Press Releases
Senator Hawley Urges Commerce Committee to Adopt Enhanced Duck Boat Safety Measures in 2022 Coast Guard Reauthorization
Following new updates in the case of the tragic duck boat accident on Table Rock Lake in Branson, Mo., in 2018, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a new letter today to the Senate Commerce Committee highlighting the need to include enhanced duck boat safety measures in the 2022 Coast Guard reauthorization, which is currently pending in the committee. Sen. Hawley, who was Attorney General of Missouri at the time of the tragic duck boat accident on Table Rock Lake, has followed the issue extensively in the Senate. In addition to urging the Coast Guard to adopt updated NTSB safety recommendations for amphibious vessels, he led the Senate’s bipartisan passage of his “Duck Boat Safety Enhancement Act” in November 2020. “Since that time, the findings and...
Hawley Objects to Biden Nominee Over Administration’s Continued Foreign Policy Debacles
Today U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) objected to expediting the confirmation of a Biden Department of Defense nominee in a continued effort to demand more accountability amid the Biden administration’s foreign policy disasters. As Sen. Hawley said on the floor, not a single Administration official has been fired or held accountable for their role in the Afghanistan withdrawal disaster, which resulted in the loss of 13 American service members and hundreds or more Americans left behind Taliban lines. Sen. Hawley also called the Administration to account for its failures in Ukraine, demanding that the White House and Democratic colleagues provide Ukraine with more of the assistance President Volodymyr Zelensky has been urgently requesting, including MiG fighter...
Hawley Calls for Immediate Hearings on Biden’s Title 42 Rollback
Today U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) issued the following statement calling for the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee to hold immediate hearings on President Joe Biden's plan to rescind Title 42:
Hawley Rips Biden Admin over DHS Plans to Rescind Title 42, Allocate Veteran Resources to Illegal Immigrants
Today U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a new letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, expressing deep concern with the administration’s decision to rescind the Title 42 order amid an ongoing humanitarian crisis – with numbers surging – at the southern border. Senator Hawley also inquired about disturbing new reports that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has plans to divert resources from veterans to provide free services for illegal immigrants. “Rather than enforce our immigration laws, the Biden Administration has repeatedly changed existing policy to encourage, facilitate, and obscure illegal immigration. President Biden halted construction of the border wall, reinforced DACA, and limited ICE enforcement actions....
Democrats Block Hawley Bill to Get Tough on Child Sex Offenders
U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) went to the Senate Floor today to call for unanimous consent to pass his PROTECT Act of 2022, which protects children from sexual exploitation by enhancing the penalties for possessing child pornography and preventing judges from sentencing offenders below federal guidelines. Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) objected and blocked the bill from passing. Senator Hawley said, “Child sex trafficking is an exploding epidemic in my state, and around our country. Children are exploited, children are trafficked and those who work in this area, those who prosecute in this area, law enforcement who work day in and day out will tell you that the explosion of child pornography is helping to drive this exploding epidemic of child exploitation and child sex...
Senator Hawley Calls Out Liberal Lies, Opposes Judge Jackson’s Nomination
Today U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) delivered his closing statement in the Senate Judiciary Markup for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court nomination. In his closing statement, Senator Hawley reinforced his stance against Judge Jackson’s record for lenient sentencing for pedophiles, and continued to express his opposition to her nomination. Judge Jackson refused to respond when asked about her sentencing record in various child pornography cases during her confirmation hearings. Senator Hawley said, “We’ve heard in Judge Jackson’s defense, and I don’t know if it’s really much of a defense – I know she didn’t say these things – but in her defense, by the White House and members of this committee, we’ve been told things like ‘child pornography is actually all a...
Hawley Leads Bill to Protect Children, Toughen Sentences for Child Porn Offenders
U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced the PROTECT Act of 2022, which protects children from sexual exploitation by enhancing the penalties for possessing child pornography and by preventing judges from sentencing offenders below federal guidelines. The bill is co-sponsored by Senators Mike Lee (R-Utah), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.). Representative Ken Buck (CO-4) is introducing companion legislation in the House of Representatives. The epidemic of child pornography in the United States is growing exponentially. Just over a decade ago, the number of images of child sexual abuse material online was less than 1 million. That number grew to 45 million in 2018, and to 85 million in 2021. By federal statute, judges are required to sentence criminals within...
Hawley to Introduce Bill to Toughen Sentences for Child Porn Offenders
U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) announced today that he will introduce new legislation to toughen the sentences for child pornography offenders. Senator Hawley said, "This week I will introduce new legislation to get tough on child porn offenders. Dems, the White House & Judge Jackson spent last week saying sentences for child porn offenders are too harsh. They're wrong. Child porn & exploitation is exploding. It's time to protect our children". Last week, Senator Hawley questioned Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on her alarming record of lenient sentences for child porn offenders and imposing sentences well below federal guidelines and below what prosecutors requested.
WaPo: Child Porn Offender KBJ Sentenced To Just 3 Months Continued Searching Pictures of Children
At this week's Supreme Court hearings, U.S. Senator Hawley (R-Mo.) questioned Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson about her statements in U.S. v. Hawkins where she sentenced a child porn offender to just three months instead of the recommended eight to 10 years. After his release, he continued seeking out "sexually arousing" images of young children. The Washington Post reports: A person familiar with the Hawkins case read to The Post the probation office request that led to Jackson’s order. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity, because they were not authorized to publicly discuss it. The probation office petition did not allege that Hawkins committed any new sexual offense or violation of conditions. However, it stated that “despite being in treatment for more than...
Senator Hawley Questions Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson Over Troubling Record of Lenient Sentencing for Pedophiles
During the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination for U.S. Supreme Court today, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) focused his questioning on the alarming trend of lenient sentencing in child pornography cases that he first mentioned in a tweet thread last week and his opening comments yesterday. During his time, Sen. Hawley focused on Judge Jackson’s sentencing decision and comments during one of the seven child pornography cases he was concerned about, United States v. Hawkins, in which Judge Jackson sentenced the offender, age 18, to a significantly lower sentence than what the federal sentencing guidelines and prosecutor had recommended: just three months in prison.