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Gov. Blunt Wants to Expand Work With Faith-Based Agencies

September 27, 2007 By

Governor Blunt wants to see if cooperation between state government and faith-based agencies can be expanded.

Missouri government has around 2,300 contracts with both faith and community based agencies. State government relies on them to provide services such as care for children and drug rehabilitation for prisoners. Blunt says his initiative, Faith-Based Missouri, will look to expand that relationship. The governor says he understands concerns about separation of church and state and says the state will ensure that no agency that receive state funds will evangelize. Also, Blunt says Faith-Based Missouri won’t be restricted to any one denomination or faith.

A five person team will evaluate how Missouri uses faith-based agencies now; what the state is doing right, what it’s doing wrong and what can be done to encourage greater cooperation.

The five members of the team are Reynaldo Anderson of St. Louis, an assistant professor of education at Harris-Stowe University; The Rev. Andrew Rollins III of Kansas City, an ordained Itinerant Elder in the AME Church; Cole County Sheriff Greg White; Blunt’s Chief of Staff Ed Martin; and Angel McCormick Franks of St. Louis, Director of the Office of Supplier and Workforce Diversity.

The initiative springs from SB 46 approved this year.

Download/listen Brent Martin reports (:70 MP3)

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With: , , , ,

House Tentatively Approves Religious Freedom Measure

April 6, 2007 By

Members of the House have left Jefferson City for their Easter break, but not before approving a resolution that seeks to clarify the religious rights of public schoolchildren. HJR 19 is sponsored by House Speaker Pro Tem Carl Bearden (R-St. Charles). Bearden says it will guarantee that schoolchildren have a right to pray or otherwise express their faith while attending public school.

But Rep. John Burnett (D-Kansas City) sees something more sinister behind the resolution. Burnett confronts Bearden during House debate, accusing Bearden of pushing the proposal in an effort to drive more conservatives to the polls next November. Burnett says it’s a flawed strategy, but one Republicans have employed in the past.

Bearden denies the charge. He points out he pushed the same resolution last year and it would have been on the ballot outside a general election cycle. Bearden contends that recent court cases and some poor interpretation by school officials have lead to confusio

If the legislature approves the measure, it goes to a vote of the people.

The legislature will take Monday off. Lawmakers return to the Capitol Tuesday afternoon.

Download/listen Rep. Burnett challenges Rep. Bearden during floor debate. (:30 MP3)

Filed Under: Legislature, Politics & Government Tagged With: , , ,

Faith-Based Organization Talks up Health Insurance Alternative

January 21, 2007 By

Discussion of the effort to expand health care coverage is part of what we can expect from Governor M att Blunt when he delivers his State of the State Address on Wednesday. And, as the Governor and his aides have been finalizing their proposals, representatives of a faith-based organization have been making the rounds at the State Capitol, talking up their ideas to lawmakers. Samaritan Ministries administers its own health care cooperative in which members contribute a monthly gift the group describes as being similar to passing the hat in church. This money is then used to pay the costs of members’ health care needs. Vice President James Lansberry says membership is growing in Missouri, with about 600 families making up 1,800 individuals. Nationwide, about 33,000 people in 12,000 families are taking part. Lansberry points out this is not a health insurance policy, adding nobody involved in the program has his or her own medical insurance. He says Samaritan Ministries can keep the costs down by negotiating for the best prices and by cutting down on administration fees associated with health insurance.

Related web sites:
Samaritan Ministries

Filed Under: Health & Medicine Tagged With:

Social Security Tax Cut Proposed

January 9, 2007 By

A proposal to cut taxes on Social Security benefits will be proposed this legislative session. Whether it passes is very much up in the air. House Speaker Rod Jetton (R-Marble Hill) says it’s time for Missouri to eliminate its income tax on Social Security benefits. It is one of Jetton’s top priorities for the legislative session. Jetton believes the state budget is so robust, Missouri could see a $300-to-500 million surplus at the end of the fiscal year June 30th. He estimates that elimination of the tax on Social Security benefits would cost the state around $100 million. The top Democrat in the House, Representative Jeff Harris (D-Columbia) has been lukewarm to Jetton’s proposal at best and suspects he’s not the only one. Harris questions whether Republican senators share Jetton’s rosy budget outlook. Harris says Democrats aren’t opposed to tax relief. Democrats, in the past, have suggested making college tuition tax deductible. He says he wants to see details about Jetton’s proposal before endorsing it.

Filed Under: Legislature, Politics & Government, Taxes Tagged With: , , ,

Ashcroft Says His Faith Misunderstood

January 8, 2007 By

Former US Attorney General John Ashcroft says his faith has always informed his politics, but has been misunderstood by his critics. Faith became a focus of the confirmation hearings when President Bush nominated former Missouri Senator John Ashcroft as his Attorney General. Ashcroft says critics unfairly assumed he would use the office to push his Christian faith. Ashcroft says faith is not something government can do for people, but something people must do for themselves. He says it is a relationship not between people and government, but between people and their creator. Ashcroft says he has never had any intention to impose Christianity on anyone, adding that that would be impossible. He does say faith has a role to play in the public square. Ashcroft resigned after Bush was re-elected, saying a second term is a time for a new beginning. He says a president deserves a new team when he begins a new term. Ashcroft runs a consultant company in Washington, D.C. and teaches at Regent University in Virginia. He says he has retired from politics. He was the featured speaker at the Governor’s Prayer Breakfast in Jefferson City, held at the beginning of each legislative session.

Filed Under: Human Interest, Politics & Government Tagged With: , ,
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