JEFFERSON CITY – Governor Blunt today announced an innovative and creative plan to dramatically improve higher education in our state through the sale of MoHELA. Not surprisingly, liberal Democrat obstructionists were criticizing the proposal before it was even introduced.

“The predictable knee-jerk reaction from Missouri Democrats to criticize everything that Republicans propose is especially disappointing in this instance,” said Jared Craighead, Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party. “It is unfortunate that Democrats continue to prioritize their political agenda above the importance of investing in the state’s higher education system.”

Governor Blunt’s bold vision and commitment to state taxpayers transformed a $1.1 BILLION Democrat-created deficit into a surplus in a single year without a tax increase. That same commitment to taxpayers is evident yet again in his proposal to sell MoHELA. State estimates indicate that up to a $425 million windfall could be generated by the sale, and the Governor proposes to use that money for new scholarships, endowments, capital projects and other important higher education initiatives. “No reasonable person would immediately criticize such an exciting proposal”, said Craighead, “but we must remember that the critics are Democrats with a political axe to grind and no real agenda of their own.”