Volume 16, Edition 2   •  June 8, 2007

Governor Blunt Delivers Funds to Fight Autism

Gov. Blunt continues to deliver real results for Missouri families, as is demonstrated by his leadership in securing more than doubled funding for families struggling with autism. In his State of the State Address, Gov. Blunt called on lawmakers to significantly increase funding to treat and diagnose autism. Early diagnosis and treatment is key to the successful treatment of autism. “Missouri’s new state budget is providing vital funding that focuses state resources to improve the lives of Missouri families struggling with autism,” Gov. Blunt said. “Autism has a profound impact on Missouri families and this critical funding will help raise awareness about autism and provide greater treatment options to better the lives of children.” The budget includes an added $3.9 million, which will be used to create Missouri’s first intensive day treatment program at the Ozark Center in Joplin, reduce or eliminate the waiting list for autism diagnosis and treatment, expand staff and training, and support regional parents’ groups that address autism issues. Additionally, Gov. Blunt secured funding in his Lewis and Clark Discovery Initiative for a new state of the art learning center at Southeast Missouri State University to begin diagnosing and treating children with autism in the region.

Missourians Agree: Missouri, Gov. Blunt Are on the Right Track!

MissouriPulse.com is reporting that a poll conducted by Public Pulse shows Gov. Blunt’s approval rating continues to climb, much to the chagrin of the Democrat party. The Governor’s common sense, conservative leadership has led to the creation of more than 90,000 new jobs, more funding for education, a better health care system, and laws that reflect the values of Missouri families. And Missourians are noticing the improvements in our state! The poll, which surveyed 600 registered voters and has a margin of error of +/- 3.5 percent, reveals that 53 percent of Missourians believe that our state is on the right track, with only 35 percent who disagree. MissouriPulse also reports that 50 percent of Missourians believe that Matt Blunt is doing a great job leading our state forward, with only 34 percent who disapprove. As more and more Missourians see the benefits of Blunt’s responsible and principled leadership, these numbers will continue to climb!

Missouri Families Win with Tax Relief, Expanded Health Care Coverage at Lower Costs

Health care is an important issue for Missouri families, and Gov. Blunt is working to make sure that health care is available to all Missourians. He championed and has signed legislation that expands health care coverage for Missouri families and includes a tax relief measure that will lower the cost of health insurance. This new law will help Missourians who could not previously afford coverage obtain health insurance and lower the cost burden on those who already have insurance. “I thank Governor Blunt for encouraging all stakeholders to come together and find a solution that will provide more Missourians access to affordable health insurance,” Rep. Doug Ervin, the bill’s sponsor, said. “This bill reorients our state’s health care policy toward the objectives of the individual and away from the employer, the insurer, providers, and government through portability and equitable tax treatment among all consumers of health care goods and services, putting the consumer back in the driver’s seat to make their own health care decisions.” The new law helps Missourians defined as “high risk” to more easily purchase health insurance, allows for the deduction of the cost of health insurance premiums, expands dependent coverage to the age of 26 to help young Missourians entering the workforce, qualifies self-employed individuals for a tax credit on federal taxes paid on insurance premiums, provides a tax-free option for employees to pay insurance premiums through cafeteria plans, and allows employers to make a defined contribution towards their employees’ purchase of health insurance.

Governor Signs Sprinkler Legislation for Long Term Care Facilities

Following a fire last year at the Anderson Guest House in Southwest Missouri that took the lives of 11 people, Gov. Blunt immediately took action to implement stricter safety requirements and expand fire safety education in all long term care facilities. He called on lawmakers to enact even more important safety measures in these facilities to protect some of the state’s most vulnerable citizens who rely on others for their care. The legislature heeded his call, and Gov. Blunt signed the bill into law in Anderson. “Today, we remember a horrific tragedy and those who lost their lives or a loved one at the Anderson Guest House,” Gov. Blunt said at the signing. “The lessons learned by what happened last November will not be forgotten. With this legislation we are enhancing the safety at our long term care facilities by implementing reforms I called for to protect Missourians living in long term care facilities.” The new law requires sprinklers in new facilities, sets standards and goals for installing sprinklers in existing facilities, requires improved fire alarm systems, and increases fire safety education and planning. The legislation also creates a low interest loan program to help facilities implement the changes and make upgrades. Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, the state’s official Senior Advocate, said, “We should do everything within our power to protect our seniors who require the most care, and this legislation goes a long way toward ensuring the safety in residential and assisted living facilities.”

