced over $2 million in federal funding for Missouri Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Harris-Stowe State University and Lincoln University are set to receive $1,093,222 and $1,583,839, respectively.\n\nHarris-Stowe State University is in Congressman Bell\u2019s district.\n\n\"HBCUs have long punched above their weight,\" said Congressman Bell. \"And with adequate federal funding, they can continue to be the great equalizer for Black students (and students of all backgrounds) from Missouri and beyond for generations to come. I'll keep fighting to make sure our state's historic HBCUs have the resources they need to thrive.\"\n\nCongressman Bell has long supported our nation\u2019s HBCUs. Earlier this year, he secured a $1.03 million federal investment for Harris-Stowe to advance its Urban Policing initiatives and modernize the university's IT infrastructure. Additionally, Rep. Bell has supported several legislative efforts advocating for funding for HBCUs during the annual government funding process.\n\nThis funding is part of the U.S. Department of Education's Title III Strengthening Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Program, which provides federal support to strengthen HBCUs' academic resources, facilities, and student services.", 1, "2026-09-29T11:07:12Z", "2026-09-29T11:08:49Z"], ["https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/schmitt-introduces-legislation-to-establish-permanent-national-fraud-enforcement-division/", "Schmitt Introduces Legislation to Establish Permanent National Fraud Enforcement Division", "2026-09-23", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Eric Schmitt", "S001227", "www.schmitt.senate.gov", "schmitt", "https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/", "scraper", "Senator Schmitt\u2019s First Legislation as Chair of the Anti-Fraud Task Force\n\nU.S. SENATE \u2014 Today, U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) chairman of the Senate Anti-Fraud Task Force, introduced legislation to codify the National Fraud Enforcement Division (NFED). By codifying the NFED in statute, the bill would make the division permanent and ensure that the federal government can continue to crack down on rampant fraud and protect taxpayer dollars for years and generations to come. This is the first piece of legislation to come out of the work of Senator Schmitt\u2019s Anti-Fraud Task Force.\n\n\u201cFraud is not a victimless crime. Codifying the NFED is the first step toward strengthening oversight and accountability on behalf of the American people. So far, the Trump Administration has uncovered over $200 billion in fraud, and it\u2019s time for Congress to do its part. This is only the beginning. The era of accountability is here,\u201d said Senator Schmitt.\n\nRead the bill text HERE.\n\nBackground:\n\nIn June, Senator Schmitt launched the Senate Anti-Fraud Task Force to identify fraud, strengthen oversight, and protect taxpayer dollars through aggressive investigations, legislative reforms, and coordinated enforcement efforts.\n\nIn July, Senator Schmitt sent oversight and document preservation letters to several companies seeking information regarding potential fraud vulnerabilities in Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) systems.\n\n###", 1, "2026-09-24T09:44:48Z", "2026-09-24T09:45:52Z"], ["https://alford.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1816", "Alford, Real Estate Caucus Call on Copyright Office to Reconsider Fee Increase for Multiple Listing Services", "2026-09-22", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Mark Alford", "A000379", "alford.house.gov", "alford", "https://alford.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Congressman Mark Alford (MO-04) led a letter with his Congressional Real Estate Caucus Co-Chairs\u2014Reps. Lou Correa (CA-46), Tracey Mann (KS-01), and Brittany Petersen (CO-07)\u2014to the U.S. Copyright Office. The Real Estate Caucus is urging the Copyright Office to reconsider its fee increase on non-photographic databases, which include many Multiple Listing Services (MLSs).\n\nAt a time when high prices driven many hardworking families farther away from the American Dream of homeownership, Congress has made housing affordability a bipartisan priority. Yet, this misguided fee increase would undermine this progress by reducing transparency and increasing costs.\n\nReps. Ryan Mackenzie (PA-07), Jack Bergman (MI-01), Monica De La Cruz (TX-15), and Jimmy Patronis (FL-01) joined the Real Estate Caucus Co-Chairs in sending the letter.\n\nRead the full letter here or below:\n\n\u201cDear Register Perlmutter:\n\n\u201cWe write as Co-Chairs and members of the Bipartisan Congressional Real Estate Caucus to express our concern with the U.S. Copyright Office's final fee schedule submitted to Congress on July 14, 2026. In particular, the proposal would increase the fee for group registration of updates and revisions to non-photographic databases - the category used by many Multiple Listing Services (MLSs) - from $500 to $700 per filing. This comes only six years after the same fee increased from $85 to $500. We urge the Office to reconsider this additional increase before it takes effect.\n\n\u201cMLSs are a critical part of America's housing market. These organizations maintain the property information used every day by buyers, sellers, real estate professionals, lenders, and appraisers. They are also generally small, local, subscriber-supported organizations, not large corporations that can simply absorb repeated cost increases. Because MLS databases are continuously updated, many MLSs must register multiple times each year to maintain meaningful copyright protection against unauthorized scraping, copying, and misuse.\n\n\u201cThe proposed increase is especially difficult to justify because MLSs remain stuck using a more expensive paper-based registration process while nearly all other copyright applicants can file electronically. The Office's own analysis reportedly places the cost of processing an MLS registration at approximately $500, yet the proposed fee is $700. It makes little sense to charge MLSs above the reported cost of providing the service while denying them access to the lower-cost, modern filing system available to other registrants. Local MLSs should not be forced to subsidize a bureaucratic process they cannot avoid or modernization efforts from which they do not yet benefit.\n\n\u201cWe support a modern, efficient Copyright Office and recognize the need to recover reasonable costs. But fees should be fair, recover the reasonable cost of the service being provided, and structured to encourage -- not discourage -- copyright registration. Stakeholders have warned that MLS registrations are price sensitive and have already declined as fees have increased. At a time when Americans are facing serious housing affordability challenges, Washington should be looking for ways to reduce unnecessary costs in the housing market, not add to them.\n\n\u201cAccordingly, we respectfully ask the Copyright Office to:\n\nReconsider or delay the proposed increase from $500 to $700 and explain how that amount is justified when the Office's reported processing cost is approximately $500, including how the fee complies with the fair-and-equitable requirements of 17 U.S.C. \u00a7 708(b)(4);\n\nExplain how the Office interprets 17 U.S.C. \u00a7 708(b) and H. Rept. 105-25 to permit charging MLS registrants more than the Office's reported cost of processing MLS registrations, and identify the principles the Office applies in determining when and by how much a fee may exceed cost;\n\nExplain why the Office lacks authority to delay or modify the proposed MLS fee increase, despite having done so for other proposed fees in prior proceedings, and explain any legal or procedural constraints that would prevent it from doing so in this case;\n\nProvide a concrete plan and timeline for allowing MLS registrations to be filed electronically, including any technological or administrative barriers that remain; and\n\nExplain how the Office accounted for stakeholder evidence that MLSs are generally small, local organizations, that registrations are price sensitive, and that prior fee increases have already reduced participation.\n\n\u201cCongress has a 120-day review period, through November 12, to approve or disapprove the new fee schedule. During that time, we urge the Office to work with MLS stakeholders on a reasonable alternative that lowers processing costs, expands electronic access, and preserves strong copyright protections without imposing another disproportionate fee increase.\n\n\u201cPlease respond within 14 days of receipt of this letter. We appreciate your prompt attention to this matter and look forward to working with you.\u201d\n\n###", 1, "2026-09-23T09:45:16Z", "2026-09-23T09:46:14Z"], ["https://bell.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-bell-introduces-bipartisan-legislation-cut-bureaucratic-red-tape", "Congressman Bell Introduces Bipartisan Legislation to Cut Bureaucratic Red Tape, Delivering Disaster Relief Without Delay", "2026-09-22", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "House", "MO", "Wesley Bell", "B001324", "bell.house.gov", "bell", "https://bell.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Today, Congressman Wesley Bell announced the introduction of his bipartisan Relief Without Delay Act\n\nThe bill keeps disaster aid flowing during shutdowns, cuts bureaucratic delays, and invests in tornado preparedness\n\nThe legislation builds on Bell\u2019s previous efforts to overhaul the disaster aid process\n\nCongressman Bell: \u201cWhen a disaster tears through your community, the last thing you should have to worry about is whether Washington's dysfunction will delay your recovery needs\u201d\n\nFrom STLPR: Bell pushes disaster response package as St. Louis seeks more federal aid\n\nWashington, D.C. \u2014 Today, Representatives Wesley Bell (D-MO-01) and Jeff Hurd (R-CO-03) led 20 of their colleagues in introducing the Relief Without Delay Act, a bipartisan bill that would ensure the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster aid continues flowing to families and communities during a government shutdown.\n\nAdditionally, the bill would bring new transparency to how disaster relief dollars are spent, and strengthen the nation's tornado detection, warning systems, and community storm shelters.\n\n\"When a disaster tears through your community, the last thing you should have to worry about is whether Washington's dysfunction will delay your recovery needs,\" said Congressman Wesley Bell. \"I've seen this devastation firsthand in St. Louis. Families who\u2019ve lost everything need help to come fast, not get caught up in bureaucratic red tape. The Relief Without Delay Act makes sure disaster aid never stops, brings real transparency to how those dollars are spent, and invests in tornado warning systems and storm shelters that save lives. Recovery isn\u2019t a partisan issue. It is a promise we keep to every American, no matter what.\"\n\n\u201cWhen disaster strikes, families, local governments, and first responders should be able to count on the federal government to do its job, regardless of what is happening in Washington,\u201d said Congressman Jeff Hurd. \u201cCommunities across Colorado\u2019s Third District know how important a timely and reliable federal response is when facing wildfires, floods, and other natural disasters. I\u2019m proud to be an original cosponsor of the Relief Without Delay Act to help ensure FEMA can continue supporting disaster response and recovery without interruption, while bringing greater transparency and accountability to how federal disaster dollars are delivered.\u201d\n\nAfter the devastating tornadoes in Missouri last year, Rep. Bell has repeatedly pushed to hold the Trump Administration accountable and to ensure families receive the necessary post-disaster recovery assistance.\n\nIn October 2025, he introduced the FEMA Operations Continuity Act to ensure FEMA can continue providing disaster relief during lapses in government funding. In February 2026, he introduced the FEMA Accountability Act, requiring FEMA to publicly report monthly on disaster relief fund expenditures.\u200b Most recently, Congressman Bell introduced the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Automated Assessment Act, \u201cCDBG AAA,\u201d which seeks to improve how the federal government identifies and addresses unmet housing, infrastructure, and economic recovery needs after major disasters.\n\nIn addition to Representatives Bell and Hurd, cosponsors supporting this measure include Representatives Jared Moskowitz (D-FL-23), Troy A. Carter (D-LA-02), Sanford D. Bishop (D-GA-02), Kweisi Mfume (D-MD-07), Brad Sherman (D-CA-32), Cleo Fields (D-LA-06), Nikki Budzinski (D-IL-13), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL-25), Christian D. Menefee (D-TX-18), Robert Garcia (D-CA-42), Henry C. \"Hank\" Johnson (D-GA-04), Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA-10), Frank J. Mrvan (D-IN-01), Lois Frankel (D-FL-22), Jill N. Tokuda (D-HI-02), Darren Soto (D-FL-09), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-08), Eric Sorensen (D-IL-17), and Josh Riley (D-NY-19).\n\nThe Relief Without Delay bill text can be found HERE.", 1, "2026-09-23T09:45:16Z", "2026-09-23T09:46:14Z"], ["https://wagner.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/trump-administration-announces-more-45-million-upgrade-rural-missouri", "Trump Administration Announces More Than $45 Million to Upgrade Rural Missouri Hospitals, Connect Families to Rapid Psychiatric Consultations and Maternal Care, and Train More EMS Professionals Across Missouri", "2026-09-22", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Ann Wagner", "W000812", "wagner.house.gov", "wagner", "https://wagner.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 The Trump Administration announced today that more than $45 million in Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) funding is being delivered to support rural healthcare for Missouri residents. This investment will support hospital infrastructure improvements, expand behavioral and maternal healthcare access, and strengthen the rural emergency medical services workforce.\n\nThe announcement includes approximately $35 million to support 20 rural hospital projects \u2014 covering facility improvements, building system upgrades, new diagnostic equipment, and renovated critical care and treatment spaces. It also includes up to $6.4 million to connect rural providers with behavioral health and perinatal specialists, including rapid psychiatric consultations, often within 30 minutes, for children and families, along with referral services, provider training, and additional support for pregnant and postpartum patients. And up to $4.2 million will grow Missouri's rural EMS workforce, with 437 individuals selected to begin funded EMT and paramedic training and incentives for rural agencies to hire and retain certified staff. These investments build on the Administration\u2019s more than $7 million in funding previously announced to strengthen Missouri\u2019s rural maternal health workforce through expanded doula training and certification and to expand mobile healthcare and community paramedicine services across rural communities.\n\n\u201cI was proud to vote for this funding in the Working Families Tax Cut legislation, so our rural hospitals have the necessary resources to provide patients with the top-notch healthcare they need and deserve. This is a transformative investment in rural healthcare that will support healthier families for generations to come. I will keep working with the Administration to ensure our local hospitals here in Missouri continue to modernize and have the funding flexibility to support patients close to home in the ways that work best for them,\u201d said Rep. Ann Wagner\n\n\u201cPresident Trump understands that every American deserves high-quality healthcare, no matter where they live,\u201d said Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. \u201cWe are putting resources directly into rural communities to strengthen the health workforce, modernize infrastructure, expand access, and bring care closer to home. We are giving states the flexibility to build solutions around the people they serve, while demanding accountability for results. That is how we strengthen rural health, improve the lives of patients and families, and Make America Healthy Again.\u201d\n\n\u201cPresident Trump made a historic commitment to rural America, and these investments are turning that commitment into better care for patients in communities across Missouri,\u201d said Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz. \u201cThis is what rural health transformation should look like: federal investment that is putting patients first, driving lasting improvements and expanding healthcare for the hardworking Americans who call these communities home.\u201d\n\nToday\u2019s investment was made possible through the Working Families Tax Cuts Act \u2014 passed by Republicans in Congress and unanimously opposed by Democrats \u2014 delivering a historic $50 billion investment to help states transform the way healthcare is delivered in America.\n\n\u201cA person\u2019s ZIP code should never determine whether they can see a doctor, receive emergency care, or access the services they need to live a healthy life,\u201d said Gov. Mike Kehoe. \u201cWith this investment, we can continue to deliver meaningful improvements in rural healthcare for generations to come. We\u2019re grateful to President Trump and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for their continued partnership as we work to build a stronger, healthier future for rural Missouri.\u201d\n\n\u201cRural communities deserve high-quality healthcare \u2014 and for many Americans, rural hospitals are the only option available. Choosing to live outside of a major metro area shouldn\u2019t mean you receive subpar care. As affordability remains top-of-mind for many American families, Republicans have been fighting for policies that lower costs and make life better for our nation. The Working Families Tax Cuts enacted new, historic investment into rural healthcare services and included my provision to expand home and community-based options for individuals with special needs. This announcement of additional RHTP funding for rural healthcare is yet another step in Republicans\u2019 efforts to deliver for rural communities and help Americans live healthier lives,\u201d said Sen. Eric Schmitt\n\n\u201cThe Rural Health Transformation Program, authorized by the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, is putting critical resources directly into the services and care Missouri families rely on. As a physician, I have seen firsthand how important it is for patients, especially those in rural communities, to have access to quality care close to home. These investments will strengthen our healthcare workforce, equip rural hospitals to better serve their patients, and help ensure Missourians can access the care they need,\u201d said Rep. Bob Onder.\n\n\u201cAmericans should not have to drive an hour or more to get the care they need, and the Rural Health Transformation Program is helping us change that. House Republicans enacted the largest investment in rural healthcare in American history through our Working Families Tax Cuts. We are putting resources directly into rural hospitals, EMS systems, behavioral health services, and maternal care that Missouri families rely on. I\u2019ve visited nearly every rural hospital in Missouri\u2019s Fourth District, and I\u2019ve seen firsthand what these investments mean for keeping hospital doors open, strengthening our healthcare workforce, and ensuring families can receive quality care close to home. This is exactly what the Rural Health Transformation Program was designed to do: strengthen rural communities and ensure the heartland is not left behind,\u201d said Rep. Mark Alford.\n\n\u201cRural hospitals are a lifeline for our communities. Whether it\u2019s a broken bone, a farm accident, or just routine care, we depend on them to be there when we need them. That can\u2019t happen if they aren\u2019t open, which is why we passed the Rural Health Transformation Program last year. The expansion of maternal healthcare access and rural EMS workforce, that are included in this funding, are critical needs in North Missouri. I\u2019m thrilled to see this funding continue to make its way to our communities, so we can ensure that rural Missourians have access to the quality healthcare they depend on,\u201d said Rep. Sam Graves\n\n\"Rural hospitals are the backbone of communities like the ones I grew up in. When a rural hospital shuts its doors, that often means an extra hour on the road to see a doctor, and that extra hour can be the difference between life and death,\u201d said Rep. Jason Smith. \"That's exactly why I fought to create the Rural Health Transformation Program when I was writing the One, Big, Beautiful Bill. I knew we had to make a real investment in rural healthcare, so hospitals, clinics, and EMS crews have the resources they need to continue serving the families who depend on them. I was glad to see it pay off for my hometown recently when Salem Memorial hospital received $1.7 million through the RHTP, and this announcement is just further proof that the One, Big, Beautiful Bill is delivering for families and rural communities across the nation. I will never stop fighting to make sure our rural communities have access to the quality healthcare they deserve.\"\n\nToday\u2019s announcement is one part of the larger overall funding amount awarded to Missouri for fiscal year 2026.\n\nMissouri's broader RHTP strategy is designed to strengthen coordination and build a more sustainable rural healthcare system. Key initiatives the overall RHTP funding will focus on include:\n\nStrengthening local and regional care networks: Supporting local community hubs and regional networks to improve care coordination and better connect rural Missourians with healthcare providers and services.\n\nBuilding the rural healthcare workforce: Supporting recruitment, training, clinical education, and retention strategies to strengthen the pipeline of healthcare professionals serving rural communities.\n\nAdvancing technology and data: Building shared digital infrastructure and improving interoperability and data sharing to better connect rural providers and support coordinated care.\n\nTransforming rural care delivery: Supporting provider modernization and innovative care and payment models designed to improve care and strengthen long-term sustainability.\n\nThe Trump Administration is delivering on its commitment to strengthen rural America by investing in solutions that modernize technology to promote health and well-being for rural communities. Led by CMS, the RHTP is moving beyond the failed one-size-fits-all approach and giving rural communities the tools to build stronger, more innovative, and more sustainable health systems that deliver better care and better outcomes for the Americans they serve.", 1, "2026-09-24T10:30:22Z", "2026-09-24T10:31:42Z"], ["https://burlison.house.gov/media/press-releases/burlison-sought-1952-uap-recording-released", "Burlison-Sought 1952 UAP Recording Released", "2026-09-21", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Eric Burlison", "B001316", "burlison.house.gov", "burlison", "https://burlison.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 A previously unavailable 1952 recording sought by Congressman Eric Burlison (MO-07) was released today as part of the Trump administration\u2019s ongoing effort to declassify and release government records related to unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP).\n\nIn May, Burlison wrote to MIT Lincoln Laboratory seeking the preservation and review of a reel-to-reel recording identified as \u201cAF-ATIC-FILM, 03/52\u201d and labeled \u201cflying saucer talk,\u201d which featured a presentation by Air Force officer Edward J. Ruppelt discussing the Air Force\u2019s knowledge of UAP at the time. Burlison requested that the recording be located, preserved, digitized, and reviewed for inclusion in the National Archives\u2019 UAP Records Collection.\n\nThe recording and an accompanying transcript were released today through the Department of War\u2019s Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE).\n\n\u201cThis is exactly why we have continued pushing to find, preserve, and release these historical records. More than 70 years ago, the Air Force was investigating reports of UAP around some of our nation\u2019s most sensitive facilities and radar returns indicating extraordinary speeds of travel,\u201d said Congressman Burlison. \u201cThis tape presents a juxtaposition to the framing that UAP interest in our nation\u2019s nuclear sites is new and can be explained as adversarial drones from foreign countries. While not conclusive, it shows that as far back as 1952, our military was receiving credible reports of unexplained technologies in our airspace, and the American people deserve to hear this historical discussion for themselves.\u201d\n\nDuring the March 1952 presentation, Ruppelt said approximately 20 percent of roughly 800 reports reviewed by the Air Force could not be explained, including reports from military personnel, airline pilots, scientists, engineers, and other technically trained observers.\n\nRuppelt also identified concentrations of reports around Los Alamos, Albuquerque, White Sands, and Oak Ridge. He later discussed unexplained Air Defense Command radar returns indicating speeds between 1,000 and approximately 3,500 miles per hour but noted investigators had not ruled out radar malfunctions or atmospheric phenomena.\n\nThroughout the presentation, Ruppelt emphasized that the Air Force had not determined the nature or origin of the phenomena and needed better collection of physical data to evaluate the reports.\n\nListen to the recording and read the transcript.", 1, "2026-09-22T09:42:49Z", "2026-09-22T09:44:35Z"], ["https://cleaver.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/house-representatives-passes-water-resources-development-act-multiple", "House of Representatives Passes Water Resources Development Act with Multiple Priorities Secured by Rep. Cleaver", "2026-09-18", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "House", "MO", "Emanuel Cleaver", "C001061", "cleaver.house.gov", "cleaver", "https://cleaver.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "(Washington, D.C.) \u2013 This week, the House of Representatives passed the Water Resources Development Act of 2026, bipartisan legislation that authorizes critical U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects to strengthen infrastructure, protect communities, and support long-term economic growth. The legislation includes numerous provisions championed by U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) that will benefit the Fifth Congressional District of Missouri.\n\n\u201cThe investments made in this year\u2019s WRDA legislation, including several infrastructure improvements I was able to secure for our congressional district, will lead to better protection for the Missouri River, cleaner water for Missouri families, and stronger economic development for communities throughout the region,\u201d said Congressman Cleaver. \u201cI was pleased to obtain critical funding that will go towards local projects that will improve water quality for families while preserving water resources for western Missouri, and I look forward to the legislation being signed into law.\"\n\nThe provisions secured by Congressman Cleaver include:\n\nA $45 million authorization for Phase 5 of the Brookside Sewer Separation Project in Kansas City\n\nLanguage prohibiting out-of-basin water transfers from the Missouri River and its tributaries, helping safeguard one of the region\u2019s most vital natural resources\n\nAuthorization of the Lower Missouri River Flood Risk and Resiliency Comprehensive Study, a critical step toward protecting communities from increasingly severe flooding while improving long-term resilience throughout the region\n\nThe $45 million authorization for the Phase 5 of Kansas City\u2019s Brookside Sewer Separation Project will support ongoing efforts to modernize aging wastewater infrastructure, reduce sewer overflows, improve water quality, and protect public health while ensuring the city can continue meeting federal environmental standards.\n\nThe bill also includes Congressman Cleaver\u2019s effort to prevent out-of-basin water transfers from the Missouri River and its tributaries, preserving water resources that are essential to communities, agriculture, navigation, industry, and ecosystems throughout Missouri and neighboring states.\n\nAdditionally, the legislation authorizes the Lower Missouri River Flood Risk and Resiliency Comprehensive Study, allowing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to evaluate long-term strategies to reduce flood risk, strengthen community resilience, and improve management of the Lower Missouri River in the face of increasingly frequent severe weather events.\n\nThe Water Resources Development Act of 2026 is considered every two years and authorizes U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects that improve navigation, flood protection, ecosystem restoration, and water infrastructure across the country.\n\nOfficial text of the Water Resources Development Act of 2026 is available here.\n\nEmanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri's Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee's Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Greenwood, Blue Springs, North Kansas City, Gladstone, and Claycomo. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee and Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance.", 1, "2026-09-19T09:11:33Z", "2026-09-19T09:12:45Z"], ["https://jasonsmith.house.gov/2026/09/18/smith-secures-22-4-million-in-fema-funding-for-perryville-high-school-repairs-after-devastating-tornado/", "Smith Secures $22.4 Million in FEMA Funding for Perryville High School Repairs After Devastating Tornado", "2026-09-18", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Jason Smith", "S001195", "jasonsmith.house.gov", "jasonsmith", "https://jasonsmith.house.gov/category/press_release/", "scraper", "PERRYVILLE, Mo. \u2013 This week, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced $22.4 million in Public Assistance funding for Perry County School District No. 32. Congressman Jason Smith (MO-08) released the following statement applauding the award, which his office fought to secure to help support the reconstruction of Perryville High School after a tornado caused catastrophic damage.\n\nCongressman Smith said, \u201cLast year\u2019s tornado completely destroyed Perryville High School, causing students to attend classes in tents and temporary buildings ever since. I saw the destruction firsthand and it was absolutely devastating, but the resilience and solidarity this community showed in the aftermath blew me away. Day after day, neighbors showed up for neighbors to help each other out and make sure no one had to deal with this disaster alone \u2014 that\u2019s what Southeast Missouri is all about.\n\n\u201cI was proud to fight to deliver this funding and ensure this community can rebuild a high school that they\u2019re proud of. Thank you to the Trump Administration and Secretary Mullin for coming through to help the families and students affected, and I\u2019ll keep fighting to make sure Perryville gets all the resources they need to fully recover.\u201d\n\nBackground:", 1, "2026-09-19T09:11:33Z", "2026-09-19T09:12:45Z"], ["https://www.hawley.senate.gov/chairman-hawley-invites-ceos-of-flock-competitors-to-testify-next-week/", "Chairman Hawley Invites CEOs of Flock, Competitors to Testify Next Week", "2026-09-18", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Josh Hawley", "H001089", "www.hawley.senate.gov", "hawley", "https://www.hawley.senate.gov/press-releases/page/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2014 U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) invited the CEOs of four surveillance companies, including Flock Safety, to testify before Senator Hawley\u2019s Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism on September 23, 2026, in a hearing entitled \u201cAlways Watching: Flock\u2019s Nationwide AI Surveillance Network.\u201d This comes after Senator Hawley launched and expanded his investigation into AI-powered surveillance cameras amidst rising concerns about the threat that this technology poses to privacy and national security.\n\nSenator Hawley has invited the following CEOs to testify:\n\nGarrett Langley | Flock Safety\n\nRick Smith | Axon Enterprise\n\nGreg Brown | Motorola Solutions\n\nFilip Kaliszan | Verkada\n\nSenator Hawley\u2019s concern led him to write an op-ed in The Daily Wire after announcing an investigation into companies like Flock, which operates 120,000 AI-powered cameras across the United States. Senator Hawley raises concerns about how Flock\u2019s collection of citizens\u2019 data and personal information poses privacy threats and potentially violates existing laws.", 1, "2026-09-19T09:11:33Z", "2026-09-19T09:12:45Z"], ["https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/senator-schmitts-bipartisan-bill-to-honor-ems-professionals-signed-into-law-by-president-trump/", "Senator Schmitt\u2019s Bipartisan Bill to Honor EMS Professionals Signed Into Law by President Trump", "2026-09-18", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Eric Schmitt", "S001227", "www.schmitt.senate.gov", "schmitt", "https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/", "scraper", "Bill Reauthorizes Continued Efforts to Construct a Memorial to Recognize the Heroism of EMS Professionals Who Have Fallen in the Line of Duty\n\nU.S. SENATE \u2014 Today, U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) celebrated President Trump signing his bipartisan bill into law to extend the National Emergency Services Memorial Foundation\u2019s authority to construct a national memorial in Washington, D.C. honoring the heroism, courage, and enduring sacrifice of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) professionals who have fallen in the line of duty and those who continue to serve. The \u201cNational Emergency Medical Services Memorial Extension Act\u201d gives the Foundation additional time to complete the memorial, ensuring EMS professionals are permanently recognized in our nation\u2019s capital. President Trump signed Senator Schmitt\u2019s bill into law the day of the 25th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, a worthy fit given the eight on-duty Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics killed on that tragic day.\n\n\u201cThis bipartisan victory is about honoring the men and women who dedicate their lives to protecting others. EMS professionals run toward emergencies when others are running away, and too many have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to their communities. I\u2019m proud to see President Trump sign this bill into law so we can ensure those heroes are remembered with the lasting recognition they deserve,\u201d said Senator Schmitt.\n\nThe original bill, titled the \u201cNational Emergency Medical Services Commemorative Work Act,\u201d was signed into law by President Trump in 2018 and authorized the National Emergency Medical Services Memorial Foundation to establish a commemorative work on federal land in Washington, D.C. within seven years of enactment. The authorization expired in 2025, and the new law extends the Foundation\u2019s authority to establish the memorial through 2032.\n\nInstead of using taxpayer dollars, the memorial is fully funded by the Foundation, with any surplus funds returned to the federal government once the project is complete.\n\nSenator Schmitt led this bipartisan legislation alongside Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) to extend the authorization\u2019s deadline.\n\nThe bill was endorsed by the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT), the American Ambulance Association (AAA), and the International Association of EMS Chiefs (IAEMSC).\n\nRead the full bill HERE.\n\n###", 1, "2026-09-19T09:11:33Z", "2026-09-19T09:12:45Z"], ["https://cleaver.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressman-cleaver-votes-legislation-protect-missourians-paying", "Congressman Cleaver Votes for Legislation to Protect Missourians from Paying for Development of Data Centers", "2026-09-17", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "House", "MO", "Emanuel Cleaver", "C001061", "cleaver.house.gov", "cleaver", "https://cleaver.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "(Washington, D.C.) \u2013 Yesterday, U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) voted in favor of the Ratepayer Protection Act to protect Missouri families from bearing the burden of increased costs for energy and grid upgrades required for the development of new data centers. The legislation was passed by the House of Representatives with a bipartisan majority.\n\nThe Ratepayer Protection Act requires state utility regulators to establish rules to ensure that community members do not pay for the costs of building new power generation, transmission lines, and other upgrades to serve large-load customers, including data centers. Without proper safeguards, families and small businesses in communities where data center development occurs could see higher electricity bills at the end of every month.\n\n\u201cAt a time when Missouri families are already struggling to stay afloat, they should not have to bear the costs of data center development in the form of higher energy bills at the end of every month,\u201d said Congressman Cleaver. \u201cThis bipartisan legislation is a commonsense step to ensure that burden falls on the corporations building these projects, not the people of Missouri\u2019s Fifth District. However, I know there is more that Congress must do to protect the American people, which is why I will continue pushing for stronger safeguards that ensure Silicon Valley CEOs are not taking advantage of our communities.\u201d\n\nThe Ratepayer Protection Act would propose standards that state regulators could enforce when considering the integration of new large-load customers with a demand of 100 megawatts or more onto the grid. Those recommendations include:\n\nRecovery of the full incremental cost of upgrades by the large-load customer over a long period of time through a special rate charge or other agreements. This protects utilities and their ratepayers from being left responsible for upgrade costs associated with a large-load customer, even if that customer later reduces operations or leaves the system entirely.\n\nFinancial assurances that require the large load customer to pay for any generation, transmission, or other infrastructure necessary to serve their load, protecting utilities and ratepayers from that financial burden. This ensures large-load customers are responsible for the fixed costs associated with serving their demand rather than passing those costs on to families and businesses through higher monthly electricity bills.\n\nOfficial text of the Ratepayer Protection Act is available here.\n\nEmanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri's Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee's Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Greenwood, Blue Springs, North Kansas City, Gladstone, and Claycomo. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee and Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance.", 1, "2026-09-18T09:27:43Z", "2026-09-18T09:29:09Z"], ["https://cleaver.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/reps-cleaver-and-wagner-introduce-backlog-justice-act-2026", "Reps. Cleaver and Wagner Introduce Backlog Justice Act of 2026", "2026-09-17", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "House", "MO", "Emanuel Cleaver", "C001061", "cleaver.house.gov", "cleaver", "https://cleaver.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "(Washington, D.C.) \u2013 This week, U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) and Representative Ann Wagner (R-MO) reintroduced the Backlog Justice Act of 2026, legislation designed to bring justice to victims of sexual violence by addressing the national backlog of untested sexual assault kits (SAKs).\n\nAlmost every minute, someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted. After an assault, survivors can choose to undergo a thorough forensic analysis conducted by a doctor or nurse, where medical needs are evaluated and key evidence is obtained from their person. That evidence, which can include samples of the perpetrator\u2019s hair and bodily fluids and evidence of the harm they inflicted on the victim, is then collected and stored in an SAK. The evidence in SAKs can be key to catching perpetrators, delivering justice to victims, exonerating innocent parties, and connecting cases of assaults carried out by serial offenders.\n\nUnfortunately, far too often, SAKs are not tested. Bias against victims, lack of training and technology, and under-resourced crime labs are just some of the many factors that have created this crisis. Today, experts estimate the national untested SAK backlog ranges from the tens of thousands to the hundreds of thousands. This is a failure that must be addressed.\n\n\u201cToo often, the trauma of sexual assault is made even more painful by delayed justice,\u201d said Rep. Cleaver. \u201cHaving already lived through a horrific experience, survivors must often deal with additional trauma from a system that doesn\u2019t believe them, doesn\u2019t prioritize them, and doesn\u2019t hold perpetrators accountable for their crimes. While untested SAKs sit on shelves, survivors live in fear while predators continue to walk free. By leveraging the coordination and capacity-building powers of the federal government, the Backlog Justice Act is a step towards addressing this vital issue, bringing justice to victims, and keeping our communities safe. I thank Rep. Wagner and our colleagues from both sides of the aisle for their partnership in this important effort.\u201d\n\n\u201cFor years I have fought for the rights and safety of survivors of sexual assault, and I am proud to join my colleagues in introducing this bipartisan legislation to advance that work and further reduce the sexual assault kit backlog,\u201d said Congresswoman Wagner. \u201cThe Backlog Justice Act will create a tracking system to ensure states fully understand the extent of their backlog so we can deploy resources in the areas that need it most. This updated system will help law enforcement work more effectively with state, local, and federal authorities to identify perpetrators and make sure survivors find the justice they deserve. This bill complements and strengthens my Debbie Smith Act, legislation signed into law in 2024 that gave more funding for rape kit testing and was also supported by Congressman Cleaver.\u201c\n\n\u201cMOCADSV is pleased to continue our support of the Backlog Justice Act sponsored by Missouri Congressman Cleaver and Congresswoman Wagner,\u201d said Cheryl Robb-Welch, CEO of the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Violence. \u201cThe representatives have remained diligent in their efforts to listen to advocates in the field and the victims they serve, and we appreciate their dedication to responding to sexual violence. The Backlog Justice Act aims to improve technology and knowledge used in forensic testing of sexual assault kits, strives to increase funding to ensure kits are tested and tracked through the process, and enhances accountability nationwide to ensure sexual assault kits are included in an electronic tracking and notification system that is available to victims. This bill will shine a light on each state\u2019s forensic kit inventories and processing times with the goal of improving national sexual assault response. We believe this is a significant step to ensuring that the days of kits sitting on shelves and the system not responding to rape victims are over.