Federal Items:
It is Donald Trump’s government and America has to endure his tweeted whims.
2010 Census
Trump and the Republicans converted the traditionally non-partisan census into a disaster:
“President Trump is considering an executive order to try to move forward with a citizenship question on the 2020 census, top sources tell [Axios News]…”We didn’t come this far just to throw in the towel,” said a senior administration official with direct knowledge of the conversations.’”
In other words, the President of the United States will claim that his unilateral action trumps a Supreme Court ruling.
It gets worse. The Census Bureau has been denied the funds and staff its professional leadership (based on past national counts) felt necessary to prepare and test the forms and procedures for 2020. In this environment, many outside the government expect the 2020 census to severely under-count people within the nation, with immigrants and low-income residents most likely to not be counted.
Budget & Debt
Some Republican senators are actively preventing passage of a true budget for the current fiscal year, as well as a budget for the new fiscal year beginning October 1 – leading to a new potential “government shutdown” date of September 30. And, the nation has been operating without a formal expansion of the national debt for several months. Senate leader Mitch McConnell: “I support getting some kind of deal that can tell us how much we can spend so we can go forward. The only thing, however, that strikes me that give us a real number to mark to is one that we know the president will sign…”
Immigration
In order to get a bit of aid to installations imprisoning immigrants near the border, the House of Representatives had to agree to the skimpy proposal passed by the Senate. The Senate remains unwilling to compel the administration to follow basic hygiene and safety protocols. And, much of the “housing” is still provided by for-profit contractors. No one in Washington expects progress on the border issue or the broader need for major immigration reform.
Military Budget
Again this year, families of many enlisted military members qualify for food stamps. A proposed pay raise for the military is being held-up by the lack of a budget deal for FY19 and FY20.
Despite reports that the F-35 fighter plane cannot do its job (for example, the tail deforms when the plane is flown at high speeds), the Trump administration is pushing for faster procurement of the fighter, despite the $120 million cost per plane.
The far right of the Republican Party wants substantial increases to the Pentagon budget, to be paid for by deep cuts to domestic programs – including Medicare, Medicaid and food stamps.
Many good pieces of legislation are languishing in the divided Congress. For example, a bi-partisan Senate bill to give the SEC 10 years (instead of five) to reclaim purloined funds taken from investors hasn’t reached the Senate floor. Likewise, bills to safe guard the 2020 elections from foreign threats are stalled.
Hundreds of critical high-level appointed positions in the federal bureaucracy remain unfilled. In many cases that is for the best. Appointees to the EPA work feverishly to reduce “burdens” on polluters. Further action on critically dangerous sites, such as the Bridgeton Landfill, is uncertain.
Perhaps the scariest trend in Washington is the elimination and reduction of objective research. Several government agencies have ended research into gun violence. The USDA researchers tracking climate impacts are being forced to move from the Washington D.C. area to greater Kansas City. (Most of the researchers will be unable to make the move due to family commitments.) And, research on why honeybee populations are dying has been eliminated to save money.
Supreme Court
I’d bet lunch money that the current membership of the U. S. Supreme Court would vote five to four to allow “separate but equal” schools, claiming education is a state issue.
The finding in the two court cases on gerrymandering – abandoning federal involvement in state political decisions – makes protecting CLEAN even more vital.
State Issues:
The Missouri legislature passed an approximately $30 billion budget for the fiscal year which began on July 1st. The budget included a few good things…
♦ A three percent raise for most all state workers;
♦ A small bit more money for pre-K thru 12 education;
♦ A bond offering to repair/replace $301 million worth of rural highway bridges;
♦ Some funds for young adults in need of post high school technical training; and,
♦ Restoring Medicaid provider rates to the FY2017 level (effectively reversing a 1.5% cut).
Alas, the budget reflects another year of overall decline in state services. While elementary and secondary school funding met the requirements of the current foundation formula, public schools will receive hundreds of millions less than they would have from the previous formula.
Despite the general raise (and a special increase to Department of Corrections workers), Missouri state employees will remain the poorest paid in the nation. For many, “family plan” insurance premium increases will consume most of that pay increase.
Unfortunately, accidental governor Mike Parson may not be able to let state agencies spend as much as the budget allows: Missouri ended Fiscal Year 2019 on June 30th with General Revenue less than 1% higher than the end of FY18. That means the scheduled cut of 1/10th of 1% to the state individual income tax rate won’t happen. It also means Missouri did not reach the 1.7% increase necessary to fully fund the FY19 budget, meaning the state started the new fiscal year in the hole.
Worse, FY19 individual income tax collections were 1.11% below the FY18 total. Since individual taxes represent 80% of General Revenue, declining income taxes means less money to pay for services.
(Note that according to Missouri Auditor Nicole Galloway, Missouri is running about $3.9 billion per year below the Hancock limit. And, the legislature could have increased revenue by $102 million this past session without a vote of the people.)
A few good items did pass this past session, including: moving 17 year old youths back under juvenile court control in most cases; preventing ‘debtor prison’ charges and lock-ups; creating a task force on opioid and other substance abuse; and, increasing renumeration to those falsely imprisoned from $50 to $100 per day served.
Bad Legislation
This being Missouri, the legislature did manage to pass many bad bills. For example:
■ Abortion Restrictions House Bill 126 unashamedly seeks to end legal abortion in Missouri.
■ CAFO Local governments will have no power to regulate smelly, water polluting concentrated animal feeding operations.
■ Motorcycle Helmets Those over 21 will be allowed to ride a motorcycle without a helmet –provided they have health insurance (or, Medicaid).
■ Lawsuit Venue Effectively, state-level class-action lawsuits will be impossible, and, most cases will have to be heard in the corporate defendant’s home circuit.
Not making the finish line were an expansion of charter schools to most of the state, the Missouri Non-Discrimination Act, collecting sales tax on more internet sales (the Wayfair fix), and, allowing more guns in schools.
A small subset of Republicans, calling themselves the Conservative Caucus, managed to derail – again – Missouri’s enactment of a state-wide Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. While 49 other states have them, in Missouri they are considered an invasion of privacy. Fear of irritating the Conservative Caucus forced House and Senate leadership to pull their punches on many proposals.
Glenn Koenen