This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, April 7, 2011 - A group of Missouri state senators agreed today to drop their filibuster of a bill that authorizes the state to accept and distribute $105 million in federal stimulus money earmarked for the extension of unemployment benefits.
But in exchange, Senate Republican leaders agreed to seek $250 million in cuts in other federal stimulus spending.
The deal does not affect $189 million in federal money for Missouri public schools that some senators also want to reject. A spokeswoman for Senate President Pro Tem Rob Mayer, R-Dexter, said that money will come up for debate when the Senate considers budget bills for the current and next fiscal years
The lawmakers -- including state Sens. Jim Lembke, R-Lemay, and Brian Nieves, R-Washington -- had told reporters Wednesday that they would drop their objections only if Gov. Jay Nixon agreed to $300 million worth of cuts from other programs financed with federal stimulus money.
Today's deal apparently did not involve the governor.
The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry lauded the deal, but primarily because it also limits state unemployment benefits for future recipients. The bill would limit state unemployment benefits to 20 weeks, from the current maximum of 26 weeks.
"This legislative action could mean millions in savings, at a time when Missouri's unemployment insurance trust fund is insolvent," said state Chamber chief executive Dan Mehan.
As the chamber explained in a statement: "Three years ago, Missouri began borrowing money from the federal government to cover claims and now owes more than $798 million. In 2011 Missouri employers began paying $30 to 50 million in interest fees on borrowed funds, which will only continue to grow as the fund goes deeper and deeper in debt."
But the Missouri Budget Project, a progressive group that monitors state spending, faulted the reduction in benefits for future people out of work. "We're gravely disappointed in this action," said Amy Blouin, the group's executive director. "We shouldn't sell tomorrow's workers down the river to appease four senators blocking vital support for Missourians."
In a release on Wednesday, Lembke and Nieves listed the federally funded projects they wanted to block: $170.13 million for weatherization and energy efficiency loans, $49.95 million for expanding wastewater infrastructure loans, $22.64 million for a high-speed rail corridor, $14.12 million for health-care information technology, $5 million for energy audits of small agriculture producers, $2.5 million for intercity bus services, and $100,000 for feed for three fisheries.
It's unclear how many of those projects are included in the $250 million that Senate leaders have agreed to trim.
Said Lembke in a statement after the deal was announced: "We have a promise from leadership to take $250 million in federal money and send it back to the feds. The money is earmarked in House Bill 18, and goes toward pet projects of the governor that have nothing to do with job creation or balancing the state budget."
Earlier, on Wednesday, Lembke had said, "I contacted the governor's office and said I would be willing talk about it if we could look at another pot of federal stimulus money where I can reach my goal in sending [back] as many of those dollars borrowed from China and sent to Missouri as possible."
Nieves said some spending items were "the most horrific, stupid, egregious spending that we could ever use taxpayer dollars -- or I'm sorry, Chinese dollars -- to pay for."
"So in good faith because the governor said this is a top priority for him, we've repeatedly, repeatedly, repeatedly delivered the message to the governor," Nieves said. "Simply reduce (the reappropriations bill) by $300 million, and we will sit down and allow the unemployment bill to come up for a vote."
The governor and his staff have yet to reply.
The school aid would go to all of the state's school districts, with dozens of districts in the St Louis metropolitan area benefiting The St. Louis public schools have the largest amount at stake: close to $9 million.
Nieves told reporters that the school money was "not the subject at hand. We are handling these things one demon at a time." But Lembke said after the news conference that the filibuster did affect the school aid.
The unemployment aid affects roughly 30,000 Missourians who have exhausted their existing unemployment benefits or will do so by the end of the year. The $105 million in federal aid would extend the time a Missourian can receive unemployment benefits to 99 weeks, from the current 79 weeks.
One of the filibustering lawmakers -- state Sen. Rob Schaaf, R-St. Joseph -- said of the aid, "I've said many times that it's outrageous to ask one citizen to work and take that citizen's tax money giving it to somebody who could work, but isn't working for two years. That's totally outrageous. But there are a hundred other ways in the budget that taxpayers are asked to enslave themselves economically like that."
After being asked several more times to quantify how many people were forgoing work to keep getting unemployment benefits, Schaaf eventually said "I don't know that number."
"We do know that the federal government shouldn't be spending this money they don't have," Lembke said.
Jason Rosenbaum, a freelance writer in St. Louis, covers state government and politics.
