View from the 24th Story
A Message from Representative Chris Kelly
Volume 5, August-September 2009
The controversy over health care reform is currently centered in federal -- not state -- legislation.
Read U.S. Representative Ike Skelton's mainstream "take" on truth vs. myth and his thinking on the status of current legislative alternatives in a letter to his 4th U.S. Congressional District constituents:
Ike Skelton
4th District, Missouri
Congress of the United States
House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515-2504
August 18, 2009
....Thank you for contacting me regarding health care in the United States. I appreciate hearing from you.
Three committees in the House of Representatives and two committees in the Senate are working on bills to reform the nation's health insurance system. The main proposal being considered in the House is H.R. 3200, known as the America's Affordable Health Choices Act. It has been approved at the committee level but is not yet in its final form.
Reducing health care costs and expanding health coverage to those who do not currently have it are bipartisan objectives in Congress and throughout the United States. But, as Congress works to address these issues, it must write the most thoughtful bill possible.
Health insurance reform must be thoroughly reviewed and ideas must be debated in the House and the Senate so that a final bill will be the right plan for the American people.
Right now, I am reviewing the health proposals that passed out of House committees and listening to Fourth District residents who have a variety of opinions on the health care issue.
So that you know about the legislation being drafted in the House, let me share some basic information about it with you. The current House proposal would create a health insurance exchange - or menu - where individuals who do not currently receive health insurance through their employer or through a government program, such as Medicare, Medicaid, or TRICARE, could choose a health insurance provider.
Insurers participating in the exchange would be required to offer a standard set of benefits, would be prohibited from varying the cost of their plans based on a pre-existing condition, work environment, or gender, and would not be allowed to drop plan participants. It would make modifications to how health care providers are reimbursed through Medicare.
And, while the current House proposal would create a public health insurance plan option within the exchange, it would not create a national, single-payer health care system similar to Canada or European nations.
In recent weeks, I have heard rumors that legislation moving through the House of Representatives would deny elderly or disabled persons health care based on decisions by so-called "death panels" and that the proposal would allow for federal funding of abortion. After learning of these allegations, I did my homework and discovered that they are not true. As a pro-life Congressman and an elder in the First Christian Church, I would never consider supporting legislation that contains those types of provisions.
I encourage you to study health reform proposals pending in Congress, as I am doing. For more information, you may visit the House Energy and Commerce Committee's website at www.energycommerce.house.gov or the House Ways and Means Committee's website at www.waysandmeans.house.gov. In the Senate, you may visit the Senate Finance Committee's website at www.finance.senate.gov or the Senate HELP Committee's website at www.help.senate.gov.
Again, I will continue to review health insurance reform proposals and appreciate hearing the views of Fourth District residents during this important debate. With kindest regards, I remain
Very truly yours,
s/ Ike
IKE SKELTON
Member of Congress
Teachers across Missouri are justifiably concerned about a letter recently sent to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) from House Budget Committee Chair Allen Icet, and Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Gary Nodler, in late June.In the letter, forwarded by DESE to each of the 523 school districts in the state, Icet and Nodler said:
It is the intent of the General Assembly that the FY2010 appropriation for Career Ladder will be the last appropriation made in arrears for this program. The General Assembly cannot assure that participants in the Career Ladder Program for the 2009-2010 school year and beyond will be supported by state appropriation, and these potential participants should be notified of these changes.
Translation: The Career Ladder Program, in which more than 17,000 Missouri teachers participate across 336 school districts, is in jeopardy for this school year.
While Representative Icet and Senator Nodler are important individuals, they do not speak for the entire Legislature. The Career Ladder warrants Legislative support and my intent is to work tirelessly to see that Missouri continues to support this important program.What is Career Ladder? Why is it important?
Since 1986, Missouri school districts have had the option of participating in a joint state-local funded Career Ladder Program. Approximately 60% ($37M) of the program costs come from state funds and the remaining 40% match ($25M) comes from local district funds. Its purpose is to retain quality teachers and provide opportunities for professional growth and career advancement, while improving student achievement. It also provides an increasingly important salary supplement for quality teachers, who can earn either $1500, $3000, or $5000 per year in supplemental income for out-of-contract work, based on their stage of Career Ladder. Among other eligibility criteria required to participate in the program, Career Ladder Stage I teachers must have a minimum of five years’ teaching experience in Missouri Public Schools; seven years’ experience is required for Stage II; ten years’ experience is required for Stage III.
