from Glenn Koenen, May 10, 2021
Federal Items:
“I’ve always liked Liz Cheney, but she’s made a determination that the Republican Party can’t grow with President Trump. I’ve determined we can’t grow without him.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R – SC) 5/7/21
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R – KY) promises that every Republican senator will oppose every proposal offered by President Joe Biden – even an infrastructure plan certain to include a replacement for a badly damaged bridge between Covington, Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio.
Meanwhile, House Republicans decided former Vice President Dick Cheney’s daughter – a true believer conservative with a voting record to the right of Missouri’s Ann Wagner and Vicki Hartzler – isn’t Trumpian enough to hold a leadership post within the party caucus.
Into that mud bath, the Biden administration seeks bipartisanship but, finding none, seems poised to pass a multi-trillion dollar infrastructure plan with just Democrat votes.
Please remember that the major reason for the size of the Biden plan is that Republican presidents and Republican in Congress have, for decades, opposed necessary investment.
The census will release its detailed report at the end of September. From data already released, it is known that Missouri will not lose a seat in the House of Representatives this decade. (It appears likely that Missouri’s extremely low growth rate will mean going from eight to seven Representatives after the 2030 census is published.) It is very possible that the census numbers will be challenged in several states due to issues with the way the count was conducted, and, the lack of follow-up by the Trump administration to track-down those who did not complete the census. The result could be elections in 2022 will use the 2010 census lines.
In the good news column, the Biden bureaucrats are methodically returning the government to sanity. For example, the current administration has increased support for food stamps so that now the average benefit is around 90% of what a good shopper needs to spend to put healthy meals on the table.
On the international front, the President has shown that he will stand straighter against Chinese and Russian actions against American interests. Unfortunately, this could result in a trade war with China.
State Items:
The Missouri legislature passed a record $35 billion budget – but didn’t appropriate money to pay for voter-mandated Medicaid Expansion!
It appears very likely that Governor Mike Parson and Attorney General Eric Schmitt will have to back the constitutional amendment requiring expansion in court cases. Alas, it is possible that the 275,000 Missourians (most all working poor folks) who should get medical coverage beginning July 1, 2021 may have to wait to get that coverage…Perhaps till 2022 or 2023.
Within the passed budget are items to offend most every sensible person…
- Despite a 2% pay raise, Missouri state workers will remain the worst paid in the nation.
- Private schools, religious schools, and, virtual schools will share in $75 million in vouchers
paid for with tax credits (reducing the state’s revenue). - Public defenders will get $3 million more: it was estimated they needed $20 million more.
- Despite poor performance in the Normandy district, the Opportunity Trust seems destined to
get a special $2 million grant from taxpayer to expand their reach.
The budget does allocate $324 million in federal funds to help renters. Much of the pandemic money
from Washington is hiding, not yet authorized to be spent by the legislature.
Remember, Missouri is flush with cash this spring. Besides the federal funds, the state received extra revenue last summer due to Missourians getting till July to pay their 2019 taxes. This could have been the year the legislature caught up on deferred maintenance of state buildings, updated its ancient computer servers and made other one-time but vital investments in their operations.
This being Missouri, the Republican supermajorities in the House and Senate largely ignored Democrats so they had more time to fight amongst themselves. As reported by various news outlets, the governor and the Speaker of the House (Rob Vescovo of Arnold) do not get along. And, the Conservative Caucus in the House and Senate are very quick to monkey wrench any proposal they don’t like. The result is a near deadlock on even legislation the majority of Republicans want.
However, the legislature did vote in Rush Limbaugh Day (while saying no to Walter Cronkite Day). During the first week in May stranger than normal things occurred, such as a short Public Safety bill from the Senate on earning over 100 proposed amendments in the House – with about 40 still taped on when the bill went back to the Senate.
This legislative session ends at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, May 14th . During the last week almost anything can happen.
For example, it appears certain that houses of worship will have to allow people to carry concealed weapons in during services – unless the congregation posts special large signs with specific language explaining why they are against the Second Amendment.
Likewise, a proposal by Sen. Paul Wieland (JeffCo) to forbid the use of any Medicaid funds on any form of birth control has not yet been stopped: if it is not excised the state will lose all federal funds for the Medicaid program while still being required to have a basic – around $8 billion – Medicaid program.
Do not be surprised of the legislature forces the governor to remove the acting head of the Department of Social Services. Jennifer Tidball either (depending on perception) downplayed instances of abuse in Children’s Division facilities and vendors, or, lied about the amount of abuse. Several legislators are also unhappy that Tidball’s sister is a senior administrator under Tidball’s direction in DSS.
Another flashpoint could be Republican reaction to the indictment of political consultant David Barklage on tax evasion charges. His roster of clients includes several leading House and Senate members (including both senators from Jefferson County). While powerful, Barklage isn’t universally loved.