Senator Schmitt Recaps Second Year in Senate

WASHINGTON – Today, Senator Eric Schmitt released a statement reflecting on his second year serving Missouri in the United States Senate. 

“It has been an honor to serve the people of Missouri in the United States Senate for the past two years. I’m proud of everything we were able to accomplish this year, from introducing and passing critical bills to traveling the state to hear from Missourians. But the job is far from over – with President-Elect Trump and Republicans set to take control of Washington next year, I am excited to see what 2025 has in store and I will continue to be a voice for all Missourians here in Washington,” said Senator Eric Schmitt.  

BACKGROUND

Legislation

• This year, Senator Schmitt introduced 14 pieces of legislation:

• The Taiwan and America Space Assistance Act of 2024, which helps address current gaps in our nation’s ability to further cooperate with and support Taiwan’s efforts in space.
• The Commercial Standards Paramount to Accelerating Cosmic Exploration (SPACE) Leadership Act, which would provide a critical extension of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) learning period to ensure the commercial space industry can continue to develop, while pausing onerous regulations for five years.
• The Think Differently Database Act, which would direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to create a comprehensive website that provides much-needed resources to benefit those with intellectual disabilities.
• The Bipartisan ENABLE Act, which would allow people with disabilities and their families to save and invest through tax-free savings accounts while protecting eligibility to federal programs like Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). This bill passed the Senate in September of this year. 
• The Table Rock Lake Property Protection Act, which requires the Army Corps of Engineers to honor their long-held commitments with landowners residing along Table Rock Lake. This legislation was included in the Water Resources Development Act of 2024, which passed the Senate earlier this week.
• The Protecting Higher Education from the Chinese Communist Party Act, which bans members of the Chinese Communist Party and their relatives from receiving student visas to American universities.
• The Transparency in Bureaucratic Communications Act, which instructs Inspectors General to report agencies’ censorship efforts to Congress.
• The Bipartisan Protecting AI and Cloud Competition in Defense Act, which ensures that the Department of Defense (DOD)’s procurement of artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing tools prioritizes resiliency and competition.
• The Bipartisan National Plan for Epilepsy, to encourage the development of safe and effective treatments, strategies, and other approaches to prevent, diagnose, treat, and cure epilepsy or to enhance functioning and improve quality of life for individuals with epilepsy and their caregivers.
• The Separation of Powers Restoration Act, which places a de novo standard of review within the Administrative Procedure Act, ending unconstitutional executive deference standards once and for all. Under this de novo standard of review, the courts will consider the merits of future arguments without a deference standard to either side, placing American citizens and businesses—either caught on the wrong side of a regulatory enforcement action or challenging the validity of agency action—on an equal footing in court with an administrative agency.
• The National Geospatial Innovation Hub Advancement Act, which would assess the feasibility of establishing a program to develop a skilled workforce in geospatial technologies, methodologies, and capabilities to support the defense intelligence requirements of the Department of Defense. The pilot program could potentially be housed at NGA West in St. Louis. 
• The Bicameral Gateway Partnership Act, which would allow the Gateway Arch National Park to enter into a cooperative agreement with their philanthropic partner, the Gateway Arch Park Foundation, to better manage and host private events for the broader St. Louis community.
• The Defense Technology Reporting Parity Act, which ensures that companies doing business with the Department of Defense that also have business activities in the People’s Republic of China report that same information to their U.S.-based arm as their PRC arm reports to the Chinese Communist Party.
• A Congressional Review Act aimed toward the Treasury’s continued abuse of COVID-19 recovery funds. This disapproval resolution under the Congressional Review Act calls out Treasury for misuse of COVID recovery dollars, and the Department’s redefining of the original intention of Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF).

Legislation Signed into Law

• The bipartisan Launch Communications Act, which would streamline spectrum access applications for commercial space launches. President Biden signed this legislation in September. This is Senator Schmitt’s first ever bill to be signed into law, and he is the only Senate freshman to have a bill signed into law this Congress.

Legislation That Passed the Senate

• The FDA Modernization Act 3.0, which will direct the FDA to finally implement the FDA Modernization Act 2.0 (FDAMA 2.0), legislation passed by Congress to modernize drug testing protocols and improve patient outcomes. 
• The Bipartisan ENABLE Act, which would allow people with disabilities and their families to save and invest through tax-free savings accounts while protecting eligibility to federal programs like Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). This bill passed the Senate in September of this year. 

• The Think Differently Database Act, which would direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to create a comprehensive website that provides much-needed resources to benefit those with intellectual disabilities.

