Roy Blunt

 

Growing Up

A fifth generation Missourian, Roy was born on January 10,1950, at the doctor's office in Niangua, Missouri.  His parents took him home to an 80-acre dairy fram and a 100-year-old house without insulation or running water.

Roy Blunt's father supported their family with a job as a dairy farmer.  He worked for the Surge Milker Company selling milking machines to dairy farmers and sold farm supplies for Sears Roebuck.  Roy's mother taught him many important lessons in common sense, good conduct, and helping others.
 Leroy and Neva Blunt worked hard each day to meet the bills that came due each month and to save money where they could.  They paid daily attention to teaching their children sound values.  Those values were and are Missouri's foundation, and America's.

Roy Blunt learned as a child the value of a dollar and that money represents someone's hard work.  His work on the farm taught him conservation and respect for the land.  When school was out for the summer, Roy got into the seat of a tractor.

The Blunt family understood teaching to be a very high form of public service.  Additional lessons in helping build a better community came from Leroy Blunt's service on the school board, town council and, later as a Missouri state legislator for four months each year.

A Missouri Education

Roy attended public schools in Southwest Missouri.  He always loved history and reading.  After school was "chore time" at home and sports practice.  

Roy earned a history degree from Southwest Baptist University in 1970.  He went on to earn his master's in history from Missouri State University.

Both of Roy's grandmothers were teachers.  He found his calling in education.  While earning his master's in history, Roy chose to be a classroom teacher.

Classroom Teacher

Roy did his student teaching at Skyline High School in Urbana, Missouri, for Mrs. King, the mother of Dr. Kent King who would serve as Missouri's Commissioner of Education.  His first job was classroom teaching at Marshfield in American history and government.

Roy taught American and Missouri history at both the secondary and college levels.  He was known as a highly effective classroom teacher who could bring history to life and allow students to learn valuable lessons from the successes and failures of the past.  He also served on the adjunct faculty of Drury University and taught at Southwest Baptist University.

Author and History Researcher

His education in American and Missouri history led Roy to become the first chairman of the Greene County Historic Sites Board and a founder of the Springfield-Greene County Historic Preservation Society.  He has authored and co-authored articles on Missouri history for publications including the State's Historical Society Review and many of Missouri's newspapers.  Blunt oversaw the transformation of the Missouri State Archives into a more accessible and more valuable asset for all Missourians.  He spearheaded the legislative addition of the State Library and Wolfers Library for the Blind to the Secretary of State's office.

Roy's published work includes a handbook and articles on voting rights and voting procedures as the chief elections official for Greene County and as Missouri Secretary of State.

Local Government and Better Elections Practices

A teacher and community leader, Roy had been encouraged to consider public office.  In 1973, while living in Strafford and teaching history at Marshfield High School, he accepted an appointment to a vacancy in the office of the Greene County Clerk, the election authority and key administrative office for local government.  He was elected by the people three times, serving 12 years as Greene County Clerk and Chief Election Official.  He served on the Federal Election Commission's advisory panel and as a U.S. observer at the British elections of 1983.  He wrote the "layman's guide to Missouri Election Practices," published by the University of Missouri.

Roy, a recognized leader in making elections fair and free of fraud and intimidation, also served as chair of the National Voters Education Project, a joint effort of the National Association of Secretaries of State and the Advertising Council.

Later, as a congressman, Roy also met with those responsible for the first series of Iraqi elections during the first of his visits to Iraq and has been vigorous in arguing for ballot security for all voters and for the voting rights of members of the military and their families.

Missouri's Secretary of State

In 1984, Roy was elected Missouri's 32nd Secretary of State.  He was the first member of his party elected to this office in more than half a century.  He was re-elected in a landslide in 1988, gathering more than 60 percent of the vote and carrying 107 of Missouri's 114 counties.

Under Roy's leadership, the secretary of state's office compiled a nationally recognized record of achievements, demonstrating the success government leaders can have when they truly work for the people of Missouri.

As secretary of state, Roy led the most efficient securities enforcement division in the nation.  He enhanced investor education through the Securities Division office and cracked down on those who tried to defraud investors and seniors.

The National Association of Secretaries of State Securities Committee asked Secretary Blunt to lead a national task force looking into the impact of the Salomon Brothers U.S. Treasuries scandal on Missouri and other states.  At the time it was one of the most publicized national securities fraud investigations in U.S. history.

In 1990, Roy announced a $1.1 million dollar settlement against the Wall Street brokerage firm of Drexel-Burnham-Lambert, which pleaded guilty to federal charges of market manipulation.  Secretary Blunt fought for the settlement for Missouri investors, a settlement which was the largest in state history.  Missouri was one of the top three states in the number of actions against securities fraud while Roy was secretary of state.

