Guest Speakers; Glenn Koenen and Elad Gross.
Glenn Koenen’s Legislative Report
January 11, 2021
From a poll released on January 7: 45% of Republicans approved of the storming of the Capitol to defend Donald Trump’s election victory. [ https://today.yougov.com/topics/politics/articles-reports/2021/01/07/US-capitol-trump-poll ]
Federal Items:
Things will get better. With both the House of Representatives and the Senate under Democrat control, President Joe Biden will be able to immediately begin restoring order and common sense to the federal government. Biden’s pledges to provide more aid to the unemployed and a more comprehensive response to COVID will be fulfilled.
Alas, the system Biden inherits has been shattered. It will take years of hard work to restore many operations to their pre-Trump effectiveness. Many environmental sins committed by Trump and his bureaucrats cannot be reversed: areas opened to mining and oil drilling, for example, will remain open now that concessions have been awarded.
The federal government also faces a coming crisis. The national debt – most accrued by recent Republican presidents – now depends on very low interest payments. Even with a unified federal government, it is unlikely that substantial new revenue to stabilize the debt will be raised.
Worse, remember that the majority of Republicans now in the House supported depriving all Arizona and Pennsylvania voters of their votes in last November’s presidential election. Even out of office the shadow of Trump will still haunt Washington.
State Items:
The new legislative session looks much like the past several sessions: Democrats remain a super minority.
Proposed legislation continues many long-time Republican themes:
Right To Work
Additional Restrictions on Initiatives
Expansion of Charter Schools
Guns Everywhere
Tax Cuts
Reduction of Local Government Authority
In some cases Conservative Caucus members want to push Missouri back to the 19th Century. For example, Senator Rick Brattin proposes prohibiting any health department or government agency for any reason from placing restrictions on any religions services. [Senate Bill 68] During the 1918 pandemic authorities closed churches (with support from many religious leaders) to help contain the outbreak.
House Bill 738 [Don Rone, R – Portageville] would require every ballot to be a paper ballot and manually counted. In other words, the potentially 700,000+ ballots cast in St. Louis County would have to be tallied by Democrat/Republican teams with pencil and paper the way things were done in 1875.
Both of these dated ideas seem to have strong support among Republicans.
Conservative Caucus leader Senator Bob Onder [St. Charles Co.] has two really bad ideas: to place an item on the ballot now requires the signatures of 8% of voters from the majority of Congressional districts. Senate Joint Resolution 2 calls for 15% of voters from every Congressional district to be necessary – essentially more than doubling the number of signatures needed.
And, SJR 6 would place a hard cap on stater revenue, with excess revenue automatically resulting in a drop in the state income tax rate. This would effectively cause a slow but steady decline in state revenue. While the Hancock rules allow for receipts to largely track with inflation, the Onder proposal would guarantee fewer dollars for schools, Medicaid, and other programs.
Speaking of bad ideas, Rep. Mary Elizabeth Coleman [R – High Ridge] would name part of I-55 in Jefferson County in honor of President Donald J. Trump.
The legislature was sworn in on Wednesday, the day the U. S. Capitol was stormed by Trump supporters. State Rep Justin Hill [R – Lake St. Louis] decided to skip his swearing-in and instead go to Washington D.C. for the Trump event.
In coming days the governor’s office will sent their budget to the legislature. While revenue remains unsteady, it is still expected that major cuts to education and other critical areas will not be announced. It remains very possible that the governor may be planning to withhold substantial portions of the funds appropriated by the legislature, allowing Republican House and Senate members to distance themselves from unfriendly fire.
A number of Democrat lawmakers expect the legislature – with the governor’s approval – to attack education this session.
The expansion of Charter Schools all across the state – to be funded by siphoning money away from public schools – remains a major Republican plank. This proposal also jives with the extreme position of a few Republicans who wish to get the state out of the education business: it is the parents’ responsibility, not the state’s, to educate children.