\u201d\n\n\u201cAdditional resources for forensic science services providers are vital in ensuring that victims are taken seriously,\u201d said Matthew Gamette, Chair of the Consortium of Forensic Science Organizations. \u201cSurvivors deserve to have their kits tested, have visibility to the status of their kits, their cases investigated and prosecuted, and their perpetrators held accountable. Forensic science training, technology implementation, appropriate and robust validation of technology are critical to solving sexual assault cases in the United States. Robust and reliable forensic science is support for victims of crime.\"\n\n\u201cThe National Alliance to End Sexual Violence commends Representatives Wagner and Cleaver for their leadership on behalf of survivors of sexual assault,\u201d said Terri Poore, Policy Director for NAESV. \u201cSurvivors deserve to have the evidence from their bodies treated with the utmost sensitivity and diligence, and we must make every effort to keep our communities safe. We are proud to endorse the Backlog Reduction Act of 2026.\"\n\nSpecifically, the Backlog Justice Act of 2026 would:\n\nDirect the Bureau of Justice Assistance to establish, maintain, and update a National Sexual Assault Kit Backlog Database, enabling policymakers and advocates alike to have more comprehensive data so that they can recommend and implement more precise policies and funding levels in order more effectively reduce the backlog. The information on the database would be anonymized and include no personally identifiable information about victims.\n\nAuthorize training programs at the FBI laboratory to increase the number of DNA analysts available to test SAKs in crime labs across the country. The severe understaffing of crime labs is a key factor contributing to the backlog in kit testing.\n\nShift the burden of DNA instrument calibration and validation from individual crime labs to the FBI laboratory. In many jurisdictions, untested SAKs have outpaced the resources to test, process, and profile DNA samples in crime labs. One major reason for this is because lab technicians are often having to spend outsized portions of their time testing and validating the lab instruments used in the DNA testing process. By transferring much of the instrument validation burden over to FBI labs, DNA analysts in crime labs across the country would be able to focus more of their time and resources actually testing SAKs rather than calibrating lab instruments.\n\nIncentivize states to implement Electronic Evidence Tracking Systems for SAKs to increase transparency into the testing process for survivors and their advocates. In many states, once the DNA sample is collected, survivors are unable to access any information about the status of their kit in the testing process. The kit testing process should not be a black box for survivors and their advocates, who deserve transparent justice.\n\nThe Backlog Justice Act of 2026 is cosponsored by Reps. Alma Adams (NC-12), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Salud Carbajal (CA-24), Judy Chu (CA-28), Yvette Clarke (NY-09), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Debbie Dingell (MI-06), Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01), Josh Harder (CA-09), Mike Lawler (NY-17), Stephen Lynch (MA-08), Ryan Mackenzie (PA-07), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-AL), Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Mike Quigley (IL-05), Lateefah Simon (CA-12), Shri Thanedar (MI-13), and Frederica Wilson (FL-24).\n\nThe Backlog Justice Act of 2026 is endorsed by the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Violence, American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors, the Consortium of Forensic Science Organizations, and the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence.\n\nOfficial text of the Backlog Justice Act of 2026 is available here.\n\nEmanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri's Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee's Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Greenwood, Blue Springs, North Kansas City, Gladstone, and Claycomo. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee and Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance.", 1, "2026-09-18T09:27:43Z", "2026-09-18T09:29:09Z"], ["https://graves.house.gov/media/press-releases/graves-water-resources-bill-passes-house", "Graves' Water Resources Bill Passes House", "2026-09-17", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Sam Graves", "G000546", "graves.house.gov", "graves", "https://graves.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 The House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved H.R. 9497, the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2026, a bipartisan bill that addresses improvements for the nation\u2019s ports and harbors, inland waterway navigation system, flood and storm risk management, environment, and other aspects of our water resources infrastructure. The bill, introduced by Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves (MO-06), was approved 415 to 9 on Wednesday.\n\nCommunities nationwide and the U.S. economy rely on WRDA-authorized investments in water resources infrastructure and projects of the United States Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). Since 2014, Congress has enacted a WRDA every two years to help improve water resources infrastructure. WRDA-authorized projects of the Corps are locally-driven projects that deliver regional and national benefits.\n\n\u201cWRDA 2026 makes significant improvements across the country to our inland waterways, ports and harbors, flood protection, and other critical water infrastructure. This bill also makes common-sense reforms to the Army Corps of Engineers\u2019 policies, empowers local communities, and expedites project delivery,\u201d said Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO). \u201cFor North Missouri, WRDA 2026 advances a comprehensive flood control plan on the Missouri River, ensuring that people and property are the main priority when managing the river. It also expands the ways our levee owners can work with the Corps to build flood risk management infrastructure and provides necessary, streamlined assistance to levee districts facing maintenance challenges. I look forward to working with the other chief sponsors of this bill \u2013 T&I Ranking Member Rick Larsen, Subcommittee Chairman Mike Collins, and Subcommittee Ranking Member Frederica Wilson \u2013 in addition to my colleagues in the House and our counterparts in the Senate to see a final WRDA bill signed into law by the end of this Congress.\u201d\n\nAs approved by the House today, WRDA 2026 authorizes 133 new feasibility studies for locally proposed water resources infrastructure projects and 14 projects that have been vetted by the Corps and are ready for construction authorization by Congress.\n\nIn addition, WRDA 2026 includes various policy changes to improve infrastructure project delivery. These include strengthening and reauthorizing alternative project delivery programs, emphasizing non-federal interests\u2019 input for feasibility studies, and helping ensure non-federal interests can find the right Corps resources to get projects off the ground.\n\nThe bill improves the partnership between the Corps and non-federal interests by establishing offices with expertise on inland navigation, alternative delivery, water supply, and technical assistance. Policies in this bill will improve non-federal interests\u2019 ability to obtain valuable technical assistance and to fund construction more quickly, as well as to encourage the Corps to increase use of multi-year contracts.\n\nWRDA 2026 provisions will better support the Corps\u2019 navigation mission, improve the Corps\u2019 accountability to Congress, strengthen flood and coastal storm risk management, and address dam safety through the reauthorization of the High Hazard Potential Dam program under the Federal Emergency Management Agency\u2019s (FEMA\u2019s) National Dam Safety Program.\n\nWins for North Missouri:\n\nStreamlines the Corps of Engineers\u2019 process so local partners can more easily make needed improvements to federal water projects.\n\nProtects the Missouri River by ensuring its waters cannot be diverted out of the basin to Western states without the Governor\u2019s approval.\n\nDirects the Corps to develop and implement a comprehensive strategy to slow the buildup of sediment in the largest reservoir system in the country, the Missouri River Reservoir System, preserving the storage capacity necessary to protect communities from flooding and support navigation.\n\nImplements a comprehensive flood protection plan on the Lower Missouri River that puts local levee districts and communities in the drivers seat to move new flood control projects forward with help from the Corps.\n\nEnsures members of the Missouri River Recovery Implementation Committee (MRRIC) elect their own chair, giving navigators, levee districts, communities, and other stakeholders a stronger voice in the committee.\n\nEnsures Mississippi River communities and levee districts aren\u2019t hit with devastating new bureaucratic requirements until the Corps comes up with a workable plan to protect communities from flooding.\n\nAuthorizes a nationwide review of the inland waterways to identify ways to modernize and strengthen them for the future.\n\nEncourages the Corps to clearly communicate what land rights local interests actually need to maintain flood protection projects.\n\n###", 1, "2026-09-18T09:27:43Z", "2026-09-18T09:29:09Z"], ["https://onder.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressmen-onder-and-landsman-introduce-bipartisan-legislation-protect", "Congressmen Onder and Landsman Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Protect Patients", "2026-09-17", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Robert F. Onder, Jr.", "O000177", "onder.house.gov", "onder", "https://onder.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE\n\nSeptember 17, 2026\n\nContact: Brooke Morgan\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, Congressman Bob Onder (R-MO) and Congressman Greg Landsman (D-OH) introduced the bipartisan Protecting Approved Care Act.\n\nThis legislation ensures that when a Medicare Advantage plan approves care, that approval holds. It bars plans from reversing coverage, clawing back payment, or downcoding claims after the fact, giving patients and their doctors the certainty they need to move forward with treatment.\n\n\u201cAs a physician, I know that when a plan approves a treatment, the doctor and the patient need to be able to count on it,\u201d said Congressman Bob Onder, M.D. \u201cReaching back months later to claw back payment for care a plan already approved undermines that certainty and makes it harder for physicians to keep seeing their patients. This bill makes Medicare Advantage plans keep their word, and I\u2019m glad to work with Rep. Landsman on it.\u201d\n\n\u201cEven as health care costs rise, these insurance companies continue to take advantage of Americans by putting their business over patients. These predatory practices have to end. If coverage is approved, they need to keep their word,\u201d said Congressman Greg Landsman.\n\n\"As an orthopaedic surgeon, I applaud Rep. Onder and my fellow Ohioan Rep. Landsman for taking action to bring accountability and stability to the Medicare Advantage program. The AAOS is proud to support the Protecting Approved Care Act and looks forward to working alongside Congress to strengthen the prior authorization system for patients and physicians,\u201d said Joel L. Mayerson, M.D., Chair, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Advocacy Council.\n\nClickHERE to read the full bill text.\n\nBackground Information\n\nThe Protecting Approved Care Act provides greater certainty around prior authorization decisions made by Medicare Advantage plans and ensures providers can rely on an approval when delivering care to their patients.\n\nToday, a Medicare Advantage plan can approve care before it\u2019s delivered, then later reverse that decision or recoup payment from the physician or hospital. Providers absorb those clawbacks, which creates financial uncertainty for practices and can discourage them from treating Medicare Advantage patients, ultimately limiting patients\u2019 access to care.\n\nUnder the Protecting Approved Care Act, once a Medicare Advantage plan approves an item or service, whether before treatment or while the patient is receiving care, the plan may not:\n\nDeny coverage based on lack of medical necessity.\n\nReopen its coverage or payment decision, except for good cause or reliable evidence of fraud.\n\nDowncode the claim to reduce payment, except for good cause or reliable evidence of fraud.\n\nIf services do not require prior authorization:\n\nThe service must be treated as if prior authorization was granted.\n\nThe same protections apply, including no denial of coverage after the fact.\n\nThe plan may not downcode a claim to reduce payment.\n\nThe plan may not reopen determinations except for good cause or fraud.\n\n###", 1, "2026-09-18T09:27:43Z", "2026-09-18T09:29:09Z"], ["https://wagner.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/reps-wagner-and-cleaver-introduce-backlog-justice-act-2026", "Reps. Wagner and Cleaver Introduce Backlog Justice Act of 2026", "2026-09-17", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Ann Wagner", "W000812", "wagner.house.gov", "wagner", "https://wagner.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 This week, U.S. Representative Ann Wagner (R-MO) and Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) reintroduced the Backlog Justice Act of 2026, legislation designed to bring justice to victims of sexual violence by addressing the national backlog of untested sexual assault kits (SAKs).\n\nAlmost every minute, someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted. After an assault, survivors can choose to undergo a thorough forensic analysis conducted by a doctor or nurse, where medical needs are evaluated and key evidence is obtained from their person. That evidence, which can include samples of the perpetrator\u2019s hair and bodily fluids and evidence of the harm they inflicted on the victim, is then collected and stored in an SAK. The evidence in SAKs can be key to catching perpetrators, delivering justice to victims, exonerating innocent parties, and connecting cases of assaults carried out by serial offenders.\n\nUnfortunately, far too often, SAKs are not tested. Bias against victims, lack of training and technology, and under-resourced crime labs are just some of the many factors that have created this crisis. Today, experts estimate the national untested SAK backlog ranges from the tens of thousands to the hundreds of thousands. This is a failure that must be addressed.\n\n\u201cFor years I have fought for the rights and safety of survivors of sexual assault, and I am proud to join my colleagues in introducing this bipartisan legislation to advance that work and further reduce the sexual assault kit backlog,\u201d said Congresswoman Wagner. \u201cThe Backlog Justice Act will create a tracking system to ensure states fully understand the extent of their backlog so we can deploy resources in the areas that need it most. This updated system will help law enforcement work more effectively with state, local, and federal authorities to identify perpetrators and make sure survivors find the justice they deserve. This bill complements and strengthens my Debbie Smith Act, legislation signed into law in 2024 that gave more funding for rape kit testing and was also supported by Congressman Cleaver.\u201c\n\n\u201cToo often, the trauma of sexual assault is made even more painful by delayed justice,\u201d said Rep. Cleaver. \u201cHaving already lived through a horrific experience, survivors must often deal with additional trauma from a system that doesn\u2019t believe them, doesn\u2019t prioritize them, and doesn\u2019t hold perpetrators accountable for their crimes. While untested SAKs sit on shelves, survivors live in fear while predators continue to walk free. By leveraging the coordination and capacity-building powers of the federal government, the Backlog Justice Act is a step towards addressing this vital issue, bringing justice to victims, and keeping our communities safe. I thank Rep. Wagner and our colleagues from both sides of the aisle for their partnership in this important effort.\u201d\n\n\u201cMOCADSV is pleased to continue our support of the Backlog Justice Act sponsored by Missouri Congressman Cleaver and Congresswoman Wagner,\u201d said Cheryl Robb-Welch, CEO of the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Violence. \u201cThe representatives have remained diligent in their efforts to listen to advocates in the field and the victims they serve, and we appreciate their dedication to responding to sexual violence. The Backlog Justice Act aims to improve technology and knowledge used in forensic testing of sexual assault kits, strives to increase funding to ensure kits are tested and tracked through the process, and enhances accountability nationwide to ensure sexual assault kits are included in an electronic tracking and notification system that is available to victims. This bill will shine a light on each state\u2019s forensic kit inventories and processing times with the goal of improving national sexual assault response. We believe this is a significant step to ensuring that the days of kits sitting on shelves and the system not responding to rape victims are over.\u201d\n\n\u201cAdditional resources for forensic science services providers are vital in ensuring that victims are taken seriously,\u201d said Matthew Gamette, Chair of the Consortium of Forensic Science Organizations. \u201cSurvivors deserve to have their kits tested, have visibility to the status of their kits, their cases investigated and prosecuted, and their perpetrators held accountable. Forensic science training, technology implementation, appropriate and robust validation of technology are critical to solving sexual assault cases in the United States. Robust and reliable forensic science is support for victims of crime.\"\n\n\u201cThe National Alliance to End Sexual Violence commends Representatives Wagner and Cleaver for their leadership on behalf of survivors of sexual assault,\u201d said Terri Poore, Policy Director for NAESV. \u201cSurvivors deserve to have the evidence from their bodies treated with the utmost sensitivity and diligence, and we must make every effort to keep our communities safe. We are proud to endorse the Backlog Reduction Act of 2026.\"\n\nSpecifically, the Backlog Justice Act of 2026 would:\n\nDirect the Bureau of Justice Assistance to establish, maintain, and update a National Sexual Assault Kit Backlog Database, enabling policymakers and advocates alike to have more comprehensive data so that they can recommend and implement more precise policies and funding levels in order more effectively reduce the backlog. The information on the database would be anonymized and include no personally identifiable information about victims.\n\nAuthorize training programs at the FBI laboratory to increase the number of DNA analysts available to test SAKs in crime labs across the country. The severe understaffing of crime labs is a key factor contributing to the backlog in kit testing.\n\nShift the burden of DNA instrument calibration and validation from individual crime labs to the FBI laboratory. In many jurisdictions, untested SAKs have outpaced the resources to test, process, and profile DNA samples in crime labs. One major reason for this is because lab technicians are often having to spend outsized portions of their time testing and validating the lab instruments used in the DNA testing process. By transferring much of the instrument validation burden over to FBI labs, DNA analysts in crime labs across the country would be able to focus more of their time and resources actually testing SAKs rather than calibrating lab instruments.\n\nIncentivize states to implement Electronic Evidence Tracking Systems for SAKs to increase transparency into the testing process for survivors and their advocates. In many states, once the DNA sample is collected, survivors are unable to access any information about the status of their kit in the testing process. The kit testing process should not be a black box for survivors and their advocates, who deserve transparent justice.\n\nThe Backlog Justice Act of 2026 is cosponsored by Reps. Alma Adams (NC-12), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Salud Carbajal (CA-24), Judy Chu (CA-28), Yvette Clarke (NY-09), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Debbie Dingell (MI-06), Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01), Josh Harder (CA-09), Mike Lawler (NY-17), Stephen Lynch (MA-08), Ryan Mackenzie (PA-07), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-AL), Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Mike Quigley (IL-05), Lateefah Simon (CA-12), Shri Thanedar (MI-13), and Frederica Wilson (FL-24).\n\nThe Backlog Justice Act of 2026 is endorsed by the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Violence, American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors, the Consortium of Forensic Science Organizations, and the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence.", 1, "2026-09-18T09:27:43Z", "2026-09-18T09:29:09Z"], ["https://www.hawley.senate.gov/hawley-introduces-legislation-to-strip-opportunity-zone-tax-breaks-for-data-centers/", "Hawley Introduces Legislation to Strip Opportunity Zone Tax Breaks for Data Centers", "2026-09-17", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Josh Hawley", "H001089", "www.hawley.senate.gov", "hawley", "https://www.hawley.senate.gov/press-releases/page/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2014 Today, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced the No Tax Breaks for Data Centers Act to prevent Big Tech companies from taking advantage of tax incentives previously authorized by Congress to encourage investment in low-income communities.\n\nThe Opportunity Zone program, originally enacted by Congress in 2017, provides eligible taxpayers substantial tax breaks for qualifying investments in low-income communities. Unfortunately, some companies have hijacked the program to purchase and construct data centers. One report found that between 14% and 17% of data centers in the United States have been built, or will be built, in qualifying opportunity zones\u2014permitting Big Tech companies to qualify for tax incentives that were not intended for them.\n\nThis legislation follows Senator Hawley\u2019s bipartisan GRID Act, which prevents data centers from driving up energy costs and ensures that American consumers are not carrying the burden of the increased electricity usage.\n\n\u201cBig Tech companies are getting major tax breaks they don\u2019t need to build data centers communities do not want. We must close the loophole immediately,\u201d said Senator Hawley. \u201cI\u2019m introducing the No Tax Breaks for Data Centers Act to ensure Big Tech companies don\u2019t get tax breaks to build data centers on farmland.\u201d\n\nThe No Tax Breaks for Data Centers Act will:\n\nExclude data centers from the definitions of qualifying opportunity zone businesses and qualifying opportunity zone property, thus disallowing taxpayers from using the beneficial tax treatment of the Opportunity Zone program to invest in the purchase or construction of a data center.\n\nPreserve the Opportunity Zone tax incentive program for all other eligible opportunity zone businesses and property.", 1, "2026-09-18T09:27:43Z", "2026-09-18T09:29:09Z"], ["https://www.hawley.senate.gov/hawley-unveils-declaration-for-life-with-christian-leaders/", "Hawley Unveils Declaration for Life with Christian Leaders", "2026-09-17", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Josh Hawley", "H001089", "www.hawley.senate.gov", "hawley", "https://www.hawley.senate.gov/press-releases/page/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2014 U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) hosted the First Annual Missouri Prayer Breakfast and held a press conference to unveil the new Declaration for Life with Missouri pastors and Christian leaders. Senator Hawley emphasized that our country was founded upon the defense of human dignity and the unalienable right to life. Because of the rise of chemical abortion, Senator Hawley believes it is time to renew our promise as Christians to protect the most vulnerable among us. The Declaration for Life was written by pastors and Christian leaders from across the country.\n\nTogether with pastors from Missouri and around the nation, Senator Hawley called on lawmakers to sign the pledge and support his legislation to ban the abortion drug mifepristone. He stated, \u201cThis Declaration for Life, written by pastors, is calling on everyday Christians across America to stand for life and confront the scourge of chemical abortion. We want to call on lawmakers from both parties to sign these Declaration and support protecting human life in law. It\u2019s time to take a vote on my legislation to ban the chemical abortion drug mifepristone.\u201d\n\nThe Declaration reads, \u201cThis year marks America\u2019s 250th anniversary. That milestone invites us to reckon with the convictions on which the country was built. The Declaration of Independence gives us three examples of \u2018unalienable\u2019 rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Life is the first of those rights because it is the condition of the others. It is thus the most foundational of all rights.\u201d\n\nThe statement continued, \u201cWe are followers of Christ from across American Christianity\u2014pastors of churches, leaders in seminaries and universities, and members of allied organizations. We sign as individuals, rather than for the institutions we serve, but we believe we have an obligation as Christians and spiritual leaders to remind our countrymen of what Scripture and conscience together proclaim: that every human being, from the moment of our knitting together in our mothers\u2019 wombs, was fearfully and wonderfully made. The divine image each human being bears was not earned. It cannot be forfeited. And it is the first duty of the Church to defend human dignity where it is denied.\u201d\n\n\u201cOur assertion of human dignity is not novel. Christians have emphasized it since the days of Christ\u2019s ministry, beginning with the believers in ancient Rome and Greece who walked out of pagan cities to gather newborns abandoned to die. Human life is the gift of God, from conception until natural death. Every human power must respect it. Biology now confirms what faith and reason have always taught: that fertilization brings into being a new and distinct human organism, possessed of its own genome. The only question is whether the law should protect that human person,\u201d it posited.\n\n\u201cThe crisis of chemical abortion is the work before us today. It is our front line in the defense of life. We must adopt laws in the states that protect life, but that is not enough. So long as the abortion drug can turn every mailbox in America into an abortion clinic, state laws alone cannot protect human life. We need a national response. As such, we call on Congress to end the scourge of mail-order abortions by banning the abortion drug,\u201d the statement asserted.\n\nThe Declaration concluded, \u201cTo our fellow believers, and indeed to all men and women of goodwill, we invite you to join us. Our cause is the basis of Western civilization\u2014the cause that ended infanticide in the Roman world, that built the first hospitals in late antiquity, that produced the abolitionist conscience and the civil rights movement in America. It is a cause around which the most unlikely allies have always, in the end, found common ground. To whom much is given, much will be required. America has been given much. May God grant us the wisdom to discern what is true, the courage to say what is true, and the love to live what is true\u2014until He comes, or until He calls us home.\u201d\n\nRead the full Declaration for Life here or below.\n\nI\n\nThis year marks America\u2019s 250th anniversary. That milestone invites us to reckon with the convictions on which the country was built. The Declaration of Independence gives us three examples of \u201cunalienable\u201d rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Life is the first of those rights because it is the condition of the others. It is thus the most foundational of all rights.\n\nWe are followers of Christ from across American Christianity\u2014pastors of churches, leaders in seminaries and universities, and members of allied organizations. We sign as individuals, rather than for the institutions we serve, but we believe we have an obligation as Christians and spiritual leaders to remind our countrymen of what Scripture and conscience together proclaim: that every human being, from the moment of our knitting together in our mothers\u2019 wombs, was fearfully and wonderfully made. The divine image each human being bears was not earned. It cannot be forfeited. And it is the first duty of the Church to defend human dignity where it is denied.\n\nThe defense of human life is the oldest of American causes. From the dawn of our country, Christians have shaped America\u2019s moral life. In November 1620, Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower entered a covenant, \u201cin the presence of God, and one of another,\u201d to constitute a civil body politic for the glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith. A decade later, John Winthrop told his fellow passengers aboard the Arbella that the Massachusetts Bay Colony would be a city upon a hill. That meant a community under covenant with the Almighty\u2014a witness to all nations, accountable to the all-knowing, all-powerful Creator.\n\nThese covenants constitute the moral founding of America. They animated patriots who were as likely to rely on Biblical sources as Enlightenment thinkers. They echo in the Declaration of Independence, which grounded human rights in a Creator rather than human kings. In sum, they helped create a republic defined by the principle that human beings are made in God\u2019s image and answerable to Him for how they use their freedom.\n\nThe case for life flows inevitably from these Christian convictions. But those convictions are now under attack, despite their central role in the American experiment in liberty. Christians must defend them, and we must begin by leading on life.\n\nFor what is at stake on this anniversary is nothing less than the conviction on which every flourishing society finally rests: that each and every member of the human family, as a creature fashioned in the image of the divine Creator and Ruler, is the bearer of profound dignity. Where that conviction is honored, civilizations flourish. Where it is forgotten, cultures decline and fall.\n\nII\n\nOur assertion of human dignity is not novel. Christians have emphasized it since the days of Christ\u2019s ministry, beginning with the believers in ancient Rome and Greece who walked out of pagan cities to gather newborns abandoned to die. Human life is the gift of God, from conception until natural death. Every human power must respect it. Biology now confirms what faith and reason have always taught: that fertilization brings into being a new and distinct human organism, possessed of its own genome. The only question is whether the law should protect that human person.\n\nWe say yes. We affirm the human dignity of the unborn child at every week of gestation, of the child diagnosed with Down syndrome whose mother has been counseled to \u201cend the pregnancy,\u201d of the patient whose pain leads them to question the value of life, and of the grandfather whose family is worn out by caregiving. The image of God in man is not contingent on circumstance. It does not vanish at the boundary of social usefulness or the threshold of suffering. Neither does our duty to defend it.\n\nIII\n\nOver four years have passed since the Supreme Court, in Dobbs v. Jackson Women\u2019s Health Organization, returned the abortion question from courts to legislatures. We give thanks for that decision. It overturned fifty years of judicial fiat against the plain text of the Constitution, against the Christian inheritance of the West, and against the elementary biological fact that an unborn child is a human being. We honor those who, year after year, refused to accept that tragic error as a settled issue.\n\nBut the reversal of Roe did not end abortion in America. Far from it. More abortions are performed in this country today than when Roe was still the law of the land\u2014over one million abortions in 2025 alone. The main reason is a drug called mifepristone. Seventy percent of abortions in America are now carried out with this drug. Thanks to recent changes in government regulations, mifepristone can now be mailed into every state and city in America, regardless of local rules. The abortion drug is nearly always fatal to the unborn child and frequently injurious to the mother. Recent studies indicate the drug puts more than one in ten women who take it at risk of serious, life-threatening complications, including hemorrhaging, infections, and sepsis.\n\nDespite all this, mifepristone can still be obtained without a physician visit, taken without physician follow-up or support, and dispensed over the internet, even from foreign countries, without meaningful supervision.\n\nThe crisis of chemical abortion is the work before us today. It is our front line in the defense of life. We must adopt laws in the states that protect life, but that is not enough. So long as the abortion drug can turn every mailbox in America into an abortion clinic, state laws alone cannot protect human life. We need a national response. As such, we call on Congress to end the scourge of mail-order abortions by banning the abortion drug.\n\nIV\n\nThe notion that some human lives are \u201cunworthy of life\u201d (lebensunwertes Leben) was popularized a century ago by atheistic intellectuals on both sides of the Atlantic, and it has survived to this day. Its modern proponents are more subtle. But their values are clear in proposals to eliminate children diagnosed in utero with Down syndrome, in proposals to extend physician-assisted suicide to minors and to those whose only diagnosis is mental illness or social distress, or in the steady advance of a culture that grades human worth by utility. Each step further undermines the principle of inherent human dignity and embraces the notion that some lives are \u201cunworthy of life.\u201d We dissent.\n\nTo the woman or family considering an abortion, we say that God loves you. We will help you. Find us at a local church, at a pregnancy resource center, at a maternity home, at a disability ministry, or at a post-abortion healing group. We are heartbroken by your pain, and we will not abandon you.\n\nTo our fellow believers, and indeed to all men and women of goodwill, we invite you to join us. Our cause is the basis of Western civilization\u2014the cause that ended infanticide in the Roman world, that built the first hospitals in late antiquity, that produced the abolitionist conscience and the civil rights movement in America. It is a cause around which the most unlikely allies have always, in the end, found common ground.\n\nTo whom much is given, much will be required. America has been given much. May God grant us the wisdom to discern what is true, the courage to say what is true, and the love to live what is true\u2014until He comes, or until He calls us home.", 1, "2026-09-18T09:27:43Z", "2026-09-18T09:29:09Z"], ["https://alford.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1802", "Alford Bill to Provide Flexibility for SBA 504 Lending Passes House Small Business Committee", "2026-09-16", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Mark Alford", "A000379", "alford.house.gov", "alford", "https://alford.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Watch Congressman Alford\u2019s remarks in support of his legislation here or by clicking the image above.\n\n\u201cThe 504 loan is one of the most important tools we have to help small businesses make long-term investments in their future,\u201d said Congressman Alford. \u201cAs we work to bring manufacturing back to the United States and strengthen our domestic supply chains, demand for 504 financing is rising. This bill gives the SBA limited flexibility to meet that demand while maintaining congressional oversight. I\u2019m proud to lead this bipartisan effort with Representative Simon.\u201d\n\nThe legislation is part of a broader effort to expand access to SBA financing for small businesses and manufacturers. Congressman Alford\u2019s STRONG Act would increase maximum loan sizes in the SBA\u2019s 7(a) and 504 programs, while the Made in America Manufacturing Finance Act would further increase lending limits for small manufacturers seeking to purchase equipment, expand facilities, reshore production, and create jobs in the United States.\n\nThe 504 Program Level Flexibility Act now advances from the House Small Business Committee.\n\n###", 1, "2026-09-17T09:52:05Z", "2026-09-17T09:53:00Z"], ["https://cleaver.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/quindaro-townsite-national-historic-landmark-act-receives-hearing", "Quindaro Townsite National Historic Landmark Act Receives Hearing in Natural Resources Committee", "2026-09-16", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "House", "MO", "Emanuel Cleaver", "C001061", "cleaver.house.gov", "cleaver", "https://cleaver.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "(Washington, D.C.) \u2013 Today, the Quindaro Townsite National Historic Landmark Act, introduced by U.S. Representatives Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO), Sharice Davids (D-KS), and Derek Schmidt (R-KS), received a hearing in the House Committee on Natural Resources. The bipartisan legislation would designate the Quindaro Townsite in Kansas City, Kansas, as a National Historic Landmark. The site served as a critical entry point for anti-slavery settlers and a sanctuary for those escaping bondage via the Underground Railroad prior to and during the U.S. Civil War.\n\n\u201cThe history of the Quindaro Townsite is an important piece of the story of Kansas City that must be told for generations to come,\u201d said Congressman Cleaver. \u201cI\u2019m pleased that our bipartisan legislation to designate Quindaro as a National Historic Landmark was heard in the Natural Resources Committee, and following this important step in the legislative process, I look forward to continuing our push to ensure it becomes law.\u201d\n\n\u201cQuindaro holds an important place in the history of Kansas and our nation. Founded during the turbulent days of Bleeding Kansas, it became a place of hope and refuge for those fighting for freedom and seeking a better future. This hearing is an important step toward ensuring Quindaro\u2019s legacy is properly preserved and recognized for generations to come. I\u2019m proud to lead this bipartisan effort with Representatives Cleaver and Davids, and I look forward to working with the committee to advance this legislation,\u201d Rep. Schmidt said.\n\n\"This national landmark designation for Quindaro is long overdue. From its role on the Underground Railroad to its deep roots with the Wyandot Nation, Quindaro represents a crucial chapter of the Kansas City story. Today\u2019s hearing gets our bill one step closer to cutting through administrative delays and making sure this history is preserved for our kids and grandkids,\" said Rep. Sharice Davids.\n\nNational Historic Landmarks are designated through the National Park Service System Advisory Board or an official act of Congress. Last May, the National Historic Landmarks Committee unanimously recommended Quindaro Townsite for designation as a National Historic Landmark, however the administrative process has since stalled. This bill would bypass the administrative process and designate the site by congressional action.\n\nRepresentatives Cleaver and Davids submitted a letter to the House Committee on Natural Resources in support of the bipartisan legislation. The official letter is available here.\n\nOfficial text of the Quindaro Townsite National Historic Landmark Act is available here.\n\nEmanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri's Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee's Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Greenwood, Blue Springs, North Kansas City, Gladstone, and Claycomo. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee and Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance.", 1, "2026-09-17T09:52:05Z", "2026-09-17T09:53:00Z"], ["https://jasonsmith.house.gov/2026/09/16/congressman-smith-hosts-annual-academy-day-for-high-school-students/", "Congressman Smith Hosts Annual Academy Day for High School Students", "2026-09-16", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Jason Smith", "S001195", "jasonsmith.house.gov", "jasonsmith", "https://jasonsmith.house.gov/category/press_release/", "scraper", "HILLSBORO, Mo. \u2013 Congressman Jason Smith (MO-08), joined by members of the Missouri delegation, recently hosted an Academy Day event at Jefferson College in Hillsboro, where hundreds of high school students and parents came to hear from admissions representatives from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the U.S. Naval Academy, the U.S. Air Force Academy, and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.\n\nCongressman Smith said, \u201cNominating Missouri Students to a U.S. Service Academy is one of my favorite parts of this job because it\u2019s a clear reminder that our rising generation is carrying a strong sense of patriotism as they look to their next chapter. This is especially true across Missouri, as this year\u2019s Academy Day had more attendees than we\u2019ve seen in a long time show up to learn more about how to serve their country.\n\n\u201cServing in our nation\u2019s military is one of the most admirable things one can do, and attending a U.S. military service academy is a high honor that sets Missouri students up for success throughout their lives. It takes selflessness, discipline, integrity, and most of all, a love for your country. Thank you to all of the students and parents who showed up to learn more about our service academies, and thank you to each of the academy representatives for taking part in this special event.\u201d\n\nBackground:\n\nThe event was co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Eric Schmitt and Josh Hawley, and U.S. Representatives Ann Wagner (MO-02), Bob Onder (MO-03), and Wesley Bell (MO-01).\n\nCongressman Smith has co-sponsored the annual Academy Day since 2019, and this year\u2019s event saw the highest turnout ever with 275 students, family members, and educators in attendance.\n\nEach member of Congress has the privilege of nominating gifted students each year to attend a service academy.\n\nSelection is based on a review process by the respective service academy evaluating academic performance, extracurricular activities, leadership skills, physical aptitude, and letters of recommendation.\n\nLast year, five of Congressman Smith\u2019s nominees received appointments, and since his election in 2013, 46 students from Missouri\u2019s 8th District have been appointed.\n\nStudents can begin applying in the spring semester of their junior year of high school.\n\nFor more information on the nomination process or to apply for a service academy nomination, please contact Congressman Smith\u2019s Service Academy Coordinator at donna.hickman@mail.house.gov or all 573-756-9755.\n\nThis year\u2019s Academy Day drew the largest crowd ever as 275 students and parents came to hear from admissions representatives from each of the U.S. service academies\n\nFarmington High School Senior Chris Cooper asks a question to service academy representatives regarding admissions\n\nU.S. Air Force Academy graduate Jeff Orr speaks with students from Missouri\u2019s 8th District\n\nKyler Bell of Vichy, Missouri, speaks with Navy Midshipman Jonathan Reyna\n\nCampbell Senior Isabelle Dyer speaks with Marcus Genova, representative from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point", 1, "2026-09-17T09:52:05Z", "2026-09-17T09:53:00Z"], ["https://onder.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-onder-examines-healthcare-regulations-judiciary-field-hearing", "Congressman Onder Examines Healthcare Regulations at Judiciary Field Hearing", "2026-09-16", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Robert F. Onder, Jr.", "O000177", "onder.house.gov", "onder", "https://onder.