Press Releases
Sens. Hawley, Cruz Call for Ban on U.S. Officials Using Tencent, Huawei, ZTE, Other Chinese Communist Party-Backed Platforms
U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) joined Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in introducing the Countering Chinese Attempts at Snooping Act (CCAS) to prohibit U.S. federal employees from conducting official business on platforms run by Tencent, Huawei, ZTE, and other companies the State Department determines cooperate with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In light of the United Nations’ (UN) recent consideration of a partnership with Tencent, the CCAS Act also ensures U.S. taxpayer dollars are not used to fund UN contracts with any such companies.
Senators Hawley, Baldwin Ask FTC to Open Antitrust Investigation into Meatpackers Amid Plant Closures
U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to open an antitrust investigation into the meatpacking industry. The industry is currently dominated by just a handful of large, multinational firms that have concentrated meat processing into fewer and fewer facilities, leaving America’s food supply chain vulnerable to disruptions.
Senator Hawley Requests Criminal Antitrust Investigation of Amazon
Today U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to Attorney General William Barr requesting the Department of Justice (DOJ) open a criminal antitrust investigation of Amazon. Recent reporting has revealed that Amazon uses its position as an online platform to stifle competition by collecting detailed data on merchandise in order to create rival products under its own brand. “Abusing one’s position as a marketplace platform to create copycat products always is bad, but it is especially concerning now. Thousands of small businesses have been forced to suspend in-store retail and instead rely on Amazon because of shutdowns related to the coronavirus pandemic. Amazon’s reported data practices are an existential threat that may prevent these businesses from ever recovering.”
Sen. Hawley Writes to Treasury, SBA: Don’t Let Wall Street Greed Undermine Small Biz Loan Program
U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Jovita Carranza asking they conduct rigorous oversight of the implementation of the Paycheck Protection Program. In the letter Senator Hawley condemns big banks who offered wealthy clients VIP treatment, fast-tracking their applications at the expense of other small businesses who may have applied first.
Hawley, Blunt Urge Administration to Ensure Smaller Colleges & Universities With Work-Study Programs Are Eligible for CARES Act Funding
“It has been brought to our attention that federal work-study students are counted in some cases as employees for purposes of PPP. While the CARES Act defines the term ‘employee’ to include ‘individuals employed on a full-time, part-time, or other basis,’ congressional intent is to stabilize small businesses and non-profits in order to incentivize keeping employees on their employers’ payroll. This purpose is distinct from that of the federal work-study program, and including those students in the PPP employee count is not congressional intent,” the senators wrote. “Please use your statutory authority to ensure that institutions of higher education with less than 500 full time employees can use the resources Congress provided to them to weather the coronavirus pandemic. In our state, many of these institutions are faith-based colleges and universities, and they are vital to the Missouri economy.”
Senator Hawley Announces Bill to Ban Universities from Relief Funds Until Endowments Tapped
Today U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) announced legislation to prohibit universities from receiving Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds from the CARES Act if they have an endowment larger than $10 billion, unless they first spend some of their own money on coronavirus-related financial assistance for students. Under the proposal, universities with over $10 billion in endowments would have to spend 10 times the amount appropriated to them according to the formula in the CARES Act to be eligible for federal relief funds. The university would have to demonstrate it spent the money on the same uses of funds required by the CARES Act – emergency financial aid grants to students to cover costs like food, housing, healthcare and childcare, and costs related to the disruption to the...
Senator Hawley Calls on Google, Apple CEOs to Commit to be Personally Liable for Protecting Privacy in COVID-19 Response
“If you seek to assure the public, make your stake in this project personal. Make a commitment that you and other executives will be personally liable if you stop protecting privacy, such as by granting advertising companies access to the interface once the pandemic is over. The public statements you make now can be enforced under federal and state consumer protection laws. Do not hide behind a corporate shield like so many privacy offenders have before. Stake your personal finances on the security of this project,” said Senator Josh Hawley.
Senator Hawley Urges USDA Secretary Perdue to Establish Emergency Farm-to-Food-Bank Program
Following reports of farmers destroying healthy produce due to cratering demand from restaurants and other large buyers, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue calling for immediate funding of a farm-to-food-bank program to get food to those in urgent need.
Art Laffer Endorses Senator Hawley’s Plan to Rehire America
Today member of President Trump’s economic recovery task force and former economic adviser to President Reagan Art Laffer endorsed U.S. Senator Josh Hawley’s (R-Mo.) plan to rehire workers now and keep them on payroll throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
Senator Hawley, Colleagues Call for Financial Security for Rural Communities in Midst of COVID-19 Crisis
Today U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) joined a bipartisan group of senators on a letter calling for the Senate to finally provide much-needed financial certainty during the coronavirus pandemic for rural communities to ensure long-term funding needed for essential services. In a letter addressed to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the senators pushed for, "a long-term solution for the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act (SRS) and Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) programs at the next possible opportunity." "The stop and start authorizations and payments under SRS and PILT have wreaked havoc on rural America for decades, and now, with the COVID-19 pandemic, the budgets of these rural...