Press Releases
Chairman Hawley Invites CEOs of Flock, Competitors to Testify Next Week
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) invited the CEOs of four surveillance companies, including Flock Safety, to testify before Senator Hawley's Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism on September 23, 2026, in a hearing entitled "Always Watching: Flock's Nationwide AI Surveillance Network." 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. Senator Hawley has invited the following CEOs to testify: Garrett Langley | Flock SafetyRick Smith | Axon EnterpriseGreg Brown | Motorola SolutionsFilip Kaliszan | Verkada Senator Hawley's concern led him to...
Hawley Introduces Legislation to Strip Opportunity Zone Tax Breaks for Data Centers
WASHINGTON -- 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. The Opportunity Zone program, originally enacted by Congress in 2017, provides eligible taxpayers substantial tax breaks for qualifying investments in low-income communities.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—permitting Big Tech companies to qualify for tax incentives that were not intended for them. This legislation follows...
Hawley Unveils Declaration for Life with Christian Leaders
WASHINGTON -- 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. Together 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, "This Declaration for...
Chairman Hawley Launches Investigation into OpenAI for Hacking, Existential Risk of AI Products
WASHINGTON -- 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’ hack of Hugging Face in July 2026. The investigation will also probe the existential risk of new AI products. In a letter to CEO Sam Altman, Senator Hawley wrote, "As Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security’s Subcommittee on Disaster Management, I am investigating your AI agents’ 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." He continued, "As you may know, in the...
Hawley Expands Investigation into Surveillance Cameras, Warns Flock Competitors
WASHINGTON -- 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' collection and use of citizens' personal data. Senator Hawley previously sent a letter to Flock regarding its use of AI surveillance cameras. Senator Hawley wrote, "As Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, I am investigating your company’s 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...
Hawley Presses Postmaster General to Answer for Bonus Payments, Poor Service During St. Louis Visit
WASHINGTON -- Today, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) released the following statement on Postmaster David Steiner’s 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. “Missourians have suffered poor mail service for years and it’s grossly unacceptable. They deserve answers,” said Senator Hawley. “Instead 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.”The statement comes after Senator Hawley launched a...
Hawley Op-Ed: Why I Am Investigating Flock
WASHINGTON -- 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's collection of citizens' data and personal information poses privacy threats and potentially violates existing laws. Read the full op-ed here or below. Every 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...
Chairman Hawley Investigates AI-Powered Flock Cameras Amidst Privacy Concerns
WASHINGTON -- Today, as Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) launched an investigation into Flock Safety's 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' data. The investigation is the latest initiative in Hawley's 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. "As Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, I am...
Hawley, Durbin Launch Investigation into Child Sexual Abuse on Roblox
WASHINGTON -- 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. They began, "We write to inform you that the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism has opened an...
Hawley, Banks, Tuberville File Amendment to Protect State Laws Banning Men in Women’s Sports
WASHINGTON -- 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's sports. The amendment will provide a guarantee that state laws on the books that ban biological men in women’s sports are fully protected. Senators Jim Banks and Tommy Tuberville joined Hawley in filing the amendment. "Biological men should never be allowed in women's sports or women's locker rooms," said Senator Hawley. "We've got to make sure state laws protecting women stand." “Indiana has one of the strongest laws in the country that keeps biological men from competing in women’s sports. As the father of three...