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Roy Blunt

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Roy Blunt
Roy Blunt.jpg
U.S. Senate, Missouri
Incumbent
In office
January 3, 2011-Present
Term ends
January 3, 2017
Years in position 2
PartyRepublican
PredecessorChristopher Bond (R)
Compensation
Base salary$174,000/year
Elections and appointments
First electedNovember 2, 2010
Next electionNovember 2016
Campaign $$24,055,207
Term limitsN/A
Education
Bachelor'sSouthwest Baptist University
Master'sMissouri State University
Personal
BirthdayJanuary 10, 1950
Place of birthNiangua, Missouri
ProfessionCollege Administrator
Net worth$3,093,009
ReligionBaptist
Websites
Office website
Campaign website

Contents

Roy Blunt (b. January 10, 1950) is a Republican member of the United States Senate, from Missouri. He was first elected to the Senate in 2010.

Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Blunt is a "rank-and-file Republican".[1]

Biography

Blunt earned a bachelor of arts degree in history from Southwest Baptist University in 1970. Two years later, he earned a master's degree in history from Missouri State University (then Southwest Missouri State University).

Committee assignments

U.S. Senate

2013-2014

Blunt serves on the following Senate committees[2]:

  • Committee on Appropriations
    • Subcommittee on Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
    • Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
    • Subcommittee on Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
    • Subcommittee on Department of Defense
    • Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
  • Committee on Armed Services
    • Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support
    • Subcommittee on Personnel
    • Subcommittee on Airland
  • Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
    • Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security
    • Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance
    • Subcommittee on Competitiveness, Innovation, and Export Promotion
    • Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet
    • Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security
  • Committee on Rules and Administration

2011-2012

Blunt served on the following committees:

  • Committee on Appropriations
    • Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies (Ranking Member)
    • Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
    • Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
    • Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies
    • Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
  • Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
    • Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security
    • Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet
    • Subcommittee on Competitiveness, Innovation, and Export Promotion (Ranking Member)
    • Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security
  • Committee on Rules and Administration
  • Select Committee on Intelligence[3]

Issues

Presidential preference

2012

See also: Endorsements by state officials of presidential candidates in the 2012 election

Roy Blunt endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election. [4]

Political positions

Social issues

Blunt has voted pro-life in the House and has a conservative record on most other social issues. He has voted to ban partial-birth abortions and to restrict or criminalize transporting minors across state lines for the purpose of getting an abortion. He opposes federal funding for elective abortions in accordance with the Hyde Amendment.[5] He also voted in favor of the unsuccessful Federal Marriage Amendment which sought to place a national ban on same-sex marriage, and has voted against gay adoption. He received a 14 percent rating from the American Civil Liberties Union for his civil liberties voting record.[6]

Education

Blunt has voted in favor of school prayer and supported the No Child Left Behind Act. He has voted in favor of school vouchers within the District of Columbia but has voted against broader legislation allowing states to use federal money to issue vouchers for private or religious schools.[7]

Guns

Blunt has voted to prohibit lawsuits against gun manufacturers and dealers if the guns they manufacture or sell are later used in a crime. He has also voted to reduce the waiting period for purchasing a gun from 72 hours to 24 hours.[8]

Environment

Blunt opposes the federal cap and trade legislation and supports drilling for oil on the U.S. coastline.[9]

Business

Blunt supported banking industry-backed efforts to overhaul U.S. bankruptcy laws, requiring consumers who seek bankruptcy protection to repay more of their debts.[10]

Internet gambling

Blunt is a staunch advocate of a federal prohibitions of online poker and H.R. 4777, the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act.[11]

No New Taxes Pledge

In Missouri for 2011, a minority of lawmakers signed the "No New Taxes Pledge." Only four out of 34 state Senate members signed the pledge. Out of 163 state House members, only 35 lawmakers have signed.

From the Missouri delegation heading to the U.S. Congress in 2011, 7 out of 11 lawmakers signed the pledge.