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE\n\nSeptember 16, 2026\n\nContact: Brooke Morgan\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Earlier this week, Congressman Bob Onder (R-MO) attended a House Judiciary Committee field hearing in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he questioned witnesses Katherine Restrepo Martin of the UNC System; Brian Miller, M.D., M.B.A., M.P.H., of Johns Hopkins; and Brian Blase, Ph.D., of the Paragon Health Institute, about fraud and competition in the healthcare market and ways in which Congress can make healthcare more affordable for Americans.\n\nAs a physician for 30 years, Congressman Onder has seen firsthand how burdensome federal regulations like Obamacare have driven up healthcare costs, contributed to the consolidation of healthcare systems, limited competition, and left patients with fewer choices.\n\nRead his full remarks from the hearing below:\n\n\u201cThank you, Mr. Chairman, I\u2019m happy to be here to talk about such an important aspect of the healthcare industry. Unfortunately, the United States healthcare sector has been overrun with debilitating government regulations that have fostered an anticompetitive market that limits options for patients and inflates the cost for quality healthcare.\n\nOver the past 25 years, the healthcare market has witnessed an increasing consolidation through multiple hospital mergers that have resulted in less options for patients. Many states have laws and regulations that have actively encouraged this consolidation though Certificates of Need, requiring government approval for any entry or expansion of the healthcare market.\n\nThis is the landscape many medical residents are entering. They may have acquired certain specialties in medical school but are thrown into a medical residency system that discourages competition and caps the number of doctors allowed to proceed to residency every year, exacerbating the healthcare workforce shortage even more.\n\nAs hospitals and medical providers struggle to fill residencies, the marketplace as a whole has had to adjust to the rampant fraud committed through the Affordable Care Act. The Government Accountability Office found evidence that both individuals and insurance companies fraudulently enrolled the same social security numbers for various different healthcare plans. The Trump Administration has tackled this head on \u2013 the DOJ has effectively prosecuted individuals who engaged in this shameless Obamacare subsidy fraud. And their work is just beginning.\n\nCongress is striving to make healthcare more affordable to Americans, and that must start by addressing the anticompetitive practices that pervade the healthcare market and rooting out the fraud that has cost the government and taxpayers millions. Thank you.\u201d\n\nTo watch a clip from the hearing, click HERE.\n\n###", 1, "2026-09-17T09:52:05Z", "2026-09-17T09:53:00Z"], ["https://wagner.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/house-passes-wagner-co-led-bill-sanction-supporters-russia-and-iran", "House Passes Wagner Co-Led Bill to Sanction Supporters of Russia and Iran", "2026-09-16", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Ann Wagner", "W000812", "wagner.house.gov", "wagner", "https://wagner.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 Congresswoman Ann Wagner (R-MO) released the following statement after the House passed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026. This legislation will hold major purchasers of Russian oil and gas accountable for supporting Russia\u2019s war against Ukraine and extend sanctions that restrict funding for Iran\u2019s energy and weapons sectors.\n\n\u201cI am beyond proud to have passed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, legislation that I co-led in the House of Representatives. Vladimir Putin is a brutal dictator, and his hopeless plot to rebuild the Soviet Union must come to an end. I will always stand against Putin\u2019s evil regime, and I will continue working with my colleagues to cripple his power and bring an end to the largest land war in Europe since World War II. Far too many lives have been lost, and this bill will enact historic financial punishment on those who support Putin and his war. This legislation also extends sweeping sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran, which has targeted and killed Americans for over 47 years. Passage of this landmark sanctions bill is a fitting honor to the late Senator Lindsey Graham, and I look forward to the President implementing these measures.\u201d", 1, "2026-09-17T09:52:05Z", "2026-09-17T09:53:00Z"], ["https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/senator-schmitt-calls-on-congress-to-meet-the-moment-pass-protect-college-sports-act/", "Senator Schmitt Calls on Congress to \u201cMeet the Moment,\u201d Pass Protect College Sports Act", "2026-09-15", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Eric Schmitt", "S001227", "www.schmitt.senate.gov", "schmitt", "https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/", "scraper", "The Bill Passed Its First Procedural Vote this Evening\n\nU.S. SENATE \u2014 Today, U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) took to the Senate floor to urge his colleagues to pass the \u201cProtect College Sports Act\u201d and address the challenges facing college athletics. Schmitt highlighted the instability created by the current system and emphasized the need for Congress to act to provide clarity while protecting student-athletes and the future of college sports. Schmitt is a lead cosponsor of the bill with Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Maria Cantell (D-WA).\n\nWatch the Senator\u2019s full speech HERE:\n\nExcerpts from Schmitt\u2019s remarks:\n\n\u201c\u2026College sports are at a tipping point in a place that they\u2019ve never been before, because over the last decade or so, over the course of litigation, no rules can be enforced.\n\nThe reality is we\u2019ve entered into this new phase with something missing-a governing body that can establish and enforce rules-and that\u2019s where this-that\u2019s at the heart of what the Protect College Sports Act is all about is to grant limited antitrust exemption status for a governing body, the NCAA, to enforce rules\u2026\u201d\n\n\u2026\n\n\u201cThe time has come for the United States Senate to do something that it actually rarely does, which is to meet the moment.\n\nWe are at a moment. This has the endorsement of every conference, all the schools, the NFL Players Association, student athletes that have come here, legendary coaches who\u2019ve seen the changes, HBCUs, the SWAC conference, the SEC, the Big 10-all of them-they all recognize that there is a choice now, which is to do something to correct the major issues and provide stability, so that we can continue to enjoy college athletics.\n\nIt is a uniquely American institution.\n\nWe can do that, or we can find some reason to not support it. We can grandstand and try to pretend that you\u2019re advocating for somebody that\u2019s being left out of this.\n\nBut the truth is, this bill will solve a ton of problems that are so obvious you\u2019d have to be not paying attention or not want to notice\u2026\u201d\n\nRead more about Schmitt\u2019s work on the \u201cProtect College Sports Act\u201d HERE.\n\n###", 1, "2026-09-16T09:43:13Z", "2026-09-16T09:44:22Z"], ["https://alford.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1799", "Congressman Alford Joins Members of Missouri Delegation in Resolution Honoring Partnership with Panama", "2026-09-14", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Mark Alford", "A000379", "alford.house.gov", "alford", "https://alford.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, DC\u2014Today, Congressman Mark Alford (R-MO-04) joined Congressman Wesley Bell (D-MO-01) and three members of Missouri\u2019s Congressional delegation in introducing a bipartisan resolution commemorating 30 years of partnership between Missouri and Panama.\n\nIn addition to Congressmen Alford and Bell, the bipartisan resolution was also co-led by members of Missouri\u2019s Congressional Delegation, including Reps. Emanuel Cleaver II, Ann Wagner, and Sam Graves.\n\n\u201cFor 30 years, the Missouri National Guard and Panama\u2019s Public Forces have built a partnership grounded in trust, shared values and a commitment to strengthening our communities and our countries. What began as a military partnership has grown into a lasting relationship that reaches across education, trade, culture, and diplomacy. This anniversary is an opportunity to recognize the men and women who have helped build this partnership and to reaffirm our commitment to the strong ties between Missouri and Panama for years to come,\u201d said Congressman Alford.\n\n\"For thirty years, Missouri and Panama have stood together as partners and as friends,\" said Congressman Bell. \"What began in 1996 as a National Guard partnership has grown into something far greater \u2013 three decades of shared training, disaster response, and cooperation that have made both Missouri and Panama safer and stronger. This partnership is proof that one of America's greatest strengths lies in our alliances and the relationships we build with nations who share our values. I'm proud to lead this resolution honoring those who have sustained this friendship, and I look forward to deepening these ties for the next thirty years and beyond.\"\n\nThe National Guard's State Partnership Program (SPP) links U.S. states with partner nations around the world to build enduring military and civilian relationships, strengthen security cooperation, and advance shared interests. Established in 1996, the Missouri-Panama partnership is one of the program's longest-running, spanning three decades of joint training, disaster-response coordination, and exchanges that have strengthened both Missouri and Panama.\n\nOver the past 30 years, the Missouri National Guard and Panamanian forces have worked side by side on everything from emergency preparedness to humanitarian assistance, forging bonds that extend well beyond the military and into a broader friendship between the people of Missouri and the Republic of Panama.\n\nThe Missouri-Panama State Partnership resolution text can be found HERE.\n\n###", 1, "2026-09-15T09:50:21Z", "2026-09-15T09:52:05Z"], ["https://bell.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-bell-leads-members-missouri-delegation-bipartisan-resolution", "Congressman Bell Leads Members of Missouri Delegation in Bipartisan Resolution Honoring Partnership with Panama", "2026-09-14", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "House", "MO", "Wesley Bell", "B001324", "bell.house.gov", "bell", "https://bell.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "The resolution commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Missouri-Panama State Partnership Program\n\nAdditionally, the legislation celebrates the enduring partnership between the State of Missouri and the Republic of Panama\n\nThe Missouri-Panama State Partnership Program was established in 1996 through the National Guard Bureau\u2019s State Partnership Program\n\nCongressman Bell: \u201cFor thirty years, Missouri and Panama have stood together as partners and as friends\u201d\n\nWashington, D.C. \u2014 Today, Congressman Wesley Bell (D-MO-01) led four bipartisan members of Missouri\u2019s Congressional delegation in introducing a resolution commemorating 30 years of partnership between Missouri and Panama.\n\n\"For thirty years, Missouri and Panama have stood together as partners and as friends,\" said Congressman Bell. \"What began in 1996 as a National Guard partnership has grown into something far greater \u2013 three decades of shared training, disaster response, and cooperation that have made both Missouri and Panama safer and stronger. This partnership is proof that one of America's greatest strengths lies in our alliances and the relationships we build with nations who share our values. I'm proud to lead this resolution honoring those who have sustained this friendship, and I look forward to deepening these ties for the next thirty years and beyond.\"\n\n\u201cFor 30 years, the Missouri National Guard and Panama\u2019s Public Forces have built a partnership grounded in trust, shared values and a commitment to strengthening our communities and our countries. What began as a military partnership has grown into a lasting relationship that reaches across education, trade, culture, and diplomacy. This anniversary is an opportunity to recognize the men and women who have helped build this partnership and to reaffirm our commitment to the strong ties between Missouri and Panama for years to come,\u201d said Congressman Mark Alford (R-MO-04).\n\nSince coming to Congress, Congressman Bell has made it a priority to maintain and strengthen the relationship between Missouri and Panama. During the FY26 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), he worked to support language to strengthen cybersecurity cooperation between Panama and Missouri. Recently, Congressman Bell met with Panama's Ambassador to the U.S., Jos\u00e9 Miguel Alem\u00e1n Healy.\n\nThe National Guard's State Partnership Program (SPP) links U.S. states with partner nations around the world to build enduring military and civilian relationships, strengthen security cooperation, and advance shared interests. Established in 1996, the Missouri-Panama partnership is one of the program's longest-running, spanning three decades of joint training, disaster-response coordination, and exchanges that have strengthened both Missouri and Panama.\n\nOver the past 30 years, the Missouri National Guard and Panamanian forces have worked side by side on everything from emergency preparedness to humanitarian assistance, forging bonds that extend well beyond the military and into a broader friendship between the people of Missouri and the Republic of Panama.\n\nIn addition to Congressman Bell, the bipartisan resolution was also co-led by members of Missouri\u2019s Congressional Delegation, including Representatives Emanuel Cleaver II (D-MO-05), Ann Wagner (R-MO-02), Mark Alford (R-MO-04), and Sam Graves (R-MO-06).", 1, "2026-09-15T09:50:21Z", "2026-09-15T09:52:05Z"], ["https://burlison.house.gov/media/press-releases/comer-burlison-launch-investigation-bloomberg-philanthropies-funding-anti", "Comer, Burlison Launch Investigation into Bloomberg Philanthropies\u2019 Funding of Anti-American Energy Lawfare", "2026-09-14", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Eric Burlison", "B001316", "burlison.house.gov", "burlison", "https://burlison.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON\u2014House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs Chairman Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) are investigating Bloomberg Philanthropies\u2019 funding of environmental activist organizations waging lawfare against American energy producers and critical economic development projects. In a letter to Bloomberg Philanthropies Chief Executive Officer Patricia E. Harris, the lawmakers raise concerns that the organization\u2019s financial support for radical anti-fossil fuel campaigns and China-linked entities is undermining America\u2019s economic and energy security. They request documents and communications concerning Bloomberg Philanthropies\u2019 funding and grantmaking activities and its ties to environmental organizations operating in the United States and China.\n\n\u201cThe Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is investigating environmental lawfare by activist organizations, including those funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies. Since 2019, Michael Bloomberg, a progressive New York billionaire, and his nonprofit Bloomberg Philanthropies have spent more than $1 billion through their Beyond Carbon and Beyond Petrochemicals philanthropies to litigate against or otherwise challenge American energy production. By funding these efforts, Bloomberg Philanthropies has delayed and blocked American energy development projects across the U.S., particularly in the Gulf of America region. This has inhibited economic development and the creation of good paying American jobs. The Committee is concerned that Bloomberg Philanthropies is also actively undermining U.S. economic and energy security through its support of Chinese entities which fund anti-fossil fuel efforts in the U.S. The Committee therefore requests documents and communications from Bloomberg Philanthropies,\u201d wrote the lawmakers.\n\nBloomberg Philanthropies has funded radical organizations such as Earthjustice, a national environmental litigation group that conducts organized campaigns against American energy investments. In February 2026, Earthjustice opposed the development of a liquefied natural gas facility in the Gulf of America region, which was projected to create approximately 3,000 jobs and generate more than $4 billion in local property tax revenue. Bloomberg Philanthropies has also partnered with other activist organizations in the Gulf of America region to obstruct energy production and economic development. In addition, Bloomberg Philanthropies provides financial support to Energy Foundation China (EFC), an organization whose senior executives have reportedly held high-level positions within the Chinese government and China\u2019s state-run research institutions. EFC spends millions of dollars funding U.S.-based nonprofits and universities and supports the climate and energy ambitions of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Chairman Comer previously investigated Bloomberg Philanthropies for partisan activism with state attorneys general to file activist lawsuits and lobby for burdensome regulations.\n\n\u201cIn December 2025, 26 U.S. state attorneys general wrote to the Department of Justice asserting EFC had unlawfully failed to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act despite its close ties to China and the CCP. The Committee has identified at least $11,970,000 in grants payments made to EFC since 2015 directly from the Bloomberg Family Foundation, which is part of Bloomberg Philanthropies. Additional reports have found that EFC has donated millions of dollars to left-wing climate groups in the U.S. that seek to phase out fossil fuels entirely and implement green energy alternatives. Such an intricate web of financial ties between a climate-focused entity in China and numerous American anti-U.S. energy nonprofits, both supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, demands not only a careful review of national and energy security implications, but also an investigation of those ties themselves, such as whether American climate activists may be knowingly or unknowingly acting as agents of the CCP,\u201d concluded the lawmakers.", 1, "2026-09-15T09:50:21Z", "2026-09-15T09:52:05Z"], ["https://www.hawley.senate.gov/chairman-hawley-launches-investigation-into-openai-for-hacking-existential-risk-of-ai-products/", "Chairman Hawley Launches Investigation into OpenAI for Hacking, Existential Risk of AI Products", "2026-09-10", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Josh Hawley", "H001089", "www.hawley.senate.gov", "hawley", "https://www.hawley.senate.gov/press-releases/page/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2014 Today, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), as Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Subcommittee on Disaster Management, launched an investigation into OpenAI for their AI agents\u2019 hack of Hugging Face in July 2026. The investigation will also probe the existential risk of new AI products.\n\nIn a letter to CEO Sam Altman, Senator Hawley wrote, \u201cAs Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security\u2019s Subcommittee on Disaster Management, I am investigating your AI agents\u2019 hack of Hugging Face in July 2026 in light of new, disturbing evidence regarding the incident. My investigation will probe this AI hacking incident, along with growing allegations of the existential risk of new AI products.\u201d\n\nHe continued, \u201cAs you may know, in the public domain, more AI experts are warning about the existential risks of AI. Just this week, three Anthropic researchers expressed publicly that there is a greater than 10% chance that AI could kill all human beings within the next decade. Your own chief scientist wrote just days ago that \u2018no lab has solved alignment and monitoring to a sufficient degree to continue responsibly scaling at maximum speed for much longer.\u2019 And there are immediate questions about the consequences of these hacks from rogue AI agents. What happens to critical infrastructure, banks, and utilities if AI agents hack into their systems? How can personal data of millions of Americans be properly safeguarded? And who is held labile when AI goes rogue?\u201d\n\nSenator Hawley concluded, \u201cThe American people deserve to know the details of what went on in the Hugging Face incident and other incidents of AI models going rogue. This investigation will seek those answers. To facilitate that, please produce all documents and information specified in the attached annex no later than October 1, 2026. If you have questions about the scope of these requests, please contact my office to discuss.\u201d\n\nRead Senator Hawley\u2019s letter to Open AI here or below.\n\nSeptember 9, 2026", 1, "2026-09-11T09:25:29Z", "2026-09-11T09:27:08Z"], ["https://bell.house.gov/media/press-releases/representatives-bell-thanedar-and-lawler-introduce-bipartisan-legislation", "Representatives Bell, Thanedar, and Lawler Introduce Bipartisan Legislation Commemorating 988 Day", "2026-09-08", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "House", "MO", "Wesley Bell", "B001324", "bell.house.gov", "bell", "https://bell.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline assists people experiencing suicidal thoughts, mental health challenges, or substance use crises\n\nThe bipartisan 988 Day resolution raises awareness of the lifesaving role of the suicide & crisis lifeline\n\nA companion bill will be introduced in the Senate by U.S. Senator Cory Booker\n\nWashington, D.C. \u2014 Today, Representatives Wesley Bell (D-MO-01), Shri Thanedar (D-MI-13), and Mike Lawler (R-NY-17) introduced a bipartisan resolution commemorating September 8 as a day to raise awareness of the lifesaving role of the suicide & crisis lifeline.\n\nA companion resolution will be introduced in the Senate by Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ). The House\u2019s 988 Day resolution is part of a broader legislative package highlighting the importance of suicide prevention.\n\n\u201cThe number 988 is a cornerstone of our nation's mental health safety net, but too many people still don't know it's there to help them on one of the hardest days of their life,\" said Congressman Bell. \u201cDuring an ongoing nationwide mental health epidemic that is especially impacting our nation\u2019s young people, recognizing 988 Day means making sure that in the hardest of moments, no one in Missouri or anywhere else feels they have to face the darkness alone. Help is always within reach.\"\n\n\"In 1996, I lost my first wife due to her battle with mental health struggles,\" said Representative Shri Thanedar. \"It was a heartbreaking loss for my entire family, and this incident drives my advocacy to create a healthcare system where everyone has access to high-quality mental health care. 988 is an incredible resource that saves lives every day, and I am proud to co-lead this resolution that highlights their crucial work. Americans should know that there is no shame in seeking help, suicide is preventable, and you can call 988 at any time.\"\n\nThe 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline was launched nationwide in July 2022 to provide an easy-to-remember number for people experiencing suicidal thoughts, mental health challenges, or substance use crises. The hotline has served the most vulnerable communities, including veterans, LGBTQI+ youth, and non-English-speaking individuals. By dialing 988, people are connected to trained crisis counselors who provide free and confidential support 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Since its launch, millions of calls, texts, and chats have been answered, making 988 a cornerstone of America\u2019s mental health safety net.\n\n\u201cThe 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline has become an essential resource for millions of Americans and is helping people through some of the darkest moments of their lives,\u201d said Senator Booker. \u201cI\u2019m proud to lead this bipartisan Senate resolution to raise awareness of this lifesaving service and make sure more people know that help is available when they need it. We must continue investing in mental health care and crisis services so that no one has to face a moment of crisis alone.\u201d\n\n\u201c988 Day is an opportunity to recognize the vital role the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline plays in connecting people to trained counselors, local resources, and compassionate, judgment-free support, while reminding everyone that they are never alone and that help is available,\u201d said Laurel Stine, J.D., M.A., Executive Vice President and Chief Policy and Advocacy Officer at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). \u201cThe Lifeline\u2019s remarkable growth since the nationwide launch of 988 in 2022, from 4.8 million contacts in 2023 to 7.8 million contacts in 2025, underscores the essential role 988 now plays in our nation\u2019s mental health and suicide prevention system. AFSP commends Representatives Bell, Thanedar, Lawler, and Senator Booker for their leadership in introducing this resolution honoring 988 Day and raising awareness of this lifesaving resource.\u201d", 1, "2026-09-09T09:27:09Z", "2026-09-09T09:29:04Z"], ["https://wagner.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/wagner-thanks-oversight-subcommittee-chair-sessions-bringing-postmaster", "Wagner Thanks Oversight Subcommittee Chair Sessions for Bringing Postmaster General to St. Louis to Address USPS Delivery Malfeasance", "2026-09-04", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Ann Wagner", "W000812", "wagner.house.gov", "wagner", "https://wagner.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "Ballwin, MO. \u2013 Congresswoman Ann Wagner released the following statement after Chair Sessions toured the St. Louis Processing Center with the Postmaster General to exercise his Oversight responsibility and see firsthand the major problems the St. Louis community has had with on-time mail and package delivery:\n\nWagner said: \u201cIn March, I sent a letter formally requesting the House Oversight Committee, who has jurisdiction over the USPS, open a formal investigation into the disaster that has been our local mail delivery, and I thank Chairman Sessions for taking my many concerns seriously and coming to St. Louis today with the Postmaster General to help us get answers. Our St. Louis community deserves on-time mail delivery from the United States Postal Service, and so far the Postal Service has failed that basic duty to the people. People haven\u2019t been receiving their paychecks or essential medications, and their ballots have been inexplicably delayed. I have worked for years to address this ongoing misconduct and hold accountable the people who have abdicated their basic responsibility to deliver the mail on time. When I called for an audit of our Sorting and Distribution Center to better understand the plague of unreliable mail service, I knew things were bad, but the results of that audit shocked us all. Postal Service leadership must be held responsible, and today\u2019s visit is a good step, but it is certainly not the end. I will keep fighting to ensure on-time mail delivery so you and your families can have your ballots, essential medication, and bill payments arrive on time.\u201d\n\nBackground\n\nSince February 2024, Congresswoman Wagner has led sustained oversight of USPS failures in St. Louis. Her work has included seven congressional letters, direct engagement with USPS Headquarters, helping secure a targeted Inspector General audit, leading a meeting with the Postmaster General, requesting assistance from the House Oversight Committee, and referring alleged mail theft and check washing to the FBI.\n\nSeptember 2024 \u2013 Wagner Calls for Audit of Mail Sorting in Eastern Missouri: She wrote Postmaster General Louis DeJoy requesting the United States Postal Service (USPS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) audit the Hazelwood, MO, Sorting and Distribution Center, explain failures to deliver election mail on time, and provide clarity on a new USPS proposal to further delay mail in rural America.\n\nApril 2025 - Wagner, once again, requests that the USPS OIG conducts an audit of post office and distribution centers in St. Louis County.\n\nThe August 2025 OIG audit exposed deep-rooted inefficiencies, including:\n\nA record backlog of over 2.5 million delayed mail pieces\u2014the largest in USPS audit history\u2014worsened by management instructing employees to hide delays in data systems.\n\nChronic staffing vacancies, unchecked truancy, and inadequate supervision, leading to operational breakdowns.\n\nIncomplete maintenance and poor compliance, causing 40% of outbound trucks to be late or canceled due to shortages and congestion.\n\nA complete failure of management to identify issues or enforce procedures, risking security for items like registered mail.\n\nThese failures culminated during Franklin County's April 2025 municipal election, where 350 absentee ballots arrived too late to be counted\u2014some as late as August 20\u2014disenfranchising Missourians who relied on the USPS to uphold their Constitutional right to vote.\n\nSeptember 2025 \u2013Wagner led a bipartisan, bicameral letter demanding a meeting with new Postmaster General Steiner: The meeting was meant to discuss action plans for OIG recommendations, delay resolutions, election integrity, community impacts, leadership reforms, transparency, and personnel accountability.\n\nNovember 2025 \u2013 Wagner Brings in Postmaster General for U.S. Capitol Meeting: After leading bipartisan Missouri delegation letter to Steiner regarding the audit and the breakdown of service in St. Louis, Rep. Wagner hosted Postmaster General Steiner and members of the Missouri and Illinois delegations on Capitol Hill. Steiner met with Reps. Wagner, Bell, Smith, Alford, Onder, and Bost, and acknowledged regional service failures and committed to corrective actions and a post-holiday assessment.\n\nMarch 2026 \u2013 Wagner Requests Oversight Committee Investigation: After not receiving any updates on corrective actions or the post-holiday assessment, Rep. Wagner sent a letter to House Oversight Subcommittee on Government Operations requesting Chairman Pete Sessions\u2019 assistance in reviewing USPS\u2019s implementation of the OIG recommendations, responsiveness to Congress, management accountability, and preparedness to handle election mail.", 1, "2026-09-05T08:49:07Z", "2026-09-05T08:50:44Z"], ["https://bell.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-bell-tours-st-louis-usps-facility-postmaster-general-steiner-and", "Congressman Bell Tours St. Louis USPS Facility with Postmaster General Steiner and House Oversight Members", "2026-09-04", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "House", "MO", "Wesley Bell", "B001324", "bell.house.gov", "bell", "https://bell.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "The purpose of the tour was to shed light on several postal issues that have been plaguing the region\n\nRepresentatives Budzinski and Sessions joined Bell for the tour, which was led by Postmaster General Steiner\n\nCongressman Bell has been outspoken about postal issues in the St. Louis region and recently introduced the St. Louis Postal Accountability and Reform (STL Up To PAR) Act\n\nResidents of the region have complained about mail delays that have impacted prescription medication, bills, ballots, and more\n\nCongressman Bell: \u201cWe\u2019re not here to criticize what is going right, we are here to figure out how to fix what is going wrong\u201d\n\nWashington, D.C. \u2014 Today, Representatives Wesley Bell (D-MO-01), Nikki Budzinski (D-IL-13), and Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Government Operations Chairman Pete Sessions (R-TX-17) toured the United States Postal Service (USPS) St. Louis Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC) to better understand some of the postal issues impacting the region.\n\nPostmaster General David Steiner led the tour. Steiner has been serving as Postmaster General since May 2025.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re not here to criticize what is going right, we are here to figure out how to fix what is going wrong,\u201d said Rep. Bell following the tour. \u201cThis isn\u2019t a partisan issue \u2013 mail delays aren\u2019t dictated by your political allegiance, which is why it is so important that these issues are being addressed in a bipartisan fashion. I look forward to working with Chairman Sessions and Congresswoman Budzinski to fix the postal problems people are facing here in St. Louis and across the nation.\u201d\n\nCongressman Bell has made it a priority in Congress to address the postal issues in the St. Louis region. Two audits by the U.S. Postal Service Office of the Inspector General (OIG) in 2025 found longstanding operational challenges that have caused persistent mail delays for residents across the St. Louis region. To address some of the issues detailed in the report, Rep. Bell introduced the bipartisan St. Louis Postal Accountability and Reform (STL Up To PAR) Act, with Congresswoman Ann Wagner (R-MO-02). The bill directs USPS to submit a report to Congress on mail and package delivery service performance in the St. Louis region. The legislation is not designed to penalize USPS, but to give both Congress and constituents a clear picture of where things stand and where work remains.", 1, "2026-09-07T09:58:26Z", "2026-09-07T09:59:51Z"], ["https://burlison.house.gov/media/press-releases/reps-massie-burlison-introduce-legislation-defund-surveillance-state-cameras", "Reps. Massie, Burlison Introduce Legislation to Defund Surveillance State Cameras", "2026-09-03", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Eric Burlison", "B001316", "burlison.house.gov", "burlison", "https://burlison.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 Congressman Eric Burlison (R-MO-07) today joined Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) in introducing legislation that would prohibit the use of federal funds to purchase, install, maintain, operate, or upgrade automated license plate readers (ALPRs) and biometric surveillance cameras.\n\n\u201cTechnology may change, but our constitutional rights do not,\u201d said Congressman Eric Burlison. \u201cThe Fourth Amendment protects Americans from unreasonable searches, and advances in surveillance technology should not come at the expense of our privacy and liberty. The federal government should not use taxpayer dollars to build a surveillance state that tracks law-abiding Americans. Our rights are unalienable, and Congress has a responsibility to protect them.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe federal government shouldn\u2019t provide \u2018security\u2019 grants to cities and police departments that have gone beyond the pale and turned their communities into a version of 1984,\u201d said Congressman Thomas Massie. \u201cThe Flock-Off Act withholds federal money from municipalities and police departments that deploy Flock cameras to surveil law-abiding citizens. Federal taxpayers should not be forced to fund the surveillance state.\u201d\n\nThe legislation would:\n\nCuts off federal funding for Flock-style surveillance by prohibiting federal funds from being used to purchase, install, maintain, operate, or upgrade automated license plate readers and biometric surveillance cameras.\n\nRequires federal agencies to remove federally funded systems and requires state and local recipients to stop operating them within 180 days as a condition of continued funding under the relevant federal program.\n\nWithholds federal program funds from recipients until violations of the spending prohibitions are repaid to the United States Treasury.\n\nProhibits federal funds from paying for contracts, subscriptions, cloud services, databases, or data-sharing arrangements connected to covered camera systems.\n\nCovers AI-augmented automated license plate readers and biometric cameras.\n\nDefines biometric data to include facial recognition, voiceprints, iris and retinal scans, fingerprints, and gait recognition.\n\nProvides an exception allowing continued federal funding for cameras located within 1 mile of the Northern and Southern borders that are used for the detection and interdiction of unlawful entry, human trafficking, and drug smuggling.\n\nAllows the continued use of federal funds for ALPRs used solely to collect, administer, or enforce tolls.\n\nOriginal cosponsors of H.R. 10221 include Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Chip Roy (R-TX), and Victoria Spartz (R-IN).", 1, "2026-09-04T09:19:37Z", "2026-09-04T09:20:58Z"], ["https://jasonsmith.house.gov/2026/09/03/smith-applauds-president-trumps-approval-of-nearly-20-million-in-flood-recovery-aid/", "Smith Applauds President Trump\u2019s Approval of Nearly $20 Million in Flood Recovery Aid", "2026-09-03", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Jason Smith", "S001195", "jasonsmith.house.gov", "jasonsmith", "https://jasonsmith.house.gov/category/press_release/", "scraper", "SOUTHEAST MISSOURI \u2013 Congressman Jason Smith (MO-08) released the following statement praising President Trump\u2019s approval of nearly $20 million in federal assistance to help communities recover from the devastating floods that hit southeast Missouri on July 9th and 10th of this year.\n\nCongressman Smith said, \u201cI saw the damage in Reynolds and Iron Counties firsthand, and pictures don\u2019t do it justice. Families lost everything inside their homes, farmers and small business owners watched decades of hard work wash away in a matter of hours, and the sanctuary of a church that feeds over 100 families is now in ruins. These are good, hardworking people, and this kind of damage is more than any small, rural community can carry on its own.\n\n\u201cI am grateful to President Trump for approving this request, and I want to thank every first responder, volunteer, and local leader who has stepped up for their neighbors through all of this. I\u2019ll always fight to make sure Missourians get the support they need to rebuild in the wake of disaster.\u201d\n\nBackground:", 1, "2026-09-04T09:19:37Z", "2026-09-04T09:20:58Z"], ["https://jasonsmith.house.gov/2026/09/03/smith-secures-1-8-million-for-salem-memorial-hospital-through-provision-in-one-big-beautiful-bill/", "Smith Secures $1.8 Million for Salem Memorial Hospital Through Provision in One, Big, Beautiful Bill", "2026-09-03", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Jason Smith", "S001195", "jasonsmith.house.gov", "jasonsmith", "https://jasonsmith.house.gov/category/press_release/", "scraper", "SALEM, Mo. \u2013 Salem Memorial Hospital has been awarded approximately $1.8 million through the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), an initiative that Congressman Jason Smith (MO-08) authored and fought for as part of the One, Big, Beautiful Bill. The funding will support major facility and patient-care upgrades at the hospital that has served Smith\u2019s hometown for generations.\n\nCongressman Smith said, \u201cGrowing up in Salem, I know exactly what this hospital means to our community. My family has depended on Salem Memorial for generations, and I\u2019ve seen firsthand what it means for a small town when the local hospital stays open and care continues to improve. When a rural hospital closes, that often means an extra hour on the road to receive care, and for many families, that extra hour can be the difference between life and death.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s exactly why I championed the Rural Health Transformation Program. When I was writing the One, Big, Beautiful Bill, I knew we had to include support for rural health care so hospitals like Salem Memorial can get the resources they need to continue serving the families who depend on them \u2014 and I did just that. I\u2019m proud to see this funding benefit my hometown, and I will keep fighting to make sure our rural communities have access to quality health care.\u201d\n\nBackground:", 1, "2026-09-04T09:19:37Z", "2026-09-04T09:20:58Z"], ["https://www.hawley.senate.gov/hawley-expands-investigation-into-surveillance-cameras-warns-flock-competitors/", "Hawley Expands Investigation into Surveillance Cameras, Warns Flock Competitors", "2026-09-03", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Josh Hawley", "H001089", "www.hawley.senate.gov", "hawley", "https://www.hawley.senate.gov/press-releases/page/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2014 U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) expanded his investigation into artificial intelligence surveillance cameras. He sent letters to the chief executive officers of Motorola Solutions, Verkada, and Axon Enterprise, informing them of his investigation into the companies\u2019 collection and use of citizens\u2019 personal data. Senator Hawley previously sent a letter to Flock regarding its use of AI surveillance cameras.\n\nSenator Hawley wrote, \u201cAs Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, I am investigating your company\u2019s collection, retention, and dissemination of the data generated by its artificial intelligence surveillance cameras. On August 26th, I wrote to your competitor Flock Safety to express my concerns regarding the size and pervasiveness of its network and demanding answers as to reports of abuse and costly errors from its technology. However, Flock does not stand alone in this industry; you and others are building large camera networks, assisted by artificial intelligence, that intrude on the privacy of all Americans.\u201d\n\nHe continued, \u201cRecent examples of abuse and misuse of personal data reveal the woeful lack of safeguards in these systems. Last month in Missouri, the St. Charles County Police Department terminated its contract with Flock after an audit revealed that a civilian employee had run Flock searches for personal reasons, completely unrelated to his or her law enforcement duties. Sadly, my home state is not an outlier. In Milwaukee, prosecutors charged a police officer who allegedly used Flock to search his girlfriend\u2019s license plate 124 times and her former boyfriend\u2019s plate 55 times, entering \u2018investigation\u2019 as his justification each time. Worse still, the officer was not caught by Flock\u2019s audit systems\u2014he was caught because a private citizen looked up his own plate on a public website.\u201d\n\n\u201cTo be sure, I want law enforcement to have tools to catch offenders and keep the public safe. But the surveillance network your company has constructed raises legitimate concerns about how little-known corporations possess intimate knowledge of Americans\u2019 lives, fueled by invasive artificial intelligence algorithms. The Supreme Court recognizes that a comprehensive, retrospective record of a person\u2019s movements is different in kind from ordinary observation in public, and Congress never authorized the network your industry has built. Your company\u2019s internal policies are, in practice, the only safeguards for hundreds of millions of Americans. People across the country are now discovering that fact and demanding answers from their elected officials,\u201d Hawley concluded.\n\nRead Senator Hawley\u2019s full letter to the Motorola Solutions CEO here or below.\n\nRead Senator Hawley\u2019s letter to the CEO of Verkada here.\n\nRead Senator Hawley\u2019s letter to the CEO of Axon Enterprise here.