Presidential visit stops nothing

by Representative Jim Whorton

(573) 751-1649 (660) 359-3988

Last week, I spoke in this column about things being “normal” in Jefferson City, especially relating to actions in the House of Representatives. This week was quite a contrast in some respects; although I still believe our immediate actions, in the House, were still “normal” and in fact, quite productive.

One of the contrasts to normalcy was the “buzz of excitement” in Jefferson City and mid-Missouri which was created by an impromptu visit from our President of the United States, George W. Bush. The Missouri House of Representatives is so traditional, and we are so normal, that we actually continued “business as usual” even while our President was in town. We continued with sessions of floor debate and respective committee meetings throughout the day. I was able to observe a summary of the President’s visit, which was included on the evening newscasts, that outlined the purpose of his visit as it related to the National Medicare Prescription Drug Program.

Later in the week, most of us were surprised to hear murmurs about alleged FBI investigations within and surrounding the Capitol. The investigations would reportedly review the possibility of inappropriate connections or actions between government officials and outside contacts. Many of us have heard for years of suspicious connections in our nation’s Capitol, and maybe, occasionally even at the state level; however, it still comes as a surprise when we hear rumors concerning anyone we know personally. Rumors mean nothing, accusations and/or denials mean nothing, only the facts, when and if known, mean anything. Government is about us and for us; if there are problems within our government, I hope the facts become known, appropriate actions are taken, and we move on to other important and impartial issues.

Legislative action within the Missouri House included passing HCS HB 1944, relating to eminent domain. This proposed bill was debated extensively both in committee and on the House floor. It consists of numerous compromises by various interest groups and is still subject to changes by the Senate. Most of us agreed that we needed to place restrictions on the use of eminent domain condemnations of private lands. The practice had become entirely too commonplace and landowner rights had been severely eroded. I believe the bill is definitely a major move in the right direction. Hopefully, we have given those private property owners the protection they deserve and have still left necessary allowances for developments that are truly for the public good.

Several other bills were passed with solid bipartisan voting. The only proposal that was closely contested was HB 1865 which revises laws concerning student assistance programs for college-bound Missourians. This bill would allow students to receive scholarships supported by public funds and apply them to expenses at the school of their choice—even private institutions. Another area of some objection to this bill is that it restricts future appropriations to “higher education” by our budget process. The restriction is somewhat complex, but it uses FY2002 appropriations as a “cap” subject to some remote possibilities for any increases.

We had several visitors with specific interests in the legislative process, but I would like to extend a particular thanks to some of our area schools who visited the Capitol, including elementary programs from Newtown-Harris and Laredo, and Princeton’s business law class. Please feel free to keep in touch; our email address is [email protected] and our phone number in Jefferson City is (573) 751-1649.