Plus, the greatest number of unionized government employees in Missouri remains the state’s teachers. Having efficiently stripped union coverage away from state employees, the governor now seems to support efforts to make it illegal for teachers to have group representation or contracting.
During the pandemic the Missouri Department of Social Services has failed to support struggling families. A lack of modern technology makes it impossible for most DSS workers to complete tasks remotely. As a result, many people who ought to have gotten help from food stamps and other programs were effectively denied aid.
This session the legislature must adopt the structure and set the funding to make Medicaid Expansion – passed by voters – happen. The same DSS ill equipped to handle additional families during the pandemic must now deliver health care services to hundreds of thousands of additional Missourians (going from about one million to 1.3 million people).
I fear that the Parson administration will combine DSS incompetence with stingy appropriations and strict administrative rules to undo the will of the voters to give more Missourians access to health care.
Comments and Questions from the Chat Box during the Zoom meeting:
Marian Bauer: repeat po box number, please
vickie Hankammer: Would it help to contact businesses that have financially contributed to John Hawley to let them know you will no longer support their businesses?
West County Democrats: For Dues–West County Democrats
P.O. Box 31034
St. Louis, MO 63131
Karen Cloyd: P.O.Box 31034
Marian Bauer: thanks
Grace James: Have there been any repercussions directed at State Rep Justin Hill for taking part in the riot at the U.S. Capitol?
Maureen Jordan: Do you think that other GOP candidates will want their votes counted manually thus delaying their own election?
Marian Bauer: What to do about all these problems?
Lloyd & Bobbie: Are there rumors of Rex Sinquefield less active now because of perhaps early Alzheimers?
Grace James: Won’t people be more open to the U.S. Gov’t raising revenue in view of the billions of stimulus and PPP money given out?
Mary Gross: What power do the Dems in state Senate have, especially regarding the filibuster?
vickie Hankammer: Who do we contact to request that trump be removed from office via the 25th amendment?
Maureen Jordan: But Atlanta is growing and diverse. STL is not. We need to engage rural: Elad will be instrumental.
Don Ford: What are Nichole Galloway’s chances of being reelected?
Maureen Jordan: Did you say 65%
Harvey Ferdman: what
Mary Gross: what % of senate has to approve a charge brought against a senator?
Mary Gross: I missed it
Harvey Ferdman: what about Peter Meredith’sask for all to the Gov?
Harvey Ferdman: what about Peter Meredith’sask for callsl to the Gov?
Mary Gross: I sent Peter’s message to my lawyer friends!
vickie Hankammer: https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
vickie Hankammer: Vice President Mike Pence
THERE IS NO PUBLISHED EMAIL ADDRESS FOR VP PENCE
Marian Bauer: can we please see his picture
Jessica LaBozzetta: Marian, you can change the view up at the top right of your screen.
Karen Cloyd: takebackmo.org
Maureen Jordan: I am a member of many progressive Facebook groups. So many ask from time to time “how do we change in red MO”. I always give Elad’s Take Back MO. Elad, who in your organization start posting in these groups that you are leading this effort? I can send you the list offine.
Grace James: What Sunshine Law litigation did you say you are currently pursuing?
Marian Bauer: good to hear,repeat the name of your organization
Karen Cloyd: TakeBackMO.org
Grace James: Do you plan to run for office again?
Mary Gross: All of us want to see you run!
Mary Gross: Missouri lost so much when Galloway lost.
vickie Hankammer: Don’t you think we have trump to thank for the lying pandemic?
Mary Gross: For governor.
Karen Cloyd: Corporations are not people.
Maureen Jordan: Karen, don’t we wish 🙁
Lloyd & Bobbie: Thanks so much!!!
Mary Gross: Thank you Elad!
Elad Gross: http://www.takebackmo.org
Elad Gross: Elad@TakeBackMO.org
Elad Gross: 314-753-9033
Mary Gross: If you select the 3 dots to the right of the chat, you can copy the chat