\n\nGreg Brown\n\nChief Executive Officer\n\nMotorola Solutions\n\n500 W. Monroe St, Suite 4400\n\nChicago, IL 60661\n\nDear Mr. Brown:\n\nAs Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, I am investigating your company\u2019s collection, retention, and dissemination of the data generated by its artificial intelligence surveillance cameras.\n\nOn August 26th, I wrote to your competitor Flock Safety to express my concerns regarding the size and pervasiveness of its network and demanding answers as to reports of abuse and costly errors from its technology. However, Flock does not stand alone in this industry; you and others are building large camera networks, assisted by artificial intelligence, that intrude on the privacy of all Americans.\n\nTaking Flock alone, in a few short years, Flock has assembled an unprecedented national surveillance network. Flock boasts more than 120,000 cameras across 49 states and more than 20 billion vehicle scans every month. The overwhelming majority of the Americans captured in those records did nothing wrong. Instead of serving discrete local investigations, as contemplated by our constitutional processes and safeguards, these camera networks harness artificial intelligence to pool what they capture into a national database that customers can search.\n\nRecent examples of abuse and misuse of personal data reveal the woeful lack of safeguards in these systems. Last month in Missouri, the St. Charles County Police Department terminated its contract with Flock after an audit revealed that a civilian employee had run Flock searches for personal reasons, completely unrelated to his or her law enforcement duties. Sadly, my home state is not an outlier. In Milwaukee, prosecutors charged a police officer who allegedly used Flock to search his girlfriend\u2019s license plate 124 times and her former boyfriend\u2019s plate 55 times, entering \u201cinvestigation\u201d as his justification each time. Worse still, the officer was not caught by Flock\u2019s audit systems\u2014he was caught because a private citizen looked up his own plate on a public website.\n\nErrors and false positives add insult to injury. A Florida woman spent 13 days in jail and faced eight felony counts, including three counts of vehicular homicide, after investigators arrested an owner based on their search of Flock\u2019s network for a vehicle description. Prosecutors dismissed the charges seven months later when law enforcement discovered the error and arrested a different person. One California police department found that a staggering 71% of Flock alerts were wrong, and the Los Angeles Police Department dropped its Flock contract after an audit showed officers had stopped 161 vehicles incorrectly flagged as stolen in the space of two months.\n\nFurthermore, once cameras collect driver data, uncertainty abounds in how your company and its customers can sell or use data. The multi-billion-dollar valuations that are common among your peer companies come with enormous pressure to find new commercial applications. Americans demand a full accounting of how their driver data is stored or sold.\n\nTo be sure, I want law enforcement to have tools to catch offenders and keep the public safe. But the surveillance network your company has constructed raises legitimate concerns about how little-known corporations possess intimate knowledge of Americans\u2019 lives, fueled by invasive artificial intelligence algorithms. The Supreme Court recognizes that a comprehensive, retrospective record of a person\u2019s movements is different in kind from ordinary observation in public, and Congress never authorized the network your industry has built. Your company\u2019s internal policies are, in practice, the only safeguards for hundreds of millions of Americans. People across the country are now discovering that fact and demanding answers from their elected officials.\n\nThe American people want to know who has access to their personal data and how. This investigation will seek those answers. To facilitate that, please produce all documents and information specified in the attached annex no later than September 16, 2026. If you have questions about the scope of these requests, please contact my office to discuss.\n\nSincerely,", 1, "2026-09-04T09:19:37Z", "2026-09-04T09:20:58Z"], ["https://www.hawley.senate.gov/hawley-presses-postmaster-general-to-answer-for-bonus-payments-poor-service-during-st-louis-visit/", "Hawley Presses Postmaster General to Answer for Bonus Payments, Poor Service During St. Louis Visit", "2026-09-03", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Josh Hawley", "H001089", "www.hawley.senate.gov", "hawley", "https://www.hawley.senate.gov/press-releases/page/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2014 Today, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) released the following statement on Postmaster David Steiner\u2019s anticipated Friday visit to St. Louis. The photo-op by the Postmaster comes after months of failure to provide acceptable answers regarding his bonus payments and poor mail service in the state.\n\n\u201cMissourians have suffered poor mail service for years and it\u2019s grossly unacceptable. They deserve answers,\u201d said Senator Hawley. \u201cInstead of posing for a photo op, the Postmaster General can return his bonus to taxpayers, pledge his full cooperation with congressional investigations, and support my bill to restrict bonuses for postal executives until Missourians receive their mail on time.\u201d\n\nThe statement comes after Senator Hawley launched a comprehensive investigation into major U.S Postal Service (USPS) failures in Missouri in addition to lavish bonus compensation for USPS executives. This investigation followed Senator Hawley\u2019s questioning of Postmaster General Steiner at a Senate hearing earlier this year during which Senator Hawley revealed that postal executives had received millions in bonuses over the past decade as USPS service standards and financials lagged.\n\nIn July, in a strong bipartisan vote, the Senate Homeland Security Committee passed Senator Hawley\u2019s legislation to restrict bonus payouts for the Postmaster General. The legislation now heads to the Senate floor.\n\nSenator Hawley\u2019s office continues to investigate USPS and numerous questions remain unanswered. Senator Hawley\u2019s office has not received a single requested document from USPS during the investigation.\n\nBelow are major questions for the Postmaster General that need timely public answers:", 1, "2026-09-04T09:19:37Z", "2026-09-04T09:20:58Z"], ["https://jasonsmith.house.gov/2026/09/03/smith-secures-1-7-million-for-salem-memorial-hospital-through-provision-in-one-big-beautiful-bill/", "Smith Secures $1.7 Million for Salem Memorial Hospital Through Provision in One, Big, Beautiful Bill", "2026-09-03", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Jason Smith", "S001195", "jasonsmith.house.gov", "jasonsmith", "https://jasonsmith.house.gov/category/press_release/", "scraper", "SALEM, Mo. \u2013 Salem Memorial Hospital has been awarded approximately $1.7 million through the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), an initiative that Congressman Jason Smith (MO-08) authored and fought for as part of the One, Big, Beautiful Bill. The funding will support major facility and patient-care upgrades at the hospital that has served Smith\u2019s hometown for generations.\n\nCongressman Smith said, \u201cGrowing up in Salem, I know exactly what this hospital means to our community. My family has depended on Salem Memorial for generations, and I\u2019ve seen firsthand what it means for a small town when the local hospital stays open and care continues to improve. When a rural hospital closes, that often means an extra hour on the road to receive care, and for many families, that extra hour can be the difference between life and death.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s exactly why I championed the Rural Health Transformation Program. When I was writing the One, Big, Beautiful Bill, I knew we had to include support for rural health care so hospitals like Salem Memorial can get the resources they need to continue serving the families who depend on them \u2014 and I did just that. I\u2019m proud to see this funding benefit my hometown, and I will keep fighting to make sure our rural communities have access to quality health care.\u201d\n\nBackground:", 1, "2026-09-11T09:25:29Z", "2026-09-11T09:27:08Z"], ["https://burlison.house.gov/media/press-releases/burlison-opens-hearing-state-and-local-natural-gas-bans-increasing-energy", "Burlison Opens Hearing on State and Local Natural Gas Bans Increasing Energy Costs", "2026-09-02", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Eric Burlison", "B001316", "burlison.house.gov", "burlison", "https://burlison.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON\u2014Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs Chairman Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) delivered opening remarks at today\u2019s hearing titled \u201cNo Flame, More Pain: How State and Local Bans on Natural Gas Increase Costs.\u201d In his statement, Subcommittee Chairman Burlison highlighted how natural gas has remained an affordable and reliable form of energy for American households despite the skyrocketing prices of electricity and other green energy sources, and that bans on natural gas by blue states and cities has made it more difficult for Americans to pay their monthly energy bills and use their appliances of choice. He also underscored that the Trump Administration has worked hard to scale back the burdensome regulations imposed by the Biden Administration that make any aspects of everyday life more expensive and urged the Congress to take action.\n\nWATCH THE REMARKS\n\nBelow are Subcommittee Chairman Burlison\u2019s opening remarks as prepared for delivery:", 1, "2026-09-03T09:29:33Z", "2026-09-03T09:31:32Z"], ["https://bell.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-bell-leads-resolution-recognizing-missouri-tigers-1960-college", "Congressman Bell Leads Resolution Recognizing the Missouri Tigers\u00a0as the 1960 College Football National Champions", "2026-09-01", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "House", "MO", "Wesley Bell", "B001324", "bell.house.gov", "bell", "https://bell.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "The 1960 Missouri Tigers football team had an undefeated season, besting Kansas in the Big Eight Conference\n\nMinnesota was ultimately chosen as the 1960 National Champion due to polling organization rankings, but Missouri holds a claim to the title\n\nThe Senate version of the resolution passed last month\n\nWashington, D.C. \u2014 Recently, Congressman Wesley Bell (D-MO-01) led a resolution recognizing the 1960 University of Missouri Tigers football team for its undefeated regular season, Orange Bowl victory, and claim to the 1960 National Championship.\n\n\u201cAs a proud Mizzou graduate, I\u2019m always going to champion my school,\u201d said Rep. Bell. \u201cAs we head into another football season, I want to recognize the legacy of our 1960 football team and rightfully place them in history as national champions. These men represented the heart of Missouri. They worked tirelessly to earn their championship and record, and they deserve to be recognized for it. I\u2019m proud to introduce this resolution to recognize the 1960 national champion Mizzou Tigers.\n\nIn 1960, there was no official National Championship game. Instead, major polling organizations and selectors named teams as national champions.\n\nMissouri University\u2019s 1960 team, coached by Dan Devine, finished its season 11-0 after a Kansas win in the Big Eight was reversed due to their use of an ineligible player. However, despite their record, Minnesota was ultimately recognized as the 1960 national champion.\n\nThis resolution offers the chance to rewrite history and renew the Missouri Tigers\u2019 claim to the title.\n\nRead the full resolution HERE.\n\n###", 1, "2026-09-02T09:19:58Z", "2026-09-02T09:20:51Z"], ["https://burlison.house.gov/media/press-releases/burlison-announces-hearing-state-and-local-natural-gas-bans", "Burlison Announces Hearing on State and Local Natural Gas Bans", "2026-09-01", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Eric Burlison", "B001316", "burlison.house.gov", "burlison", "https://burlison.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON\u2014Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs Chairman Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) today announced a hearing titled \u201cNo Flame, More Pain: How State and Local Bans on Natural Gas Increase Costs.\u201d During the hearing, members will highlight the advantage the United States holds over the rest of the world due to our abundance of natural gas, how the Biden Administration and Congressional Democrats pursued policies to ban natural gas appliances and force electrification, and examine how blue cities and states have enacted laws which aim to eliminate the use of natural gas and other fossil fuels. Members will examine how those bans make life less affordable for households, small businesses and communities, including by causing utility prices to skyrocket and straining U.S. electric grids.\n\n\u201cNatural gas is an efficient, cost-effective fuel source for homeowners and businesses all across America. The bans imposed by state and local governments increase energy costs while limiting cheaper options, making household and utility costs much more expensive. These bans also have broader ramifications beyond just those states. Democratic politicians who push for natural gas bans while claiming outrage over the increased cost of daily life have shown that they put the interests of climate zealots above Americans who rely on affordable energy to maintain their livelihoods. I look forward to hearing from witnesses on the efficacy of natural gas in powering our homes and lowering our energy bills, and what Congress can do to make everyday life cheaper for Americans,\u201d said Subcommittee Chairman Burlison.\n\nWHAT: \u201cNo Flame, More Pain: How State and Local Bans on Natural Gas Increase Costs\u201d\n\nDATE: Wednesday, September 2, 2026\n\nTIME: 9:00a.m. CT\n\nLOCATION: 2247 Rayburn House Office Building\n\nWITNESSES:\n\nMichael Fazio, Executive Director, New York State Builders Association\n\nPatrick McCormick, Former Chief Counsel, U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources\n\nJames Conde, Partner, Boyden Gray PLLC\n\nAdditional witnesses may be announced", 1, "2026-09-02T09:19:58Z", "2026-09-02T09:20:51Z"], ["https://cleaver.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressman-cleaver-votes-pass-bipartisan-funding-bill-avoid-another", "Congressman Cleaver Votes to Pass Bipartisan Funding Bill, Avoid Another Government Shutdown", "2026-09-01", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "House", "MO", "Emanuel Cleaver", "C001061", "cleaver.house.gov", "cleaver", "https://cleaver.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "(Washington, D.C.) \u2013 Today, U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) voted in favor of a Continuing Resolution that maintains funding for federal programs through December 11. The bipartisan legislation was passed by the House of Representatives by a vote of 370-48, averting another government shutdown under Republican leadership.\n\n\u201cGovernment shutdowns are deeply harmful to Missouri families and workers across our congressional district. Thankfully, after overseeing the longest government shutdown in history last year, Republicans in the House, Senate, and White House have agreed to work with Democrats on legislation that will keep the government funded, workers paid, and programs running for Americans nationwide,\u201d said Congressman Cleaver.\n\n\u201cI was proud to vote for today\u2019s Continuing Resolution that will maintain current funding levels while allowing lawmakers to continue the important work of crafting a comprehensive, bipartisan budget that will help lower costs for families and meet the needs of the American people in every community,\u201d Congressman Cleaver concluded.\n\nEmanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri's Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee's Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Greenwood, Blue Springs, North Kansas City, Gladstone, and Claycomo. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee and Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance.", 1, "2026-09-02T09:19:58Z", "2026-09-02T09:20:51Z"], ["https://bell.house.gov/media/press-releases/bell-strickland-mfume-lead-70-members-effort-stop-navy-renaming-ship-honoring", "Bell, Strickland, Mfume Lead 70+ Members in Effort to Stop Navy from Renaming Ship Honoring Black War Hero in Honor of President Trump", "2026-08-28", "2026", "2026-08", "Democrat", "House", "MO", "Wesley Bell", "B001324", "bell.house.gov", "bell", "https://bell.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "The letter comes following recent news that the U.S. Navy is considering renaming the USS Doris Miller in honor of the president\n\nDoris Miller was a sailor aboard the USS West Virginia when Japan began its attack on Pearl Harbor who put himself in harm\u2019s way to help save his fellow wounded sailors\n\nThe letter was signed by 73 members, including Ranking Member Adam Smith and 24 Members from the House Armed Services Committee\n\nWashington, D.C. \u2014 Today, Representatives Wesley Bell (D-MO-01), Marilyn Strickland (D-WA-10), and Kweisi Mfume (D-MD-07) led over 70 of their Democratic House colleagues in an effort pressing Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao to keep the name of the USS Doris Miller as is.\n\n\u201cRenaming this ship after a sitting President would be unprecedented and break longstanding tradition,\u201d wrote the Representatives. \u201cMost importantly, this would diminish the recognition of one of our country\u2019s greatest military heroes. It was during President Trump\u2019s first term that the Navy announced CVN-81 would bear Doris Miller\u2019s name. Reversing that decision now would be a significant step backward in honoring the courage and sacrifice of those who have served our country.\u201d\n\nNews broke last week about the Navy potentially renaming its ship, CVN-81, to honor Trump. During the president\u2019s first term, the Navy had announced that CVN-81 would bear Doris Miller\u2019s name, making it the first aircraft carrier to be named for an African American, as well as the first named in honor of an enlisted sailor.\n\nDoris \u2018Dorie\u2019 Miller was serving aboard the USS West Virginia on December 7, 1941, when Japan began its attack. At the time, Miller was a Mess Attendant Second Class, and after his station came under fire, he took control of an anti-aircraft gun and fired at incoming aircraft. Even as the ship sank, he kept fighting until he ran out of ammunition, and assisted his fellow wounded sailors to reach safety.\n\n\u201cDoris Miller\u2019s story is one of extraordinary bravery, service, and pure patriotism,\u201d the Representatives continued. \u201cWhen he served, segregation restricted the roles available to Black sailors and servicemembers. Yet, when his country came under attack, Miller did not hesitate to put himself in harm\u2019s way to defend his fellow sailors and his nation. This story embodies the finest traditions of the United States Armed Forces.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere has never been a time when we have named a warship after a sitting president. Changing course and now to satisfy a sitting President\u2019s ego, especially one who dodged service to his country, would be shamefully wrong. We urge you to reject this plan and ensure that CVN-81 bears the name USS Doris Miller. Our Navy must continue honoring the courage of those that answered their country\u2019s call to service,\u201d the lawmakers concluded.\n\nCongressman Bell is a member of the House Armed Services Committee and has fought to protect the rights of our servicemembers, past, present, and future. Recently, he led a letter calling on Secretary Cao to disclose information about the conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln amidst concerns of crew well-being while deployed in the Middle East for the Iran War. He also led a letter calling on the Department of Defense to take measures to protect the well-being of crew members aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford.\n\nThe letter was signed by: Reps. Gabe Amo, Yassamin Ansari, Joyce Beatty, Julia Brownley, Nikki Budzinski, Salud Carbajal, Andr\u00e9 Carson, Troy Carter, Ed Case, Joaquin Castro, Gilbert Cisneros, Emanuel Cleaver, Steve Cohen, Herb Conaway, Joe Courtney, Jason Crow, Diana DeGette, Christopher Deluzio, Mark DeSaulnier, Debbie Dingell, Sarah Elfreth, Dwight Evans, Shomari Figures, John Garamendi, Daniel Goldman, Maggie Goodlander, Josh Gottheimer, Steven Horsford, Chrissy Houlahan, Glenn Ivey, Sara Jacobs, Jonathan Jackson, William Keating, Timothy Kennedy, Ro Khanna, Greg Landsman, Stephen Lynch, April McClain Delaney, Jennifer McClellan, Christian Menefee, Dave Min, Gwen Moore, Seth Moulton, Jerrold Nadler, Donald Norcross, Eleanor Norton, Frank Pallone, Scott Peters, Brittany Pettersen, Mike Quigley, Patrick Ryan, Bradley Schneider, Robert Scott, Terri Sewell, Adam Smith, Eric Sorensen, Suhas Subramanyam, Shri Thanedar, Bennie Thompson, Dina Titus, Jill Tokuda, Ritchie Torres, Derek Tran, Gabe Vasquez, Marc Veasey, Eugene Vindman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Maxine Waters, George Whitesides, Frederica Wilson.\n\nThe letter text can be viewed HERE.\n\n###\n\nWesley Bell is the U.S. Representative for Missouri's First Congressional District, which includes St. Louis City and a portion of St. Louis County. He is a member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, House Armed Services Committee, and House Foreign Affairs Committee.", 1, "2026-08-29T11:31:28Z", "2026-08-29T11:32:37Z"], ["https://www.hawley.senate.gov/hawley-op-ed-why-i-am-investigating-flock/", "Hawley Op-Ed: Why I Am Investigating Flock", "2026-08-28", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Josh Hawley", "H001089", "www.hawley.senate.gov", "hawley", "https://www.hawley.senate.gov/press-releases/page/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2014 U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) penned an op-ed in The Daily Wire following the announcement of his investigation into companies like Flock, with its network of 120,000 AI-powered cameras across the United States. Senator Hawley raises concerns about how Flock\u2019s collection of citizens\u2019 data and personal information poses privacy threats and potentially violates existing laws.\n\nRead the full op-ed here or below.\n\nEvery month, AI-powered cameras take 20 billion snapshots of cars in America. In almost every case, these photos capture drivers who did nothing wrong. These are regular folks on their way to work, picking up kids at school, or driving to church. Now, they are understandably asking what happens to the data captured by a network of more than 120,000 of these Flock cameras nationwide.\n\nEven though this is new technology, it raises an issue older than our country itself. In 1761, a Boston lawyer named James Otis went to court to fight against something called writs of assistance, which gave customs officers virtually unlimited authority to search anywhere for smuggled goods. After the colonial court did not stop the writs, John Adams said American independence was born \u201cthen and there.\u201d Otis never argued against law enforcement or the need for searches. He objected to open-ended authority without any limiting rules.\n\nToday, Congress has not written any rules governing the data captured by national AI camera networks built by Flock Safety and similar companies. It may be governed by older statutes, and should have Fourth Amendment limits, but those are unsettled questions. For now, for practical purposes, the only privacy protections for hundreds of millions of Americans are those found in one company\u2019s internal policies. I don\u2019t know if Flock has broken the law, but I do know that technology is moving faster than Congress is keeping up. So I have opened an investigation in the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, which I chair, into how this data is collected, retained, searched, and sold.\n\nI heard about this issue in my home state of Missouri. The St. Charles County Police Department canceled its Flock contract this month, after an audit found a civilian employee running searches for personal reasons. Sadly, my state is not alone. In Milwaukee, prosecutors charged an officer with searching his girlfriend\u2019s plate 124 times and her former boyfriend\u2019s plate 55 times, typing the word \u201cinvestigation\u201d in the software\u2019s justification field each time. Worse still, the system\u2019s audit didn\u2019t catch him; a private citizen did, after looking up his plate on a public website.\n\nAdding insult to injury, the systems make mistakes. A Florida woman spent 13 days in jail on eight felony counts, three for vehicular homicide, after investigators searched Flock\u2019s network for a vehicle description and arrested the owner. The prosecutors later dropped the charges because they had the wrong person. Los Angeles dropped its Flock contract after an audit found officers had stopped 161 drivers wrongly flagged as driving stolen cars. Another California police department found that 71 percent of its alerts were wrong.\n\nThen we consider what happens to records generated by these cameras. Flock boasts an $8.3 billion valuation, which brings commercial pressures. Americans deserve to know whether and how their driving data is licensed, sold, and used. There are also concerns about whether data is sent or stored abroad. For example, reporters have described Flock using gig workers in the Philippines to classify data captured by cameras. Powerful AI models also automate parts of the process, supercharging these concerns.\n\nAll that said, I want police to have the tools they need. Cameras can help recover stolen cars, find missing children, and catch fleeing criminals. But people are concerned when private companies build unprecedented databases of personal information and want reasonable safeguards for that data. And the Supreme Court has found that people have a reasonable expectation of privacy against a \u201ccomprehensive\u201d record of where they\u2019ve been. Americans do not surrender all their privacy rights every time they leave the house.\n\nSo I have posed common-sense questions to Flock about how long it keeps data, who controls it, who can search it, what protections are in place, and who, if anyone, is buying what the cameras see.\n\nI hope the company will commit to resolving these questions. But even if it does, Congress should not just take its word at face value; we should write protections into law. These safeguards must apply to every company and endure longer than the tenure of current CEOs. More fundamentally, the rules protecting Americans should be set by law and by the people, not by venture capital funds, AI executives, or big tech companies.", 1, "2026-08-29T11:31:28Z", "2026-08-29T11:32:37Z"], ["https://www.hawley.senate.gov/chairman-hawley-investigates-ai-powered-flock-cameras-amidst-privacy-concerns/", "Chairman Hawley Investigates AI-Powered Flock Cameras Amidst Privacy Concerns", "2026-08-26", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Josh Hawley", "H001089", "www.hawley.senate.gov", "hawley", "https://www.hawley.senate.gov/press-releases/page/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2014 Today, as Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) launched an investigation into Flock Safety\u2019s AI-powered web of thousands of cameras across the nation. As part of the investigation, Hawley is demanding Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley provide answers as to what safeguards the company employs to protect Americans\u2019 data.\n\nThe investigation is the latest initiative in Hawley\u2019s work to protect Americans from AI surveillance and privacy threats. Just two weeks ago, Senator Hawley held a hearing exposing the exploitative practices of AI surveillance pricing and consumer data harvesting.\n\n\u201cAs Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, I am investigating Flock Safety\u2019s collection, retention, and dissemination of the data generated by its artificial intelligence surveillance cameras. In a few short years, Flock has assembled an unprecedented national surveillance network. Your company boasts more than 120,000 cameras across 49 states and more than 20 billion vehicle scans every month. The overwhelming majority of the Americans captured in those records did nothing wrong. Instead of serving discrete local investigations, as contemplated by our constitutional processes and safeguards, these camera networks harness artificial intelligence to pool what they capture into a national database that customers can search,\u201d wrote Senator Hawley.\n\nHe continued, \u201cTo be sure, I want law enforcement to have tools to catch offenders and keep the public safe. But Americans do not surrender their privacy rights when they drive to work, drop their kids off at school, or go to church. The Supreme Court has recognized that a comprehensive, retrospective record of a person\u2019s movements is different in kind from ordinary observation in public. Congress never authorized the network your industry has built. Your company\u2019s internal policies are, in practice, the only safeguards for hundreds of millions of Americans. People across the country are now discovering that fact and demanding answers from their elected officials.\u201d\n\n\u201cIn light of this abuse of driver information, the American people want to know who has access to their personal data and how. This investigation will seek those answers. To facilitate that, please produce all documents and information specified in the attached annex no later than September 8, 2026. If you have questions about the scope of these requests, please contact my office to discuss,\u201d Senator Hawley concluded.\n\nRead the full letter here or below.\n\nAugust 26, 2026\n\nGarrett Langley\n\nChief Executive Officer\n\nFlock Safety\n\n3284 Northside Parkway NW\n\nAtlanta, GA 30327\n\nDear Mr. Langley:\n\nAs Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, I am investigating Flock Safety\u2019s collection, retention, and dissemination of the data generated by its artificial intelligence surveillance cameras.\n\nIn a few short years, Flock has assembled an unprecedented national surveillance network. Your company boasts more than 120,000 cameras across 49 states and more than 20 billion vehicle scans every month. The overwhelming majority of the Americans captured in those records did nothing wrong. Instead of serving discrete local investigations, as contemplated by our constitutional processes and safeguards, these camera networks harness artificial intelligence to pool what they capture into a national database that customers can search.\n\nRecent examples of abuse and misuse of personal data reveal the woeful lack of safeguards in these systems. In Missouri, the St. Charles County Police Department terminated its contract this month after an audit revealed that a civilian employee had run Flock searches for personal reasons, completely unrelated to their law enforcement duties. Sadly, my home state is not an outlier. In Milwaukee, prosecutors charged a police officer who allegedly searched his girlfriend\u2019s license plate 124 times and her former boyfriend\u2019s plate 55 times, entering \u201cinvestigation\u201d as his justification each time. Worse still, the officer was not caught by the company\u2019s audit systems\u2014he was caught because a private citizen looked up his own plate on a public website.\n\nErrors and false positives add insult to injury. A Florida woman spent 13 days in jail and faced eight felony counts, including three counts of vehicular homicide, after investigators arrested an owner based on their search of Flock\u2019s network for a vehicle description. Prosecutors dismissed the charges seven months later when law enforcement discovered the error and arrested a different person. One California police department found that a staggering 71% of its alerts were wrong, and the Los Angeles Police Department dropped its Flock contract after an audit showed officers had stopped 161 vehicles incorrectly flagged as stolen in the space of two months.\n\nFurthermore, once cameras collect driver data, uncertainty abounds in how your company and its customers can sell or use data. Flock\u2019s $8.3 billion valuation comes with enormous pressure to find new commercial applications. Americans demand a full accounting for how their driver data is stored or sold.\n\nTo be sure, I want law enforcement to have tools to catch offenders and keep the public safe. But Americans do not surrender their privacy rights when they drive to work, drop their kids off at school, or go to church. The Supreme Court has recognized that a comprehensive, retrospective record of a person\u2019s movements is different in kind from ordinary observation in public. Congress never authorized the network your industry has built. Your company\u2019s internal policies are, in practice, the only safeguards for hundreds of millions of Americans. People across the country are now discovering that fact and demanding answers from their elected officials.\n\nIn light of this abuse of driver information, the American people want to know who has access to their personal data and how. This investigation will seek those answers. To facilitate that, please produce all documents and information specified in the attached annex no later than September 8, 2026. If you have questions about the scope of these requests, please contact my office to discuss.\n\nSincerely,\n\nJosh Hawley", 1, "2026-08-27T16:10:01Z", "2026-08-27T16:10:50Z"], ["https://cleaver.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressman-cleaver-calls-president-trump-reconsider-importation", "Congressman Cleaver Calls on President Trump to Reconsider Importation of Foreign Beef Products", "2026-08-24", "2026", "2026-08", "Democrat", "House", "MO", "Emanuel Cleaver", "C001061", "cleaver.house.gov", "cleaver", "https://cleaver.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "(Washington, D.C.) \u2013 Today, U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) urged the Trump Administration to reverse course on its plan to import 300,000 metric tons of foreign beef over the next 90 days. In a Truth Social post, the President indicated that these beef products will not be subject to out-of-quota tariffs and will allegedly be sold at 25% below current market prices. In a letter to President Trump, Congressman Cleaver acknowledged that Missourians are struggling with the rising cost of groceries, but emphasized that the importation of foreign beef fails to address the primary forces which have driven up the cost of beef products.\n\nAs noted in the Congressman\u2019s letter, the size of the American cattle herd has reached a 75-year low, and this development has contributed to a shortage of beef products made available to retailers and consumers. Moreover, according to the USDA, the number of cattle producers declined by 17% between 2017 and 2022, an alarming trend largely influenced by drought conditions in cattle-producing areas alongside higher input prices for necessities such as farm equipment and feed.\n\n\u201cFlooding the market with Argentinian beef isn\u2019t how you show support for American cattle producers,\u201d said Congressman Cleaver. \u201cMarket manipulation is also a misguided approach to bringing down grocery prices, so I struggle to see who will benefit from this plan other than foreign competitors. If anything, the President\u2019s proposal will further discourage cattlemen here in the United States from expanding their herds, thereby perpetuating one of the very problems that led to higher beef prices in the first place. Also, I\u2019d be remiss to not point out that the proposed lifting of out-of-quota tariffs on foreign beef extends just past the upcoming midterm elections. Selling out American cattlemen in hopes of performing better at the ballot box is a sad betrayal of the farmers who keep this country fed.\u201d\n\nStatements in strong opposition to the President\u2019s plan have been issued by the National Cattlemen\u2019s Beef Association, the Missouri Cattlemen\u2019s Association, and the Missouri Farm Bureau.\n\nThe official letter from Rep. Cleaver available here.", 1, "2026-08-25T05:31:37Z", "2026-08-25T05:33:09Z"], ["https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/senator-schmitt-celebrates-jesus-osetes-nomination-to-western-district-of-missouri/", "Senator Schmitt Celebrates Jesus Osete\u2019s Nomination to Western District of Missouri", "2026-08-24", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Eric Schmitt", "S001227", "www.schmitt.senate.gov", "schmitt", "https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/", "scraper", "Osete Served as Deputy Solicitor General During Schmitt\u2019s Time as MO Attorney General\n\nU.S. SENATE \u2014 Today, U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) released the following statement following President Trump\u2019s nomination of Jesus Osete to the Western District of Missouri. Osete, currently the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice\u2019s Civil Rights Division, served as Deputy Solicitor General during Schmitt\u2019s tenure as Missouri Attorney General and is the seventh judicial nomination from the state, among the most in the nation under President Trump\u2019s second term. Six out of the seven nominees served in the Missouri Attorney General\u2019s Office under Schmitt.\n\n\u201cJesus has dedicated his career to public service, and I am confident he will do a fantastic job as a judge in Missouri\u2019s Western District. As Missouri\u2019s Attorney General, I saw Jesus\u2019 dedication to upholding the rule of law and maintaining the rich legal tradition of our nation. He truly understands what is expected of a judge and what it means to do the job well. I look forward to his confirmation to Missouri\u2019s Western District where he will continue to serve the people of the Show-Me State,\u201d said Senator Schmitt.\n\nOsete is the latest Schmitt-alum to be tapped by President Trump and serving in the federal legal system.\n\nJohn Sauer, Solicitor General, Department of Justice\n\nTom Albus, U.S. Attorney, Eastern District of Missouri\n\nCristian Stevens, District Judge, Eastern District of Missouri\n\nMaria Lanahan, District Judge, Eastern District of Missouri\n\nZach Bluestone, District Judge, Eastern District of Missouri\n\nJosh Divine, District Judge, Eastern and Western District of Missouri\n\nMichael Talent, Assistant Solicitor General, Department of Justice\n\nRachel Jag, Counselor to the Attorney General, Department of Justice\n\nJustin Smith, Circuit Judge, Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit\n\nJesus Osete, District Judge, Western District of Missouri\n\n###", 1, "2026-08-25T05:31:37Z", "2026-08-25T05:33:09Z"], ["https://alford.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1756", "Alford Receives Assurance Basic Combat Training Is Staying at Fort Leonard Wood", "2026-08-18", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Mark Alford", "A000379", "alford.house.gov", "alford", "https://alford.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "RAYMORE, MO\u2014Congressman Mark Alford today announced that the U.S. Army has confirmed there are no plans to relocate Basic Combat Training from Fort Leonard Wood.\n\nAfter hearing concerns about the future of Fort Leonard Wood\u2019s Basic Combat Training mission, Alford went directly to Army leadership to get answers and make sure Missouri\u2019s voice was heard.\n\nIn a response to Alford\u2019s June 26 letter, the Department of the Army made its position clear: \u201cThe Army has no plans to relocate the Basic Combat Training from Fort Leonard Wood.\u201d\n\nThe Army also confirmed that it expanded Basic Combat Training capacity at Fort Leonard Wood in Fiscal Year 2025 to support the Regular Army\u2019s growing accession mission. The Army expects that mission to increase to 65,000 accessions in FY27 as it works toward an end strength of 476,000 by FY29.\n\n\u201cThis is great news for Fort Leonard Wood, our soldiers, our military families, and the entire region that proudly supports this incredible installation,\u201d said Congressman Mark Alford.\n\n\u201cWhen questions were raised about whether Basic Combat Training could be moved from Fort Leonard Wood, I wasn\u2019t going to sit on the sidelines and wonder what might happen. I went straight to the Army and demanded answers.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd now we have them: Basic Combat Training is not going anywhere.\u201d\n\n\u201cFort Leonard Wood has a proud history of training the men and women who defend our country. It is a critical part of our Army\u2019s readiness, and it is a tremendous economic and community asset for Missouri. I am proud to stand with the soldiers, families, veterans, and communities who make Fort Leonard Wood so strong.\u201d\n\nThe Army\u2019s response also noted that the U.S. Army Transformation and Training Command will continue assessing training capacity at Army Training Centers to meet future accession requirements and will keep Congress informed of its analysis.\n\nAlford said he will continue to closely monitor the Army\u2019s plans and advocate for Fort Leonard Wood and the soldiers who train there.\n\n\u201cThis is another victory for Missouri,\u201d Alford said.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ll keep fighting to make sure Fort Leonard Wood remains a premier training installation and that Missouri continues to play a critical role in preparing the next generation of American soldiers.\u201d", 1, "2026-08-20T05:28:41Z", "2026-08-20T05:29:58Z"], ["https://jasonsmith.house.gov/2026/08/17/smith-visits-naeger-forest-products-in-ste-genevieve-county/", "Smith Visits Naeger Forest Products in Ste. Genevieve County", "2026-08-17", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Jason Smith", "S001195", "jasonsmith.house.gov", "jasonsmith", "https://jasonsmith.house.gov/category/press_release/", "scraper", "STE. GENEVIEVE COUNTY, Mo. \u2013 Congressman Jason Smith (MO-08) visited Naeger Forest Products in Ste. Genevieve County recently, touring the sawmill with owner Mike Naeger to discuss the challenges facing Missouri\u2019s timber industry.\n\nCongressman Smith said, \u201cMike has spent more than four decades building this sawmill into one that produces some of the highest-quality cedar in the country, and it was clear from our conversation just how much pride he takes in that work. We talked about the flood of cheap, fake wood products coming in from China, the toll the railroad merger has taken on the tie market, and the need to open up new domestic and foreign markets for Missouri timber. Our forest products industry is every bit as important to America\u2019s supply chain security as our farm, food, and pharmaceutical industries, and I\u2019ll keep fighting in Washington to make sure it\u2019s treated that way.\u201d\n\nMike Naeger has worked in logging for 41 years and opened his sawmill 34 years ago. The mill specializes in cutting Aromatic and Eastern Red Cedar sourced from within a 100-mile radius of Perry, St. Francois, and Jefferson Counties. The mill also processes hardwood, selling oak to McLain Forest Products in Van Buren and pine to buyers in Indiana and Illinois, moving roughly 3 million board feet of lumber a year.\n\nCongressman Smith also discussed the challenges facing Missouri\u2019s timber industry with Missouri Forest Products Association President Brian Brookshire, including the decline of the industry in recent years, competition from imported imitation wood products from China, and the impact of railroad consolidation on the tie and barrel whiskey markets. They also discussed efforts to have the U.S. Forest Service and Department of Commerce work to expand markets for American-made wood products.