Each participating school district must submit an annual Career Ladder plan to the state for approval; after meeting all qualifications to participate, each participating teacher must develop his/her own corresponding career development plan. Acceptable professional activities included in the plan—for which teachers are compensated--must be academic and relate directly to student services or programs. Common career ladder activities include professional development, curriculum development, and student tutoring or mentoring. All approved hours must be performed outside of contracted time and must be carefully logged. Career ladder duties cannot be part of the teacher’s regularly assigned duties or activities for which any non-Career Ladder compensation is received.
What is the Outlook for Career Ladder in Missouri?
Current and projected state and local revenue is in serious jeopardy. There simply is not enough revenue to support essential governmental expenditures, let alone any additional expenditure worthy of taxpayer support. State government, unlike federal government, must operate within a balanced budget. We don’t have the option to deficit spend--if we don’t have the money, we can’t spend it. Generally, that’s good. But at a time like this, when state revenues have declined precipitously and taxes have continually been cut, there is no fiscal cushion to soften the blow.
Nevertheless, I strongly believe in the importance of the Career Ladder Program to Missouri teachers and children and will do everything I can to find the $37M in state funds needed to supplement the $25M in local district funds allocated to the program.
Missouri ranks 41st out of 50 states in average teacher salary, on par with Louisiana and Alabama. Missouri teachers cannot lose this important source of compensation.
Mixed Reports
After its August meeting, the Federal Reserve announced that it was transitioning to a more normal policy after almost two years of extraordinary steps to avert a second Great Depression. Policy makers have pointed to signs of "green shoots": month-by-month decreases in new jobless claims, a surging stock market, scattered increases in economic activity, rising worker productivity, and the success of the "cash for clunkers" program (which has resulted in some Missourians being called back to work).
These signs of optimism do not necessarily mean that the worst is over. Rather, they indicate that the economy may be in the process of stabilizing at the bottom of the decline. Unemployment is always one of the last indicators to rebound from a recession, so the federal government continues to pursue stimulus policies to create jobs.
Missouri Unemployment
Missouri’s July unemployment rate (latest available) was 9.4%, while the rate for the Columbia metro area was 6.7%, down from 6.9% in June. Columbia’s unemployment rate remains the lowest among all of the state’s metro areas.
Approximately 278,000 Missourians were out of work in July, but Missouri showed gains in durable goods manufacturing (3,800 jobs) and health care and social assistance (1,300). Local government (-3,300) and construction (-2,000) showed losses.
Missouri will not be able to access $133 million in additional stimulus funds in unemployment benefits because legislation passed in May made only temporary changes to unemployment laws to last only as long as stimulus funds were available. In order to receive federal stimulus money for unemployment benefits, the changes would have had to be permanent and enacted prior to approval of stimulus dollars to the state.
To qualify for these additional funds, the federal government required states to change their unemployment laws to include benefits to people leaving jobs for domestic violence, for those whose spouses took jobs in another location, or for individuals with family emergencies such as illness or disability.
The legislation passed in May did not comply with these requirements, which I believe to be reasonable. I would like to see the Governor call the legislature into special session to fix this problem and gain access to these federal funds.
The federal government did approve a change in Missouri law extending unemployment benefits for an additional twenty weeks. Unemployed Missourians have received approximately $27 million as a result of that extension.
Missouri Revenue Collection
Missouri ended the fiscal year on June 30 with a 6.9% decline in revenue collections compared to the previous year. July revenue declined by 7.5%, so the turnaround is not yet visible in Missouri. Because of this declining revenue, Governor Nixon just announced a cut of $60 million in addition to the $400+ million in cuts that he made in June.
Governor Nixon is unlikely to release any of the funds that he withheld this summer until Missouri’s revenue picture improves. Funds for MU’s new Ellis Fischel Cancer Hospital in Columbia are included in this withholding. Should the revenue picture improve, I will do whatever I can to reinstate funding to Ellis Fischel as quickly as possible.
