HCN All Politics:
- Tom Schweich Files to Run for State Auditor
- “With billions of dollars of Obama stimulus money coming to Missouri, our state needs a fiscal conservative like me to protect every taxpayer dollar from waste and abuse,” Schweich said. “I have the unparalleled experience to be the tough, fair-minded, and efficient taxpayer advocate Missourians deserve.”
- 8th District candidate wraps up 'Boots on the Ground'
- Last month’s Supreme Court decision allowing unlimited corporate and labor campaign expenditures, despite overwhelming numbers of both Democratic and Republican voters in opposition, only spreads the cancer. The real beneficiaries of this ruling are special interests and the incumbents they almost universally support over challengers.
- Senators Introduce Legislation to Improve HUBZone Program by Implementing GAO Recommendations
- The HUBZone Improvement Act is an important step in reforming a program that has become a vital tool in creating jobs and revitalizing the communities that need it most,” said Senator Bond. “I’m proud to join this bipartisan group of Senators to help small businesses continue to rebuild, revitalize and bring hope to so many of our neighborhoods.”
- Senators file bills to strip water testing from DNR
- Senator continues call for increased use of smart power
- Senate Gives First Round Approval to Ethics Bill
- The bill seeks to improve ethics standards that would allow the Missouri Ethics Commission to investigate ethics violations without an outside complaint being filed, require contributions of more than $250 to incumbent officials and their challengers during session be electronically reported within 48 hours, and bars committees from shifting funds to all committees except candidate committees.
- Senate passes bill allowing child pornography victims to sue abusers
- Senate gives first approval to ethics reform
- Senate leaders acknowledged there is a long way to go, and a lot of reconciliation, before any ethics legislation becomes law. Sen. Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau, introduced the amendment which would have required a year-long waiting period between leaving the state legislature and taking a lobbying or major state position.
- Senate committee hears bill to give children of illegal immigrants in-state college tuition
- Sen. Jolie Justus, D-Jackson County, said she wasn't confident the legislation would move any closer to becoming law this year. The bill would provide Missouri students in the country without legal documentation in-state tuition rates at Missouri's colleges and universities.
- Parker to Emerson - Don't Run
- "As I have traveled the district from Cape Girardeau to Gainesville, the anti-incumbent sentiment is at a fever pitch here in Missouri. Many county leaders shake their heads in disgust at the Wall Street Bailout votes Mrs. Emerson made. They feel that she has been in Washington too long and is just too out of touch with the way things really are here in the 8th District.''
- Nixon signs first bill of 2010 legislative session
- Missouri Sunshine Law may no longer see grey area
- Rep. Timothy Jones, R-St. Louis County, proposed two bills to tighten Sunshine Law provisions on local officials to the General Laws Committee this week. Jones' primary bill concerned open meetings and records.
- McCaskill Takes Blackwater Security To Task For Repeated Failures in Afghanistan
- McCaskill took Paravant/Blackwater officials to task over the company’s lack of reasonable standards of conduct, including the repeated and reckless use of unauthorized weapons, which ultimately resulted in the deaths of two innocent Afghan civilians.
- McCaskill Presses DHS Secretary on MO Immigration issue
- In response to this case, McCaskill called upon Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to explain why the sheriff was instructed to let undocumented workers return to their work site without punishment and what measures are being taken to crack down on business owners who knowingly hire undocumented workers.
- McCaskill joins bipartisan effort to help businesses create jobs
- “It’s the private sector, specifically small businesses, that will do the most to help us recover from one of the worst economic crises in our nation’s history,” McCaskill said. “If we don’t advocate for the small businesses of Missouri, who have for so long been the engine of our economy, then many of them will be at risk of falling victim to these tough economic times. I’m relieved Washington finally was able to work together across party lines to help Missouri businesses and workers. ”
- McCaskill Introduces Bill to Improve Embassy Security in War Zones
- In light of the U.S.’s growing reliance on contractors and reports of security personnel problems at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, which were examined in a hearing on the issue chaired by U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill in the Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight, three U.S. senators today introduced legislation that would ensure that the federal government adequately monitors and oversees the work of private security contractors protecting embassies in combat zones.