Incompetent Nixon Can't Find Ameren's Mr. X

Attorney General Jay Nixon said he would not file criminal charges against Ameren for the Taum Sauk collapse, but a report shows he made the decision without identifying an Ameren employee, Mr. X, who removed critical evidence before investigators arrived at the scene of the worst man-made disaster in Missouri's history. The Missouri Highway Patrol provided Nixon with information that “an unknown Ameren employee” removed probes designed to shut down the plant and prevent an overflow if water ever reached them immediately after the Taum Sauk disaster. Nixon, who is acting Reynolds County Prosecutor in the criminal investigation, can request subpoenas to force Ameren or Mr. X to come forward but has failed to do so. Jay Nixon owes Missourians an explanation as to why he, the criminal prosecutor in the Ameren Taum Sauk case, failed to identify Ameren's Mr. X. Even though the Missouri Highway Patrol provided his office with a thorough, 2,000 page report, Nixon failed to follow up on a critical lead: the identity of the Ameren employee, and potential suspect, who removed critical evidence from the scene of a disaster. It is also unknown if Nixon requested a subpoena to learn the identity of Mr. X. Investigators said the probes were removed and stacked in a bucket at the bottom of the reservoir by the time Ameren allowed safety inspectors on the scene. Now investigators might never know for certain how high the probes were raised or whether they were even operational at the time of the collapse. Reasonable people are entitled to believe that a competent criminal prosecutor would have been interested in knowing the identity of Mr. X. Nixon's incompetence in the Taum Sauk case is truly frightening. Missourians are left to wonder now whether $19,000 in backdoor contributions is all it takes to buy off a prosecutor.

Columbia Daily Tribune Omits Nixon Shakedown from Story

Missourians are questioning how far some in the media are willing to go to cover up the inappropriate behavior of Attorney General Jay Nixon. Terry Ganey's story in Sunday's Columbia Daily Tribune omitted critical information about an inappropriate political solicitation by Nixon to a Missouri developer. The Missouri Republican Party has pointed out in the past outrageous contributions that Democrats received from developers, but Ganey’s story focused on a letter that Springfield developer Sam Hamra wrote Governor Blunt. Governor Blunt doesn’t allow political contributions to affect his decisions on behalf of hard-working Missourians, as Hamra discovered when his contributions to the Governor had zero impact on securing development projects he wanted through the MHDC. But here’s the kicker: in the letter Sam Hamra sent to the Governor, Hamra described a phone call he had received from – you guessed it – Jay Nixon. The details of this phone call were omitted from Ganey’s article. Hamra’s letter stated: “Attorney General Jay Nixon called me for an appointment to come see me in my office this morning. During our visit he said to me, ‘I see that Governor Blunt has disappointed you and now will you support me for Governor?’ I said to Jay, ‘I will let you know Friday.’" Ganey clearly had the letter that detailed Nixon’s political shakedown and an obvious promise of quid pro quo (Nixon sits on the board of MHDC), but Ganey failed to mention this clearly relevant and disgusting behavior by Nixon in his “article.” This type of biased reporting and journalistic negligence in our state has become par for the course in too many big-city liberal papers. Jay Nixon’s unethical behavior is nothing short of mind-boggling, and it is hard to believe that some in the media believe they are doing their readers a service by cherry picking the facts in their news to protect their sweetheart politicians like Jay Nixon.

