WASHINGTON – Last week, Senator Eric Schmitt released a statement reflecting on his first year serving Missouri in the United States Senate:
“It has been an honor to serve the people of Missouri in my first year in the Senate. It’s been a busy year, from introducing my first bill to limiting the power of the federal government, to providing critical oversight on numerous federal agencies, to serving as a steward for taxpayer dollars and fighting for constituents. I’m proud of the work that I was able to do this year, but the job is far from over – I am excited to see what 2024 has in store and will continue to be a voice for all Missourians here in Washington,” said Senator Eric Schmitt.
BACKGROUND:
Legislation
- This year, Senator Schmitt introduced 11 pieces of legislation:
- The ERASER Act, which requires administrative agencies to repeal three regulations before enacting one new regulation
- The COLLUDE Act, which would strip big tech companies of their Section 230 protections if they work with the federal government to censor speech
- The Censorship Accountability Act, which would allow individual citizens to sue federal bureaucrats if they collude with big tech companies to censor their speech.
- The JETSET Act, which would require Secretary Buttigieg and senior Department of Transportation officials to take commercial airlines instead of private planes, saving taxpayer money.
- The Launch Communications Act, which would streamline spectrum access applications for commercial space launches. This bill passed the Senate in October of 2023.
- The WATCH Act, which would require foreign labs that are receiving federal funding to be held to the same standards as domestic labs.
- The Military Career Support Services Act, which would expand eligibility for reimbursement of qualified licensure, certification, and business relocation costs incurred by military spouses. Language from this bill was included in the final version of the NDAA.
- The Abolish DEI in Government Act, which would eliminate dozens and dozens of DEI offices in agencies across the federal government.
- The End COVID Tyranny Act, which would ban masks in federal head start programs, require Congressional approval for the CDC and NIH directors, and more.
- The Stop Woke Investing Act, which would cut down on woke investing by reforming the proxy system.
- The No Tax Dollars for the United Nations Climate Agenda Act, which would prohibit taxpayer funds from being deposited in the UN’s Green Climate Fund.
Committee Work
- Combined, with SASC, Commerce, and the Joint Economic Committee, Senator Schmitt participated in 54 hearings this year, where he pressed consequential witnesses on a number of topics, including:
- Our preparedness and lethality when it comes to facing down our global adversary China
- Potential threats of Chinese AI technology
- Divisive DEI and its impact on the recruiting challenges that the military has faced
- Secretary Buttiegieg’s failed leadership in addressing our nation’s challenged air travel system, including the crashed NOTAM system, while instead focusing on woke DEI initiatives
- The Biden Administration’s extreme climate agenda and its harmful effect on expanding broadband in Rural Missouri
- The importance of empowering the U.S. commercial space industry through regulatory reform and streamlining regulations in order to beat China in the 21st Century space race.
- The impacts of the failures of Bidenomics on Missourians and Americans who are just struggling to get by
- Wasteful spending by the Pentagon
- The East Palestine train derailment, and getting answers on safety investigations from transportation authorities
National Defense Authorization Act
- On the National Defense Authorization Act, Senator Schmitt secured numerous important provisions that enact conservative reforms, root out divisive DEI programs in the military, harden our cyber defenses, improve quality of life for active-duty military members and their families, and refocus the military on lethality and preparedness to compete with our greatest global adversary, China. Here’s what some of those amendments do:
- Prohibits the establishment of new DEI positions in the DoD and freezes hiring of all existing DEI positions until the completion of the GAO study
- Caps the pay and benefits level for DEI administrators
- Limits DoD from procuring censorship or blacklisting services that often unfairly target conservative outlets
- Expands eligibility for reimbursement for business expense reimbursement to military spouses who are moving between assignments (Military Spouse Career Support Act)
- Requires a report to ensure DoD is sufficiently fostering competition and innovation among the cybersecurity vendors they use to protect DoD networks
- The NDAA also included critical investments in Missouri’s military installations, including Whiteman Air Force Base, Rosecrans Air National Guard Base, Boeing, Fort Leonard Wood, and more.
Constituent Services
- Senator Schmitt’s constituent services team did countless hours of work on behalf of Missourians this year, and worked to help stranded Missourians in Israel, fought to get important paperwork and benefits from the VA on behalf of veterans, aided individuals with issues with the IRS and Social Security Administration, and held the State Department’s feet to the fire on unconscionable passport delays. In all, his constituent services team:
- Returned over $1 million to Missourians through casework efforts
- Resolved over 1,400 constituent requests
- Helped 80 Missourians return home from Israel
- Aided 330 Missourians in receiving their passports in time for their travel plans
Other Work
- Demanded answers on the Chinese spy balloon that traversed the continental United States.
- Defended Missouri farmers and ranchers by voting on a disapproval resolution to block Biden’s overreaching WOTUS rule.
- Pressed Secretary of State Blinken over State Department’s passport processing backlog.
- Questioned witnesses on China’s AI capabilities and slammed Google’s departure from the Department of Defense’s Project Maven despite still operating an AI research center in Beijing.
- Joined effort aimed at reversing the Biden Administration’s outrageous proposal to subsidize high-risk borrowers.
- Led bipartisan coalition demanding answers regarding China’s hack of state department email server which led to a State Department briefing on the matter.
- Led letter requesting extensive reform at CDC.
- Repeatedly led the call for individual votes on funding bills and foreign aid request in Senate floor speeches and votes.
- Hosted farm bill roundtable, toured local Missouri farm, listened to Farm Bill priorities from commodity groups and farmers and ranchers.
- Pressed for information and a briefing regarding damage to Baltic Sea Gas pipeline caused by Chinese shipping vessel.
- Demanded answers from the FCC Chairwoman regarding her attempt to reinstate net neutrality rules.
- Led call for answers regarding Treasury Department’s “hoarding rule” relating to COVID recovery funds.