Blunt gives final floor speech at Capitol

WASHINGTON, D.C. (KMIZ)

Missouri's senior U.S. senator gave his final floor speech on Tuesday.

Sen. Roy Blunt will retire next month. He served 12 years in the senate.

Blunt talked about is role as a legislator. He ended his speech with a story about a statue in the U.S. Capitol. He said it went up sometime in the 1800s, but no one knew who it was.

Blunt said it was a good lesson to remember that what people do in the Capitol is more important than who they are.

Blunt has served in several different political roles across the state and in Washington D.C.

He was the Greene County Clerk throughout most of the 1970s before becoming secretary of state, the first republican elected to that spot in 50 years.

He first went to congress in 1997, kicking off a long stint in Washington, D.C.

Blunt talked about his support of better funding for the National Institute of Health, one of the cited reasons MU named the NextGen Precision Health Institute after him.

He also touted his support for more attention on money for mental health. That ended up playing a part in the bipartisan firearms reform bill passed this year.

Blunt says his upbringing in rural Southwest Missouri helped set his ambitions.

"You know, my mom and dad were dairy farmers,” he said. “They never suggested there were any limits to what a person could do in America. No sense that you couldn't do anything you wanted to do."

Senators from both sides of the aisle praised Blunt's time. Sen.-elect Eric Schmitt will take over Blunt's seat next month.

Today, I delivered my farewell address on the Senate floor. Thank you to Missouri for allowing me to work for you, it’s been an honor. https://t.co/vg4vzQxrvc

— Senator Roy Blunt (@RoyBlunt) December 6, 2022