MOScout Daily Update: Amato Reworks Registry Plan - Bush’s Husband Indicted - Trump Axing Dept of Ed - MU Maps Return and more…
Real quick Friday update as we wrap up the end of Spring Break. No MOScout this weekend. I’ll be back in your in-box Monday morning as we set off into the second half of the legislative session…
Bush Husband Indicted
Cortney Merritts, the husband of former Congresswoman Cori Bush, was indicted for “two counts of wire fraud for allegedly filing fraudulent applications with the Small Business Administration in 2020 and 2021 that allowed him to collect more than $20,000 in government funds under the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).” Read the indictment here.
· The indictment was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward Martin Jr.
Amato’s Registry Plan Returns
Rep. Phil Amato has a new bill to help facilitate adoptions in Missouri. His first effort this session – HB 807 – flamed out after there was bipartisan resistance to its mandate to“maintain central registry of each expectant mother” who is at risk for seeking an abortion and make the same available to a prospective adoptive parent.
Amato’s reworked the proposal in HB 1579. The registry is voluntary for mothers. The bill will have a hearing on Tuesday when legislators return to the capitol.
Trump Axes Dept of Ed
President Donald Trump moved to fulfill his promise to shut down the Department of Education. “The Secretary of Education shall, to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law, take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities while ensuring the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely.”
What It Means
The guess is that many of the programs administers by the Department of Education would just get shifted to other departments. Aligned wrote an explainer how this might work a few weeks ago Read it here.
· [The Department’s] duties would still have to be discharged by another arm of government. Funding for programs like Title I and IDEA could go to states through block grants; however, there is the potential to lose oversight and administrative questions that Congress must adjudicate. For instance, the Treasury Department could administer the federal student loan program, and the Justice Department could oversee the administration of civil rights protections.
MU Maps Are Back
Mizzou used to provide large district map printouts for legislators back (it seemed like every office had a big printout in frame). Although that stopped when gifts were banned, the MU Center for Applied Research and Engagement Systems (CARES) is offering the maps for download and anyone can print them at a FedEX or wherever.
The maps feature crisp aerial imagery, district boundary lines, and city names. They also include information on the impact of the University of Missouri System on each district including alumni, employees, students, and services. The Missouri District Maps are designed to be printed and framed. Have questions about the Missouri District Maps? Explore the website or reach out to Jamie Kleinsorge at CARES: kleinsorgej@missouri.edu.
$5K+ Contributions
Unite Here Tip Missouri State and Local Fund - $10,000 from UNITE HERE State & Local Fund (Per capita Dues) (New York, NY).
MO Cable PAC - $15,000 from Charter Communications.
MILA PAC - $6,300 from World Finance.
Darlene Green PAC - $10,000 from Hardwick Law Firm, LLC.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Trent Summers, Clay Rodgers, Chastity Danner, and Thomas Long.
Saturday: Rep. Bill Harwick, Nancy Giddens, David Jackson, Will Kraus, and Paul LeVota.
Sunday: Jacqueline Bardgett, and Tom Loehner.