MissouriPulse.com Post of the Week

Johnny-Come-Lately Helps Preserve Amnesty Boondoggle

Just when you thought Sen. McCaskill could not possibly contort her position on immigration reform any further, she pulled off a move this afternoon that even Stretch Armstrong would envy. As indicated in the prior post, McCaskill (a.k.a. Johnny-Come-Lately) yesterday joined 30 other Senators, including Sen. Bond, in support of an anti-amnesty amendment that targeted language granting legal status to illegal immigrants. The vote reflected McCaskill’s recent flurry of statements in opposition to the pending immigration bill.

Now, less than 24 hours later, McCaskill just voted against a separate anti-amnesty amendment sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) that posed what liberal Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) deemed “a stealth, Trojan horse amendment to kill the bill”; the same bill McCaskill claims to oppose. In a contentious 46-51 vote, McCaskill joined Democrats and a handful of Republicans, including John McCain, in defeating Cornyn’s amendment to bar felons—that’s right, felons—and other criminals, including sex offenders and gang members from legalization. In total, CQ estimated that Cornyn’s amendment would have denied amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants who have violated deportation orders. McCaskill had a chance to follow through on her recent rhetoric and cast a critical vote in favor of Cornyn’s amendment, which would have likely scuttled the immigration bill, but she blew it. In less than 24 hours, it seems McCaskill has returned to her original position from last year's campaign in favor of amnesty.

More...

Sen. Bond was among the 46 Republican and Democratic supporters of the Cornyn amendment who made a solid, yet unsuccessful, stand against amnesty.

CQ’s description of the Cornyn amendment:

Senate Roll Call Vote 187
Cornyn, R-Texas, amendment no. 1184 to Kennedy, D-Mass., substitute amendment no. 1150. The Cornyn amendment would expand the list of felony crimes for which conviction would prevent illegal aliens from receiving legal status. The list would include membership in terrorist organizations or violent gangs, sex offenses, firearms smuggling and repeat drunk driving. It would also bar individuals who have violated court ordered deportations from legalization of immigration status. The substitute would overhaul U.S. immigration policies and institute new border security measures, including an electronic verification system. It would allocate some green cards on a merit-based system based on certain criteria, including a high-demand occupation, proficiency in English, and higher education degrees. Half of the green cards would be allocated based on family relations. It also would provide for a temporary guest worker program that would allow workers to remain in the United States for up to six years, provided that they return to their home country for a year after every two years they remain in the United States.

Thoughts and Prayers

The Missouri Republican Party encourages Republicans across the state to keep these individuals in your thoughts and prayers:

Diane Diebold, 157th Legislative District Chair and Cape Girardeau County Vice Chair, who is undergoing surgery.

Major Daniel Ellinger, U.S. Army, son of 6th District State Committeewoman Carol Ellinger, who is beginning his second tour in Iraq.

Harold Hamann, father of 15th District State Committeewoman Peggy Adams, who was recently hospitalized.

Evelyn Kinker, mother of 21st State Commiteewoman Linda Leabo, who has heart problems.

The family of Gene Copeland, father of former 4th Senatorial District State Committeeman Kevin Copeland. Gene, a lifelong Republican, recently passed away.

Representative Scott Lipke, District 157, and his wife Ashley, as they prepare for the birth of their daughter, who has a heart defect.

Johnie Olvera, husband of Lafayette County Recorder of Deeds Patsy Olvera, who recently had heart surgery.

Bob Schwartz, 3rd Senatorial District State Committeeman, who recently had surgery.

Paul Busiek, husband of Mavis Busiek. Paul’s health concerns continue.

Mike Keathley, Commissioner of Administration, who has cancer.

Tony Snow, White House spokesman, who has cancer.

Dawn Sprick, daughter of 21st Senatorial District State Committeeman Gary Harris, who has cancer.

Brian Grace, Director of Public Affairs at the Department of Economic Development, who is recovering from surgery.

 
{{ openrate() }}Click here to unsubscribe or change preferences