Blunt signed the pledge.[12]

Fiscal Cliff

Voted "Yes" Blunt voted for the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. The bill was passed in the Senate by a 89/8 vote on January 1, 2013.[13]

Drones filibuster

See also: Rand Paul filibuster of John Brennan's CIA Nomination in March 2013

On March 6, 2013, Senator Rand Paul (R) led a 13-hour filibuster of President Obama's CIA Director nominee, John Brennan. Paul started the filibuster in order to highlight his concerns about the administration's drone policies. In particular, Paul said he was concerned about whether a drone could be used to kill an American citizen within the United States border, without any due process involved. Paul and other civil liberties activists have been critical that President Obama did not offer a clear response to the question. A total of 14 senators joined Paul in the filibuster -- 13 Republicans and one Democrat.[14][15][16]

According to the website Breitbart, Blunt was one of 30 Republican senators who did not support the filibuster.[17][18]

The day after the filibuster, Attorney General Eric Holder sent a letter to Paul, responding to the filibuster. Holder wrote, "Does the president have the authority to use a weaponized drone to kill an American not engaged in combat on U.S. soil? The answer to that is no."[19]

Elections

2010

On November 2, 2010, Blunt was elected to the United States Senate. He defeated Robin Carnahan (D), Jonathan Dine (Libertarian), Jerry Beck (Constitution) and numerous write-in candidates. [20]

United States Senate, Missouri General Election, 2010
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark.jpgRoy Blunt 54.2% 1,054,160
     Democratic Robin Carnahan 40.6% 789,736
     Libertarian Jonathan Dine 3% 58,663
     Constitution Jerry Beck 2.1% 41,309
     Write-in Dale M. Hoinoski 0% 14
     Write-in Frazier Glenn Miller, Jr. 0% 7
     Write-in Jeff Wirick 0% 4
     Write-in Charlie L. Bailey 0% 3
     Write-in Richie L. Wolfe 0% 2
     Write-in Mark S. Memoly 0% 1
Total Votes 1,943,899

Full history


Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Blunt is available dating back to 2000. Based on available campaign finance records, Blunt raised a total of $24,055,207 during that time period. This information was last updated on April 23, 2013.[28]

Roy Blunt's Campaign Contribution History
Year Office Result Contributions
2010 U.S. Senate (Missouri) Won $11,932,403
2008 U.S. House of Representatives (Missouri District 7) Won $2,580,060
2006 U.S House of Representatives (Missouri District 7) Won $3,162,484
2004 U.S House of Representatives (Missouri District 7) Won $2,681,746
2002 U.S House of Representatives (Missouri District 7) Won $1,940,045
2000 U.S House of Representatives (Missouri District 7) Won $1,758,469
Grand Total Raised $24,055,207

2010

Breakdown of the source of Blunt's campaign funds before the 2010 election.

Blunt received the highest amount of out-of-state campaign contributions of U.S. House incumbents nationally in the 2010 election. Blunt raised 47.7 percent of his total funds itemized from individuals, or $2.5 million from out of state, research from the Center for Responsive Politics shows.[29][30]

Blunt was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010. His campaign committee raised a total of $11,932,403 and spent $12,095,571.[31]

Analysis

Lifetime voting record

See also: Lifetime voting records of United States Senators and Representatives

According to the website GovTrack, Blunt missed 11 of 582 roll call votes from Jan 2011 to Apr 2013, which is 1.9% of votes during that period. This is worse than the median of 1.7% among the lifetime records of senators currently serving.[32]

Congressional staff salaries

See also: Staff salaries of United States Senators and Representatives

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Blunt paid his congressional staff a total of $2,077,615 in 2011. He ranked 13th on the list of the lowest paid Republican Senatorial Staff Salaries and he ranked 17th overall of the lowest paid Senatorial Staff Salaries in 2011. Overall, Missouri ranked 37th in average salary for senatorial staff. The average U.S. Senate congressional staff was paid $2,529,141.70 in fiscal year 2011.[33]

Net worth

See also: Net Worth of United States Senators and Representatives

2011

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Blunt's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $575,020 and $5,610,998. That averages to $3,093,009, which is lower than the average net worth of Republican Senators in 2011 of $6,358,668. His average net worth decreased by 16.8% from 2010.[34]

2010

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Blunt's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $1,075,021 and $6,359,998. That averages to $3,717,509.50, which is lower than the average net worth of Republican Senators in 2010 of $7,054,258.[35]

National Journal vote ratings

See also: National Journal vote ratings

Each year, National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted, as compared to other members, in the previous year. More information about the analysis process can be found on the vote ratings page.