\n\nThe Fix Our Forests Act, which Congressman Smith voted for, allows for more active management of fire-prone federal forestland through logging, thinning, and restoration projects that reduce wildfire risk and improve forest health. He continues to push for policies that support domestic timber production, expand markets for American wood products, and reduce reliance on foreign imports.", 1, "2026-08-18T05:27:41Z", "2026-08-18T05:29:06Z"], ["https://bell.house.gov/media/press-releases/representatives-bell-courtney-and-goodlander-lead-colleagues-urging-clarity", "Representatives Bell, Courtney, and Goodlander Lead Colleagues in Urging Clarity from Pentagon on USS Lincoln\u2019s Overextended Deployment & Sailors\u2019 Safety", "2026-08-14", "2026", "2026-08", "Democrat", "House", "MO", "Wesley Bell", "B001324", "bell.house.gov", "bell", "https://bell.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "The letter follows reports of an intensifying mental health crisis aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln\n\nThe aircraft carrier\u2019s crew is in its 9th month at sea and has spent a record 250 consecutive days without making land\n\nCongressman Bell serves on the House Armed Services Committee\n\nWashington, D.C. \u2014 Today, Representatives Wesley Bell (D-MO-01), Maggie Goodlander (D-NH-02), and Joe Courtney (D-CT-02) led a group of 34 lawmakers in demanding immediate answers from the Department of Defense on the conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.\n\nThe letter addresses mounting reports of poor living conditions, food shortages, and a mental health crisis among the crew. The ship and its crew have been deployed at sea for more than 8 months \u2014 including a record-breaking 208 days without a single port call \u2014 and multiple sailors have reportedly attempted to jump overboard in recent weeks.\n\n\u201cLike the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) before it, CVN-72\u2019s extended deployment is accompanied by deeply troubling reports about sailors\u2019 mental health and living conditions. These reports are not political conjecture; they come from sailors\u2019 worried family members,\u201d the lawmakers wrote. \u201cNavy leadership took the appropriate step in meeting to address families\u2019 concerns, but there remains more to be done to ensure that the families and the public have faith that these sailors are being taken care of and that the Department is appropriately managing the fleet and its readiness for Operation Epic Fury.\u201d\n\nOn Tuesday, the Navy Times reported on the mental health strain, exhaustion, and safety concerns of sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, which has been deployed for over eight months supporting President Trump\u2019s war with Iran, which included a span of 208 continuous days without porting, a carrier record.\n\n\u201cThe Ford and Lincoln's successive overextended deployments and subsequent challenges have become a pattern in the Administration's handling of its war against Iran. As of August 13, the USS George Washington (CVN-73) is reported to replace the Lincoln at some point in the future. The reported conditions on the Lincoln, following so soon after the reported conditions on the Ford, leave both Congress and the public concerned that the Department is not adapting quickly enough to the conditions in the CENTCOM area of responsibility, nor taking the appropriate steps to mitigate the continued challenges in our fleet,\u201d the representatives concluded.\n\nAs a member of the House Armed Services, Foreign Affairs, and Oversight Committees, and representing a state with a large military community, Congressman Bell has focused much of his work in Congress on defending the men and women who serve our country. St. Louis, Bell recently hosted a roundtable with women veterans from across the region to hear directly about the unique challenges they face, and he continues to fight for the healthcare, benefits, and resources our service members and veterans have earned.\n\nThe full letter text can be found HERE and below:\n\n\u201cDear Secretary Cao:\n\nWe write to express deep concern for the personnel and material readiness of the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) and request information on the ship's deployment and future. The Lincoln and her crew have been deployed for more than 8 months, twice extended and still performing at a high level under constant combat conditions. The carrier deployed from San Diego on November 21, 2025, and was originally scheduled to return from deployment in May. Carrier crews are always prepared for extended deployments at sea due to potential operational requirements.\n\nHowever, this crew has been extended multiple times and is still deployed in a combat zone 3 months after their originally scheduled return date \u2013 with no anticipated redeployment date in sight. Furthermore, the Lincoln has reportedly only pulled into port twice since deploying, once in December 2025 and a second time for a one-day port call in July 2026. This 208-day period without pulling into port was a modern-day record and uncharted territory for a Navy aircraft carrier and her crew. We recognize the severe logistical challenges that come with operating in a warzone. We also note that these challenges, including the inability to make port calls as frequently and the increased mental strain on sailors in a war environment, should be foreseeable and actions should be taken to mitigate the effects to the extent possible.\n\nLike the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) before it, the Lincoln's extended deployment is accompanied by deeply troubling reports about sailors' mental health and living conditions. These reports are not political conjecture; they come from sailors' worried family members. Numerous sailors have reportedly attempted to jump overboard, in an escalation of challenges the Ford faced. In one instance, the wife of one of these sailors initially received a call from the carrier's ombudsman but has not received more information from the Navy in the last few weeks. Other family members have sounded the alarm on food shortages or quality issues since April.\n\nThese concerns reached fever pitch at an August 6 townhall in San Diego, where they were raised by family members of the Lincoln's crew to Acting Secretary Cao and other Navy leadership. Navy leadership took the appropriate step in meeting to address families' concerns, but there remains more to be done to ensure that the families and the public have faith that these sailors are being taken care of and that the Department is appropriately managing the fleet and its readiness for Operation Epic Fury.\n\nThe Ford and Lincoln's successive overextended deployments and subsequent challenges have become a pattern in the Administration's handling of its war against Iran. As of August 13, the USS George Washington (CVN-73) is reported to replace the Lincoln at some point in the future. The reported conditions on the Lincoln, following so soon after the reported conditions on the Ford, leave both Congress and the public concerned that the Department is not adapting quickly enough to the conditions in the CENTCOM area of responsibility, nor taking the appropriate steps to mitigate the continued challenges in our fleet. As such, we urge the Department to continue communicating with these sailors' families and the appropriate congressional committees, and we respectfully request the following information:\n\nWhat additional resources is the Department providing for sailors who are serving under more difficult conditions on extended deployments?\n\nWhat additional measures are being taken to ensure the safety of sailors who may be struggling with their mental health while on extended deployment?\n\nWhat measures did the Department take to mitigate the effects caused by foreseeable strain on standard replenishment procedures in a contested or combat environment?\n\nWhat specific measures did the Department take to overcome unanticipated resource strains caused by adversaries in the CENTCOM AOR?\n\nWhat methods of communication can family members and the public anticipate the Department will use to share information about conditions or other developments on board? Does the Department plan to use the same methods for future extended deployments for Operation Epic Fury, if applicable?\n\nAt time of writing, does the Department consider there to be a food shortage or chronic hygiene issues on the Lincoln during this stage of deployment?\n\nWhat lessons learned, related to either personnel or material readiness from the extended deployment of the Ford, were put into practice to mitigate strain on the Lincoln personnel?\n\nWhat new procedures, both for personnel and material readiness, can be informed by the extended deployments of the Ford and the Lincoln and how may they be implemented for a potential deployment of the George Washington or other carriers facing lengthy deployments?\n\nWhat lessons learned, related to the Ford's post-deployment, can be put into practice when the Lincoln returns for its maintenance availability?\n\nIf the George Washington shifts to CENTCOM to relieve the Lincoln, what are the Navy's plans to maintain its current force posture in INDOPACOM?\n\nSincerely,", 1, "2026-09-03T09:29:33Z", "2026-09-03T09:31:32Z"], ["https://jasonsmith.house.gov/2026/08/13/smith-visits-long-farms-in-howell-county/", "Smith Visits Long Farms in Howell County", "2026-08-13", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Jason Smith", "S001195", "jasonsmith.house.gov", "jasonsmith", "https://jasonsmith.house.gov/category/press_release/", "scraper", "HOWELL COUNTY, Mo. \u2013 Congressman Jason Smith (MO-08) visited Long Farms in Howell County last week, touring the operation and meeting with Jake and Brittney Long to see the farm behind their online platform Faithful Farming and hear how they\u2019re building something to hand down to their sons.\n\nCongressman Smith said, \u201cJake and his family have carried on a legacy of raising livestock on this farm since right after the Great Depression, and that\u2019s the kind of dedication that makes our district\u2019s agriculture community so special. Jake\u2019s commitment to his community runs just as deep, serving as both superintendent of Howell Valley Schools and a pastor. On top of that, I love how he and Brittney use their online platform to share their faith and their family\u2019s way of life with folks well beyond Howell County.\n\n\u201cThanks to the Working Families Tax Cuts, which I authored, farms like this one can count on permanent 100 percent immediate expensing and a permanent small business deduction. Those provisions will help this operation invest and grow so it can one day be handed down to their boys, Henry and Jack. I\u2019ll keep fighting to make sure Missouri farm families have what they need to keep this way of life going.\u201d\n\nFaithful Farming is a commercial cattle operation in Howell County that Jake\u2019s family has run since shortly after the Great Depression. Jake\u2019s father operated the farm as a dairy for 35 years before Jake returned home from college and the family transitioned to commercial beef cattle, now running about 175 mama cows. Jake and Brittney started Faithful Farming as a social media platform to document the family\u2019s faith and farming way of life for their sons, Henry and Jack.\n\nDuring the visit, the Longs and Congressman Smith discussed the growing threats that New World Screwworm and Theileria pose to cattle producers across the district. Congressman Smith continues to push USDA for the resources needed to combat both diseases, including funding for sterile fly production and expanded research into Theileria treatments.\n\nThe Working Families Tax Cuts, which Congressman Smith authored, made permanent 100 percent immediate expensing and a permanent small business deduction, giving producers like the Longs the tools to invest in their operation, grow their herd, and stay profitable for generations to come.", 1, "2026-08-14T06:13:05Z", "2026-08-14T06:14:08Z"], ["https://www.hawley.senate.gov/hawley-durbin-launch-investigation-into-child-sexual-abuse-on-roblox/", "Hawley, Durbin Launch Investigation into Child Sexual Abuse on Roblox", "2026-08-13", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Josh Hawley", "H001089", "www.hawley.senate.gov", "hawley", "https://www.hawley.senate.gov/press-releases/page/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2014 U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) sent a letter to Roblox Founder, President, CEO, and Chair of the Board of Directors David Baszucki, informing him that the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism opened an investigation into Roblox. In the letter, Senator Hawley and Senator Durbin called attention to explicit content present on the platform, as well as its connection to real world child abuse. This investigation is only the latest in the series of actions Senator Hawley and Senator Durbin have taken to protect children online, including their STOP CSAM Act passing out of committee unanimously.\n\nThey began, \u201cWe write to inform you that the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism has opened an investigation into child safety on the Roblox gaming platform.\u201d\n\nThey continued, \u201cYou trumpet Roblox as a safe digital playground for children as young as five. But the public recordraises serious questions about this promise of safety. Over the past decade, police have arrested numerous individuals for committing serious acts of violence and harm against children they met via Roblox, including grooming, sexual abuse, kidnapping, rape, and even murder. Roblox is being used to trade child sexual abuse material, participate in sexually explicit (and often violent) virtual \u2018experiences\u2019 with children, bribe and extort children into producing explicit content, and lure children into in-person meetings. It is heartbreaking. In 2025, Roblox reported 65,381 instances of suspected child sexual exploitation to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children\u2014more than double what it reported in 2024.\u201d\n\n\u201cRoblox appears to prioritize revenue and engagement metrics over the safety and well-being of our children, and the alleged criminal activity on Roblox warrants congressional scrutiny. Accordingly, be advised that Roblox is hereby directed to preserve all records, in any format and wherever located, in connection with child safety, child sexual or physical abuse, child bullying, or child financial exploitation \u2026 Let us be clear: children on your platform are hurting. Congress will not look the other way. We await your prompt and complete response,\u201d they concluded.\n\nRead the full letter here or below.\n\nAugust 12, 2026\n\nDavid Baszucki\n\nFounder, President, CEO, and Chair of the Board of Directors\n\nRoblox Corp.\n\n3150 South Delaware Street\n\nSan Mateo, California 94403\n\nMr. Baszucki:\n\nWe write to inform you that the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism has opened an investigation into child safety on the Roblox gaming platform.\n\nYou trumpet Roblox as a safe digital playground for children as young as five. But the public recordraises serious questions about this promise of safety. Over the past decade, police have arrested numerous individuals for committing serious acts of violence and harm against children they met via Roblox, including grooming, sexual abuse, kidnapping, rape, and even murder. Roblox is being used to trade child sexual abuse material, participate in sexually explicit (and often violent) virtual \u201cexperiences\u201d with children, bribe and extort children into producing explicit content, and lure children into in-person meetings. It is heartbreaking. In 2025, Roblox reported 65,381 instances of suspected child sexual exploitation to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children\u2014more than double what it reported in 2024.\n\nRoblox appears to prioritize revenue and engagement metrics over the safety and well-being of our children, and the alleged criminal activity on Roblox warrants congressional scrutiny. Accordingly, be advised that Roblox is hereby directed to preserve all records, in any format and wherever located, in connection with child safety, child sexual or physical abuse, child bullying, or child financial exploitation. We also attach an annex containing document requests and interrogatories. Please produce all documents and information specified in the annex no later than August 31, 2026.\n\nLet us be clear: children on your platform are hurting. Congress will not look the other way. We await your prompt and complete response.\n\nSincerely,\n\nJosh Hawley\n\nChairman\n\nCommittee on the Judiciary\n\nSubcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism", 1, "2026-08-14T06:13:05Z", "2026-08-14T06:14:08Z"], ["https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/senator-schmitts-bipartisan-bill-to-construct-memorial-honoring-ems-professionals-passes-u-s-senate-heads-to-presidents-desk/", "Senator Schmitt\u2019s Bipartisan Bill to Construct Memorial Honoring EMS Professionals Passes U.S. Senate, Heads to President\u2019s Desk", "2026-08-13", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Eric Schmitt", "S001227", "www.schmitt.senate.gov", "schmitt", "https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/", "scraper", "U.S. SENATE \u2014 Today, U.S Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) celebrated the passage of his bipartisan bill to extend the National Emergency Services Memorial Foundation\u2019s authority to construct a national memorial in Washington, D.C. paying tribute to the heroism, courage, and enduring sacrifice of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) professionals who have fallen in the line of duty and honoring those who continue to serve. This extension gives the Foundation additional time to complete the memorial, ensuring that EMS professionals are permanently recognized in our nation\u2019s capital with the respect they deserve.\n\n\u201cThis isn\u2019t about politics\u2014it\u2019s about honor. EMS professionals in Missouri, and across the United States work tirelessly, often putting themselves in harm\u2019s way for the communities they serve. Thanks to this bipartisan legislation, the United States is keeping our promise that their fallen brothers and sisters, their courage, and their sacrifices are permanently dignified with a monument deserving of the heroism they\u2019ve shown,\u201d said Senator Schmitt. \u201cI\u2019m proud to have led this effort to ensure that future generations of Americans will never forget the brave men and women who ran towards danger, not away from it.\u201d\n\nThe original bill, titled the National Emergency Medical Services Commemorative Work Act, was signed into law by President Trump in 2018 and authorized the National Emergency Medical Services Memorial Foundation to establish a commemorative work on federal land in D.C. within seven years of enactment. Instead of using taxpayer dollars, the memorial is fully funded by Foundation, with any surplus funds returned to the federal government once the project is complete.\n\nSenator Schmitt led this bipartisan legislation alongside Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) to extend the authorization\u2019s deadline, which expired in 2025, through 2032.\n\nSenators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and John Hickenlooper (D-CO) co-sponsored this legislation. A companion bill in the House of Representatives was led by Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) and Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.).\n\nThe bill was endorsed by the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT), the American Ambulance Association (AAA), and the International Association of EMS Chiefs (IAEMSC).\n\nRead the full bill HERE.\n\nStatements of Support:\n\n\u201cOur country\u2019s paramedics, EMTs and emergency medical service professionals provide patients with life-saving medical care and deserve to be recognized with a memorial in our Nation\u2019s Capital. We profoundly appreciate the successful efforts of Senators Schmitt and Coons in steering the passage of legislation to reauthorize the National EMS Memorial. With this victory, we now look forward to the next steps in making the memorial a reality,\u201d said Jamie Pafford-Gresham, President of American Ambulance Association.\n\n\u201cThis is great news. We are thankful for Senator Schmitt\u2019s and Senator Coons\u2019 strong leadership and support in our effort to reauthorize the National EMS Memorial Foundation. This reauthorization allows us to continue the important work to establish a permanent memorial in the nation\u2019s capital to honor the commitment, service and sacrifice of all of us in EMS. It is an honor to serve our fellow Americans, and we are proud to have maintained their trust as we work through the next steps in the processes outlined in the Commemorative Works Act,\u201d said Bob Morley, President of the National Emergency Medical Service Memorial Foundation.\n\n\u201cNAEMT applauds Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) and Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) for securing passage of a foundational bipartisan bill (S. 2546/H.R. 2196) extending the deadline for the National Emergency Medical Services Memorial Foundation to establish a national memorial in Washington, D.C. honoring America\u2019s EMS professionals. This critical extension ensures the nation\u2019s EMS workforce \u2014 whose courage, sacrifice, and service have protected communities for generations \u2014 receives the long-overdue recognition it deserves in the nation\u2019s Capital. Every year, more than 850,000 EMS professionals respond to over 30 million emergency calls and care for approximately 22 million patients nationwide, often at the most critical moments in people\u2019s lives. As a cornerstone of the nation\u2019s emergency response system, EMS personnel stand on the front lines of public safety and national preparedness, responding without hesitation to local emergencies, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, and other large-scale crises. Serving in both the public and private sectors as career and volunteer providers, these men and women are an indispensable part of America\u2019s healthcare system, homeland security infrastructure, and national security readiness. Their unwavering commitment to saving lives deserves permanent recognition and honor,\u201d said Chief Chris Way, President of the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT).\n\n\u201cOur country\u2019s paramedics, EMTs and emergency medical service professionals provide patients with life-saving medical care and deserve to be recognized with a memorial in our Nation\u2019s Capitol. We profoundly appreciate the successful efforts of Senators Schmitt and Coons in steering the passage of legislation to reauthorize the National EMS Memorial. With this victory, we now look forward to the next steps in making the memorial a reality,\u201d said Jamie Pafford-Gresham, President of the American Ambulance Association.\n\n###", 1, "2026-08-14T06:13:05Z", "2026-08-14T06:14:08Z"], ["https://bell.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-bell-hosts-women-veterans-roundtable-address-issues-facing-veteran", "Congressman Bell Hosts Women Veterans Roundtable to Address Issues Facing Veteran Communities", "2026-08-12", "2026", "2026-08", "Democrat", "House", "MO", "Wesley Bell", "B001324", "bell.house.gov", "bell", "https://bell.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "The discussion brought together women veterans and veteran advocates from across the St. Louis region\n\nThe roundtable addressed problems specific to women veterans\n\nWomen are among the fastest-growing groups in the armed forces and veteran community\n\nCongressman Bell during the discussion: \u201cYour [female servicemembers] experiences are not a footnote to the veteran story. They are central to it\u201d\n\nSt. Louis, Missouri \u2013 On Monday, Congressman Wesley Bell (D-MO-01) hosted a roundtable event for women veterans in the St. Louis region. During the discussion, the group of veterans addressed unique problems they have faced as women in a historically male-dominated field.\n\n\u201cWomen are among the fastest-growing groups of veterans in this country,\u201d said Congressman Bell during the roundtable. \u201cAnd for too long, the systems meant to serve you were built without you in mind. Too many women veterans have been asked whether they're really the veteran in the family. Too many have struggled to get health care designed for their needs. Too many have navigated the benefits process, the disability claims process, the transition home, feeling like they had to fight a second battle just to receive what they earned. This is simply unacceptable.\u201d\n\nAdditionally, Congressman Bell noted that this conversation was about large-scale women veterans\u2019 issues and that his office remained available for specific problems people faced with their benefits or care.\n\n\u201cWe have an obligation to ensure we do everything we can to fight for our vets when they return home. This includes fighting for proper healthcare, housing, and resources,\u201d said Rep. Bell. \u201cWhile today\u2019s conversation is about the big-picture issues facing our veteran community, if you're dealing with a specific problem, my office is here for you. My casework team is the best, and they can sit down with you one-on-one to assist with whatever specific issues you are facing. No one should leave here today without knowing where to turn.\u201d\n\nMissouri has a long history as a military state, home to multiple installations and training centers spanning several branches of the armed forces. The St. Louis region boasts a significant defense industry footprint. As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, Congressman Bell has been a steadfast supporter of the military community and our nation's veterans. Legislatively, Bell has championed bills like the Healthy Servicemembers Act, the Veterans Career Connection Act, the Forward Act, the Improving Menopause Care for Veterans Act, and the Guard VA Benefits Act, all pieces of legislation aimed at improving services and support for veterans, specifically women veterans.\n\n###\n\nWesley Bell is the U.S. Representative for Missouri's First Congressional District, which includes St. Louis City and a portion of St. Louis County. He is a member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, House Armed Services Committee, and House Foreign Affairs Committee.", 1, "2026-08-13T06:17:16Z", "2026-08-13T06:18:13Z"], ["https://burlison.house.gov/media/press-releases/burlison-unveils-trillion-dollar-pay-great-american-healthcare-act", "Burlison Unveils Trillion-Dollar Pay-For in Great American Healthcare Act", "2026-08-12", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Eric Burlison", "B001316", "burlison.house.gov", "burlison", "https://burlison.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 Congressman Eric Burlison (MO-07) today unveiled the pay-for included in his Great American Healthcare Act: a provision targeting a Federal Reserve payment stream that outside research projects will exceed $1 trillion over the next decade. The Foundation for Government Accountability produced the projection, which was subsequently incorporated into the Heritage Foundation\u2019s 2026 American Opportunity Agenda.\n\nThe legislation would repeal the Federal Reserve\u2019s broad authority to pay interest on reserve balances while preserving a narrower earnings mechanism for supplemental reserves. The projected savings would offset reforms designed to put patients back in control of their healthcare dollars.\n\n\u201cEvery healthcare proposal eventually runs into the same question: How do you pay for it?\u201d Burlison said. \u201cMy bill answers that question. By reforming the Federal Reserve\u2019s authority to pay interest on reserve balances, we can use the savings to help offset the cost of putting patients back in charge of their health care.\u201d\n\nThe Great American Healthcare Act would allow every American to have a health savings account (HSA), raise the annual contribution limit to the same level as a 401(k), expand qualified HSA expenses, create new healthcare options, strengthen price transparency and improve access to prescription drugs. The bill would also allow families to transfer up to $5,000 tax-free from an HSA into a Trump Account, helping the next generation begin building long-term savings.\n\n\u201cAmericans already spend enough on health care,\u201d Burlison continued. \u201cThe problem is that patients rarely control the money. This bill changes that dynamic\u2014and includes a real pay-for to make it possible.\u201d", 1, "2026-08-13T06:17:16Z", "2026-08-13T06:18:13Z"], ["https://jasonsmith.house.gov/2026/08/12/congressman-smith-trump-administration-continues-to-deliver-permanent-relief-for-small-businesses/", "Congressman Smith: Trump Administration Continues to Deliver Permanent Relief for Small Businesses", "2026-08-12", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Jason Smith", "S001195", "jasonsmith.house.gov", "jasonsmith", "https://jasonsmith.house.gov/category/press_release/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 The U.S. Treasury Department\u2019s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) recently issued a final rule permanently ending the requirement for U.S. companies and individuals to report beneficial ownership information under the Corporate Transparency Act. Beneficial ownership information identifies the individuals who actually own or control a company, generally anyone holding 25 percent or more of a business or exercising substantial control over it. This is a reporting mandate small business owners have long identified as a costly, confusing paperwork burden that fell hardest on mom-and-pop shops and family-owned businesses rather than the criminal networks it was meant to target.\n\nCongressman Jason Smith (MO-08), Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, released the following statement:\n\n\u201cFor years, small business owners have been buried under a reporting mandate that treated every family-owned shop and farm like a suspect in a financial crime. The Trump Administration has thankfully put an end to that for good. Now a small business owner in Missouri or anywhere else in the country can spend more of their time running their business instead of filing paperwork with the federal government just to prove they own it. Cutting red tape like this is exactly what America\u2019s small businesses need, and I\u2019m glad Secretary Bessent and President Trump delivered it.\u201d\n\nBackground on new Treasury Department rule governing beneficial ownership reporting requirements:", 1, "2026-08-13T06:17:16Z", "2026-08-13T06:18:13Z"], ["https://jasonsmith.house.gov/2026/08/12/smith-visits-meert-tree-farm-in-jefferson-county/", "Smith Visits Meert Tree Farm in Jefferson County", "2026-08-12", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Jason Smith", "S001195", "jasonsmith.house.gov", "jasonsmith", "https://jasonsmith.house.gov/category/press_release/", "scraper", "JEFFERSON COUNTY, Mo. \u2013 Congressman Jason Smith (MO-08) visited Meert Tree Farm in Jefferson County last week, touring the operation and meeting with the Meert family to discuss the challenges facing Missouri\u2019s specialty crop producers and multi-generational family farms.\n\nCongressman Smith said, \u201cThe Meert family has spent more than 60 years building something special here. Every fall and winter, thousands of families make the trip out to start a holiday tradition, cutting their own Christmas tree down with a handsaw, and that\u2019s a testament to what the Meerts have built. I know firsthand what it means to fight to keep a family farm going \u2014 I bought my own grandparents\u2019 farm while I was in law school so it could stay in our family, and I understand the sacrifice that takes.\n\n\u201cFamilies like the Meert\u2019s are exactly who I was fighting for when I authored the Working Families Tax Cuts. By permanently doubling the small business expensing threshold and locking in 100 percent immediate expensing, farms like this one can keep reinvesting in their operation. I\u2019ll keep fighting for policies that support family farms because they\u2019re the backbone of rural Missouri and deserve every opportunity to thrive.\u201d\n\nMeert Tree Farm was founded in 1963 by Domien Meert and his father, expanding to its current 150-acre Festus location in 1980. The farm is now managed by second- and third-generation family members following the passings of founders Domien and Eileen. Meert Tree Farm grows Scotch Pine, White Pine, and Norway Spruce across roughly 80 planted acres, with trees taking five to eight years to mature before they\u2019re ready for sale. The farm draws visitors from across the region and allows customers to cut their own trees using only a handsaw, and the Meert family expects to sell 3,000 trees this season. In addition to its Christmas tree operation, the farm also features a pumpkin patch and corn maze spanning 15 to 18 acres.\n\nDuring the visit, the Meert family discussed rising input costs such as fuel, and the challenges of navigating regulatory and liability requirements as a specialty crop producer.\n\nThe Working Families Tax Cuts, which Congressman Smith authored, made permanent 100 percent immediate expensing, the small business deduction, and doubled small business expensing thresholds, while also renewing the Opportunity Zone program to target investment toward rural communities like Jefferson County. Congressman Smith also highlighted USDA Farm Service Agency programs, including Farm Ownership Loans and Beginning Farmer and Rancher programs, that can help multi-generational farm families access the financing they need to keep operations like Meert Tree Farm running for generations to come.", 1, "2026-08-13T06:17:16Z", "2026-08-13T06:18:13Z"], ["https://jasonsmith.house.gov/2026/08/11/smith-visits-thomure-land-cattle-in-st-francois-county/", "Smith Visits Thomure Land & Cattle in St. Francois County", "2026-08-11", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Jason Smith", "S001195", "jasonsmith.house.gov", "jasonsmith", "https://jasonsmith.house.gov/category/press_release/", "scraper", "ST. FRANCOIS COUNTY, Mo. \u2013 Congressman Jason Smith (MO-08) visited Thomure Land & Cattle in St. Francois County last week, touring the operation and meeting with Chip and Linda Thomure to discuss the challenges facing Missouri\u2019s cattle producers.\n\nCongressman Smith said, \u201cChip and Linda have built an impressive cattle operation through years of hard work and dedication, and it\u2019s the same kind of commitment I see all across our district\u2019s cattle country. Their custom cattle mineral is a perfect example of the kind of innovation that keeps Missouri ranchers ahead of the curve. I\u2019m committed to making sure Missouri ranchers have the support they need to keep doing what they do best, which is exactly why I fought to include the ACRE Act in the Working Families Tax Cuts \u2014 to help lower borrowing costs for ranchers like the Thomures.\u201d\n\nChip and Linda Thomure operate Thomure Land & Cattle across St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve, and Madison Counties, where they run a commercial cattle operation of about 500 pairs and 20 bulls. Chip has also spent 30 years in the concrete business, while Linda operates several Airbnb properties on and around the farm.\n\nDuring the visit, the Thomures raised concerns about high interest rates on farm loans, particularly for ranchers working to recover from the flooding that hit the region hard in early July. Congressman Smith encouraged producers who suffered livestock or property losses in the flooding to contact their local Farm Service Agency office to determine their eligibility for programs such as the Livestock Indemnity Program, the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish program, and the Emergency Conservation Program.\n\nThe Working Families Tax Cuts, which Congressman Smith authored, included the ACRE Act to lower the cost of borrowing for America\u2019s farmers, along with permanent 100 percent immediate expensing, the small business deduction, and doubled small business expensing thresholds that help ranchers like the Thomures reinvest in their operations. Congressman Smith also continues to push USDA for stronger support on emerging animal health threats, including New World Screwworm and Theileria \u2014 both of which pose risk to Missouri\u2019s cattle herds.", 1, "2026-08-12T06:18:38Z", "2026-08-12T06:20:33Z"], ["https://bell.house.gov/media/press-releases/representatives-bell-wagner-issue-statement-escalating-pressure-srebrenica", "Representatives Bell, Wagner, Issue Statement on Escalating Pressure on Srebrenica Memorial Center and Staff", "2026-08-11", "2026", "2026-08", "Democrat", "House", "MO", "Wesley Bell", "B001324", "bell.house.gov", "bell", "https://bell.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "The statement comes after 26 current and former employees of the Srebrenica Memorial Center were summoned for police questioning by the Zvornik Police Department\n\nCongressman Bell and Congresswoman Wagner are two the Co-Chairs of the Congressional Bosnia Caucus in the House of Representatives\n\nMissouri\u2019s 1st district has the largest Bosnian population outside of Bosnia and Herzegovina\n\nWashington, D.C. \u2013 Today, Representatives Wesley Bell (D-MO-01) and Ann Wagner (R-MO-02), issued the following statement on the Zvornik Police Department's summoning of 26 current and former Srebrenica Memorial Center staff for questioning.\n\nBell and Wagner are two of the Co-Chairs of the Bipartisan Congressional Bosnia Caucus in Congress and also represent the St. Louis region, which hosts the largest Bosnian population outside of Bosnia and Herzegovina.\n\n\"We are deeply troubled by reports that current and former staff of the Srebrenica Memorial Center have been called in for questioning by Republika Srpska authorities.\n\nThe scope and the timing of these summonses raise serious alarm \u2014 especially given that the Memorial Center's work is essential to safeguarding the historical record, honoring those who were killed, and defending human rights.\n\nWe urge the relevant authorities to respect the rule of law, protect the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina's institutions, and allow the Memorial Center to carry out its vital mission without fear of intimidation.\u201d\n\n###\n\nWesley Bell is the U.S. Representative for Missouri's First Congressional District, which includes St. Louis City and a portion of St. Louis County. He is a member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, House Armed Services Committee, and House Foreign Affairs Committee.", 1, "2026-08-13T06:17:16Z", "2026-08-13T06:18:13Z"], ["https://cleaver.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressman-cleaver-sounds-alarm-regarding-potential-closure-missouri", "Congressman Cleaver Sounds the Alarm Regarding Potential Closure of Missouri Farm Service Agency Offices", "2026-08-10", "2026", "2026-08", "Democrat", "House", "MO", "Emanuel Cleaver", "C001061", "cleaver.house.gov", "cleaver", "https://cleaver.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "(Washington, D.C.) \u2013 Today, U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) raised concerns about plans to close or reduce services at Farm Service Agency offices throughout the state of Missouri. In a letter to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, Congressman Cleaver highlighted the significant challenges confronting American farmers and demanded answers regarding the extent to which FSA operations will be scaled back across the state.\n\nEmploying over 460,000 people, agriculture remains Missouri\u2019s number one industry, with soybeans and corn representing the state\u2019s top commodities. Notably, Missouri is home to nearly 88,000 farms, which account for 66% of the state\u2019s total land use. Over the last two years, however, the USDA reports that profit margins for U.S. soybeans and corn have been negative, all while the costs of fertilizer, fuel, seeds, labor, and equipment maintenance have skyrocketed. Moreover, according to a February report from the American Farm Bureau Federation, Chapter 12 farm bankruptcies surged by 46% in 2025, the second consecutive year of increased bankruptcies.\n\n\u201cAmerican farmers are facing an economic crisis that\u2019s made it nearly impossible for many of them to continue producing crops or raising livestock,\u201d said Congressman Cleaver. \u201cThe Midwest led the nation last year in the number of farmers declaring Chapter 12 bankruptcy, and Missouri alone saw sixteen farms reach that point in 2025. When you factor in all the families who don\u2019t qualify for Chapter 12, the picture becomes even more dire. Given the current situation, it makes absolutely no sense for the USDA to start unexpectedly closing and reducing services at FSA County Offices. In many respects, the wellbeing of this country depends upon the wellbeing of our farmers, and we know for a fact that Missouri farmers are struggling right now. The FSA is a lifeline to programs needed to keep midwestern farms afloat,\u201d Congressman Cleaver continued, \u201cand reducing the agency\u2019s presence in this state will add yet another burden to the long list of challenges that Missouri farmers are dealing with right now. Closing the local FSA office at a time like the present is akin to kicking our farmers when they\u2019re down.\u201d\n\nCurrently operating 97 County Offices across the state of Missouri, the FSA assists farmers with disaster relief, crop insurance, loans, and income support programs. Congressman Cleaver was recently notified that the USDA intends to close or reduce services at several Missouri FSA County Offices starting on October 1, 2026. Early reports indicate that a number of offices will begin operating on an appointment-only basis, while other offices will see their dedicated staff transferred to other locations.\n\nIn addition to emphasizing the profound hardships that farmers have faced in recent years, Congressman Cleaver requested additional information regarding the following:\n\nThe number of FSA offices slated for closure between now and the end of the next fiscal year (September 30, 2027).\n\nThe locations of the proposed office closures.\n\nThe date(s) by which the FSA County Offices in question will cease operations.\n\nThe extent to office closures will be done in conjunction with FSA staff reductions.\n\nThe locations of FSA County Offices that will become open by appointment only.\n\nThe offices to which staff will be transferred if their original places of employment are closed.\n\nThe plans in place to ensure that FSA programs continue to be administered without delay.", 1, "2026-08-11T05:54:29Z", "2026-08-11T05:56:25Z"], ["https://jasonsmith.house.gov/2026/08/10/smith-visits-iron-county-to-survey-flood-damage/", "Smith Visits Iron County to Survey Flood Damage", "2026-08-10", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Jason Smith", "S001195", "jasonsmith.house.gov", "jasonsmith", "https://jasonsmith.house.gov/category/press_release/", "scraper", "IRON COUNTY, Mo. \u2013 Congressman Jason Smith (MO-08) sat down with Iron County Commissioners Josh Campbell, Jim Scaggs, and Dustin Hinkle in Ironton recently for an update on the county\u2019s recovery from recent flooding, which the National Weather Service has classified as a 1-in-1,000-year event.\n\nCongressman Smith said, \u201cIron County has taken a brutal hit. Fourteen roads across the county sustained damage, and one of them, County Road 65, took five straight days of work just to become passable again. This kind of destruction is far beyond what a county this size can handle on its own, and I\u2019m committed to making sure Iron County gets every bit of federal support it needs to recover.\u201d\n\nCommissioners presented Congressman Smith with a damage assessment showing $12.4 million in infrastructure damage countywide, a figure that grew to $19 million following a joint Preliminary Damage Assessment with FEMA and the State Emergency Management Agency. The western part of Iron County, the hardest-hit area, sustained an estimated $15.3 million in damage alone, with roughly 23 miles of roadway losing an average of 2 to 3 feet of roadbed and some stretches losing as much as 6 feet.