Press Releases
Hawley, Braun Bill Requiring Biden to Declassify Wuhan Lab Leak Intelligence Unanimously Passes Senate for Second Time
Tonight the United States Senate unanimously passed U.S. Senator Josh Hawley’s (R-Mo.) bill, the COVID Origins Act of 2023, to require the Biden administration to declassify intelligence related to any potential links between the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) and the origins of the Covid pandemic. The bill is cosponsored by Senators Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), and Rick Scott (R-Fla.). Senators Hawley and Braun announced the COVID Origins Act of 2023 on Monday. Senators Hawley and Braun previously introduced the COVID Origins Act of 2021 which passed the Senate unanimously. In March 2020, Senator Hawley was the first member of Congress to call for an international...
Hawley Introduces New Bill to Create Special Inspector General for Ukraine Assistance
Today U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and JD Vance (R-Ohio) introduced the Special Inspector General for Ukraine Assistance Act to establish a Special Inspector General to oversee the military and non-military assistance to Ukraine. The United States has appropriated $113 billion in aid to Ukraine – more than the contributions made by all European NATO allies combined. "The United States has been sending endless money to Ukraine despite a lack of oversight and without putting any pressure on our European allies to do the same. It is far past time U.S. lawmakers stop writing blank-checks to Ukraine and demand a strict accounting of where these tax dollars are actually going," said Senator Hawley. The Special Inspector General for Ukraine Assistance...
Hawley Demands Answers from Department of Energy on COVID Lab Leak Conclusion, Ties to China
U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Jennifer Granholm calling for answers on DOE's conclusion that COVID originated from a lab leak. "If the United States government has new reason to believe that COVID-19 was the result of a lab leak, we must immediately pressure China to be transparent about its role in the origins of the pandemic—and hold China accountable. After everything Americans have gone through, they are entitled to answers about how COVID-19 emerged and what the United States government knows about it,"wrote Senator Hawley. This week, Senator Hawley reintroduced legislation requiring the Biden administration to declassify intelligence related to any potential links between...
Hawley, Risch Introduce Bill to Secure Pro-Life Pregnancy Centers Amid Uptick in Violence
This week U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) joined a bill led by Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho) – the Pregnancy Center Security Act – to enhance security for pro-life pregnancy centers and to protect staff and patients from violence and extremism. The legislation will establish a grant program for pregnancy-help organizations to implement security upgrades, including the installation of security cameras and systems. Following the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the U.S. has seen a dangerous uptick in violence against pro-life pregnancy centers, organizations, and churches. In Pocatello, Idaho, Compassion & Hope Pregnancy Center was vandalized. “Since the illegal leak of the Dobbs decision last year, radical pro-abortion extremists have ramped up...
Hawley, Vance, Brown, and Colleagues Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Improve Rail Safety
U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) joined Senators JD Vance (R-Ohio), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), and John Fetterman (D-Pa.) to introduce new legislation to improve the safety of the nation’s rail system following the train derailment that devastated the community in East Palestine, Ohio. The Railway Safety Act of 2023 would improve rail safety protocols, establish new safety requirements for trains carrying hazardous materials, mitigate derailment risk with rules for train weight and size, increase fines for wrongdoing committed by rail carriers, and more. “What happened in East Palestine was a horrific tragedy," said Senator Hawley. "The safety regulations governing our nation’s railroads must be updated to ensure that a...
Hawley Demands Biden Administration Take Immediate Action on Jana Elementary School Cleanup
Today U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to President Joe Biden slamming the Biden administration for its lack of action on the Jana Elementary School cleanup, expressing his intent to hold all nominees to positions at the Department of Energy until the issue is resolved. "The lack of urgency from your Administration is outrageous. Children and parents in my state have had their lives upended by the closure of this elementary school,"wrote Senator Hawley. "These families may not be from wealthy New York suburbs or the Bay Area—and they may not be your party’s donors—but they are just as important as any American family and deserve the same attention from your Administration. I will wait no longer. Until these children get the help they deserve, I will hold all...
Hawley Grills Garland for DOJ Attacks on People of Faith, Mar-a-Lago Raid
Today in the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) slammed Attorney General Merrick Garland for his lack of accountability regarding the Justice Department's targeting and subsequent arrests of people of faith, particularly Catholics. Senator Hawley pressed Garland on the arrest of pro-life activist Mark Houck, including the aggressive measures taken to arrest Houck despite his previous offers to cooperate. "You are the Attorney General of the United States," said Senator Hawley. "You are in charge of the Justice Department, and yes sir, you are responsible." "You used an unbelievable show of force with guns, that I just note, liberals usually decry," he continued. "We're supposed to hate long guns and assault-style weapons. You're happy...
Hawley Announces Legislation to Take Back Personal Data from Big Tech
Today U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) announced new legislation giving users the right to take back all of their personal information from social media companies. Senator Hawley’s announcement follows news of a new online tool, Take it Down, that aims to give control to users to take down explicit images and videos of themselves from the internet. The tool is reportedly operated by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and funded in part by Meta.
Hawley Introduces Bill Requiring Big Tech Companies Give Children’s Data Back to Parents
Today U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced the Parental Data Rights Act, new legislation that would require Big Tech companies to give parents control over their children’s data and hold accountable companies that fail to comply. Senator Hawley’s legislation follows news of a new online tool, Take it Down, that aims to give control to users to remove explicit images and videos of themselves as children from the internet. The tool is reportedly operated by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and funded in part by Meta. Senator Hawley's Parental Data Rights Act goes even further and requires tech companies to give parents control of the entirety of their children’s data. "Today’s social media landscape is an increasingly dangerous...
Hawley and Braun Reintroduce Bill Requiring Biden to Declassify Wuhan Lab Leak Intelligence
Today U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Mike Braun (R-Ind.) reintroduced the COVID-19 Origin Act of 2023, requiring the Biden administration to declassify intelligence related to any potential links between the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) and the origins of the Covid pandemic. The Department of Energy recently concluded that the COVID-19 pandemic most likely arose from a lab leak, according to a classified intelligence report provided to the White House and certain members of Congress. "For nearly three years, anyone asking whether COVID-19 originated as a lab leak outbreak was silenced and branded as a conspiracy theorist. Now these prudent skeptics stand vindicated. The Biden administration must immediately declassify all intelligence reports pertaining to the...