Committee Work

Combined, with Armed Services, Commerce, and the Joint Economic Committees, Senator Schmitt participated in several hearings this year, where he pressed consequential witnesses on several topics, including:

• American preparedness and lethality when it comes to confronting global adversaries like China: 

• Received a briefing on the Chinese Coast Guard’s actions in the Second Thomas Shoal in the Philippines because of a letter sent Mar. 5.
• Demanded answers from Secretary of State Blinken pushing for Hawaii to be included in NATO’s Article 5 protections. 
• Potential threats regarding Chinese AI technology and cybersecurity attacks: 

• Sent a letter highlighting TikTok providing instructions for Chinese migrants illegally entering the U.S. at the open Southern border. 
• Wrote a letter with Senator Wyden calling for DoD to halt expansion of the rollout of Microsoft E5.
• After a botched CrowdStrike update caused nationwide outages, Senator Schmitt called for a briefing on DoD impacts.
• Led 9 other Senators in a bipartisan oversight letter calling for CSRB investigation into the Salt Typhoon hacks. 
• Demanded answers from the Department of Defense regarding concerns around Salt Typhoon and the Department’s Spiral 4 Contract.
• Defending America’s borders
• Sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Austin pushing to stop the fire sale of border wall materials. 
• Empowering the U.S. commercial space industry through regulatory reform and streamlining regulations to beat China in the 21st century space race
  • The bipartisan Launch Communications Act, which would streamline spectrum access applications for commercial space launches. President Biden signed this legislation in September. This is Senator Schmitt’s first ever bill to be signed into law, and he is the only Senate freshman to have a bill signed into law this Congress.

Dismantling the Administrative State and Standing Up Against the Biden Administration’s Regulatory Regime in the Post-Chevron Era 

Following the Supreme Court’s overturning of the Chevron doctrine this past June, Senator Schmitt formed an official “working group” that regularly met to discuss how to gauge the significant decision in Loper Bright, how to best limit the administrative state’s unchecked power, and how the Senate can more effectively legislate on matters that normally would’ve been left up to agency deference in a pre-Chevon era.

• These important efforts include the filing of the Separation of Powers Restoration Act. This act places a de novo standard of review within the Administrative Procedure Act, ending unconstitutional executive deference standards once and for all. Under this de novo standard of review, the courts will consider the merits of future arguments without a deference standard to either side, placing American citizens and businesses—either caught on the wrong side of a regulatory enforcement action or challenging the validity of agency action—on an equal footing in court with an administrative agency. In addition, the working group surveyed every administrative agency to determine how those agencies prepared and how they have reacted to the Loper Bright ruling. 

National Defense Authorization Act

On the National Defense Authorization Act, Senator Schmitt secured important provisions that enact conservative reforms, root out divisive DEI military programs, harden our cyber defenses, improve quality of life for active-duty military members and their families, and enforce the military’s lethality and preparedness to compete against China, our greatest geopolitical adversary. 

Among the amendments that Senator Schmitt fought for, which have been included in this year’s NDAA:

• Rip & Replace—Secure and Trusted Networks Reimbursement Program: After years of delay, the Rip and Replace Program has been fully funded, offset by auction proceeds from the FCC-initiated spectrum auction of the AWS-3 spectrum band. In doing so, we can finally rid American networks of harmful Chinese telecom equipment, address a critical weak point in our telecommunications networks, and better safeguard American privacy and security at little to no cost to the taxpayer.
• Missouri S&T Critical Hybrid Advanced Minerals Processing: Provides over $2 million in funding for Missouri S&T’s continued research and development in the critical minerals sector. As international demand for advanced batteries takes off, this will help position Missouri at the forefront of the industry. 
• DEI Hiring Freeze Extension: 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
• Geospatial Workforce Pilot Program: Establishes Geospatial Workforce Pilot Program to assess the feasibility and viability of creating a program to develop a skilled workforce in geospatial technologies, methodologies, and capabilities to support the defense intelligence requirements of the Department of Defense.
• Inclusion of the Defense Technology Reporting Parity Act, which ensures that companies doing business with the Department of Defense that also have business activities in the People’s Republic of China report that same information to their U.S.-based arm as their PRC arm reports to the Chinese Communist Party.
• Learning Period Extension. This amendment extends the moratorium on the FAA’s ability to regulate commercial human spaceflight for an additional three years, delaying stifling regulations from being levied on the growing commercial space sector, which has national security applications. Extending the learning period will allow the commercial space industry to continue to innovate under the current informed consent structure and give the FAA more time to construct eventual regulations that better reflect the needs and capabilities of the industry.
• Service Members Are Ready to Save (SMART Save) Act. This provision will improve DoD’s financial literacy training to ensure that servicemembers transitioning out of the military have the tools to succeed in their next steps.
• Returning Cyber Purchasing Authorities to DoD Components to Combat Monoculture and Encourage Competition. This amendment amends portions of Sec. 1521 of the FY 22 NDAA, which provided centralized decision-making authority to DoD-CIO regarding cybersecurity services. DoD-CIO has used this authority to create a one-size-fits all approach to all DoD components, causing serious concerns related to risk concentration. The amendment returns decision-making power back to DoD components, so they can adopt tailored cybersecurity approaches based on the threats they face. 
• The National Geospatial Innovation Hub Advancement Act, which would assess the feasibility of establishing a program to develop a skilled workforce in geospatial technologies, methodologies, and capabilities to support the defense intelligence requirements of the Department of Defense. The pilot program could potentially be housed at NGA West in St. Louis. 
• Report to Congress on Efforts to Share Unclassified Geospatial Data with Academic Researchers: In support of the Taylor Geospatial Institute and its consortium of universities and researchers, this provision will help find a pathway for the Department of Defense and NGA to declassify data for academic use.