\n\nIron County\u2019s total annual revenue is only $1.4 to $1.6 million, and the county\u2019s financial reserves have been depleted in recent years by other much needed investments and repairs to county infrastructure. Because FEMA only reimburses public entities after funds have already been spent, commissioners say the county will need to spend more than $3 million upfront before seeing any reimbursement. Neighboring Washington and St. Francois Counties, along with Brockmiller Construction, have supplied equipment and manpower to assist with recovery efforts, and Congressman Smith\u2019s office previously helped secure the release of $200,000 in FEMA funds still owed to Iron County from last year\u2019s tornado damage.", 1, "2026-08-11T05:54:29Z", "2026-08-11T05:56:25Z"], ["https://wagner.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/wagner-mccaul-colleagues-introduce-lindsey-o-graham-sanctioning-russia", "Wagner, McCaul, Colleagues Introduce the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026", "2026-08-10", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Ann Wagner", "W000812", "wagner.house.gov", "wagner", "https://wagner.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 Today, Congresswoman Ann Wagner (R-Missouri) and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Emeritus Michael McCaul (R-Texas) introduced the bipartisan Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 alongside 16 of their colleagues. This legislation \u2014 which honors the late Senator Lindsey Graham, who worked on the bill for more than a year and secured the White House\u2019s support \u2014 will hold major purchasers of Russian oil and gas accountable for supporting Russia\u2019s war against Ukraine and extend sanctions that restrict funding for Iran\u2019s energy and weapons sectors.\n\n\u201cTo end Russia\u2019s unprovoked and deadly invasion of Ukraine, we must enact maximum financial pain on Vladimir Putin and his cronies. I will not stand idly by while countless people are killed due to Putin\u2019s doomed quest to reconstitute the Soviet Union. I am beyond proud to join my colleagues in introducing this sweeping sanctions legislation that will enact severe financial penalties against Putin, his allies, and those who choose to do business with him. The largest war in Europe since World War II must come to an end, and I am confident these measures will accelerate that process. I am also pleased this bill extends the Iran Sanctions Act to ensure all available measures are available to cripple the terrorist Iranian regime. These necessary sanctions are a fitting legacy to honor the late Senator Lindsey Graham, a friend and colleague who continually fought for freedom, democracy, and against tyrannical regimes like Russia and Iran,\u201d said Rep. Wagner.\n\n\u201cSenator Graham was a national security giant, a statesman of unmatched conviction, and a personal friend and mentor. We shared a fundamental worldview: America is strongest at home when it projects strength abroad. That\u2019s why he fought so hard for this bill, which I promised him months ago I would introduce in the House,\u201d said Rep. McCaul. \u201cAs President Zelensky told me last month when I visited Ukraine, he is ready for a ceasefire \u2014 ready to negotiate, as he has been for years. Putin, on the other hand, consistently defies President Trump and the international community by refusing to come to the table. I can think of no better way to honor Senator Graham\u2019s life and legacy than by passing these tough sanctions, which will help force Putin into negotiations and bring us closer to securing Lindsey\u2019s vision of enduring peace in two critical regions of the world.\u201d\n\n\u201cDemocracy is presently under threat from despotism, and Congress must act to defend democracy and help Ukraine defeat Vladimir Putin\u2019s effort to extinguish its liberty and sovereignty. Our legislation goes after multiple sources of Russian war funding, including its oil and gas sectors, shadow fleet, and financial institutions. I\u2019m encouraged that the Senate passed the companion legislation last week with overwhelming support, and I thank former Chairman McCaul for partnering with me to facilitate action by the House. This action has been delayed too long and will, hopefully, accelerate Ukraine\u2019s success and the ending of this war, one that was initiated illegally by Putin and that has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths of Russians and Ukrainians. I hope that we can secure bipartisan consensus in the House and enact a sanctions package that will stem the flow of money to Russia\u2019s war machine and contribute to a Ukrainian victory,\" said Rep. Hoyer.\n\nEarlier this month, an overwhelming bipartisan majority in the Senate voted to pass companion legislation, by a vote of 86-11, led by Sens. Darline Graham (R-S.C.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), and Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Jim Risch (R-Idaho). The text of the House bill is identical to the text that passed the Senate.\n\n\u201cThis legislation was deeply important to my brother, Lindsey, and I\u2019m grateful that it has achieved such a wide coalition of support. Lindsey was committed to achieving a peaceful resolution to this war, and I\u2019m confident that these sanctions will pave the way,\u201d said Sen. Darline Graham. \u201cI\u2019m grateful to Rep. McCaul for leading this effort in the House. The Senate came together in a strong, bipartisan fashion to pass the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, and I hope the House of Representatives will do the same. Russia has waged war against Ukraine for far too long, and this bill assists President Trump in his noble efforts to bring it to a close.\u201d\n\n\u201cRepresentatives McCaul, Hoyer, Wilson, Kaptur, and Fitzpatrick are longtime champions of Ukraine\u2019s cause and I am glad to have them leading our legislation in the House of Representatives. After a massive bipartisan vote in the Senate, we are eager to turn to the House as we fight to get this legislation across the finish line. There is immense urgency in getting this done \u2013 July set a record for Russia\u2019s use of ballistic missiles, killing and wounding dozens of Ukrainians, including many children. Cutting off the source of funding \u2013 profits from oil and gas \u2013 for these deadly weapons and Russia\u2019s war machine is essential to ending the bloodshed,\u201d said Sen. Blumenthal.\n\nJoining McCaul and Hoyer as original cosponsors are Co-Chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus Joe Wilson (R-S.C.); Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio); Co-Chair of the House Baltic Caucus Don Bacon (R-Neb.); Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.), House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), Reps. Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii), Mike Turner (R-Ohio), Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.), Ann Wagner (R-Mo.), Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), Andy Barr (R-Ky.), and Ed Case (D-Hawaii); Co-Chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.); and Reps. Eugene Vindman (D-Va.), Nathaniel Moran (R-Texas), and Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.).\n\n\"Senator Lindsey Graham and I shared the belief that opposing dictators in defense of freedom and liberty is always the right thing to do. War criminal Putin is losing his invasion of sovereign Ukraine and the threat to humanity posed by the Iranian regime is dire. It is time for Congress to give President Trump the strongest tools available to choke off Russia's war machine for the good of mankind and cripple the ability of Tehran to continue sowing chaos in the region and beyond. My friend and colleague worked tirelessly in championing these critical initiatives, and I am grateful to help advance them across the finish line in the House,\u201d said Rep. Wilson.\n\n\u201cDictator Vladimir Putin\u2019s illegal invasion of Ukraine is failing\u2014Ukraine is battering Russian war infrastructure and the Kremlin is losing tens of thousands of troops each month. Now is the time to intensify pressure on Putin through crippling sanctions while surging support for our Ukrainian allies,\u201d said Rep. Kaptur. \u201cPutin will not make peace until he is forced to. I have been a supporter of every bipartisan sanctions bill on the table to pressure Russia to end its illegal full-scale invasion, and I am confident that the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 will accomplish that mission. Designed to protect our allies who aid Ukraine while squeezing Putin and the countries that enable his invasion, the sweeping sanctions and targeted tariffs in this bill are the best chance we have to get bipartisan legislation signed into law to hold Russia accountable and achieve peace.\u201d\n\n\u201cPutin\u2019s illegal war is failing, but he will not choose peace until the cost becomes too high for Russia and those helping fund his brutality,\u201d said Rep. Bacon. \u201cSenator Lindsey Graham was one of Congress\u2019s clearest voices for Ukraine, understood that Putin only responds to strength, and worked until his final days to advance the toughest sanctions package yet against Russia\u2019s war machine. The Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act would impose crippling pressure on Russia and those enabling Putin\u2019s aggression, honor Sen. Graham\u2019s commitment to Ukraine\u2019s fight for freedom, and make clear that America stands with Ukraine.\u201d\n\n\u201cSince 2022, I have called on both Biden and Trump to empower Ukraine to win this war through both strikes and sanctions on Russian oil infrastructure. The strikes are finally happening, and with this bill the sanctions are coming,\u201d said Rep. Auchincloss.\n\n\"I am proud to join in introducing this legislation to sanction Vladimir Putin and his thugs as well as the Iran and its terrorist regime,\u201d said Rep. Rogers. \u201cEvery dollar denied to Vladimir Putin weakens his war machine. By choking off the oil and gas revenue fueling Russia's aggression, this legislation gives President Trump powerful leverage to force Putin into serious negotiations that deliver a truly lasting peace. Including additional sanctions on Iran is equally critical given the terrorist regime\u2019s continued threats to freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and its role in enabling Russia\u2019s war against Ukraine. This legislation strengthens America\u2019s hand against adversaries who threaten American security, our allies, and global stability.\u201d\n\n\"It is long past time for Congress to impose tougher consequences on Russia and those financing its illegal war against Ukraine. I'm proud to support this updated legislation, which targets major purchasers of Russian oil and gas that continue to fund the Kremlin's aggression. This war has resulted in an estimated 2 million casualties, including more than half a million deaths. The United States must continue standing with the Ukrainian people and keep the pressure on Russia to agree to a just and lasting peace that preserves a free, sovereign, and independent Ukraine,\u201d said Rep. Tokuda.\n\n\u201cFor more than four years, the Ukrainian people have fought courageously to defend their sovereignty, and their resolve is paying off. Lindsey Graham understood that standing with nations fighting for freedom strengthens America\u2019s own security, and until his final days, he was pressing for stronger sanctions against Russia,\u201d said Rep. Turner. \u201cThis legislation honors that legacy, sends a clear message to Vladimir Putin that he cannot outlast Ukraine or the free world, and gives President Trump another powerful tool to pressure Russia, bring Putin to the negotiating table, and help restore peace to the region.\u201d\n\n\"Vladimir Putin and the regime in Tehran are two of the gravest threats to America and our allies. For far too long, they've bankrolled their aggression by selling oil and gas to whoever will buy it,\u201d said Rep. Gottheimer. \"This bipartisan legislation cuts off those funding streams: holding accountable anyone who fills Putin's war chest as he wages his brutal, illegal war against Ukraine, and choking off the money that fuels Iran's weapons programs and its terror proxies. I was proud to see the Senate pass this bill with an overwhelming, bipartisan majority, and now it's on the House to finish the job. I can think of no better tribute to Senator Lindsey Graham \u2014 a national security champion \u2014 than enacting the tough sanctions he fought so hard for. Standing up to tyrants isn't a Democratic or Republican issue; it's an American one.\"\n\n\u201cBy targeting the energy revenues and financial networks that fuel Putin\u2019s war machine and enable the Iranian regime\u2019s terrorist activities, this bipartisan legislation strengthens America\u2019s ability to impose real economic consequences on our adversaries,\u201d said Rep. Barr. \u201cSenator Graham understood that harnessing America\u2019s full strength from our financial system to our military is essential to deterring aggression, defending our allies, and advancing peace. I\u2019m proud to join my colleagues to help carry forward that legacy.\u201d\n\n\u201cSenator Graham believed, as I do, that American strength remains the surest guardian of peace,\u201d said Rep. Fitzpatrick. \u201cThat conviction guided our work together on this legislation. Putin\u2019s war machine runs on oil, money, and the willingness of others to look the other way\u2014and the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 attacks all three. It isolates Russia\u2019s banks, shuts down the networks financing its aggression, and forces every government and company enabling this war to make a choice. By increasing the cost of Putin\u2019s war and reducing his ability to sustain it, this legislation strengthens the path to a just and lasting peace\u2014one determined by Ukraine, not imposed by Moscow. The most fitting tribute Congress can offer Lindsey is to finish the work he began, carry forward the cause of freedom he championed, and make clear that America\u2019s resolve will endure until that peace is secured.\u201d\n\n\u201cSupporting a strong, free Ukraine is imperative for the national security of our communities here at home. Sanctioning Russia and Putin sends a direct message to the world: the United States will not sit by while brutal regimes bankroll aggression against democratic nations,\u201d said Rep. Vindman. \u201cI am proud to be a co-sponsor of this essential legislation. We must continue to escalate the economic pressure on the Kremlin and strengthen our resolve for the Ukrainian people as they fight for their freedom, sovereignty, and security.\u201d\n\n\"Russia is perpetrating a war of aggression, and we must keep the pressure on Vladimir Putin. This action is long overdue, but we are finally moving forward with the resolve this moment demands. These sanctions will erode Russia's war machine by cutting off the revenue that funds it. We must hold those who are fueling this war accountable. These sanctions focus on Russia but will also target dangerous Chinese entities which support the Russian defense industrial base. Peace is the goal, and these mechanisms give the President the tools to achieve that goal,\u201d said Rep. Moran.", 1, "2026-08-11T05:54:29Z", "2026-08-11T05:56:25Z"], ["https://jasonsmith.house.gov/2026/08/09/smith-visits-franke-farm-in-perry-county/", "Smith Visits Franke Farm in Perry County", "2026-08-09", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Jason Smith", "S001195", "jasonsmith.house.gov", "jasonsmith", "https://jasonsmith.house.gov/category/press_release/", "scraper", "PERRY COUNTY, Mo. \u2013 Congressman Jason Smith (MO-08) visited the Franke family farm this week where he met with Neil and Michelle Franke to tour their operation and hear about the regulatory and insurance challenges facing farmers who raise diverse livestock.\n\nCongressman Smith said, \u201cNeil and Michelle have built one of the most diverse operations you\u2019ll find in Southeast Missouri, from 500 head of cattle to water buffalo, bison, and red deer. Running an operation with so many different species takes real skill and dedication, but it also means running into state regulations and insurance rules that weren\u2019t built with operations like this in mind. When insurance companies won\u2019t even recognize an animal like a water buffalo as livestock, it puts family farms like this one at a real disadvantage through no fault of their own. I\u2019m going to keep working to address these regulatory gaps so farmers who are simply trying to grow their business aren\u2019t left carrying all the risk themselves.\u201d\n\nThe Franke family farm was established in the late 1800s and has grown into one of the region\u2019s most varied livestock operations, raising beef cattle, bison, red deer, horses, turkeys, jersey milk cows, hogs, and several breeds of sheep. Neil is also part owner of the sale barn in Fruitland, sells horses to the Amish community in Seymour, and sells bison to hunting ranches across the region. Despite the scale and diversity of the operation, Neil discussed with Congressman Smith issue of insurance carriers routinely declining to classify animals like water buffalo as livestock, leaving him without adequate coverage options that other producers can rely on.\n\nCongressman Smith also discussed the threat posed by New World Screwworm to livestock producers across Missouri, and USDA\u2019s ongoing work to expand sterile fly production and inspection protocols to keep diseases from spreading further into American herds. He remains committed to working with USDA and state regulators to close the gaps facing producers like the Frankes, so family farms that diversify their operations aren\u2019t penalized for doing so.", 1, "2026-08-10T06:13:07Z", "2026-08-10T06:14:46Z"], ["https://jasonsmith.house.gov/2026/08/09/smith-visits-mesta-meadows-in-bollinger-county/", "Smith Visits Mesta Meadows in Bollinger County", "2026-08-09", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Jason Smith", "S001195", "jasonsmith.house.gov", "jasonsmith", "https://jasonsmith.house.gov/category/press_release/", "scraper", "BOLLINGER COUNTY, Mo. \u2013 Congressman Jason Smith (MO-08) visited Mesta Meadows Farm this week where he met with the family and toured the operation to discuss their direct-to-consumer business and agri-tourism efforts, hear about how the Working Families Tax Cuts is positively impacting their operation, as well as the trade challenges facing Missouri\u2019s wool and lamb producers.\n\nCongressman Smith said, \u201cFrom a farm right here in Bollinger County, this family has built a business that reaches customers in all 50 states and more than a dozen countries. They sell everything from raw milk and wool to homemade ice cream, and welcome visitors onto the farm to see their operation firsthand. Farmers and ranchers like this family know how to run their own operation better than Washington ever will, and that\u2019s why I fought to deliver real tax relief through the Working Families Tax Cuts so they can keep more of what they earn and reinvest it back into their farm.\u201d\n\nMesta Meadows Farm sits on land originally purchased by a French land speculator in the 1850s, and the family has spent the last decade building today\u2019s operation on the property. They raise sheep, cattle, goats, pigs, and poultry, including a herd of Scottish Highlander cattle that has become central to their growing agri-tourism business. They sell direct to consumers through farmers markets in St. Louis and Cape Girardeau, a brick-and-mortar store, and online, moving products such as raw milk, meat, wool, and roughly 1,500 pints of ice cream a week with a team of three full-time employees.\n\nThanks to the Working Families Tax Cuts, Mesta Meadows and farms like it can count on permanent 100% immediate expensing and a permanent small business deduction, giving them the certainty to invest in their operation and grow their business. Congressman Smith also discussed the Section 301 tariff investigation the family has been closely watching, along with efforts to hold foreign competitors accountable for lamb imports undercutting American producers.", 1, "2026-08-10T06:13:07Z", "2026-08-10T06:14:46Z"], ["https://jasonsmith.house.gov/2026/08/09/smith-visits-twin-knobs-dairy-action-farms-in-douglas-county/", "Smith Visits Twin Knobs Dairy & Action Farms in Douglas County", "2026-08-09", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Jason Smith", "S001195", "jasonsmith.house.gov", "jasonsmith", "https://jasonsmith.house.gov/category/press_release/", "scraper", "DOUGLAS COUNTY, Mo. \u2013 Congressman Jason Smith (MO-08) visited Twin Knobs Dairy & Action Farms in Douglas County this week, touring the operation and meeting with Kaleb and Erin Rodgers to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing Missouri\u2019s dairy and livestock producers.\n\nCongressman Smith said, \u201cKaleb and Erin have built an impressive operation here, combining a modern dairy farm with a growing beef herd. Their farm is also on track to earn Missouri Century Farm recognition, a fitting honor for a family that\u2019s poured so much work into this land.\n\n\u201cLike so many family farms across Missouri, they\u2019re working to pass this operation down to their son, Everett. Thanks to the permanent 100 percent immediate expensing and small business deduction in the Working Families Tax Cuts, families like the Rodgers have the certainty they need to grow, hire, and stay profitable, so their operation can be passed down to Everett and the next generation. That\u2019s the kind of certainty family farms need to keep operating for generations to come, and I\u2019ll keep fighting for policies that provide it.\u201d\n\nKaleb and Erin Rodgers own and operate Twin Knobs Dairy, a multi-generation family dairy farm near Vanzant that has grown from roughly 100 acres to about 1,000 owned acres, milking 150 to 200 Jersey and Jersey-Holstein cross cows. Kaleb is the fifth generation raised on the farm, which is expected to soon earn Missouri Century Farm recognition for more than a century of continuous family ownership. Beyond the dairy, the Rodgers also run Action Farms, a diversified operation that includes roughly 200 beef cattle.\n\nThe Working Families Tax Cuts, which Congressman Smith authored, made permanent 100 percent immediate expensing and a permanent small business deduction \u2014 provisions that give producers like the Rodgers the certainty to invest in new equipment, grow their operation, and hire the help they need to keep it profitable for generations to come.", 1, "2026-08-10T06:13:07Z", "2026-08-10T06:14:46Z"], ["https://jasonsmith.house.gov/2026/08/08/smith-holds-farmers-town-hall-with-missouri-cotton-producers/", "Smith Holds Farmers Town Hall with Missouri Cotton Producers", "2026-08-08", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Jason Smith", "S001195", "jasonsmith.house.gov", "jasonsmith", "https://jasonsmith.house.gov/category/press_release/", "scraper", "HAYTI, Mo. \u2013 Congressman Jason Smith (MO-08) held a Farmers Town Hall with cotton producers in Hayti, where he discussed the impact of the Working Families Tax Cuts on Missouri\u2019s cotton industry and heard directly from growers about the challenges facing the Bootheel\u2019s cotton economy.\n\nCongressman Smith said, \u201cCotton has been part of the fabric of the Bootheel for generations, and the growers I sat down with this week are up against a lot \u2014 foreign competition that\u2019s been hollowing out our textile industry for decades, crop insurance fraud that punishes the farmers playing by the rules, and a shrinking number of gins that makes it harder just to get cotton to market.\n\n\u201cWhen I wrote the Working Families Tax Cuts, I fought to make sure cotton growers struggling in the current agriculture economy weren\u2019t an afterthought. We raised the reference price for cotton by 14 percent and made permanent the small business deduction and 100 percent immediate expensing that let these family operations reinvest in their equipment and land. There\u2019s more work to be done to support our cotton farmers, and I\u2019ll keep fighting for solutions on infrastructure, insurance integrity, and fair trade, because Missouri cotton deserves a level playing field.\u201d\n\nDuring the discussion, growers raised concerns about competition from Brazil, which has overtaken the United States as the world\u2019s largest cotton exporter, as well as the decades-long decline of the domestic textile industry as manufacturing has shifted to China. Producers also flagged the toll of crop insurance fraud on honest farmers and the shrinking number of cotton gins in the Bootheel, which has fallen from 32 to 16 in recent years, driving up the cost and making it more difficult to get cotton processed and to market.\n\nMissouri consistently ranks among the top 10 cotton-producing states, with production concentrated almost entirely in the Bootheel, where the crop remains a major economic driver for Pemiscot, Dunklin, New Madrid, Stoddard, Scott, and Mississippi Counties. The Working Families Tax Cuts, which Congressman Smith authored, increased the reference price for cotton by 14 percent beginning with crop year 2025 as part of a $56 billion investment in farm safety net programs \u2014 the first meaningful update to Title I commodity support in more than two decades. With cotton farms overwhelmingly organized as pass-through businesses, the law\u2019s permanent 199A small business deduction and 100 percent immediate expensing give growers the ability to reinvest in equipment and land without losing a share of that investment to Washington. Congressman Smith also secured $6 billion in new crop insurance funding, including increased resources for oversight and compliance, to help crack down on the fraud that honest producers are calling out.\n\nOn trade, Congressman Smith pointed to recent Agreements on Reciprocal Trade (ARTs) with Guatemala, El Salvador, and Bangladesh, which reward the use of American cotton in textile and apparel manufacturing, as a step toward rebuilding demand for U.S.-grown cotton lost to foreign competition.", 1, "2026-08-08T05:41:38Z", "2026-08-08T05:43:24Z"], ["https://jasonsmith.house.gov/2026/08/08/smith-visits-bahr-farms-in-st-james/", "Smith Visits Bahr Farms in St. James", "2026-08-08", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Jason Smith", "S001195", "jasonsmith.house.gov", "jasonsmith", "https://jasonsmith.house.gov/category/press_release/", "scraper", "ST. JAMES, Mo. \u2013 Congressman Jason Smith (MO-08) visited Bahr Farms in St. James, touring the operation and meeting with Ben Bahr to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing Missouri\u2019s cattle producers.\n\nCongressman Smith said, \u201cBen and his brother, Travis, are carrying on something their family started generations ago, and being there in person, you can feel just how much work went into building it. What they\u2019ve built today is proof of what\u2019s possible in this country when you\u2019re willing to work for it and pass that work down to the next generation. That\u2019s the story of so many farm families across Southeast Missouri and beyond, and it\u2019s exactly why I fought to make the death tax exemption and small business deduction permanent in the Working Families Tax Cuts \u2014 so families like the Bahrs can pass their land down to the next generation instead of it being taxed out of existence. I\u2019ll keep pushing for solutions on fuel, feed, and fertilizer costs, and for stronger USDA support so farmers aren\u2019t stuck driving an hour just to reach an FSA office.\u201d\n\nBen and Travis Bahr are fourth-generation farmers whose family has owned their land near St. James since 1974, running roughly 1,000 combined acres and about 300 primarily grass-fed Black Angus cattle. On the same property, Travis and his wife, Mandy, also operate Prairie Base, consisting of four buildings that have been converted to Airbnbs \u2014 including the family\u2019s original farmhouse.\n\nDuring the visit, the Bahrs raised concerns about the rising cost of fuel, feed, and fertilizer, as well as staffing shortages at USDA\u2019s Farm Service Agency offices that have left farmers in the region having to travel further for basic assistance. They also discussed the challenge of passing their farm on to the next generation, along with their support for Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling and for the tariffs imposed under President Trump\u2019s America First trade policy that has delivered significant wins and new market access for Missouri farmers.\n\nThe Working Families Tax Cuts, which Congressman Smith authored, made permanent death tax relief that protects more than 15,000 family-owned farms in Missouri\u2019s 8th District, along with a permanent small business deduction and 100 percent immediate expensing that allow producers like the Bahrs to reinvest in their operations without losing a share of that investment to federal taxes.", 1, "2026-08-09T05:47:57Z", "2026-08-09T05:49:40Z"], ["https://jasonsmith.house.gov/2026/08/07/smith-visits-taylor-center-garden-in-new-madrid-county/", "Smith Visits Taylor Center Garden in New Madrid County", "2026-08-07", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Jason Smith", "S001195", "jasonsmith.house.gov", "jasonsmith", "https://jasonsmith.house.gov/category/press_release/", "scraper", "NEW MADRID COUNTY, Mo. \u2013 Congressman Jason Smith (MO-08) visited Taylor Center Garden in New Madrid County recently, touring the community garden and meeting with founder Robert Taylor Sr. to discuss the garden\u2019s work combating food insecurity and providing agricultural education across Howardville and Lilbourn.\n\nCongressman Smith said, \u201cRobert and his family pour themselves into this garden without asking for anything in return, and that kind of selflessness is what makes a community strong. They pick as much as 100 pounds of okra in a single morning \u2014 alongside watermelon, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, purple hull peas, and peppers \u2014 that is all given away free to neighbors who need it. On top of that, they\u2019re teaching the next generation how to garden, how to eat well, and how to take care of each other. It\u2019s an incredible example of what people can do when they choose to give back to their community, and I\u2019m proud to support the federal programs that help operations like Taylor Center Garden reach even more families in the Bootheel.\u201d\n\nTaylor Center Garden operates roughly five acres of active produce across Howardville and Lilbourn, with a recent expansion onto an additional 20 acres, all grown to be donated to the community free of charge. The garden partners with Lincoln University\u2019s Cooperative Extension GARDEN initiative \u2014 Growing Area Gardens in Rural/Urban Destinations Encouraging Healthy Nutrition \u2014 a statewide effort targeting food deserts and underserved neighborhoods, which provides seeds, starter plants, soil, irrigation equipment, and tools. Through the Coming Together to Bridge the Gap Summer Institute, led by Lincoln University\u2019s Charleston Outreach Center and 4-H Youth Development, the garden also offers academic enrichment and hands-on science programming for local students to combat summer learning loss.\n\nFood insecurity remains a significant challenge across the Bootheel, with New Madrid County at nearly 20 percent, among the highest rates in Missouri where the statewide average is 15.4 percent. Operations like Taylor Center Garden grow produce with the sole purpose of serving their community and making sure fresh food reaches families who need it most, free of charge. Cooperative Extension programs, which serve all 114 Missouri counties, connect research and technical expertise directly to communities like Howardville and Lilbourn. Congressman Smith recently helped secure increased minimum funding for research and extension activities at 1890 land grant universities, including Lincoln University, along with reauthorized scholarships for students pursuing careers in food and agriculture.", 1, "2026-08-08T05:41:38Z", "2026-08-08T05:43:24Z"], ["https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/schmitt-urges-department-of-labor-to-close-loophole-allowing-employers-to-prioritize-foreign-workers-over-americans/", "Schmitt Urges Department of Labor to Close Loophole Allowing Employers to Prioritize Foreign Workers Over Americans", "2026-08-07", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Eric Schmitt", "S001227", "www.schmitt.senate.gov", "schmitt", "https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/", "scraper", "U.S. SENATE \u2014 U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) sent a letter to Acting Secretary of Labor (DOL) Keith Sonderling urging the DOL to modernize the Program Electronic Review Management (PERM) labor certification process to ensure companies are not abusing the system to hire cheap foreign labor over American workers who are qualified and available for work. Senator Schmitt also requested data on fraud, audits, and the use of Optional Practical Training (OPT) and H-1B visas within the PERM program.\n\nSenator Schmitt wrote, \u201cAbuse of the PERM and H-1B programs allow corporations to replace American workers with cheaper foreign labor. The Department should end that abuse and restore the regulations\u2019 supposed purpose: Protecting American workers and putting their interests first.\u201d\n\nIn the letter, Senator Schmitt urges the DOL to:\n\nRequire employers to post all PERM job opportunities on their regular careers page and at least one widely used online job platform.\n\nRequire employers to use the same application process for PERM positions as they use for comparable non-PERM positions.\n\nRequire employers to document every American applicant to PERM positions, explain why any applicant was rejected, and certify that positions were not reserved for foreign workers.\n\nRequire employers to notify recently laid-off American workers who may be qualified for PERM positions and provide interviews and written explanations for any rejection.\n\nProvide data regarding PERM audits, fraud, and applicants\u2019 prior use of the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program and H-1B visas.\n\nCurrent DOL regulations governing the PERM process have not been substantially updated in more than twenty years and continue to rely on print newspaper advertisements for many positions despite the widespread shift to online recruiting. Senator Schmitt argues these outdated requirements make it easier for employers to bypass qualified American workers while claiming they attempted domestic recruitment.\n\nThe letter also highlights recent findings by the DOL\u2019s Inspector General and the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud regarding fraud schemes involving the PERM and H-1B programs, arguing those findings further demonstrate the need for reform.\n\nRead the full letter HERE.\n\n###", 1, "2026-08-08T05:41:38Z", "2026-08-08T05:43:24Z"], ["https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/schmitt-urges-hhs-cdc-to-close-birth-certificate-loophole-enabling-birthright-citizenship-fraud/", "Schmitt Urges HHS, CDC to Close Birth Certificate Loophole Enabling Birthright Citizenship Fraud", "2026-08-07", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Eric Schmitt", "S001227", "www.schmitt.senate.gov", "schmitt", "https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/", "scraper", "U.S. SENATE \u2013 U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) sent a letter to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Erica Schwartz urging the agencies to issue regulations to close a loophole that allows the children of foreign diplomats born in the United States to improperly obtain documentation used to illegally claim American citizenship. Senator Schmitt called on HHS and the CDC to implement anti-fraud birth certificate standards, as directed by Congress in the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, to help prevent citizenship fraud and protect the integrity of American citizenship.\n\n\u201cForeign diplomats\u2019 children who illegally claim citizenship by using standard state-issued birth certificates perpetrate a fraud against the American people that degrades the meaning of American citizenship, undermines our sovereignty, and threatens our national security. I therefore urge the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to implement birth-certificate regulations that ensure federal government agencies do not allow foreign diplomats\u2019 children to illegally claim citizenship. We cannot allow our medical records system to become a vector for national security threats,\u201d wroteSenator Schmitt.\n\nIn the letter, Senator Schmitt requests that HHS and the CDC:\n\nPromulgate the birth certificate regulations required under the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004.\n\nEstablish minimum standards that help prevent fraud in the issuance and acceptance of birth certificates.\n\nEnsure federal agencies only accept birth certificates that distinguish between individuals recognized as U.S. citizens at birth under current law and the children of foreign diplomats, who are not granted birthright citizenship.\n\nClose documentation loopholes that allow foreign diplomats\u2019 children to improperly obtain Social Security numbers, passports, and other federal documents reserved for U.S. citizens.\n\nFor more than a century, federal law, judicial precedent, and executive branch policy have recognized that children born in the United States to accredited foreign diplomats are not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States for purposes of the Fourteenth Amendment and therefore do not acquire citizenship at birth. Despite this longstanding legal principle, Senator Schmitt notes that gaps in the nation\u2019s birth registration system allow these individuals to receive standard birth certificates and later obtain documentation commonly used as proof of U.S. citizenship.\n\nThis effort builds upon Senator Schmitt\u2019s previous oversight efforts to strengthen enforcement of U.S. citizenship laws, including his recent letter to the Departments of Homeland Security and State requesting additional safeguards to prevent the improper issuance of citizenship documentation to the children of foreign diplomats.\n\nSchmitt also introduced a bill to protect the integrity of American citizenship and restore birthright citizenship to only the children of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents.\n\nRead the full letter HERE.\n\n###", 1, "2026-08-08T05:41:38Z", "2026-08-08T05:43:24Z"], ["https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/senator-schmitt-blocks-democrats-attempt-to-undermine-ice-enforcement-shutdown-detention-facility/", "Senator Schmitt Blocks Democrats\u2019 Attempt to Undermine ICE Enforcement, Shutdown Detention Facility", "2026-08-07", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Eric Schmitt", "S001227", "www.schmitt.senate.gov", "schmitt", "https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/", "scraper", "U.S. SENATE \u2014 U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) took to the Senate Floor to block Democrats\u2019 attempt to undermine Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) by permanently closing a detention facility. Senator Schmitt argued the legislation would eliminate detention capacity without improving medical care, increasing staffing, or strengthening oversight, while undermining public safety and immigration enforcement operations.\n\nWatch the Senator\u2019s full speech HERE.\n\nExcerpts of remarks as prepared for delivery:\n\n\u201cMr. President, I rise to object to the so-called Delaney Hall Closure Act. But my colleague\u2019s bill does nothing to address the issues he\u2019s raised. It does not hire a single doctor. It does not add a single nurse. It does not require a single inspection. It simply orders the Department of Homeland Security to close Delaney Hall, cancel its contract, and permanently forbid ICE from using the facility again. Two pages. Three commands: Close it. Cancel it. Never reopen it. That is abolition with a short title.\n\n\u201cIf something goes wrong at a hospital, you investigate what happened. You identify the failure. You discipline the people responsible. You repair the facility, improve the procedures, and make the hospital better. You do not unlock every door, abandon the building, and announce that healthcare itself was the crime. If a bridge needs repair, you fix the bridge. You do not blow it up and congratulate yourself for preventing traffic accidents.\n\n\u201cNow, I am willing to take my colleague\u2019s concerns seriously. If Delaney Hall needs more doctors, let us fund more doctors. If it needs more nurses, better medication tracking, stronger inspections, faster emergency response, or better communication with families, let us write those requirements into law and pay for them. I would gladly work with the Senator from New Jersey on additional resources for safe and secure ICE detention facilities.\n\n\u201cYou cannot pull the batteries from the smoke alarm and then pose beside the ashes demanding to know who failed. You cannot starve a system, condemn the strain, and call abolition the only humane solution. That is not good-faith oversight. That is not serious governance. That is not a viable solution.\n\n\u201cMr. President, a serious Senate would let the current investigation run its course, correct any failures, and strengthen the system. An unserious Senate shuts down the building and pretends the law no longer needs enforcement. I object to using a pending investigation as a ploy to dismantle law enforcement. I object to defunding ICE and then blaming ICE for lacking resources. Fix what is broken. Hold wrongdoers accountable. Protect every person in federal custody, of course, but we must enforce the law.\u201d\n\n###", 1, "2026-08-08T05:41:38Z", "2026-08-08T05:43:24Z"], ["https://jasonsmith.house.gov/2026/08/06/smith-joins-ribbon-cutting-at-myers-clinic-in-rolla/", "Smith Joins Ribbon Cutting at Myers Clinic in Rolla", "2026-08-06", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Jason Smith", "S001195", "jasonsmith.house.gov", "jasonsmith", "https://jasonsmith.house.gov/category/press_release/", "scraper", "ROLLA, Mo. \u2013 Congressman Jason Smith (MO-08) joined a ribbon cutting celebrating Dr. Mylhan Myers this week as he carries on a three-generation family legacy of medicine, stepping into the practice built by his late uncle, Dr. William David Myers, and grandfather, Dr. Billy Jack \u201cBJ\u201d Myers, both of whom cared for families across central Missouri for decades \u2014 including Congressman Smith himself.\n\nCongressman Smith said, \u201cDr. BJ Myers and Dr. David Myers were my doctors growing up, and I know firsthand the kind of care this family has given our community for three generations. Dr. David Myers delivered more than 3,000 babies throughout his more than five decades of practice, and the impact he and his father had on generations of Missourians in this region cannot be overstated. It means a great deal to see the Myers family carry that legacy forward into a third generation. Patients here can have confidence knowing the same commitment to compassionate, hometown care will continue for years to come. Congratulations to Dr. Mylhan Myers on this new chapter \u2014 I\u2019ll keep supporting the providers who keep our rural communities healthy and ensure families have access to quality care close to home.\u201d\n\nDr. William David Myers passed away in January 2026 after more than 50 years of practicing medicine in central Missouri, following in the footsteps of his father, Dr. BJ Myers, who also devoted his career to caring for the region\u2019s families. Following Dr. David Myers\u2019 passing, his nephew, Dr. Mylhan Myers, took over the practice, becoming the third generation of the Myers family to serve the community, and this ribbon cutting marks the official launch of his role at the clinic.