Alert

WASHINGTON – In an interview with Chuck Todd on NBC’s Meet the Press this morning, U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, discussed North Korea’s latest nuclear test, the federal response to Hurricane Harvey, and the need to provide tax relief for American families.

Following are key excerpts from Blunt’s interview:

On North Korea’s latest nuclear test:

“Well, for 20 years, diplomacy by itself appears not to have worked very well. … I think the president putting everything on the table is not a bad thing right now. Both for North Korea, but maybe more importantly for China, to be thinking about how consequential this behavior is. …

“In the Intel Committee that I serve on, I think it doesn’t disclose anything to say that in the last year, this has probably been the number one topic, month after month, what was happening there, what are we going to do about it, and I hope the neighborhood understands how critical this is.”

On the need to quickly provide federal aid for families and communities affected by Hurricane Harvey:

“I think it does create another reason as to why you’d want to keep the government open. … The president’s attention on this issue puts another reason on the table to get things done in September. … [T]he things the mayor just talked about – the FEMA money, the stabilization money, the clean up money – all important to do quickly. The SBA loan money to get people back in operation, all important to do quickly.”

On the importance of providing tax relief for American families:

“I was with the president in Springfield, Missouri, my hometown, on Wednesday. He talked about the importance of better jobs and more take-home pay, and how we can get there. And believe me, that’s a message that resonates in the country. We’re almost at the end of a full decade of people’s take-home pay, and what they can spend on their family, has not increased. The president wants to see that happen. We ought to all be focused on making that happen.”