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Missouri House Republicans surprise Senate by killing $500 million construction bill

1 day 13 hours ago
Missouri House Republicans unexpectedly refused to allow a vote Friday on a $513 million spending bill for construction projects, citing a desire to control spending for a move that was kept secret from Democrats in the chamber and members of the state Senate. The move sank funding for major projects around the state, including national […]
Rudi Keller

Treasury advises Congress must deal with debt limit before August or face default

1 day 13 hours ago
WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department announced Friday that Congress must address the debt limit before August, setting a firm deadline for Republicans to wrap up work on the “big, beautiful bill” that will raise the nation’s borrowing limit by up to $5 trillion. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote in a letter to congressional leaders that “there […]
Jennifer Shutt

Trump again tries to defund NPR and PBS, sparking a new congressional battle

1 day 13 hours ago
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump urged Congress to eliminate funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting during his first term, but was largely unsuccessful. Now, in his second go-around, Trump is once again asking lawmakers to scrap federal spending on the private, nonprofit corporation that Congress established in the 1960s. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting […]
Jennifer Shutt

As Trump slashes AmeriCorps, states lose a federal partner in community service

1 day 17 hours ago
WASHINGTON — Hillary Kane learned on a Saturday morning in April that within days, she would lose AmeriCorps funding for two programs that match mentors with West Philadelphia high schoolers and first-generation college students — both vulnerable groups at risk of not completing diplomas and degrees. Kane, director of the Philadelphia Higher Education Network for […]
Ashley Murray

States push to combat human trafficking amid federal funding cuts

1 day 20 hours ago
For help, call 1-888-373-7888 or text *233733 for the 24/7 National Human Trafficking Hotline, a national, toll-free hotline. States are moving to strengthen protections against human trafficking, but some advocates warn that federal funding cuts could undermine efforts to support survivors. This year, lawmakers in several states have introduced bills to expand education, strengthen penalties […]
Amanda Hernández

Missouri lawmakers eye late push to move Kansas City Royals to Clay County

1 day 22 hours ago
With only a week to go before the legislature adjourns for the year, Missouri lawmakers are considering a last-minute push for a $300 million incentive package aimed at building a new stadium for the Kansas City Royals in Clay County.  The tentative plan, which according to those involved has the blessing of the governor’s office, […]
Jason Hancock

Bill funding newborn rescue boxes heads to Missouri governor

2 days 3 hours ago
A bill that would help fund the installation of rescue boxes for parents in crisis to anonymously relinquish newborns to the state is headed to Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe. State Rep. Jim Murphy, a St. Louis Republican and the sponsor of the “Safe Place for Newborns Fund,” called his legislation “a pro-life bill that everybody […]
Anna Spoerre

Missouri budget negotiators agree to spend $50 million on private school scholarship program

2 days 12 hours ago
After a sharp, brief fight in which Democrats were outnumbered by majority Republicans, Missouri legislative budget negotiators agreed Thursday to spend $50 million to expand the MOScholars program that helps pay tuition at private and parochial schools. The general revenue support would be the first time state tax dollars have been appropriated directly to the […]
Rudi Keller

‘Out of control’: Kristi Noem on defense over Homeland Security spending overrun

2 days 17 hours ago
WASHINGTON  — The top Democrat on a U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee panel Thursday slammed Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for her handling of her agency’s funding and the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Sen. Chris Murphy warned Noem that DHS is at risk of running out of its $65 billion in funding by July […]
Ariana Figueroa

Puzzled senators question Trump’s FBI chief on nonexistent spending plan

2 days 17 hours ago
WASHINGTON — The case of the missing Federal Bureau of Investigation budget request was on full display Thursday, when senators repeatedly asked the law enforcement agency’s director what resources he needed Congress to provide in the upcoming fiscal year. FBI Director Kash Patel did not disclose a dollar amount, an unusual development at a hearing […]
Jennifer Shutt

FEMA leader ousted, one day after publicly opposing agency’s elimination

2 days 20 hours ago
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has ousted the leader of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and replaced him with another official, States Newsroom has confirmed. Cam Hamilton, senior official performing the duties of the administrator at FEMA, was let go just one day after he testified before Congress about the size and scope of the […]
Jennifer Shutt

Gulf of Mexico to be renamed ‘Gulf of America’ under bill passed by U.S. House

2 days 21 hours ago
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House approved a measure Thursday that would codify part of President Donald Trump’s executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.” The bill — which was passed on a nearly party-line vote, 211-206 — calls on the head of each federal agency to “update each document and map of […]
Shauneen Miranda

U.S. House panel debates FEMA’s role, as Trump administration eyes ‘top-down reform’

2 days 23 hours ago
WASHINGTON — U.S. House lawmakers on Wednesday began debating when the Federal Emergency Management Agency should provide state and local communities with help addressing natural disasters and when aid should be handled by others. The Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee’s hearing on FEMA’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year came just days after the Trump administration sent […]
Jennifer Shutt

Lawmakers negotiating Missouri budget add $300M to public schools spending

3 days ago
Missouri’s public schools would be fully funded and a policy some blame for undermining a child care subsidy program would be fixed, legislative budget negotiators decided Wednesday night as they worked through eight of the 13 spending bills for state operations in the coming year. Over about three hours, the conference committees of five lawmakers […]
Rudi Keller

Hailey’s story illustrates Missouri’s failure — doing too little to preserve families

3 days 3 hours ago
The Missouri Children’s Division has accomplished something most of us would have thought impossible: They got all sides in the debate over abortion to agree. They agree about Hailey, the young mother profiled in an outstanding story in The Independent. They agree that the behavior of the Children’s Division in surveilling, harassing, traumatizing and sometimes […]
Richard Wexler

Kennedy Center slated for huge funding increase while local arts slashed under Trump plans

3 days 17 hours ago
WASHINGTON — A Democratic lawmaker is asking why House Republicans approved nearly six times the requested funding for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as President Donald Trump cancels federal grants for arts organizations across the United States. Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine, the ranking member of the subcommittee that oversees funding […]
Ashley Murray

Federal judge: Deportations to Libya, Saudi Arabia would ‘clearly violate’ court order

3 days 17 hours ago
This report has been updated. WASHINGTON — Immigration attorneys are asking a Massachusetts federal judge for an emergency temporary restraining order to stop the Trump administration from removing their clients to Libya and Saudi Arabia as soon as Wednesday, in a major new development in President Donald Trump’s drive for mass deportations. “Multiple credible sources […]
Ariana Figueroa

Congressional budget agency projects sweeping Medicaid cutbacks in states under GOP plans

3 days 17 hours ago
WASHINGTON — The Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday that potential major cuts and changes to Medicaid under consideration by Republicans could mean states would have to spend more of their own money on the program, reduce payments to health care providers, limit optional benefits and reduce enrollment. The end result, under some scenarios, could be […]
Jennifer Shutt

Congressional budget agency projects sweeping Medicaid cutbacks in states under GOP plans

3 days 17 hours ago
WASHINGTON — The Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday that potential major cuts and changes to Medicaid under consideration by Republicans could mean states would have to spend more of their own money on the program, reduce payments to health care providers, limit optional benefits and reduce enrollment. The end result, under some scenarios, could be […]
Jennifer Shutt

Missouri bill exempting capital gains from income tax sent to governor

3 days 18 hours ago
Missouri House Republicans muscled their biggest tax-cut priority of the year across the finish line on Wednesday, sending a bill exempting capital gains from income tax to Gov. Mike Kehoe. No Democrats supported the bill, although 10 did vote “present” to show they supported provisions of the legislation other than the exemption on profits from […]
Rudi Keller