The Missouri House voted on Wednesday to formally condemn the Missouri Supreme Court's Dred Scott decision. The resolution, HCR4, passed by a 152-0 vote after a tearful speech by the bill's sponsor, Representative Raychel Proudie (D-Ferguson). Proudie, a descendant of slaves, stated that the bill was not a small gesture. "This is not small. It took an intra country war for me to be State Representative Raychel Proudie."
In the 1852 decision, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that Dred and Harriet Scott did not have a legal right to their freedom, even though they had lived for several years with their owner in the free states of Illinois and Wisconsin before being brought back to Missouri. The case ultimately went to the U.S. Supreme Court, where the state court ruling was affirmed. The MCC testified in support of the resolution and hopes that recognizing the error of these court decisions in denying the equal dignity of the Scotts as human beings made in the image and likeness of God will help begin to heal the longstanding wounds from slavery that have plagued Missouri and the U.S.
This week the Missouri House passed its version of the state's $32 billion spending plan for fiscal year 2022, which included 13 budget bills, plus a supplemental budget bill for the current year. The budget includes $3.6 billion for public schools under the foundation formula, increases basic support for colleges and universities to fiscal year 2020 appropriation levels, a two percent pay raise for state employees, plus additional money for the Department of Corrections to aid in the recruitment of correction officers. The budget will also put funds toward implementing a law to stop automatically charging 17-years olds as adults.
The House version of the budget is $2.2 billion below the request made by Governor Mike Parson in January. The biggest difference is the $1.9 billion he requested for expanded Medicaid eligibility. Voters approved expanding Medicaid eligibility in a constitutional amendment on last August's ballot, with 53% in favor. Governor Parson opposed the ballot measure, but said he would honor the result, and included money for it in his budget request. However, the Republican majority in the House took a different stance. After stripping the budget of any Medicaid expansion money in the House Budget Committee last week, they rejected several attempts by Democrats to restore the money this week during House debate. Republicans, who long have opposed expansion, have repeatedly stated they are not obligated to appropriate money for expansion. Democrats said expansion would be an economic boon to the healthcare industry while providing life-saving care for the working poor. Under the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid expansion would come with $1.4 billion in federal funds. The most recent federal aid bill also would give the state $1.1 billion specifically for the expansion.
The House budget bills now move to the Senate, where Senators could reintroduce money for Medicaid expansion either in committee or on the Senate floor.
For the last year, choral music, along with Masses themselves, have been limited at churches around the world. During this Holy Week, two German teens took advantage of the empty St. Peter's Basilica to record hymns to share with the world. The purpose of the recording was to inspire those who cannot travel to Rome this year for the holiest week of the Christian calendar, as stated in this Crux article. The list of 18 songs includes classic and modern musical selections, including the "Credo" in Latin, "O Head Full of Blood and Wounds," "True God, We Believe Thee," "Ave Maria" and Leonhard Cohen's "Hallelujah."Click here to learn more about the pair and to listen to the beautiful music!
The MCC office will be closed the remainder of the week through Monday, April 5 in observance of the Easter holiday. We wish you and your families a blessed, healthy Holy Week.
