Huge Show-Me RED Success

Last weekend hundreds of volunteers came together across Missouri to show their support for Senator Talent and our Republican candidates by making phone calls and knocking on doors. Thanks to everyone who took an afternoon or morning to come out and make our Show-Me Red weekend such a tremendous success! With only a few weeks left until the election, it is vitally important that we work together to get out the vote and ensure that our Republican values continue to be represented in Jefferson City and Washington, DC.

If you weren’t able to help during the “Show-Me Red” weekend, please join us during the weeks leading up to the election for our Get Out the Vote activities. And if you were able to join us for Show-Me Red please come back and bring a friend! Our successes this election will depend on our army of volunteers, banding together to work on behalf of our Republican candidates across the state.

MOHELA Board Passes Plan to Enhance Higher Education

Governor Matt Blunt’s bold Lewis and Clark Discovery Initiative to provide $350 million in new money for our students is moving forward despite the efforts of Jay Nixon and his fellow Democrat Party bosses to block it. The Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority board voted to approve the plan, which will be reviewed by the General Assembly. Of the $350 million, $335 million will be used to help expand and build new science and technology research centers and renovate existing ones on university campuses. The remaining $15 million would go to the Missouri Technology Corp. to attract high-tech companies to the state. Raymond Bayer, Jr., MOHELA’s executive director, said the loan sale would not impact the agency's student borrower benefits. Republicans look forward to pursuing the legislation early next year to ensure that our colleges and universities have cutting-edge facilities that will make our students competitive in the global economy.

Republicans in Congress Pass Terrorist Interrogation Bill

Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate passed legislation this week to allow “military commissions” to prosecute terrorists and allow President Bush to determine permissible interrogation techniques. After a final vote today in the House, the bill will be sent to the President to sign.

Missouri Republican leaders supported the bill, giving the United States additional tools to fight terrorism and protect our national security.

Senator Talent remarked, “I strongly support the legislation the Senate passed … allowing the prosecution and interrogation of terrorists. I’m pleased the Senate rejected attempts to weaken the bill by permitting terrorists the right to file lawsuits against our military and intelligence personnel.”

Republicans continue to work to pass terrorist surveillance programs to intercept communication between members of terror organizations such as Al-Qaeda, like the Electronic Surveillance Modernization Act, which recently passed in the U.S. House. Congressman Roy Blunt stated, “Our security professionals should have every available tool needed to protect our country. There is no doubt that innocent lives have been saved as a result of monitoring terrorist communications.”

Economy Continues to Prosper Under Republican Leadership

Missourians’ quality of life continues to improve under Republican leadership. Leading economic indicators show that our workers have more money in their pockets and businesses are busy selling record numbers of goods in the global marketplace.

Personal income for Missourians went up by 1.8 percent in this year's second quarter, according to data released yesterday by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Meanwhile, Missouri continues to strengthen its place in the global economy by increasing exports by nearly 19 percent.

Combined with the creation of more than 54,000 new jobs over the last two years, Missouri has come a long way from the days of billion dollar budget deficits and massive education cuts under the previous Democrat administration.

Talent, Hulshof Help Celebrate Ethanol Plant Opening in Laddonia

On September 25, exactly one year after the ground-breaking, the ethanol plant in Laddonia celebrated its opening in grand style. More than 3,500 Missourians came to commemorate the event with Senator Jim Talent, Congressman Kenny Hulshof, elected representatives, business owners and over 900 area farmers. The crowd enjoyed tours of the plant, a Vangaurd Squadron fly-over and presentations by elected officials and industry representatives.

Congressman Kenny Hulshof remarked, “This is the future of farming, right here. This is a renaissance of American agriculture.”

The ethanol plant will create over 40 new jobs for Missouri with a payroll of $1.8 million and decrease our dangerous dependence on Middle Eastern oil. Legislation such as the E-10 standard, championed by Governor Matt Blunt and passed by the Republican General Assembly and the Renewable Fuels Standard sponsored by Senator Jim Talent highlight the importance of ethanol and renewable fuels in our nation.

First Annual DREAM Inductees Announced

This week Governor Matt Blunt announced the first 10 inductees into the DREAM (Downtown Revitalization and Economic Assistance for Missouri) Initiative. These communities will receive streamlined access to technical and financial programs from the state to jumpstart their downtown revitalization efforts.

Governor Blunt said, “[These communities] represent the potential for all Missouri’s diverse and historic towns and cities working to revitalize their downtowns and attract new private investment opportunities to the hearts of their communities.”

The communities selected for the DREAM Initiative are Cape Girardeau, Excelsior Springs, Hannibal, Hermann, Kennett, Neosho, Sedalia, St. Joseph, Washington, and West Plains. Since each community is at a different point in their downtown development, assistance for each area will be tailored to meet their specific needs.

Parents as Teachers and MOST Develop Partnership

State Treasurer Sarah Steelman recently announced a partnership between Parents as Teachers and MOST, Missouri’s 529 college savings plan, in order to give new parents the information they need to start saving for their child’s college education.

Parents as Teachers has been identified as one of the most beneficial programs available to new parents, reaching nearly half of the families in Missouri. Through a partnership with MOST, parents will be given information about the college savings program at their child’s six month visit, giving them the opportunity to start a college savings account for as little as $25 a month at the earliest stages of their child’s life.

In addition to distributing materials to parents, regional coordinators for Parents as Teachers will be updated with developments in the MOST program at quarterly meetings and also be invited to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education “Conference on the Young Years.”

Treasurer Steelman has championed the MOST program during her time in office. She said, “In talking to parents throughout the state about their dreams for their children, Parents as Teachers was mentioned over and over again as one of the most credible sources of information on child development available to them. This partnership with Parents as Teachers will further our goal in making the dream of college a reality for the children of Missouri.”

Top Ten Counties

After a fantastic Show-Me Red weekend we have four new counties on our “Top Ten” list - Barton, Clay, Cape Girardeau and St. Louis County. A special congratulations to St. Louis County for not only making the “Top Ten” list, but for jumping all the way to #1 in the state!

Top Ten Counties
	15-Sep	22-Sep	29-Sep
1	Butler	Butler	St. Louis County
2	Johnson	Howell	Jasper
3	Pulaski	Adair	Butler
4	Greene	Pulaski	Greene
5	Christian	Macon	Cape Girardeau
6	Audrain	Jasper	Clay
7	Boone	Greene	Boone
8	Platte	Johnson	Barton
9	Franklin	Cass	Adair
10	Lawrence	Callaway	Franklin

 

Find out how our Republican leaders are serving Missouri by visiting their websites