Lacy Clay

• Committee on Financial Services, Chairman Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development and Insurance.
• United States House Committee on Oversight and Reform
  • United States House Natural Resources Committee

• Congressional Black Caucus[8]
• Congressional Progressive Caucus[9]
• United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus[10]
• Congressional Arts Caucus[11]

In January 2017, Clay engaged an argument with Republican lawmakers over the right to hang a controversial painting in the Capitol. The winner of an art competition, the painting represents the violent Ferguson unrest of 2014 and ensuing police-community relations in Ferguson, Missouri, depicting police officers as animalistic figures while apprehending suspects. The painting is displayed near the police security checkpoint. Rep Duncan D. Hunter removed the painting and Clay re-hung it. Several Republicans, including Doug Lamborn, Dana Rohrabacher, and Brian Babin repeatedly removed the painting, and Clay re-hung it each time. Clay then attempted to file a complaint with the Capitol Police accusing Hunter of theft.[12] After the architect of the U.S. Capitol ruled that the winning painting had violated the rules for the art competition and ordered its permanent removal, Clay sued to overturn the decision, but his suit was dismissed by a federal judge. Clay continued to assert a first amendment argument on behalf of his young constituent, asking "How is it possible that we stand for freedom of speech and freedom of expression every place across this country, except the U.S. Capitol?"[13]

In the 116th Congress, Congressman Clay has introduced #HR3435 the Local Public Health and Safety Protection Act, new legislation that would, for the first time at the federal level, give local communities the freedom to enact their own regulations to curb gun violence, without seeking permission from their state legislatures. The legislation grants local control over the issue via the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution and by tying the law to future public safety grant funding to states from the U.S. Department of Justice. Support across the nation for Clay's bill is growing with endorsements from Moms Demand Action Against Gun Violence, Newtown Action, Giffords Courage, Brady, and many other gun safety advocates.

In his role as a member of the House Natural Resources Committee, Clay is an outspoken advocate for renewable energy, acting on Climate Change, cosponsoring the Green New Deal, protecting National Parks, national seashores, wildlife refuges, forests and rivers. He is also an outspoken champion for cleaning up hazardous waste sites in largely minority communities who are often the victim of environmental racism. Clay led the effort to successfully clean up three dangerous, hazardous sites in his district in the St. Louis area: $5 million for the former St. Louis Army Ammunition Plant in North St. Louis; $33 million for the former Carter Carburetor plant site in North St. Louis; and $266 million for the radiologically contaminated West Lake Landfill Superfund site in Northwest St. Louis County.