(Missouri Independent) – The White House is urging Congress to approve at least $24 billion — and likely more — for disaster relief costs, saying that the aid should be included in a short-term spending bill expected this month. That tally includes $14 billion for recovery costs related to extreme weather events, including hurricanes, floods, and wildfires during […]
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Virginia’s black farmers push lawmakers to provide debt relief, end lawsuits delaying USDA loan forgiveness
Farmers of color are urging Congress to end a slew of lawsuits delaying a loan-forgiveness program designed to make amends for years of loan discrimination against minority farmers. White farmers are claiming in court Congress’s $4 billion debt relief for Black farmers, part of a COVID-19 stimulus package, amounts to reverse discrimination. John Boyd Jr., president of […]
New report indicates pandemic will cause Social Security funding shortage
The pandemic presents some future funding challenges to benefits for older Americans, according to the 2021 Social Security and Medicare Trustees’ Reports. Walt Dawson, assistant professor in the School of Public Health at Oregon Health and Science University, said the programs are foundational to Americans’ health and economic security as they age. While the reports are […]
Missouri will become the last state to enforce federal mental health parity act
(Missouri Independent) – Under a new state law that went into effect late last month, Missouri will become the final state to enforce a federal law designed to ensure mental health care is covered by insurance providers the same as treatments for physical ailments. The provisions were included in House Bill 604, an omnibus insurance bill […]
Supreme Court bows out, White House wades into Texas abortion battle
President Joe Biden stepped into the abortion battle in Texas Thursday, tasking federal agencies to see what steps can be taken to, in his words, “ensure that women in Texas have access to safe and legal abortions.” The law, which took effect Wednesday, bans most abortions after six weeks before most women know they are […]
House reconciliation package would provide path to citizenship for millions
(Missouri Independent) – A provision tucked in the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package would direct Congress to chart a path for citizenship for millions of undocumented people. If passed, the House provision would provide a pathway to citizenship for those in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, often referred to as Dreamers, farmworker workers; those […]
Lawsuit filed over $1.4 billion contract for Missouri prison healthcare
(Missouri Independent) – The dispute over the $1.4 billion contract to provide prisoner health care in Missouri is moving into the courts. Corizon Health, which has held the Department of Corrections contract since 1992, filed a lawsuit Monday in Cole County alleging that unfair treatment and improper scoring gave the contract to Centurion Health, a Virginia subsidiary of […]
Attorneys argue Missouri is violating federal law, courts on Medicaid expansion delays
(Missouri Independent) – Attorneys who successfully sued to force Missouri to enact voter-approved Medicaid expansion argued in a letter to state officials Thursday that delays in implementation violate not only the court order but also federal law. The plaintiffs’ attorneys, Chuck Hatfield and Lowell Pearson joined with Joel Ferber, director of advocacy for Legal Services […]
Audio: Governor Parson does not think a special session is necessary to fund Medicaid expansion
Governor Parson says he does not think a special legislative session is necessary to work out Medicaid expansion funding. The governor does not think freezing spending will be necessary within any state departments to pay for the expansion. Many Republican lawmakers attempted to defund the expansion, arguing that the ballot measure did not […]
Afghan evacuees to arrive in the U.S. through Virginia and Wisconsin military bases
(Missouri Independent) – The first U.S. stop for the nearly 2,000 Afghan interpreters and other refugees evacuated so far amid the collapse of the Afghan government has been central Virginia’s Fort Lee military base. Tapped for its East Coast location and its ability to quickly ramp up to serve as a temporary host installation, the Army […]
Lawmakers request information on Immigration and Customs Enforcement apprehensions under Biden Administration
In light of the massive surge of illegal border crossings reported last week, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), joined by Senators Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), and Rand Paul (R-Ky.), sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas requesting critical information on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s record of apprehensions during the Biden Administration. Interior […]
Missouri to accept Medicaid expansion applications; DSS to begin processing applications on October 1
(Missouri Independent) – Missourians who qualify for benefits under Medicaid expansion can begin enrolling. Still, it may take up to two months until they will find out if their eligibility has been verified and their application has been approved. In a news release Wednesday, Gov. Mike Parson announced that in response to a Cole County […]
Lawmakers say special session likely unneeded to fund Missouri Medicaid expansion
(Missouri Independent) – Legislative leaders of both parties said Tuesday that a special session is likely not needed to appropriate additional funds following a court order to begin covering Missourians who are eligible under voter-approved Medicaid expansion. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Dan Hegeman, R-Cosby, Senate Minority Leader John Rizzo, D-Independence, and Rep. Peter Merideth, D-St. Louis and […]
Judge orders state to immediately allow Missourians to enroll in expanded Medicaid
(Missouri Independent) – The Missouri Department of Social Services must allow newly eligible residents that qualify for benefits under voter-approved Medicaid expansion to enroll and cannot impose greater restrictions on them, a Cole County judge ruled Tuesday. Cole County Circuit Court Judge Jon Beetem sided with the plaintiffs who urged him to allow Medicaid expansion to take […]
Missouri agency begins implementation of new law to regulate unlicensed boarding schools
(Missouri Independent) – Unlicensed youth residential facilities across Missouri are expected to submit materials notifying the state of their existence by mid-October, but background checks for facility staff required under a new law likely won’t be completed by that time. That’s because the Department of Social Services (DSS) is still working to make hires in […]
Audio: Cole County judge expected to issue final order on Missouri Medicaid expansion today
We’ll learn new details Friday in Jefferson City about how Missouri will proceed with voter-approved Medicaid expansion. The Missouri Supreme Court’s 14-page ruling includes a conclusion, which requires Friday’s hearing in Cole County Circuit Court. “For the reasons set forth above, the circuit court’s judgment is affirmed only insofar as it overruled the […]
Coalition of 33 lawmakers introduce bill to uphold Navigable Water Protection Rule
U.S. Senator Roy Blunt announced that he has joined U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and 31 of their Senate colleagues in introducing legislation to protect Missouri’s farmers, small businesses, and property owners by codifying the 2020 Navigable Waters Protection Rule. Under the Biden administration, the […]
New Missouri law mandates private space and break times for breastfeeding teachers
(Missouri Independent) – Eight months after her son was born, Webster Groves High School teacher Jaime Adamski broke down in tears at her doctor’s office. Her breast milk had declined significantly since she had gone back to work. “I was depressed, angry, frustrated,” she said. “I felt like I was not a good enough mother […]
Josh Hawley urges Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade in Mississippi abortion case
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley joined with two of his GOP colleagues on Monday to file an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court asking it to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion. Hawley, a Yale Law School graduate, and former Missouri attorney general, has said before that he […]