In an effort to protect millions of Americans in the event the government reaches and does not raise the debt ceiling, the House today passed legislation, co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-3), directing the U.S. Treasury to pay principal and interest due on debt held by the public before making any other payments. Read more »

U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-3) today announced that his nominee for the United States Air Force Academy, Hannah Hughes of Columbia, Mo., has accepted an appointment to the U.S. Air Force Academy as part of the 2017 graduating class. Read more »

Concerned over the U.S. Department of Education’s decision to circumvent Congress with major changes to education and student privacy policies, U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-3) today sent a letter to Education Secretary Arne Duncan demanding information regarding the implementation of these new policies and the authority under which the Education Department has acted. Read more »

U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-3) and Democratic U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ-1) are now leading sponsors in the House of Representatives for the Mobile Mammography Promotion Act that would allow mobile mammography units to purchase fuel without the federal excise tax. Read more »

In an effort to promote navigation and economic development regionally along the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, members of Congress from Iowa, Illinois and the entire Missouri delegation today joined U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-3) in a letter to the Maritime Administration seeking Marine Highway designation for the M-29 and M-94 corridors. Read more »

U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-3) today met with officials from the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General (SSA OIG) about their role in obtaining private information from the state about Missourians holding concealed carry weapon licenses in a face-to-face meeting in which the agency both verbally and in writing responded to detailed questions about its role in seeking the information. Read more »

A top official for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) today told U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-3) that the agency did not play a role in requesting private information from the state of Missouri about individuals holding concealed carry weapons licenses (CCW) and that there was no joint venture with the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General (SSA OIG) to obtain that data. Read more »

In a telephone call this morning in Washington, D.C., the Inspector General of the Social Security Administration (SSA) apologized for the agency’s “sloppiness” in releasing the wrong information about whether the agency accessed private conceal and carry information of thousands of Missourians and agreed to a face-to-face meeting with U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-3) later this week. Read more »

In light of new information showing that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) was working with the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General (SSA/OIG) to obtain private information from the state about Missourians holding conceal and carry weapons licenses, U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-3) today sent a letter to the ATF seeking answers from the agency about the depth of its involvement in the burgeoning scandal and has asked for a meeting with the ATF. Read more »

U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-3) today announced that the U.S. Social Security Administration Inspector General (SSA OIG) Patrick O’Carroll, Jr., has confirmed that there was a violation of normal agency protocol when the agency requested and received sensitive data for more than 100,000 Missouri driver’s licenses and concealed carry permits. O’Carroll has vowed to investigate the matter thoroughly and to answer specific questions posed by the congressman about the agency’s actions in the matter. Read more »