I think, generally, the president's tweets are not helpful to him. At the same time, Donald Trump is figured out a way to communicate with people in ways that no other president has, or he wouldn't be president.
Roy BluntThe shortest path to more American jobs is more American energy and more jobs that relate to American energy.
Roy BluntI think there needs to be a much more significant filter on those Donald Trump tweets. It's OK to have some unspoken and untweeted thoughts.
Roy BluntIt's a problem that Congress has really taken on in the last couple of years. We tripled the money that was being - to be spent on opioids. Legislation sort of followed that. Then we doubled that tripling. I think, at some point, there's a limit to how many times we can multiply that in a short period of time, but this is a real problem. In Missouri, more people die from drug overdoses than car accidents.
Roy BluntElectric service providers in Missouri have warned that the EPA's so-called Clean Power Plan will raise energy costs for Missourians, reduce jobs, and hurt our state's economic competitiveness. As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I've fought hard to ensure provisions that would defund this harmful power grab were included in the final appropriations bill. I also support legislation to block this harmful rule and protect workers and families from the damaging effects of the Obama Administration's executive overreach and costly energy regulations.
Roy BluntI think health care reform is challenging and challenged. We will see what happens, but this is a difficult topic that touches every American family. And the more members of the Senate and the House both know about it, I think the harder it is to reach that conclusion you would like to get to.
Roy BluntDo you know how many Frenchmen it takes to defend Paris ? It's not known, it's never been tried.
Roy BluntYou are more committed to things that you give money to - whether it is a church or a politician.
Roy BluntThere's no doubt that cable news hosts can say things that the president of the United States shouldn't say, and people can be harsh at you. That doesn't mean you benefit by being harsh back.
Roy BluntIf we're going to talk about economic fairness, or about fairness, one of the most pressing economic issues facing families, seniors, and job creators in Missouri and across America is the strain of skyrocketing gas prices.
Roy BluntI think one of the lessons we should have learned from what's happened with the current plan is that there is insurance coverage, but there is not really, many times, access to health care. If you have these high deductibles, there is every - there is a disincentive to get the policy, because you would have to pay another - I think the average of deductible policies on the individual market.
Roy BluntRemember, there are no cuts to Medicaid. Every year in Medicaid, you spend more money than you spent the year before under this plan, but the growth is not as great as it would be if you continued to pay, for instance, 100 percent for single able-bodied adults. Now, there is something wrong with the way that system is put together.
Roy BluntI continue to be a strong believer in the life-saving importance of early detection, and I encourage everyone to be proactive about their preventive screenings.
Roy BluntMore that members of Senate know about Medicaid, in many ways, the harder it is to make that final decision, because you have got so much information, and you know how many other things are impacted here by one decision here that, five decisions later, has made a big difference in somebody's life.
Roy BluntIf you're a first-responder in Missouri as part of a fire department, you're three times more likely to respond to a drug overdose than you are a fire. So it's a problem. I don't know exactly what the right number is, but certainly I think members of the Senate and House are rightly concerned about it.
Roy Blunt