A multi-day filibuster in the Missouri Senate ended Thursday with Republicans allowing a vote on the more than $4 billion Medicaid program that had been held hostage.
Senators initially approved a bill by voice vote that would renew long-standing taxes on hospitals and other health care providers. The bill requires a second approval vote in the Senate.
The tax money would reverse $2.9 billion in federal funds that would be given to providers serving low-income people receiving Medicaid care.
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The vote came after members of the Freedom Caucus, a Republican faction, began blocking any work on the Senate floor on Tuesday. They worked shifts for two consecutive nights, reading books about former President Ronald Reagan and examining the proposed national budget line by line.
The Freedom Caucus is using the tax to pressure Senate Republican leaders to pass a bill that would exclude family planning programs from state Medicaid programs, which the chamber passed last month.
The House sent the bill to Republican Gov. Mike Parson last week, and he is expected to sign it.
September 16, 2022 at the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City, Missouri. A daylong filibuster in the Missouri Senate ended Thursday, May 2, 2024, after Republican factions allowed a vote on the more than $4 billion Medicaid program they were implementing. They’re taking hostages. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)
On Tuesday, the Freedom Caucus will once again use the hospital tax to force Parson to sign the Planned Parenthood Defunding Act and for Congress to pass a constitutional amendment to raise the bar for passing future amendments. demanded.
There are hopes that raising the voting threshold for constitutional amendments will make it more difficult for voters to pass the pending abortion rights amendment this fall.
Republican lawmakers say their top priority is raising the bar for amending the constitution.
Republican senators were able to pass the proposal only after negotiating with Senate Democrats to remove other election-related language from the proposal that House Republicans wanted.
Senate Majority Whip Cindy O’Loughlin said in a Facebook post Wednesday that she plans to debate the constitutional amendment bill on May 6.
Both the Freedom Caucus and Republican Senate leadership are claiming victory in the long standoff.
The Freedom Caucus said in a statement that it has formed a coalition with 18 senators to support passage of the constitutional amendment, enough to force a vote without Democratic support.
Other Senate Republicans said a significant hospital tax hike would mean a defeat for the Freedom Caucus.
“What you saw today is a majority of the majorities coming together to do what it takes to govern this state, knowing that we have a duty to govern this state,” said Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Lincoln Huff. We’re all united in saying we’re going to do whatever it takes,” said Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Lincoln Huff. Missouri Independent.
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The last time a Missouri Senate filibuster lasted this long was in 2016, when Democrats passed a bill that would have given protections to people who refused services such as flowers and cake at same-sex weddings because of their religious beliefs. stood in protest.