\n\nAs part of the transition, Dr. Mylhan Myers was required to obtain new certification through TRICARE in order to continue seeing military families as patients. Congressman Smith\u2019s office has been directly engaged with TRICARE to help move that certification forward, so that military families in the area don\u2019t lose access to the care they\u2019ve relied on for decades.", 1, "2026-08-07T06:11:19Z", "2026-08-07T06:12:42Z"], ["https://jasonsmith.house.gov/2026/08/06/smith-visits-keaton-cattle-company-in-dent-county/", "Smith Visits Keaton Cattle Company in Dent County", "2026-08-06", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Jason Smith", "S001195", "jasonsmith.house.gov", "jasonsmith", "https://jasonsmith.house.gov/category/press_release/", "scraper", "DENT COUNTY, Mo. \u2013 Congressman Jason Smith (MO-08) visited Keaton Cattle Company in Dent County this week, touring the operation and meeting with owner Freddie Keaton and his wife, Renee, to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing Missouri\u2019s cattle producers.\n\nCongressman Smith said, \u201cFreddie is exactly the kind of independent producer I fight for in Washington. We talked about the need for fairer cattle markets, reforms to mandatory price reporting to improve transparency and price discovery, making sure family operations can compete without being squeezed out by the four large meatpackers that dominate the industry, and the growing threat that Theileria poses to cattle herds across our state.\n\n\u201cI was glad to hear that the Working Families Tax Cuts are already helping Freddie plan for the future, as he\u2019s building a new commodity barn to store feed for his cattle, and thanks to immediate expensing, he\u2019ll be able to deduct that investment right away. Families like the Keatons are the backbone of rural Missouri, and I\u2019ll keep fighting for policies that strengthen independent producers, expand market opportunities, support animal health research, and help the next generation carry on Missouri\u2019s cattle tradition.\u201d\n\nFreddie Keaton founded Keaton Cattle Company in 1997 and today runs 500 to 600 head of cattle, primarily Black Angus and some Red Angus, across roughly 1,300 acres in Dent County. Beyond his own operation, Keaton serves as President of the Independent Cattlemen of Missouri and as Region VI Director for R-CALF USA, representing independent producers across Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma.\n\nThe Working Families Tax Cuts, which Congressman Smith authored, made permanent 100 percent immediate expensing, small business deductions, and doubled small business expensing thresholds \u2014 provisions that are directly helping producers like Keaton invest in new infrastructure, such as the commodity barn he\u2019s planning to build to better store feed for his herd. The law also made permanent death tax relief that protects more than 15,000 family-owned farms in Missouri\u2019s 8th District from having their exemption cut in half, helping ensure operations like Keaton Cattle Company can be passed on to the next generation.", 1, "2026-08-07T06:11:19Z", "2026-08-07T06:12:42Z"], ["https://www.hawley.senate.gov/hawley-banks-tuberville-file-amendment-to-protect-state-laws-banning-men-in-womens-sports/", "Hawley, Banks, Tuberville File Amendment to Protect State Laws Banning Men in Women\u2019s Sports", "2026-08-06", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Josh Hawley", "H001089", "www.hawley.senate.gov", "hawley", "https://www.hawley.senate.gov/press-releases/page/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2014 Today, U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Jim Banks (R-In.) and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) filed an amendment to the Protect College Sports Act to ensure the bill does not overturn any state laws banning men from women\u2019s sports. The amendment will provide a guarantee that state laws on the books that ban biological men in women\u2019s sports are fully protected. Senators Jim Banks and Tommy Tuberville joined Hawley in filing the amendment.\n\n\u201cBiological men should never be allowed in women\u2019s sports or women\u2019s locker rooms,\u201d said Senator Hawley. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to make sure state laws protecting women stand.\u201d\n\n\u201cIndiana has one of the strongest laws in the country that keeps biological men from competing in women\u2019s sports. As the father of three daughters, I can\u2019t support any legislation that would preempt Indiana\u2019s law. This amendment would make sure the Protect College Sports Act protects female athletes,\u201d said Senator Banks.\n\n\u201cProtecting girls and women\u2019s sports is the civil rights issue of our time,\u201d said Senator Tuberville. \u201cDemocrats have proven again and again they don\u2019t give a rip about protecting women from mentally ill men who wake up one day and decide to dress up like a girl. I\u2019m proud to stand with Senators Hawley and Banks in introducing this commonsense amendment to protect millions of female student athletes.\u201d", 1, "2026-08-07T06:11:19Z", "2026-08-07T06:12:42Z"], ["https://www.hawley.senate.gov/hawley-bill-banning-bonuses-for-postmaster-general-passes-committee/", "Hawley Bill Banning Bonuses for Postmaster General Passes Committee", "2026-08-06", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Josh Hawley", "H001089", "www.hawley.senate.gov", "hawley", "https://www.hawley.senate.gov/press-releases/page/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2014 Today, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.)\u2019s No Bonuses for Bad Service Act passed out of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in an overwhelming bipartisan vote. This legislation would prohibit United States Postal Service (USPS) leadership from receiving bonuses or additional compensation until mail service and delivery meet the standards that the American people deserve. Today\u2019s committee vote marks new momentum for accountability after Senator Hawley launched an investigation into USPS\u2019s delivery record in Missouri. The vote also comes after intense lobbying by the Postmaster General to kill the effort to restrict his own bonus.\n\nThe No Bonuses for Bad Service Act would:\n\nProhibit the USPS Board of Governors from approving any additional compensation for the Postmaster General and Deputy Postmaster General for a fiscal year in which the Postal Service does not meet or exceed an on-time delivery rate of 95% for all market dominant mail products.\n\nRequire the Postal Service to submit its annual delivery rate report to the Postal Regulatory Commission.\n\nThe United States Postal Service (USPS) has posted staggering financial losses in recent years, including $25 billion over the last three fiscal years, more than $6 billion beyond USPS\u2019s own internal projections. At the same time, USPS has repeatedly raised postage rates on American households and businesses while consistently missing its own service standards. On-time delivery has continued to slip. Residents in rural areas wait weeks to receive mail. Recently in Missouri, a massive pile of undelivered mail was discovered in a vacant lot without explanation from the Postal Service. These delays and missing mail are becoming a real financial burden for those Americans who don\u2019t receive their bills or paychecks.\n\nDespite these failures, Postal Service executives have been rewarded with lavish bonuses. Over the past ten years, Postmasters General have received more than $2 million in additional compensation, even as delivery performance declined and the budget numbers got worse. During the last three years of Louis DeJoy\u2019s tenure alone, the Board of Governors approved more than $567,000 in additional bonus compensation. Postmaster General David Steiner, who assumed office just a year ago, has already pocketed a $170,000 bonus. Senator Hawley directly confronted Steiner about these bonuses in a recent committee hearing, and the Postmaster refused to forgo bonuses until the mail is delivered on time.", 1, "2026-08-07T06:11:19Z", "2026-08-07T06:12:42Z"], ["https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/schmitt-leads-effort-to-repeal-californias-vehicle-emission-standards-limiting-consumer-choice-raising-costs-for-american-families/", "Schmitt Leads Effort to Repeal California\u2019s Vehicle Emission Standards Limiting Consumer Choice, Raising Costs for American Families", "2026-08-06", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Eric Schmitt", "S001227", "www.schmitt.senate.gov", "schmitt", "https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/", "scraper", "Joins Colleagues in Introducing Additional CRAs to Overturn California\u2019s Burdensome Regulations\n\nU.S. SENATE \u2014 Today, U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to repeal the Environmental Protection Agency\u2019s(EPA) 2009 waiver allowing California to establish its own motor vehicle emissions standards. Senator Schmitt also joined Senators Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), and Jon Husted (R-OH) in introducing three additional CRA resolutions overturning separate EPA waivers that have allowed the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to impose its climate alarmist regulatory agenda beyond California\u2019s borders. These CRA resolutions would bar EPA from granting substantially similar waivers to California, or any other state, preventing future administrations from re-instating these burdensome regulations.\n\nTogether, the four resolutions target California\u2019s Small Off-Road Engine (SORE) mandate, the Advanced Clean Cars I (ACC I) program, the 2022 reinstatement of the ACC I waiver, and the 2009 EPA waiver that first allowed California to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles.\n\n\u201cCalifornia\u2019s burdensome emissions requirements continue to punish American manufacturers, reduce consumer choice, and raise prices for American families. One state should not have the power to set national policy and dictate what products Americans use far beyond its borders. Overturning these climate alarmist rules will not only restore common sense, but also prevent a future administration from attempting to grant similar waivers. I\u2019m proud to lead the Congressional Review Act resolution to repeal the EPA-California State Motor Vehicle Control Standards Waiver and join Senators Ricketts, Husted, and Lummis in our effort to help make life more affordable for American families,\u201d said Senator Schmitt.\n\n\u201cCalifornia\u2019s climate zealots have run roughshod over the rest of the country for too long,\u201d said Senator Lummis. \u201cUnder Governor Newsom, Sacramento has decided it can dictate what Wyoming families drive and what equipment our small businesses use. That ends today. I\u2019m proud to lead this fight to reclaim Congress\u2019s authority and stop California from legislating for the entire nation.\u201d\n\n\u201cOhioans shouldn\u2019t be forced to follow California\u2019s lead when it comes to policies that make everyday life more expensive and less convenient,\u201d said Senator Husted.\u201cThese resolutions are part of our work to make life more affordable for working families, restore common sense, cut unnecessary red tape and put consumers back in control. I\u2019m proud to support this effort to lower costs and protect consumer choice.\u201d\n\n\u201cBiden\u2019s overregulation and red tape regime cost Nebraskans millions of dollars,\u201d said Senator Ricketts. \u201cThey used California policies as a backdoor EV mandate and even tried to control how we cut our grass. I am proud to lead the effort to overturn these restrictions and restore commonsense. I will continue to fight for policies that empower our families, farmers, and ranchers.\u201d\n\nThe four Congressional Review Act resolutions would:\n\nRepeal the EPA\u2019s 2009 waiver allowing California to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles.\n\nOverturn California\u2019s Small Off-Road Engine (SORE) waiver, preserving consumer access to gas-powered equipment such as chainsaws, lawn mowers, and power washers.\n\nRepeal the Advanced Clean Cars I (ACC I) waiver for passenger vehicle emissions standards.\n\nReverse the Biden Administration\u2019s 2022 reinstatement of California\u2019s ACC I waiver.\n\nLast year, Congress used the Congressional Review Act to overturn California\u2019s Advanced Clean Cars II, Advanced Clean Trucks, and Omnibus NOx waivers. These resolutions build on that effort by restoring congressional authority over national emissions policy and preventing California from imposing its regulatory agenda on the rest of the country.\n\nSenator Schmitt\u2019s CRA resolution to overturn the California State Motor Vehicle Control Standards Waiver from 2009 was joined by his colleagues, Senators Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Cythia Lummis (R-WY), Jon Husted (R-OH), Roger Marshall (R-KS), John Barrasso (R-WY), Deb Fischer (R-NE), and Bernie Moreno (R-OH).\n\n###", 1, "2026-08-07T06:11:19Z", "2026-08-07T06:12:42Z"], ["https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/senate-passes-schmitt-resolution-recognizing-the-missouri-tigers-claim-as-the-1960-college-football-national-champions/", "Senate Passes Schmitt Resolution Recognizing the Missouri Tiger\u2019s Claim as the 1960 College Football National Champions", "2026-08-06", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Eric Schmitt", "S001227", "www.schmitt.senate.gov", "schmitt", "https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/", "scraper", "U.S. SENATE \u2014 Today, U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) took to the Senate floor to pass his Resolution recognizing the Missouri Tigers claim as the 1960 College Football National Champions. Missouri finished the season 11-0 after the result of its game against Kansas was reversed because Kansas used an ineligible player. The Tigers defeated Nebraska, Penn State, and Oklahoma before capping off their undefeated season with an Orange Bowl victory over Navy. Senator Schmitt honored the perseverance, integrity, and determination that defined Coach Dan Devine and his players throughout their historic season. The Senate unanimously passed Schmitt\u2019s resolution.\n\nWatch the Senator\u2019s full speechHERE.\n\nExcerpt of remarks as prepared for delivery:\n\n\u201cMr. President, I rise today to honor one of the greatest teams ever to wear the Black and Gold: the 1960 Missouri Tigers. They finished 11-and-0. They conquered the Big Eight. They defeated the Navy Midshipmen, 21 to 14, in the Orange Bowl down in Florida. But their greatness cannot be measured by the record alone. Their story is about something deeper: perseverance after humiliation, accountability in the face of injustice, and the integrity of men who kept their word.\n\n\u201cBut Devine looked at the younger men and made a promise. Two years from that day, Missouri would return to Norman. And Missouri would win. But a promise had been made by Coach Devine. So, for two years, the Tigers went to work.\n\n\u201cThe Big Eight ordered Kansas to forfeit the victory and stripped the Jayhawks of the conference championship. Kansas could keep the memory of the final whistle. Missouri kept the title. Missouri finished 11-and-0. Reminding the conference and the American populace that cheaters never truly win.\n\n\u201cMr. President, every generation needs examples of men who stick to their word. Dan Devine made a promise in the ashes of defeat. His players believed him. Then they spent two years earning the right to fulfill it.\n\n\u201cMore than six decades later, the 1960 Tigers still embody the character of Missouri. We are a people who work. We are a people who endure. We are a people who keep our promises.\n\n\u201cToday, I am proud to honor Coach Dan Devine, Norris Stevenson, and every member of the undefeated 1960 Missouri Tigers. Their promise was kept. Their championship was earned. Their record remains perfect. And Kansas still lost.\u201d\n\n###", 1, "2026-08-07T06:11:19Z", "2026-08-07T06:12:42Z"], ["https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/senator-schmitt-shares-white-house-endorsement-of-bipartisan-protect-college-sports-act/", "Senator Schmitt Shares White House Endorsement of Bipartisan Protect College Sports Act", "2026-08-06", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Eric Schmitt", "S001227", "www.schmitt.senate.gov", "schmitt", "https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/", "scraper", "U.S. SENATE \u2014 Today, U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) issued the following statement after the Trump Administration released its Statement of Administration Policy (SAP) in support of the Protect College Sports Act. The SAP follows weeks of intense negotiation in the Senate as Schmitt\u2014alongside Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and the conferences\u2014worked to produce comprehensive legislation to protect athletic opportunities for student-athletes and protect the uniquely American institution of collegiate sports.\n\n\u201cSince the very beginning, I have been working closely with the Trump Administration and my Senate colleagues to get the Protect College Sports Act past the finish line. President Trump understands that financial instability and a messy regulatory patchwork have jeopardized the future of college sports\u2014putting opportunities for tens of thousands of athletes at risk. It\u2019s time to stabilize college sports and ensure women, Olympic, and non-revenue athletes can still compete. For months, I have been working with my colleagues in the Senate and the Trump administration, as well as conference leaders, to save college sports. I am grateful the Trump Administration is supporting the Protect College Sports Act to strengthen this uniquely American institution. Let\u2019s get this done,\u201d said Senator Schmitt.\n\nSenator Schmitt is an original co-sponsor of the Protect College Sports Act.\n\nIn June, Schmitt discussed Congress\u2019 role in saving college sports and cheered the bill\u2019s passage out of the Senate Commerce Committee.\n\nRead more about Schmitt\u2019s work to address the issues facing college sports HERE.\n\n###", 1, "2026-08-07T06:11:19Z", "2026-08-07T06:12:42Z"], ["https://www.hawley.senate.gov/icymi-hawley-exposes-predatory-ai-surveillance-pricing-consumer-data-harvesting-in-subcommittee-hearing/", "ICYMI: Hawley Exposes Predatory AI Surveillance Pricing, Consumer Data Harvesting in Subcommittee Hearing", "2026-08-05", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Josh Hawley", "H001089", "www.hawley.senate.gov", "hawley", "https://www.hawley.senate.gov/press-releases/page/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2014 Yesterday, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, held a hearing exposing the exploitative practices of AI surveillance pricing and consumer data harvesting used by large corporations to scam working Americans out of their hard-earned money.\n\nSenator Hawley opened, \u201cHardly a day goes by in this town, without some booster of AI talking about how it\u2019s going to transform the American economy for the better, the question is whose betterment will this transformation lead to? \u2026 We\u2019re here today to talk about one of the effects of this AI boom: the partnership between the AI industry and some of the biggest corporations in America to effectively scam consumers out of every last dollar they have in order to buy products that they need and rely on \u2026 This is one of the biggest scams in American history. This marriage between the AI industry and these mega corporations, and they\u2019re trying to pull it off against every American consumer. AI surveillance pricing is the unholy trinity of everything Americans hate: spying on people, ripping them off, and taking away jobs.\u201c\n\n\u201cEarlier this year, there was a disturbing incident that played out on Twitter on X that shed some light, I think, on how airlines are using surveillance pricing in real time, right in front of us. I think I\u2019ve got the relevant exchange over my shoulder here. You have an ex-user who, in April, this is April of this year, posted that he had seen a $230 price increase in one day when he was booking travel for a funeral on JetBlue. $230 price increase. Now, here\u2019s the interesting thing: JetBlue\u2019s own corporate account helpfully responded to him and instructed him to clear the cache and the cookies, or use an incognito window,\u201d Senator Hawley began.\n\n\u201cNow, Ms. Owens, you\u2019re familiar with this incident, I assume. Can you explain to us broadly what is what\u2019s going on here?\u201d he asked Dr. Lindsay Owens, the President and CEO of Groundwork Collaborative, about airline surveillance pricing.\n\nDr. Owens responded, \u201cThis really simple tweet basically is a confession of two things. The first thing in asking the customer to clear their browser before purchasing flights, you know that the company is tracking your browser history. The second thing we know is that they are using the data that they collect in their pricing decisions, and in this case, adversely, the price is going to be higher for this individual based on their browsing history. But I also think this is such an important example because it shows that surveillance pricing isn\u2019t just about things like income. This is about desperation. This individual is trying to get to the funeral. He needs this ticket urgently. He wants to attend, and that can be weaponized against consumers. This isn\u2019t about the rising jet fuel prices. That\u2019s not what\u2019s going into an end to their pricing decision. Desperation is driving this decision.\u201d\n\nSenator Hawley continued, \u201cLet me just ask you, Dr. Owens. I think it\u2019s pretty clear. But what\u2019s the motive here? I mean, what is JetBlue\u2019s motive?\u201d\n\nLaying down the hammer, she answered, \u201cThis is about profit. The data that powers the surveillance pricing engine is estimated to be a $700 billion industry by 2030.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat other kinds of information do these companies have that they can use to set these personalized, scam, I would say, prices?\u201d Hawley questioned.\n\n\u201cUnfortunately for consumers, the answer is, increasingly, nearly everything. It\u2019s your location data, it\u2019s behavioral data, what you buy, what you don\u2019t buy, what you keep in your cart, it\u2019s demographic data. If you login with a loyalty program to fly, they know how many people are in your family, whether you have kids, where you go frequently. And as we know, with AI, as companies build enterprise agents, people often start conversing with these companies, and they have the information that you tell them,\u201d Dr. Owens testified.\n\nSenator Hawley exposed that AI surveillance pricing costs the average American family an additional $1,200 per year, stating, \u201cYour initiative, your organization, the Groundwork Collaborative, issued an expose on Instacart earlier this year. What your findings betray and put onto the record is just incredible. Your report exposes on Instacart\u2019s charging different shoppers different prices for the same groceries at the same time, and the amount of money that we\u2019re talking about here is really extraordinary. Your report found that the price swings for an average family could end up being in the neighborhood of $1,200 per year.$1,200 per year-that is a lot of money. Tell us about what you found in your report and why it\u2019s so significant.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe uncovered a vast experiment that Instacart was running on millions of Americans while they shop for groceries. What we found is that different shoppers were being offered different prices for the exact same set of items at the exact same time at the exact same pickup location. This wasn\u2019t an occasionally finding. More than three-quarters of the items in our test grocery basket were found to be offered at different prices, sometimes as many as five prices per item. Sometimes the price difference was as much as 23% for a simple carton of eggs,\u201d Dr. Owens said.\n\nSenator Hawley turned to Robert Hedges, Former Chief Data Officer at Visa and Digital Fellow at MIT, \u201cLet\u2019s talk a little bit about the role that the credit cards play in this \u2026 You are Visa\u2019s Former Chief Data officer. Talk to us a little bit about what you know about what the industry, what kind of information the industry gathers, and I want to zero you in on one thing in particular. JetBlue works reportedly with one of your former competitors, Mastercard, to make assumptions and draw profiles about its customers, about JetBlue\u2019s customers, and they use categories like confident, or satisfied, or focused, or in love with JetBlue. This Mastercard subsidiary then flags if a JetBlue customer is likely to pay an above-average fare. This seems extraordinary.Tell us about what you have learned about what this subset of at least some of the credit card industry is doing to participate in surveillance pricing.\u201d\n\nMr. Hedges responded, \u201cThe subsidiary that Mastercard is using is a company called Dynamic Yield. One of the specialties of what Dynamic Yield does is calculate willingness to pay, and so there\u2019s a whole set of data that\u2019s collected to inform willingness to pay \u2026 In the airline case, where you really travel? When did you book the ticket? Have you already booked the hotel? Do you have friends or neighbors or relatives in the area? How long ago was the trip organized? All those using the airline example, all those things will influence the score and willingness to pay.\u201d\n\nHawley asked Z. John Zhang, a marketing professor at the University of Pennsylvania, \u201cThe problem with this surveillance pricing is that it seems to say there\u2019s going to be a different rule for every single person, and the corporations have all the information. We have none of it. The asymmetry is astounding. They know everything there is to know. I have basically no ability to set the price. They\u2019ve got all of the information. Doesn\u2019t that doesn\u2019t there seem to be something that is fundamentally wrong with that?\u201d\n\nDr. Zhang defended surveillance pricing, stating, \u201cI would totally agree with you that there has to be a boundary. The boundary probably most likely is in the way you collect information, process information, and use the information, but not in a way that you would actually have a multiple price points for the product \u2026 I think at this point, somehow that our understanding is that anytime you use personalized pricing, not only you\u2019re going to make the price variable across the customers, also that indeed the prices always go high. I don\u2019t believe that\u2019s the case. The fact that the prices are variable, they are already there already, and so you don\u2019t need the AI to do all that. And the firms do actually change pricing in so many different ways, but in terms of whether prices always go up, I think that probably is not the case.\u201d\n\nSenator Hawley pressed, \u201cBut isn\u2019t the goal of surveillance pricing always to maximize profit? \u2026 In this case, the consumers have no protections. They\u2019ve got no protections. The firm has all of the information. The corporation\u2019s got all of the power. I have no power to set the price. The only thing I can do is hope and beg that maybe at 2 A.M. in the morning, when my child is running 102 degree fever and I desperately need Tylenol, that maybe if Walmart Plus is charging me 30 bucks for it, gee, if I can drive to an open CVS, maybe I\u2019ll get lucky. I mean, I\u2019m just at their mercy, right? That just seems fundamentally wrong to me, and I think it seems fundamentally wrong to most Americans, which is why we\u2019re here today.\u201d\n\nSenator Hawley concluded, \u201cWhat I\u2019m really concerned about is time after time after time, it\u2019s working people who are going to be paying more, who are going to be forced to pay more, and frankly, the needy, because the whole point here is to maximize the profit of these already wildly profitable corporations \u2026 And we need to give consumers and working people and families in this country rights against this kind of surveillance and exploitation. If we don\u2019t do that, the basic foundations, the moral foundations of our economy and of our country will be devastatingly eroded. And you see it already. This is why people don\u2019t trust anything. They don\u2019t trust any institution. They certainly don\u2019t trust any of these companies we\u2019ve talked about today. Nor should they, because they\u2019re being exploited constantly, and it is this body\u2019s job to do something about that. So we need to stand up and say we\u2019re going to protect the American people. We\u2019re going to give them rights. We\u2019re going to preserve that basic moral foundation that makes our economy and our country more broadly work, and that we agree on together. So it makes us Americans. It\u2019s done us pretty good for the last 250 years. I think maybe we ought to preserve it.\u201d", 1, "2026-08-06T07:37:31Z", "2026-08-06T07:38:34Z"], ["https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/schmitt-joins-vp-vance-at-white-house-anti-fraud-roundtable/", "Schmitt Joins VP Vance at White House Anti-Fraud Roundtable", "2026-08-05", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Eric Schmitt", "S001227", "www.schmitt.senate.gov", "schmitt", "https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/", "scraper", "Schmitt Commits to Leading White House\u2019s Proposed Reforms to Combat Fraud Nationwide\n\nU.S. SENATE \u2014 Today, U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) joined Vice President JD Vance, Trump Administration officials, and Members of Congress at the White House for a roundtable on Republican and Trump Administration-led efforts to crack down on fraud and protect taxpayer dollars. Since taking office, the Trump Administration has taken significant action to address endemic fraud that was running rampant in Democrat-led states. Senator Schmitt also committed to drafting and leading an anti-fraud legislative package codifying the Trump Administration\u2019s proposed reforms.\n\n\u201cFraud is endemic. Under the Biden Administration, criminals and fraudsters ran schemes that exploited American taxpayers and robbed our nation\u2019s most vulnerable of help they desperately needed. America is the most generous nation in the world, but that generosity is being abused by illegal aliens and career criminals who reject our nation\u2019s values and pillage the federal welfare state. Taxpayers are paying the price. Thankfully, the Trump Administration has a clear and simple message for fraudsters: time is up. Vice President Vance has done an incredible job cracking down on fraud and exposing rampant waste, fraud, and abuse of our federal programs. In the Senate, I am proud to lead the Anti-Fraud Task Force to work alongside this Administration to strengthen federal oversight and hold criminals accountable so we can ensure federal programs actually help Americans in need. I look forward to taking the White House\u2019s proposed reforms and fighting like hell to pass them into law,\u201d said Senator Schmitt.\n\nBackground:\n\nIn June, Senator Schmitt announced the launch of his Senate Anti-Fraud Task Force to examine fraud, waste, and abuse across federal programs; identify vulnerabilities in existing systems; and strengthen government accountability to ensure the proper stewardship of taxpayer dollars. Schmitt was joined by Senators Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Katie Britt (R-AL), Ashley Moody (R-FL), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Tim Sheehy (R-MT), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Ron Johnson (R-WI).\n\nIn January, Schmitt introduced the Stop Citizenship Abuse and Misrepresentation (SCAM) Act to restore integrity to the naturalization process by expanding and clarifying grounds to revoke the citizenship of certain individuals who demonstrate through their involvement with fraud, other serious felonies, or terrorist organizations that they never met the statutory requirements for citizenship.\n\n###", 1, "2026-08-06T07:37:31Z", "2026-08-06T07:38:34Z"], ["https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/schmitt-leads-bill-to-prioritize-research-on-tick-borne-livestock-disease/", "Schmitt Leads Bill to Prioritize Research on Tick-Borne Livestock Disease", "2026-08-05", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Eric Schmitt", "S001227", "www.schmitt.senate.gov", "schmitt", "https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/", "scraper", "Bill Designates Tick-Borne Livestock Disease as High-Priority Research Area to Protect Missouri Livestock Producers, Specifically for Disease Associated with the Asian Longhorned Tick\n\nU.S. SENATE \u2014 Today, U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO), joined by U.S. Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS) and U.S. Senator Jim Justice (R-WV), introduced the Emerging Tick-Borne Livestock Disease Research Prioritization Act, which statutorily designates tick-borne livestock disease as a high-priority research area at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The bill authorizes USDA to make competitive grants within pre-existing research programs aimed at developing vaccines, therapeutics, and treatments for tick-borne livestock disease. Specifically, the bill targets diseases associated with the Asian Longhorned Tick, several of which lack an approved vaccine or treatment.\n\n\u201cMissouri is one of the nation\u2019s leaders in livestock production, and our farmers and ranchers work too hard to have their livelihoods threatened by emerging tick-borne diseases. Invasive species like the Asian Longhorned Tick pose a growing risk to our livestock industry and the families who depend on it. By elevating the need for critical research into tick-borne livestock disease, we\u2019re helping ensure producers have the tools they need to protect their herds, strengthen our food supply, and keep America\u2019s agriculture industry competitive. I\u2019ll keep working with Missouri\u2019s farm families to protect for the Show-Me State\u2019s number one economic driver,\u201d said Senator Schmitt.\n\n\u201cCattle producers are not short on issues impacting their industry right now. The national cattle herd size is the lowest it\u2019s been in 75 years, and with emerging threats like Asian Longhorned Ticks and New World Screwworm, the industry is under even more pressure. USDA needs to do everything they can to help find ways to combat vector-borne diseases and other threats to livestock, and this bill makes it a priority for them,\u201d said Senator Jim Justice.\n\n\u201cKansas ranchers already have enough challenges without worrying about another invasive pest threatening their herds. As the Asian Longhorn Tick continues to spread, we need to stay ahead of it\u2014not play catch-up,\u201d said Senator Marshall. \u201cThis bill makes sure USDA treats this growing threat like the priority it is by directing more research toward protecting our cattle, our producers, and our food supply.\u201d\n\nBackground:\n\nThanks to Senator Schmitt\u2019s advocacy, this legislation is included in the current draft of the Senate Farm Bill.\n\nMissouri consistently ranks among the nation\u2019s top three beef producers, supporting nearly 40,000 jobs.\n\nAsian Longhorn Ticks have spread aggressively across Missouri over the last several years. These ticks spread debilitating diseases including Theileriosis, which cause anemia, persistent infection, or death in livestock. There are no effective treatments for the condition, costing producers thousands of dollars per head when an animal dies.\n\nMissouri\u2019s livestock industry contributes more than $9 billion in value added annually\n\nStatements of Support:\n\n\u201cThe Asian Longhorned tick is a rapidly growing threat to cattle and humans, with more research needed to combat this pest and the infectious diseases it carries. This legislation would fund critical research and education efforts that will improve cattle health, animal welfare, and the long-term financial stability of farmers and ranchers. Cattle producers understand it will take a collective effort to protect the future of U.S. cattle industry, and this bill is an important step in these efforts. NCBA thanks Senator Schmitt for introducing this legislation and working with U.S. cattle producers to lead the way on cutting edge research efforts,\u201d said Sigrid Johannes, Director of Government Affairs, National Cattlemen\u2019s Beef Association.\n\n\u201cWe met with Senator Schmitt and his team multiple times about the emergency in the U.S. cattle herd created by the Asian longhorned tick. He listened and went to work. Missouri producers are facing serious losses and lack tools to deploy to address the issue. We need research now that will lead to solutions as quickly as possible,\u201dsaid Mike Deering, Executive Vice President, Missouri Cattlemen\u2019s Association.\n\n\u201cAs the University of Missouri\u2019s land-grant college of agriculture, we hear directly from the farmers, ranchers, and rural communities we serve about the challenges they face. Emerging tick-borne livestock diseases are a growing concern, and our role is to turn research into real-world solutions through innovation, Extension, and partnerships with producers. Senator Schmitt\u2019s legislation recognizes the importance of investing in research and Extension so we can continue equipping Missouri\u2019s livestock producers with the tools they need to protect herd health, strengthen rural communities, and keep America\u2019s food supply strong and secure,\u201d said Christopher Daubert, Dean of the University of Missouri\u2019s College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources.\n\n\u201cLivestock producers know firsthand how tick-borne illnesses can disrupt herd health and daily operations. When farmers invest their time, money and care into their animals, they need clear answers about the diseases that threaten them. Prioritizing research on tick-borne illnesses will help producers respond when disease strikes. Better data, improved diagnostics and stronger management tools all begin with focused scientific research. Understanding these diseases isn\u2019t optional; it\u2019s essential. We appreciate Sen. Eric Schmitt and his colleagues for recognizing this growing challenge and highlighting the need for stronger, targeted research,\u201d said Garrett Hawkins, a 5th generation farmer from St. Clair County and President of Missouri Farm Bureau.\n\n###", 1, "2026-08-06T07:37:31Z", "2026-08-06T07:38:34Z"], ["https://www.hawley.senate.gov/hawley-urges-secretary-rollins-to-keep-farm-service-agency-offices-open-in-missouri/", "Hawley Urges Secretary Rollins to Keep Farm Service Agency Offices Open in Missouri", "2026-08-04", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Josh Hawley", "H001089", "www.hawley.senate.gov", "hawley", "https://www.hawley.senate.gov/press-releases/page/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2014 Today, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) called on United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins to address Farm Service Agency (FSA) office closures and reduction of services in Missouri. His letter comes after the Missouri FSA State Committee announced a reduction of services in Ralls County starting in October of this year, a crucial time for farmers receiving conservation and disaster program assistance.\n\nSenator Hawley thanked Secretary Rollins for her efforts safeguarding Missouri agriculture, writing, \u201cI appreciate your efforts to assist farmers as they continue to face high input costs and yearly financial losses. As you know, our nation\u2019s producers rely on timely services from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) field offices as they work to navigate these challenges.\u201d\n\nHe continued, \u201cI write to request your review of pending closures and the reduction of services at Missouri Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices. In particular, I am concerned about the pending reduction of services at the Ralls County FSA office on October 1, 2026. October is an incredibly important time of the year at FSA offices as several conservation and disaster program payments are distributed.\u201d\n\nThe Senator concluded, \u201cI urge you to use all appropriate resources and authorities at your disposal to preserve the continued operation of FSA offices in my state.\u201d\n\nRead the full letter here or below.\n\nAugust 4, 2026\n\nThe Honorable Brooke L. Rollins\n\nSecretary of Agriculture\n\nUnited States Department of Agriculture\n\n1400 Independence Ave. S.W.\n\nWashington, D.C. 20250\n\nDear Secretary Rollins,\n\nI appreciate your efforts to assist farmers as they continue to face high input costs and yearly financial losses. As you know, our nation\u2019s producers rely on timely services from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) field offices as they work to navigate these challenges.\n\nFor this reason, I write to request your review of pending closures and the reduction of services at Missouri Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices. In particular, I am concerned about the pending reduction of services at the Ralls County FSA office on October 1, 2026. October is an incredibly important time of the year at FSA offices as several conservation and disaster program payments are distributed.\n\nTo assist my review of these matters, I respectfully request the following information by August 14, 2026:\n\nHow many Missouri FSA offices has USDA proposed to close by October 1, 2027? Please provide the names of each county office.\n\nHow many Missouri FSA has USDA proposed to reduce services at or alter to \u201cappointment only\u201d availability by October 1, 2027? Please provide the names of each county office.\n\nWhat staffing plans has the USDA considered to add quality FSA employees?\n\nIf additional staff is obtained prior to October, will the USDA reverse course on current plans to close or reduce services at Missouri FSA offices?\n\nI urge you to use all appropriate resources and authorities at your disposal to preserve the continued operation of FSA offices in my state. Thank you for your attention to this matter.\n\nSincerely,", 1, "2026-08-05T07:37:37Z", "2026-08-05T07:38:44Z"], ["https://burlison.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-burlison-releases-administration-memorandum-president-trumps-uap-nda", "Rep. Burlison Releases Administration Memorandum on President Trump's UAP NDA Directive", "2026-08-01", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Eric Burlison", "B001316", "burlison.house.gov", "burlison", "https://burlison.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 Congressman Eric Burlison (MO-07) today released preliminary implementation guidance shared by the Trump administration regarding President Trump's directive concerning nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) for current and former government employees and contractors with information related to unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP). The administration authorized Congressman Burlison's office to publicly distribute the memorandum.\n\nOn Wednesday, July 21, 2026, Congressman Burlison released a statement encouraging individuals who believe the President's directive applies to them to contact his office for assistance navigating the process. Congressman Burlison thanked President Trump for directing the implementation of the UAP NDA waiver and welcomed the administration's preliminary guidance as an important step toward increasing transparency.\n\nThe attached memorandum provides preliminary implementation guidance. Congressman Burlison continues to encourage anyone with questions about the directive, or who believes it may apply to them, to contact his office or another Member of Congress if they need assistance navigating the process.", 1, "2026-08-02T07:31:21Z", "2026-08-02T07:32:50Z"], ["https://bell.house.gov/media/press-releases/representatives-bell-and-moylan-introduce-legislation-expanding-radiation", "Representatives Bell and Moylan Introduce Legislation Expanding Radiation Exposure Benefits", "2026-08-01", "2026", "2026-08", "Democrat", "House", "MO", "Wesley Bell", "B001324", "bell.house.gov", "bell", "https://bell.