The NDAA also includes critical investments in Missouri’s military installations, including Whiteman Air Force Base, Fort Leonard Wood, Kansas City National Security Campus, and more. 

• Additionally, Senator Schmitt fought for funding for Missouri’s military installations and assets, including:
  • $120,000,000 for the Advanced Individual Training Barracks at Fort Leonard Wood
  • $41,500,000 for B61-12 and B61-13 national stockpile modernization programs at Kansas City National Security Campus
  • $19,500,000 for Whiteman Air Force Base
  • $69,091,000 for M-SHORAD produced in Missouri by Leonardo DRS
  • Boeing St. Louis:
    • $2,703,471,000 for F-15 EX procurement
    • $28,554,000 for F/A-18 procurement
    • $553, 027,000 for MQ-25 Stingray procurement
    • $235,207,000 for T-7 procurement

Constituent Services

The Constituent Services team worked tirelessly to aid Missourians on a number of issues, including federal agency assistance and academy nominations. In total, the constituent services team:

• Closed over 1,800 cases.
• Saved Missourians over $3 million.

Other Work

• The Committee on Foreign Investments in the US (CFIUS) in September voted to include real estate transactions adjacent to Whiteman Air Force Base on a list of protected land from foreign investment and ownership.
  • CFIUS’ actions came after Senator Schmitt and Representative Alford wrote a letter to the Department of Treasury Assistant Secretary last year for Investment Security requesting Whiteman AFB be added to the list of protected military installations.
• Applauded USAF Approval of Whiteman Air Force Base as Second Operating Base for B-21 Raider, the eventual replacement for the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber.
  • Senator Schmitt visited Whiteman Air Force Base in August 2023 to discuss how he could use his position on the Senate Armed Services Committee to best position Whiteman to be MOB 2 for the B-21.
  • Senator Schmitt also was proud to support the committee mark for the FY 24 and FY 25 NDAA, which included billions of dollars for the B-21 bomber, the world’s most advanced military aircraft and first operational six-generation aircraft. 
• Demanded answers from Google and Meta on their practices of suppressing free speech, particularly ahead of the 2024 elections.
• Toured National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and Boeing Facilities in St. Louis with incoming Senate Armed Services Committee chair Roger Wicker (R-MS), hosting a Defense Supplier Roundtable.
• Hosted a roundtable with industry leaders in geospatial technologies on how to transform St. Louis into the geospatial hub of the country. 
• Demanded answers regarding the Biden administration’s covert attempts to impose rate regulation on broadband providers through BEAD funding.
• Joined other Senators in opposing the FCC’s unconstitutional proposal to regulate political speech.
• Joined Senator Vance and other Senate Colleagues on Sweeping Hold of Biden Judicial Nominees.
• Demanded answers from Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona regarding the Department’s delays in approving student loan applications and its failure to properly implement the FAFSA Simplification Act.
• Introduced an amendment to block the NTIA’s $337 million “algorithmic justice” bureaucracy, ensuring taxpayer dollars are not wasted on “woke” AI initiatives.
• Secured significant wins in the FAA Reauthorization Bill, including increased funding for Missouri airports and provisions to address air traffic controller shortages and safety concerns. This legislation also enhances aviation safety with updated cockpit recordings and improved runway technologies. These advancements ensure safer travel and economic growth for Missourians who rely on these airports.
• Secured critical federal funding for improvements at Lambert International Airport, including new jet bridges. These upgrades enhance travel efficiency and infrastructure, boosting St. Louis’ economic competitiveness.
• Demanded answers regarding the National Science Foundation’s funding of AI tools that could suppress online speech under the guise of combating misinformation.