Secretary Blunt's initiatives also cut needless bureaucratic paperwork and made Missouri the first state in the nation to provide electronic access to corporate records and reports.  Roy also led the effort to eliminate the franchise tax for Missouri's small business owners and operators simplified their tax reporting requirements.  Roy modernized all areas of operation and expanded the hours of service.

University President

After serving as Missouri's Secretary of State, Roy returned to his career as an educator, serving four years as the president of his alma mater, Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar.  During his tenure, academic quality improved, and alumni and friends of the university funded much-needed new facilities for state-of-the-art learning.

Roy's fiscal and budget management enabled the university to issue its first-ever rated bonds allowing the university to refinance old debt and save tens of thousands of dollars in operating expenses.  Under his leadership, the university created an enhanced nursing career program in partnership with St. John's Regional Health Center.

Dr. Pat Taylor, Southwest Baptist University's current president, has said that Blunt's leadership moved the university dramatically forward.

Legislator

In 1996, Roy was elected to Congress.  The people of Southwest Missouri have chosen him to represent them in the U.S. House of Representatives seven times, most recently in 2008, with 68 percent of the vote.

Roy's work in the House has been defined by three guiding principles.
The first is to fight and win on what matters the most to Missouri and the nation.
The second is to find common ground with others, in both parties, that is principled and effective in solving problems.

The third is that most problems are best solved closest to the problem.  The state capitals and Washington, D.C. should only do those things that cannot be done in a better way at the state and local levels.

Roy fought for the largest tax cut for working families in the nation's history.  He believes that free people are entitled to the fruits of their own work, that taxes should be kept as low as possible, and that people have the first claim to their own earnings.  Roy Blunt knows what common sense tells us:  the private economy creates self-sustaining and lasting jobs, not the government.  If the government "created" jobs, then everyone would work for the government.

As a leader in Congress and an active legislator, Roy Blunt has shaped, guided, or authored many bipartisan solutions to difficult questions.  Laci and Connor's Law was such an accomplishment.  Roy has the highest possible pro-life voting record and even forged agreement with those of nomally opposing views that federal criminal law will protect an unborn child against crimes of violence under the Unborn Victims of Violence Act.

He was a key voice in the House for a new idea in Washington -- that churches and faith-based groups should be empowered to play an expanded role in providing publicly-financed services to people in need.
Roy sponsored legislation to allow federal support of a new Healthy Athletes initiative as part of the privately founded and funded Specialy Olympics and saw the expansion of giving to charities and churches through his bipartisan Charitable Giving Act.

His legislative accomplishments include the Combat Meth Act;  medical benefits for military retirees; new tools for accountable government such as the searchable electronic database for all federal grants and contracts; and his key role in helping to fight the Global War on Terror by negotiating a critical update of our nation's terrorist surveillance laws, an action that is helping keep us safe from those who want to do America harm.

His voting record throughout his service reflects his commitment to a strong national defense; victory against terrorism; restraint in taxes and spending; respect for the widely shared values of Missouri, including better education for all Americans; keeping the promises made to America's veterans; protecting property rights and the Second Amendment; vigorous law enforcement and care for the victims of crime; and serving Missouri on vital issues such as agriculture, transportation, and expanded production to meet American energy needs.

Roy has a 100 percent rating from National Right to Life and the National Rifle Association.  He has a 95 percent rating from the National Association of Manufacturers and has received the highest award from the Chamber of Commerce and National Federation of Independent Business.

Roy's integrity, openness and effectiveness led to leadership roles in the House including Majority Whip and Majority Leader.  He is now the second highest ranking Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and is also a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

Awards and Honors

Roy has received many awards and honors from local, state and national associations including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Missouri Farm Bureau, Military Officers Association of America, Missouri and U.S. Jaycees, National Federation of Independent Business, Americans for Tax Reform, Boys and Girls Club of Springfield, National Association of Manufacturers, Boy Scouts of America, Habitat for Humanity and many more.

Endorsements

In his campaign for the U.S. House, Roy has been endorsed by the Missouri Farm Bureau, National Right to Life, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Federation of Independent Business and many others.

Family

Roy is married to Abigail Blunt.  He has four children:  Matt Blunt, the 54th Governor of Missouri; Amy, of Kansas City; Andy, of Jefferson City; and Charlie.

Roy and Matt share a love of history and horses.  He and daughter Amy enjoy watching movies together and have a shared interest in American literature.  When Andy was growing up, father and son enjoyed scouting, and Roy's encouragement helped Andy achieve Eagle Scout, the highest rank attainable in Boy Scouting.  Roy also enjoys hunting with Matt and Andy.  Charlie, age 4, keeps his mom and dad on their toes.
Blunt has five grandchildren:  Davis Mosby, Ben Blunt, William Branch Blunt, Eva Mosby, and Allyson Blunt.