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "\"Long before I got to Congress, I heard from St. Louisans who endured decades of health crises, economic struggles, and neglect after radioactive contamination from the Manhattan Project upended their lives. Families from across my district have suffered from terrible cancers, thyroid issues, and even death because of the improper storage of this deadly waste,\u201d said Congressman Wesley Bell. \"While no legislation can truly rectify that harm, this expansion of compensable diseases and increase in RECA benefits from $50,000 to $150,000, in addition to covering medical expenses, is a huge step in the right direction. Nothing can fully right this wrong, but this effort tips the scales toward justice \u2014 for everyone from St. Louis to Guam.\u201d\n\n\"This legislation brings together a strong bipartisan coalition of Members of Congress, survivors, advocates, and communities who have refused to give up this fight,\u201d said Congressman Moylan. \u201cTogether, our voices are stronger, and together, we will keep fighting until every American harmed by radiation exposure receives the justice they have been denied. I\u2019m not backing down until we get this across the finish line for the people of Guam who were impacted and all those still left behind.\u201d", 1, "2026-09-02T09:19:58Z", "2026-09-02T09:20:51Z"], ["https://jasonsmith.house.gov/2026/07/31/smith-holds-farmers-town-hall-in-dunklin-county/", "Smith Holds Farmers Town Hall in Dunklin County", "2026-07-31", "2026", "2026-07", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Jason Smith", "S001195", "jasonsmith.house.gov", "jasonsmith", "https://jasonsmith.house.gov/category/press_release/", "scraper", "DUNKLIN COUNTY, Mo. \u2013 Congressman Jason Smith (MO-08) joined members of the Missouri Rice Council for a Farmers Town Hall in Dunklin County this week, where he discussed the positive impact of the Working Families Tax Cuts, which Congressman Smith authored and championed to passage, on Missouri\u2019s rice industry and fielded questions from farmers concerned about today\u2019s agriculture economy.\n\nCongressman Smith said, \u201cIt\u2019s always good to sit down with our rice farmers and hear directly from them about what they\u2019re facing \u2014 whether it be export issues, high input costs, or just the day-to-day challenges of running a farm in today\u2019s environment. When you think of the Bootheel, rice farmers are one of the first groups that come to mind, and these families deserve a seat at the table when decisions are made and legislation is written. That\u2019s exactly why I fought so hard to include provisions that benefited them in the Working Families Tax Cuts such as the first increase in reference prices in nearly 20 years. This legislation also made both the small business deduction and 100 percent bonus depreciation permanent, giving family-owned farms long-term certainty, which they need to reinvest, expand, and grow.\n\n\u201cI greatly enjoyed our conversation about their top priorities and concerns, and I will continue to fight for their interests when I return to Washington.\u201d\n\nDuring the discussion, Congressman Smith answered questions regarding seed prices, bridge payments, and trade enforcement, including an ongoing Section 301 investigation into unfair foreign trade practices affecting U.S. rice exports. Additionally, farmers asked about consolidation in the global fertilizer market, an issue Congressman Smith has raised directly with the Trump Administration after leading a congressional delegation to Morocco earlier this year.\n\nCongressman Smith also highlighted wins for rice farmers in the Working Families Tax Cuts, like the increase in the reference price for rice by 20 percent beginning with crop year 2025. Ninety-eight percent of farms are organized as LLCs, making the bill\u2019s permanent 199A small business deduction and 100 percent immediate expensing especially valuable for rice operations looking to reinvest in their equipment and land.", 1, "2026-08-01T07:27:26Z", "2026-08-01T07:28:22Z"], ["https://jasonsmith.house.gov/2026/07/31/smith-missouri-delegation-sends-letter-urging-swift-approval-of-governors-disaster-declaration-request/", "Smith, Missouri Delegation Sends Letter Urging Swift Approval of Governor\u2019s Disaster Declaration Request", "2026-07-31", "2026", "2026-07", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Jason Smith", "S001195", "jasonsmith.house.gov", "jasonsmith", "https://jasonsmith.house.gov/category/press_release/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Congressman Jason Smith (MO-08), along with members of Missouri\u2019s Congressional Delegation, sent a letter to President Trump today supporting Governor Mike Kehoe\u2019s request for a major disaster declaration following the catastrophic flooding that struck southern Missouri from July 9 through July 11, 2026.\n\n\u201cWe write in strong support of Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe\u2019s July 28, 2026, request for a major disaster declaration following the devastating severe storms and flooding that took place in Missouri from July 9th through July 11th of this year,\u201d the lawmakers wrote. \u201cBeginning late on July 9th, a series of slow-moving thunderstorms produced torrential rainfall in some areas across south-central and southeastern Missouri, equivalent to a 1-in-1,000-year event according to the National Weather Service. In roughly 12 hours, some areas received an estimated 6 to 12 inches of rain, causing rivers, creeks, and low-lying areas to rapidly rise, including a record crest on the Black River near Annapolis, Missouri\u2026 In the days following, it was publicly reported that first responders bravely rescued over 350 people, including over 200 airlifted from the Camp Taum Sauk by Missouri National Guard helicopters.\u201d\n\n\u201cMissouri has repeatedly been faced with natural disasters in recent years,\u201d the lawmakers continued. \u201cIn 2025 alone, Missouri received five federally declared disasters\u2014the most of any state\u2014and in 2026, this trend has not changed. Today, Missouri is requesting its third disaster declaration of the year, already holding a declaration for storms that occurred from April 23rd through April 28th\u2026 Following the Joint Preliminary Damage Assessments for the July 9th through July 11th storms, more than $26.5 million in eligible infrastructure damage and emergency protective costs were identified across 9 counties\u2026 As such, we respectfully urge you to direct your administration to promptly review Governor Kehoe\u2019s major disaster declaration request for the July 9 through July 11 storms and submit it for your approval.\u201d\n\nCongressman Smith recently saw firsthand the devastating flood damage in Reynolds County, visiting Valley Springs Youth Ranch and Black River Baptist Church \u2014 two sites hit hardest by the storms.\n\n\u201cThe pictures don\u2019t do justice to the damage,\u201d Smith said. \u201cFor 12 inches of rain to come within two to three hours, in an area that does not flood, it was horrendous and pretty scary. Families have lost their homes, farmers have lost equipment and livelihoods they spent decades building, and a church that feeds well over 100 families through its food drives had its sanctuary destroyed. The scale of what this community is facing is enormous, and I\u2019m grateful for every first responder, volunteer, neighbor, and local leader who has stepped up to help during this difficult time. My office will continue working to connect these families and organizations with every state and federal resource available as they rebuild.\u201d\n\nSenator Josh Hawley (R-MO), Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO), and Congresswoman Ann Wagner (MO-02) also signed the letter.", 1, "2026-08-01T07:27:26Z", "2026-08-01T07:28:22Z"], ["https://jasonsmith.house.gov/2026/07/31/smith-visits-pemiscot-memorial-hospital/", "Smith Visits Pemiscot Memorial Hospital", "2026-07-31", "2026", "2026-07", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Jason Smith", "S001195", "jasonsmith.house.gov", "jasonsmith", "https://jasonsmith.house.gov/category/press_release/", "scraper", "HAYTI, Mo. \u2013 Congressman Jason Smith (MO-08) visited Pemiscot Memorial Hospital in Hayti this week, touring the facility and meeting with hospital leadership to discuss the impact of its recent conversion to Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) status \u2014 a designation the congressman worked directly with state and federal health officials to help secure after years of advocating to keep the hospital\u2019s doors open.\n\nCongressman Smith said, \u201cPemiscot Memorial Hospital is the last hospital left in the Bootheel, and for families in this part of Missouri, that emergency room can mean the difference between life and death. When this hospital was on the verge of closing, my staff and I fought tooth and nail to cut through red tape at CMS, connect hospital leadership with the resources they needed, and push for a fair and timely review of their application for Rural Emergency Hospital status. I\u2019m proud of what we were able to do together, and I\u2019ll keep fighting to make sure rural Missourians never lose access to the care they depend on.\u201d\n\nPemiscot Memorial Hospital sees roughly 800 patients a month through its seven-bed emergency room \u2014 playing a pivotal role in serving families all across the region and delivering care that thousands of families depend on. The hospital faced near closure in both 2023 and 2024 due to financial mismanagement and cash flow shortfalls, at one point struggling to make payroll. Congressman Smith stepped in, working with hospital leadership and state and federal health agencies to help stabilize the hospital\u2019s finances and chart a sustainable path forward.\n\nIn November 2025, following sustained engagement from Congressman Smith with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Pemiscot Memorial received Rural Emergency Hospital status \u2014 retroactive to May 2025 \u2014 along with roughly $2 million in Medicare backpay. The REH designation allows the hospital to receive fixed monthly Medicare payments in place of inpatient reimbursement, plus a 5 percent bonus for emergency and outpatient services. This provides Pemiscot Memorial with a stable funding source to continue serving the Bootheel and gives it the potential to expand services in the future.\n\nThe Working Families Tax Cuts, which Congressman Smith authored and spearheaded in Congress, also included a $50 billion investment for rural healthcare through the Rural Health Transformation Program \u2014 the largest one-time investment in rural hospitals in American history. As Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, Congressman Smith has made it a priority to ensure Americans in rural areas like the Bootheel of Missouri have access to quality health care.", 1, "2026-08-01T07:27:26Z", "2026-08-01T07:28:22Z"], ["https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/schmitt-leads-missouri-lawmakers-in-letter-supporting-governors-disaster-declaration-request-following-devastating-floods/", "Schmitt Leads Missouri Lawmakers in Letter Supporting Governor\u2019s Disaster Declaration Request Following Devastating Floods", "2026-07-31", "2026", "2026-07", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Eric Schmitt", "S001227", "www.schmitt.senate.gov", "schmitt", "https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/", "scraper", "U.S. SENATE \u2014 Today, U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) led Missouri lawmakers in sending a letter to President Trump supporting Governor Mike Kehoe\u2019s disaster declaration request following the widespread flooding that devastated communities across southern Missouri from July 9 to July 11, 2026.\n\n\u201cWe write in strong support of Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe\u2019s July 28, 2026, request for a major disaster declaration following the devastating storms that took place in Missouri from July 9th through July 11th of this year,\u201d the lawmakers began.\n\n\u201cBeginning late on July 9th, a series of slow-moving thunderstorms produced torrential rainfall in some areas across south-central and southeastern Missouri, equivalent to a 1-in-1,000-year event according to the National Weather Service\u2026 Floodwaters overwhelmed campgrounds and farms, washed out critical access routes, and forced emergency crews to evacuate families and children. Once again, Missouri\u2019s first responders more than answered the call of duty. In dark and dangerous conditions, these heroes worked around the clock to evacuate residents and visitors\u2026\u201d the lawmakers continued.\n\n\u201cAs you are aware, Missouri has repeatedly been faced with natural disasters in recent years. In 2025 alone, Missouri received five federally declared disasters\u2014the most of any state\u2014and in 2026, this trend has not changed. Today, Missouri is requesting its third disaster declaration of the year, already holding a declaration for storms that occurred from April 23rd through April 28th. To make matters worse, many communities affected by the July storms were still recovering from these previous disasters, compounding losses and stretching local capacity further beyond its limits\u2026 As such, we respectfully urge you to direct your administration to promptly review Governor Kehoe\u2019s major disaster declaration request for the July 9 through July 11 storms and submit it for your approval,\u201d the lawmakers concluded.\n\nSenator Josh Hawley (R-MO), Congressman Jason Smith (MO-08), and Congresswoman Ann Wagner (MO-2) joined Senator Schmitt in sending the letter.\n\nRead the full letter HERE.\n\n###", 1, "2026-08-01T07:27:26Z", "2026-08-01T07:28:22Z"], ["https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/schmitt-statement-on-big-ten-and-sec-endorsing-bipartisan-college-sports-deal/", "Schmitt Statement on Big Ten and SEC Endorsing Bipartisan College Sports Deal", "2026-07-31", "2026", "2026-07", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Eric Schmitt", "S001227", "www.schmitt.senate.gov", "schmitt", "https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/", "scraper", "Schmitt, Cantwell, Cruz Secure Support of SEC and Big Ten\n\nU.S. SENATE \u2014 Today, U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) issued the following statement after working with Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) to secure the support of the SEC and Big Ten on Friday evening for the Protect College Sports Act. Their support comes after weeks of negotiations between the senators and the major conferences.\n\n\u201cCollege sports are in complete chaos due to unlimited transfers, a lack of eligibility rules, and an unsustainable arms race that will mean fewer teams, scholarships, and opportunities for athletes. Over the past several months, and throughout this Congress, we\u2019ve worked extensively with athletes, coaches, and conferences to draft legislation that will protect college sports for future generations. I was proud to work with Senators Cruz and Cantwell to establish common-sense guardrails that protect opportunities for athletes, help universities generate new revenue, and bring stability to the NIL marketplace. I encourage my Senate colleagues to pass this bill immediately to ensure college sports can thrive for generations to come,\u201d said Senator Schmitt.\n\nSenator Schmitt is an original co-sponsor of the Protect College Sports Act.\n\nIn June, Schmitt discussed Congress\u2019 role in saving college sports andcheered the bill\u2019s passage out of the Senate Commerce Committee.\n\nRead more about Schmitt\u2019s work to address the issues facing college sportsHERE.\n\n###", 1, "2026-08-01T07:27:26Z", "2026-08-01T07:28:22Z"], ["https://jasonsmith.house.gov/2026/07/30/smith-visits-bjg-meat-co-in-carter-county/", "Smith Visits BJG Meat Co. in Carter County", "2026-07-30", "2026", "2026-07", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Jason Smith", "S001195", "jasonsmith.house.gov", "jasonsmith", "https://jasonsmith.house.gov/category/press_release/", "scraper", "GRANDIN, Mo. \u2013 Congressman Jason Smith (MO-08) visited BJG Meat Co. in Carter County this week where he met with owner Brad Goodman and toured the facility to discuss the company\u2019s meat processing work and hear about how the Working Families Tax Cuts, which Congressman Smith authored and spearheaded in Congress, is positively impacting their operations, as well as the effect of USDA regulations on small, family-owned processors.\n\nCongressman Smith said, \u201cBrad Goodman and his family have built something special here in Grandin \u2014 a business that puts Missouri-raised beef and pork on Missouri tables, while keeping hardworking Missourians on the payroll. From the cattle they process to the farmers and producers they work with every day, BJG Meat Co. is proof that southeast Missouri agriculture is thriving. Family operations like this know their business better than Washington ever will, and that is why I fought to deliver real tax relief for small businesses in the Working Families Tax Cuts to allow businesses like BJG Meat Co to grow their operations, keep more of their hard-earned money, and invest in their employees. I\u2019ll always look for ways to make it easier for processors to keep doing what they do best.\u201d\n\nBJG Meat Co. is a locally owned meat processing and retail company that has been based in Grandin for three years, with an additional retail location in Poplar Bluff. Between its processing operation and retail stores, BJG Meat Co. employs 15 people, and 99 percent of the products it sells are sourced right here in Missouri. In addition to custom processing for cattle and hogs and freezer meat bundles, BJG Meat Co.\u2019s Poplar Bluff storefront also features products from other Missouri vendors, including local honey, candles, soaps, and cutting boards. In just three years, BJG Meat Co. has become a go-to source for locally processed beef and pork in Carter County and across Southeast Missouri.\n\nAs a small business, BJG Meat Co. benefits directly from provisions in the Working Families Tax Cuts, including Section 199A\u2019s deduction for pass-through business income and 100 percent bonus depreciation, which allows the company to invest in the equipment it needs to keep processing cattle for local farmers and producers. These are exactly the kinds of investments Congressman Smith had in mind for small, family-owned businesses like BJG Meat Co. when he authored these provisions and fought to get them across the finish line. Additionally, like many small, USDA-inspected processors, BJG Meat Co. spoke with Congressman Smith about navigating federal requirements such as carcass stamping and limits on common ownership. As BJG Meat Co. continues to grow, Smith remains committed to cutting the federal red tape that makes it harder for processors like it to operate.", 1, "2026-07-31T07:49:23Z", "2026-07-31T07:50:48Z"], ["https://www.hawley.senate.gov/hawley-blumenthal-introduce-legislation-to-ban-bonuses-for-postal-service-leadership-until-mail-is-delivered-on-time/", "Hawley, Blumenthal Introduce Legislation to Ban Bonuses for Postal Service Leadership Until Mail Is Delivered on Time", "2026-07-30", "2026", "2026-07", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Josh Hawley", "H001089", "www.hawley.senate.gov", "hawley", "https://www.hawley.senate.gov/press-releases/page/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2014 U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Ct.) introduced the No Bonuses for Bad Service Act to prohibit United States Postal Service (USPS) leadership from receiving bonuses or additional compensation until mail service and delivery meet the standards that the American people deserve. The bill comes after Senator Hawley launched an investigation into USPS\u2019 failure to deliver Missourians\u2019 mail on time.\n\n\u201cWhile Missourians wait for their mail, some never even seeing it delivered, the Postmaster General and his team receive hefty bonuses. There is no reason postal service leadership should be lavishly compensated while they refuse to meet basic standards,\u201d said Senator Hawley. \u201cI am introducing the No Bonuses for Bad Service Act to ban bonuses for USPS leadership until every American can trust the postal service to deliver their mail on time.\u201d\n\n\u201cBonuses for failure make no sense. USPS leadership should not be receiving bonuses while thousands of people wait for mail that arrives late or is undelivered. The No Bonuses for Bad Service Act prioritizes the American people\u2014promoting accountability from USPS and setting the standard for mail service and delivery that Americans deserve,\u201d said Senator Blumenthal.\n\nThe No Bonuses for Bad Service Act would:\n\nProhibit the USPS Board of Governors from approving any additional compensation for the Postmaster General and Deputy Postmaster General for a fiscal year in which the Postal Service does not meet or exceed an on-time delivery rate of 95% for all market dominant mail products.\n\nRequire the Postal Service to submit its annual delivery rate report to the Postal Regulatory Commission.\n\nThe United States Postal Service (USPS) has posted staggering financial losses in recent years, including $25 billion over the last three fiscal years, more than $6 billion beyond USPS\u2019s own internal projections. At the same time, USPS has repeatedly raised postage rates on American households and businesses while consistently missing its own service standards. On-time delivery has continued to slip. Residents in rural areas wait weeks to receive mail. Recently in Missouri, a massive pile of undelivered mail was discovered in a vacant lot without explanation from the Postal Service. These delays and missing mail are becoming a real financial burden for those Americans who don\u2019t receive their bills or paychecks.\n\nDespite these failures, Postal Service executives have been rewarded with lavish bonuses. Over the past ten years, Postmasters General have received more than $2 million in additional compensation, even as delivery performance declined and the budget numbers got worse. During the last three years of Louis DeJoy\u2019s tenure alone, the Board of Governors approved more than $567,000 in additional bonus compensation. Postmaster General David Steiner, who assumed office just a year ago, has already pocketed a $170,000 bonus. Senator Hawley directly confronted Steiner about these bonuses in a recent committee hearing, and the Postmaster refused to forgo bonuses until the mail is delivered on time.\n\nRead more about Senator Hawley\u2019s ongoing investigation into the postal service here.\n\nWatch Senator Hawley\u2019s full exchange with Postmaster General Steiner here.", 1, "2026-07-31T07:49:23Z", "2026-07-31T07:50:48Z"], ["https://www.hawley.senate.gov/hawley-introduces-legislation-to-bar-federal-employees-from-accepting-or-soliciting-cash-prizes/", "Hawley Introduces Legislation to Bar Federal Employees from Accepting or Soliciting Cash Prizes", "2026-07-30", "2026", "2026-07", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Josh Hawley", "H001089", "www.hawley.senate.gov", "hawley", "https://www.hawley.senate.gov/press-releases/page/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2014 Today, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced the No Cash Prizes for Bureaucrats Act to remove all loopholes in existing law so that career federal bureaucrats like Dr. Fauci cannot abuse their government position to enrich themselves. Senator Hawley\u2019s legislation would prohibit federal employees from accepting or soliciting cash prizes while working for the government.\n\n\u201cNo federal bureaucrat should accept cash prizes while on the job. I am introducing legislation to bar federal employees from accepting cash prizes or soliciting awards,\u201d said Senator Hawley. \u201cAnthony Fauci got rich while millions of people died. It can never happen again.\u201d\n\nThe No Cash Prizes for Bureaucrats Act would:\n\nRemove existing loopholes to the general prohibitions against federal employees receiving lucrative financial awards for high honors in things like medicine and scientific research. This would ensure cash prizes like the ones Dr. Fauci received are prohibited.\n\nStrengthen the rule that NIH employees cannot use their position to solicit, induce, or coerce lucrative awards to enrich themselves.\n\nStrengthen the rule that NIH employees cannot use their official duty time or a subordinate\u2019s official duty time to solicit, induce, or coerce lucrative awards to enrich themselves.\n\nDuring an explosive committee hearing this week, Senator Hawley revealed Dr. Fauci was exploiting loopholes to enrich himself with cash prizes during the worst days of the COVID-19 pandemic. In one instance, Dr. Fauci received a check for $900,000. And publicly released records show that Dr. Fauci used at least 8 federal employees to apply for no fewer than 8 separate awards and prizes for himself while he was Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Emails show that Dr. Fauci\u2019s taxpayer-funded federal employees were working to get him ethics-approved to receive various cash awards\u2014and Dr. Fauci himself soliciting others to nominate him for awards.\n\nFederal law generally prohibits executive branch employees from \u201csolicit[ing] or accept[ing] anything of value,\u201d including cash awards. But there are broad exceptions and loopholes. At the National Institutes of Health, for example, the NIH Director can decide to approve the receipt of awards for bureaucrats. Senator Hawley\u2019s bill will ensure that Dr. Fauci\u2019s yearslong cash-prize cabal can never occur again.", 1, "2026-07-31T07:49:23Z", "2026-07-31T07:50:48Z"], ["https://alford.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1735", "Alford Secures F-15E Strike Eagle Mission in Historic Victory for Whiteman Air Force Base and the 442d Fighter Wing", "2026-07-29", "2026", "2026-07", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Mark Alford", "A000379", "alford.house.gov", "alford", "https://alford.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Over the past several years, Congressman Alford worked alongside community leaders, Airmen, military advocates, and Department of the Air Force leadership to advocate for a follow-on mission for Whiteman Air Force Base. His efforts includedengagement with senior Air Force officials, advocacy through the House Armed Services Committee, and continued support for maintaining a combat-ready fighter presence in Missouri.\n\nThe Department of the Air Force\u2019s decision supports its broader goal of increasing fighter capacity, modernizing the fighter force, and replacing aging aircraft with a capable and sustainable platform. The planned transition will bring 24 F-15E Strike Eagles to Whiteman Air Force Base, preserving a critical Air Force Reserve combat-coded fighter unit and the experience of the 442d Fighter Wing.\n\n\u201cThis decision saves the 442d,\u201d Alford said. \u201cIt saves countless jobs for our Airmen, our civilian workforce, and the surrounding communities. It keeps families here in Missouri. And, most importantly, it ensures the proud tradition of excellence at Whiteman Air Force Base continues.\u201d\n\nCongressman Alford also expressed hisgratitude to the leaders and Airmen across the Department of the Air Force who listened to the concerns of the community and worked toward a solution that preserves critical combat capability.\n\n\u201cI want to sincerely thank the leaders throughout the Department of the Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, Governor Kehoe for bringing this matter to President Trump's attention, Missouri's State Senators for their efforts, and the many Whiteman Air Force Base Airmen who took the time to give their concerns and help make this mission possible,\u201d Alford continued. \u201cThis outcome reflects what can happen when a community comes together, when our military leaders listen, and when we work toward a shared goal.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe men and women of the 442d Fighter Wing have proven for decades that they are among the finest Airmen in the world. Their professionalism, readiness, and dedication earned this opportunity. Missouri is proud of them, and we will continue standing behind them.\u201d\n\nThe AFRC F-15E basing action represents the recommended course of action for an economical, timely, and effective fighter replacement. The current plan anticipates aircraft arrival in Fiscal Year 2031, followed by the establishment of initial and full operational capability as the mission transitions forward.\n\n\u201cThis is a new chapter for Whiteman Air Force Base \u2014 but it is built on the same foundation of excellence that has defined the 442d for generations,\u201d Alford said. \u201cThe mission continues.\u201d", 1, "2026-07-30T07:32:48Z", "2026-07-30T07:34:08Z"], ["https://burlison.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-eric-burlison-releases-statement-president-trumps-uap-nda-directive", "Rep. Eric Burlison Releases Statement on President Trump's UAP NDA Directive", "2026-07-29", "2026", "2026-07", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Eric Burlison", "B001316", "burlison.house.gov", "burlison", "https://burlison.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 Congressman Eric Burlison (MO-07) today released the following statement regarding President Trump's directive waiving certain nondisclosure agreements for individuals with information related to unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP):\n\nIn light of President Trump directing the Department of War and the intelligence community to waive prior nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) signed by individuals who have relevant information regarding unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP), if you are a current or former government employee or contractor interested in taking advantage of this directive, I am offering my office\u2019s assistance in contacting and getting your information to any agency.\n\nPrincipal Deputy Director of National Intelligence Aaron Lukas has stated that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) will soon issue guidance to ensure that the intelligence community implements the president\u2019s directive. My office has requested to see the directive to understand how this process will work and to assist in facilitating whistleblowers\u2019 participation in a manner and at a pace that is comfortable for them.\n\nIndependent congressional oversight is a critical part of UAP disclosure, and we are uncertain whether the abrogation of NDAs will apply to testimony received by Congress before referral to the executive branch. Therefore, at this time, if you are thinking of speaking to the executive branch pursuant to this directive, I strongly recommend that, in addition to an attorney, you request that either I or another member of Congress be present with you.\n\nWaiving UAP-related NDAs is something I have been calling for the administration to do, and I hope to understand the procedures established by the president\u2019s directive soon and am calling on ODNI to issue its guidance publicly. In the meantime, my office will serve as a resource to begin shepherding qualified individuals through the process.", 1, "2026-07-30T07:32:48Z", "2026-07-30T07:34:08Z"], ["https://jasonsmith.house.gov/2026/07/29/smith-visits-current-river-packing/", "Smith Visits Current River Packing", "2026-07-29", "2026", "2026-07", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Jason Smith", "S001195", "jasonsmith.house.gov", "jasonsmith", "https://jasonsmith.house.gov/category/press_release/", "scraper", "DONIPHAN, Mo. \u2013 Congressman Jason Smith (MO-08) visited Current River Packing in Ripley County this week, where he toured the facility to discuss the company\u2019s growth and the impact of the Working Families Tax Cuts on small businesses in rural Missouri.\n\nCongressman Smith said, \u201cCurrent River Packing is a major facility in Ripley County, and their eggs will end up on tables all across this country. These families are building something from the ground up, and they\u2019re creating good-paying jobs and certainty for local families right here in Ripley County. That\u2019s the kind of investment rural Missouri deserves, and I\u2019ll keep fighting in Washington for the tax relief and regulatory reforms that let businesses like this one grow instead of just get by.\u201d\n\nCurrent River Packing is owned by the families of Ben Samons, Brock Ray, Sissy Gray, and Corey Kaczmarski. The facility will employee roughly 30 people, with plans to hire additional employees as they begin processing later this summer. Its grading machine can process 90,000 eggs per hour, and as the operation grows, Current River Packing is expected to strengthen competitive wages and stabilize jobs across the region.\n\nAs a growing small business, Current River Packing benefits directly from provisions in the Working Families Tax Cuts, which Congressman Smith authored. Permanent 100 percent bonus depreciation allows the company to immediately deduct the cost of new equipment as it expands operations, while the permanent small business deduction helps keep more money in the business to reinvest and create more jobs. Together, these provisions give small businesses like Current River Packing long-term certainty to invest and grow.", 1, "2026-07-30T07:32:48Z", "2026-07-30T07:34:08Z"], ["https://www.hawley.senate.gov/hawley-exposes-faucis-self-dealings-fauci-pleads-the-fifth/", "Hawley Exposes Fauci\u2019s Self-Dealings, Fauci Pleads the Fifth", "2026-07-29", "2026", "2026-07", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Josh Hawley", "H001089", "www.hawley.senate.gov", "hawley", "https://www.hawley.senate.gov/press-releases/page/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2014 Today, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) grilled Dr. Anthony Fauci in a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing over his self-dealings, pursuit of awards and cash prizes, and illegal use of federal employees and resources amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Fauci pled the Fifth each time, refusing to answer any of Senator Hawley\u2019s questions. Fauci even pled the Fifth when Senator Hawley asked what day of the week it was, what color his tie was, and what color the carpet in front of him was, proving he had no intention to answer questions in good faith.\n\nSenator Hawley began, \u201cLet\u2019s just get one thing straight: you don\u2019t have any rights under the Fifth Amendment because you\u2019ve been pardoned, as you very well know, as the Supreme Court has been clear for a century and more. Brown v. Walker, 1896. \u2018When he has been pardoned, he may not stand upon his privilege.\u2019 \u2026 I think I know why you\u2019re doing it. It\u2019s because you don\u2019t want to answer questions. It\u2019s because you did all kinds of terrible things. It\u2019s because during the pandemic you got rich, didn\u2019t you? You got rich while people were dying. Hundreds of thousands of Americans, over a million in the end, and you were getting rich. And not only were you doing that, you were using federal employees with taxpayer money to apply for and solicit cash prizes for you personally, cash prizes totaling over a million dollars. You did all of that during the pandemic, didn\u2019t you? That\u2019s a question.\u201d\n\nDr. Fauci refused to answer Senator Hawley\u2019s question, stating, \u201cOn the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou remember Greg Folkers, who was that? \u2026 Your chief of staff is the answer. Do you remember Patricia Conrad? Who was that?\u201d Hawley asked. \u201cShe was your personal assistant. And what were these individuals doing in the depth of the pandemic in November of 2020, when millions of Americans were suffering from COVID? What were they doing? I tell you what they\u2019re doing. Folkers was on your behalf, soliciting and gathering information for a cash award. Let\u2019s look at it. We\u2019ve got his email right here, right over my shoulder. Folkers says, \u2018I\u2019m working on this nomination for the Dan David Award for Fauci. We need to beef up the COVID part. Do you have language in the can that you could share that delineates how we responded in new ways to COVID?\u2019 He sends this to multiple federal employees. What was the Dan David Award? Do you remember, Doc?\u201d\n\nFauci again invoked the Fifth Amendment.\n\nSenator Hawley continued, \u201cIt was a $900,000 cash award. $900,000 cash award, and he got it because he used federal employees to get it. And this wasn\u2019t the only award, was it, Dr. Fauci? In fact, you applied for and received at least eight other federal cash prizes on federal time using federal employees and federal resources \u2026 You turned your staff into a full-time application machine.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe most hilarious part is that you weren\u2019t content to even dragoon them into applying for all of these cash awards. You then had them go out to the ethics agencies and ethics watchdogs, and demand that you be able to get the money. That\u2019s right. We\u2019ve got it in your emails. Your staff and employees on federal time, using federal resources, being paid with federal dollars, are soliciting cash for you, and then they\u2019re turning around and saying to the agency, \u2018We don\u2019t want just an answer. We want to get to yes because Fauci wants the money. He wants it. We want to get to yes, and yes takes time.\u2019 This is your chief of staff again using federal email to pressure the agency\u2019s own ethics people so that you can get money, so that you could get rich, and it violated the law, didn\u2019t it, Dr. Fauci?\u201d Hawley questioned.\n\nThe Senator received no answer from Fauci.\n\n\u201cFederal law, as you very well know, prohibits the solicitation of cash awards or other personal benefits for federal employees, and it certainly prohibits using your own employees to do this \u2026 It says it right there in black and white. You cannot use federal resources, federal dollars, federal employees, federal offices, federal email, federal time to solicit cash awards. And you did all of it. And the worst part is, thousands of people were dying while you were doing it. You were supposed to be the nation\u2019s doctor, and you\u2019re playing one on TV, but this is what you were doing with your time. Isn\u2019t that true?\u201d he interrogated.\n\nFauci parroted his invocation of the Fifth Amendment.\n\nSenator Hawley grilled Fauci, \u201cI can\u2019t quite figure out is that why you were so obsessed with it because you\u2019re already rich. I mean, and your scheme worked here. I mean, your net worth now is north of $12 million. You got over a million dollars in cash awards during COVID, during a 12-month, 24-month span during COVID. A million bucks you knocked down in cash money using federal resources. Now you\u2019re worth more than $12 million. You\u2019ve got a pension that, in its first year, paid out north of $400,000 a year. A million people dead. You\u2019re getting rich. A million people dead. You\u2019re using federal employees to get cash awards for you\u2014a million people dead\u2014and you\u2019re here taking the Fifth because you don\u2019t want to admit that what really happened in all that time was a multi-month, multi-year course of self-dealing. Isn\u2019t that true, Dr. Fauci?\u201d\n\nFauci once again refused to answer.\n\n\u201cSilence is admission. And here\u2019s the real thing: at the end of the day, it wasn\u2019t just about the money, really, was it? It was really about a power trip. I mean, through all of this, you want to be the most famous scientist in the world. You were so focused on getting every award and every drop of cash that you could, all because you wanted to be on TV. You wanted to be the sun god of science. You wanted to be the guy who was in charge of it all. You wanted to lambast Trump. You wanted to make sure that nobody else stole your spotlight \u2026 You could sit for InStyle magazine, but you\u2019re here taking the fifth. You could sit for InStyle magazine and get a million bucks in cash awards, but now the cat\u2019s got your tongue. I bet he does. I tell you what. Here\u2019s my conclusion from all of this: This was really all about you the whole time. Somewhere along the way, you lost your way. You may have been a good public servant at one time. I don\u2019t know, but I can tell you from reading your emails now, from looking at what you did, how you used your employees. Somewhere along the line, it became all about you. You became a narcissist and a megalomaniac and a liar, and you\u2019ve lied to the American people, and you\u2019ve lied to this body, and you\u2019ve disgraced your profession by doing it. You called yourself the most famous scientist in the world. You\u2019ve done more to harm science than anybody in my lifetime, and I hope you\u2019ll go home and write that in your diary,\u201dSenator Hawley concluded.", 1, "2026-07-30T07:32:48Z", "2026-07-30T07:34:08Z"], ["https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/schmitt-secures-major-victory-for-442d-fighter-wing-and-whiteman-air-force-base/", "Schmitt Secures Major Victory for 442d\u00a0Fighter Wing and Whiteman Air Force Base", "2026-07-29", "2026", "2026-07", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Eric Schmitt", "S001227", "www.schmitt.senate.gov", "schmitt", "https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/", "scraper", "U.S. SENATE \u2014 Today, U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, issued the following statement following news the U.S. Air Force would recapitalize the 442d Fighter Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base in Johnson County, Missouri. The announcement follows Senator Schmitt\u2019s advocacy to maintain the Fighter Wing, which has decades of proven combat experience and cost-effective operations.\n\n\u201cThis is a major victory for the 442d Fighter Wing, for Missouri, and for our national security. As one of the most historic and highly decorated Fighter Wings in our nation\u2019s history, it carries a storied history and a legacy that has become emblematic of America\u2019s military superiority. However, this legacy didn\u2019t come from nowhere\u2014it is built upon the expertise and knowledge of airmen and engineers who made the A-10 fighter aircraft fleet one of the most lethal in the world, driving countless counterterrorism operations and ensuring America\u2019s aerial dominance. Since my first days in the Senate, I\u2019ve been fighting for the future of this mission, and last year, I wrote to Secretary Hegseth urging him to recapitalize the 442d at Whiteman Air Force Base and ensure decades of combat and operational experience stay in Missouri while keeping our homeland safe. I am proud to see the 442d and the brave patriots who serve in it will continue to protect our skies and carry the legacy of our nation\u2019s heroes,\u201d said Senator Schmitt.\n\nIn August 2025, Schmitt sent a letter to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to reiterate the value of the 442d Fighter Wing. In the letter, Schmitt urged Secretary Hegseth to recapitalize the fighter mission.\n\n###", 1, "2026-07-30T07:32:48Z", "2026-07-30T07:34:08Z"]], "truncated": false, "filtered_table_rows_count": 12458, "expanded_columns": [], "expandable_columns": [], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "units": {}, "query": {"sql": "select url, title, date, year, month, party, chamber, state, member_name, bioguide_id, domain, scraper, source, date_source, text, has_text, collected_at, updated_at from releases where \"state\" = :p0 order by date desc limit 101", "params": {"p0": "MO"}}, "facet_results": {"party": {"name": "party", "type": "column", "hideable": false, "toggle_url": "/press/releases.json?state=MO", "results": [{"value": "Republican", "label": "Republican", "count": 7837, "toggle_url": 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