Before adjourning in May, the State Legislature allocated $40 million in the FY2010 budget to launch Caring for Missourians to train more than 900 additional high-demand, critical-need health care providers in areas such as primary care medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry and physical and occupational therapy.As Gov. Nixon has said:
During these difficult economic times, Missouri still faces a critical need for trained and educated professionals in a variety of health care fields. And that need is only going to increase as our population ages in the years to come. "Caring for Missourians" will help us train the next generation of medical professionals to meet the health care needs of tomorrow, while also helping turn our economy around today.
Today, 95 of Missouri’s 114 counties are considered “health professional shortage areas.” Hospitals report a nursing shortage of more than 7%, in addition to a shortage of 6% for pharmacists, 7% for medical lab technicians and 8% for physical therapists.
and universities will receive an appropriation for this fiscal year (See complete list of funding commitments below).
Each institution must submit a specific plan to expand the capacity of its health care training programs and must meet accountability targets. While the funds are, of necessity, a one-time appropriation, I am working to assure permanent funding for this important program.
The University of Missouri System will receive approximately $24M, with $9.4 million going to the Columbia campus, which serves as the provider of last resort for most of the state’s underserved counties.
See the entire FY2010 Missouri state budget here.
College/University Appropriations through Caring for Missourians:
| Institution | Amount |
| Linn State Technical College | $154,151 |
| Harris-Stowe State University | $513,870 |
| Lincoln University | $807,161 |
| Missouri Southern State University | $1,100,871 |
| Missouri State University | $2,198,607 |
| Missouri Western State University | $847,724 |
| Northwest Missouri State University | $527,319 |
| Southeast Missouri State University | $1,172,210 |
| Truman State University | $756,339 |
| University of Central Missouri | $1,216,361 |
| University of Missouri – Columbia | $9,422,307 |
| University of Missouri – Kansas City | $11,814,460 |
| Missouri University of Science & Technology | $513,869 |
| University of Missouri – St. Louis | $2,527,563 |
| Crowder College | $135,866 |
| East Central College | $318,765 |
| Jefferson College | $436,101 |
| Metropolitan Community College | $1,017,134 |
| Mineral Area College | $339,666 |
| Moberly Area Community College | $372,266 |
| North Central Missouri College | $304,333 |
| Ozarks Technical Community College | $471,224 |
| St. Louis Community College | $1,490,447 |
| St. Charles Community College | $768,177 |
| State Fair Community College | $407,599 |
| Three Rivers Community College | $365,610 |
| TOTAL | $40,000,000 |
The Missouri House and Senate will convene in Jefferson City on September 16 for the annual Veto Session. The Missouri Constitution requires the Legislature to reconvene in September if the Governor has vetoed any bills that were passed by both the House and Senate. The vetoed bills are returned to the chamber in which they originated. If a two-thirds vote is cast in favor of an override, the bill is then sent to the other chamber. In order to override the Governor's veto, two thirds of the members of each chamber must vote in favor of the override.
Veto overrides are rare. The last successful override took place in 2003 in which the concealed weapons bill that Governor Holden vetoed became law because of a legislative override.
This year, lawmakers have a large number of measures to consider as Gov. Jay Nixon vetoed 33 bills, including all or part of 22 House bills and 11 Senate bills. There is, however, no concerted effort to date to override any of Governor Nixon's vetoes.
View a complete list of both vetoed bills and bills signed into law by Gov. Nixon here.
Democracy for America is sponsoring a comprehensive two-day training academy in Columbia on Saturday, October 3 and Sunday, October 4. This training includes all aspects of political campaigns, including door-to-door targeting, registration, fund-raising, media, and volunteer management.
DFA sponsored an excellent event two years ago. If you are interested in improving your political and campaign skills, this academy provides a wonderful resource. I urge you to consider participating. You can get more information from here.
Office Hours in the District ...
Columbia: Thursday, September 10, 6:30 p.m.
Angelo's Pizza, 4107 S. Providence Rd.
Ashland: Thursday, September 17, 6:30 p.m.
The Copper Kettle, 508 E. Liberty Ln.
It's your government. Get involved!
Sincerely, Chris Kelly
chris@chriskelly24.com
Email your thoughts to chris@chriskelly24.com