2012

According to the data released in 2013, Blunt was ranked the 40th most conservative senator during 2012.[36]

2011

According to the data released in 2012, Roy Blunt was ranked the 40th most conservative senator during 2011.[37]

Percentage voting with party

November 2011

The website Open Congress tracks how often members of Congress vote with the majority of the chamber caucus. According to the website, Roy Blunt voted with the Republican Party 87.4% of the time, which ranked 38th among the 47 Senate Republican members in November 2011.[38]

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term Roy + Blunt + Missouri + Senate

All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.

Roy Blunt News Feed


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Personal

Blunt has been married twice and has four children, one of which he and his second wife adopted from Russia.

External links


References

  1. ↑ Gov Track "Roy Blunt," Accessed March 3, 2012
  2. ↑ Congressional Quarterly "Senate Committee List" Accessed January 22, 2013
  3. ↑ Roy Blunt, United States Senator for Missouri "Committee Assignments"
  4. ↑ The Hill, "2012 GOP Lawmaker Endorsements for President," retrieved November 23, 2011
  5. ↑ Roy Blunt on Abortion, OnTheIssues
  6. ↑ Roy Blunt on Civil Rights, OnTheIssues
  7. ↑ Roy Blunt on Education, OntheIssues
  8. ↑ Roy Blunt on Gun Control, OntheIssues
  9. ↑ LCV Names Roy Blunt to 2010 Dirty Dozen List, Launches BigOilBlunt.com, League of Conservation Voters
  10. ↑ Roy Blunt on Corporations, OntheIssues
  11. ↑ Thomas (Library of Congress): HR 4777
  12. ↑ "Minority of state lawmakers sign ‘no-new-taxes’ pledge," Missouri Watchdog, November 16, 2010
  13. ↑ U.S. Senate "Roll Call Vote on the Fiscal Cliff" Accessed January 4, 2013.
  14. ↑ CNN "Rand Paul says he's heard from White House after filibuster," March 7, 2013
  15. ↑ USA Today "Rand Paul filibuster ranks among Senate's longest," March 7, 2013
  16. ↑ ABC News "Rand Paul Wins Applause From GOP and Liberals," March 7, 2013
  17. ↑ Breitbart "AWOL: Meet The GOP Senators Who Refused to Stand With Rand," March 7, 2013
  18. ↑ Politico "Rand Paul filibuster blasted by Sens. John McCain, Lindsey Graham," March 7, 2013
  19. ↑ Washington Post "Eric Holder responds to Rand Paul with ‘no’," March 7, 2013
  20. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010"
  21. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 2008"
  22. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 2006"
  23. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2004"
  24. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 2002"
  25. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 2000"
  26. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 3, 1998"
  27. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 1996"
  28. ↑ Open Secrets "Career Fundraising for Roy Blunt" April 2013
  29. ↑ "Blunt top recipient of out-of-state contributions," Missouri Watchdog, November 15, 2010
  30. ↑ In-state Vs. Out-of-state, Open Secrets
  31. ↑ Open Secrets "Roy Blunt 2010 Election Data," Accessed October 25, 2011
  32. ↑ GovTrack, "Roy Blunt" Accessed April 2013
  33. ↑ LegiStorm "Roy Blunt"
  34. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Roy Blunt (R-Mo), 2011"
  35. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Blunt, (R-Missouri), 2010"
  36. ↑ National Journal, "TABLE: House Liberal Scores by Issue Area," February 26, 2013
  37. ↑ National Journal, "Searchable Vote Ratings Tables: House," February 23, 2012
  38. ↑ Open Congress "Voting With Party"


Political offices
Preceded by
Kit Bond 		United States Senate - Missouri
2011–Present 		Succeeded by
-
Preceded by
Mel Hancock 		United States House of Representatives - District 7
1997–2011 		Succeeded by
Billy Long
Preceded by
James Kirkpatrick 		Missouri Secretary of State
1985–1993 		Succeeded by
Judith Moriarty
v • d • e
Missouri's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
Claire McCaskill (D) • Roy Blunt (R)
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