- Lobbyist influences and purpose are a point of debate
- "It's just the way it is down here," said Dougherty, D-Independence, referring to the influence of lobbying. Dougherty was recently a subject of a column in The Kansas City Star, written by political columnist Steve Kraske. In it, Dougherty is quoted as telling a group of home inspectors who opposed a bill that their opinion wouldn't get heard effectively without aid from a lobbyist.
- House committee ponders public-private phone records
- Currently, lawmakers may submit a request to have their personal phones payed for by taxpayer money, but some committee members wondered if asking the state to pay these fees opens a door that would make private information public.
- House Budget Committee explores relocating geriatric inmates in order to collect revenue from Medicaid
- Rep. Dwight Scharnhorst, R-St. Louis County, chairman of the Public Safety and Corrections Appropriations Committee, defended his committee's unanimous vote against cutting $19 million from the Corrections Department budget at a hearing Tuesday. Such cuts, he said, would force the state to shut down one to two minimal security prisons.
- Emerson to State - Large-Animal Veterinarians Needed for Southern Missouri
- Veterinarians working in the counties accepted for the program would be eligible for partial repayment of their educational costs, and Emerson strongly feels young veterinarians should have the opportunity to serve rural counties where small and medium-sized livestock operations are the norm.
- Emerson Grills USDA on Animal ID Privacy, States’ Rights
- “Yes, USDA has indicated it is changing course, but we still have to be on guard that the outcome of any rules they publish do not result in a mandatory or compulsory burden for livestock operations,” Emerson said. “I remain concerned about the implementation of rules that will create a privacy concern and a financial hardship for the cow/calf operations in Southern Missouri who have a right to be very concerned about these prospective rules.”
- Emerson Appreciates VA Decision to Reopen Gulf War Syndrome Cases
- “These men and women put their lives on the line for our country, and there is no question that some of them experienced a real medical condition directly related to their service in the Gulf region,” Emerson said. “To serve your country and then to be told you are imagining your condition is a tremendous insult to their service. I am very appreciative that the Veterans Administration is trying to set this right.”
- Constitution Party part of August primary
- "Unlike the other political parties, before they file their candidacy, our candidates are thoroughly vetted with a 25-page questionnaire to determine their knowledge of the proper role of government ", reported State Chairman, Donna Ivanovich.
- Bod praises Senate action to give intel community tools to fight terrorism
- “We need look no further than the Christmas Day terrorist plot to understand that the threats we faced on September 11th are still very real. Like we saw in New York, Colorado, and Illinois, terrorist plots to kill Americans don’t come just from radical extremists overseas; they are also planned by citizens and residents of this country."
- Bond highlights to EPA chief concerns over backdoor cap-and-trade regs
- “There is bipartisan concern that backdoor EPA regulations to circumvent stalled cap-and-trade legislation will kill jobs and raise energy taxes,” said Bond to Jackson. “Democratic Senators feel they ‘have a responsibility to the workers and industries’ of their states to question your plans for carbon regulations and so do I.”
- Bills adjusting payments for health insurance claims pass House and Senate unanimously
- Rep. Timothy Jones, R-St. Louis County, the sponsor of the House's version said the bill "will eventually, I believe, result in lowered health care costs because you're going to get rid of a lot of inefficiencies in the system, and providers are not going to have to spend manpower and time chasing down these claims that previously were not paid."
- Abortion bills clear Senate committee
- "The most effective way to protect children and keep women from being wounded for life is to ensure that women facing unplanned pregnancies have received factual information concerning their decision," said Sen. Rob Mayer, R-Dexter.
- Senator Christopher “Kit” Bond Earns National Award for Community Health Care
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