President Joe BIden (Official White House photo by Lawrence Jackson)

Biden to unveil $2 trillion plan to rebuild infrastructure, move to clean energy

(Missouri Independent) – President Joe Biden on Wednesday will unveil a nearly $2 trillion infrastructure package to rebuild highways and bridges, along with funding programs for housing, broadband, and schools and increasing U.S. manufacturing jobs over the next eight years, an administration official told reporters on Tuesday night. Alongside the expansive infrastructure plan, the president will […]

Audio: Lawmaker proposes amendment prohibiting roadside checkpoints and roadblocks by law enforcement

You’ll be voting next November on a proposed constitutional amendment involving checkpoints and roadblocks if a veteran Missouri lawmaker has his way.     State Rep. Justin Hill (R-Lake St. Louis) will present his proposed constitutional amendment Wednesday at noon, before the Missouri House Downsizing State Government Committee in Jefferson City. The committee is chaired by […]

Hands holding U.S. Flag and sparkler

Lawmakers introduce legislation to close loophole in Child Citizenship Act preventing citizenship from those raised by American parents

U.S. Senators Roy Blunt (Mo.), Mazie K. Hirono (Hawaii), Susan Collins (Maine), Amy Klobuchar (Minn.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), and Tammy Duckworth (Ill.) announced that they have introduced the Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2021. The bipartisan bill would close a loophole in the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 (CCA), which has prevented internationally-adopted children, who are […]

Abortion Graphic

Abortion amendment puts bill to finance Missouri Medicaid program in limbo

(Missouri Independent) – Missouri Senate leadership pulled a bill vital for funding the state’s Medicaid program from floor debate Tuesday after adopting an amendment barring the use of public money for common contraceptive treatments. The amendment, sponsored by Republican Sen. Paul Wieland, could endanger the state’s entire Medicaid program by eliminating a health care service required by federal […]

House and car made of money

Audio: Missouri House Committee hears testimony on legislation aimed at helping seniors with property taxes

A proposed constitutional amendment that would prevent Missouri seniors 65 and older with incomes of less than $45 thousand dollars from paying property tax has been heard by a House committee in Jefferson City. Branson GOP State Representative Brian Seitz testified today (Wednesday) before the Ways and Means Committee.     While the proposal’s fiscal […]

Doctor with Stethascope

Lawmakers introduce legislation to protect rural health clinics from added financial strain during COVID-19 crisis

U.S. Senators Roy Blunt (Mo.) and Mark Warner (Va.) introduced legislation to prevent further financial instability for rural health clinics and safeguard the care they provide to underserved communities. The bipartisan Strengthening Rural Health Clinics Act of 2021 would make a technical fix to protect existing rural health clinics from a sudden and unexpected Medicare […]

President Joe Biden Photo Courtesy of the White House

Biden calls on U.S. Senate to act on background checks after Colorado mass shooting

(Missouri Independent) – President Joe Biden on Tuesday urged the U.S. Senate to immediately pass legislation to close loopholes on background checks for guns and to ban assault weapons, following a mass shooting that killed 10 at a Colorado supermarket. “This should not be a partisan issue,” Biden said. “This is an American issue.” Biden’s […]

Keystone XL Pipeline route

Missouri joins 20 other states in suing Biden administration for revoking Keystone XL pipeline permit

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt joined 20 other state attorneys general in filing suit on Wednesday, led by Montana and Texas, in United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas challenging President Joe Biden’s cancellation of the permits for the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. The lawsuit argues that President Biden’s administration […]

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt

Audio: Missouri Attorney General says federal pandemic package could prevent states from carrying out any tax cuts

Missouri’s Attorney General says language in the latest pandemic package could prevent states from carrying out any tax relief.     Attorney General Eric Schmitt and Republican attorney generals from 20 other states have fired off a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. They are questioning why the 1.9-trillion dollar plan bans states from […]

Livingston County Health Center Web Page V2

Mask declaration order in Chillicothe set to expire

Based upon The Livingston County Health Center’s calculation of positivity rate and other risk criteria, authorities in Chillicothe feel it is safe to end the mask declaration.  According to The Center for Disease Control and Prevention, face masks or face coverings are still strongly recommended in public places where social distancing cannot be maintained to […]