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Budget stalemate continues in the Missouri General Assembly

The Missouri House and Senate cannot agree on legislation providing funds for veterans' homes.
david shane
/
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The Missouri House and Senate cannot agree on legislation providing funds for veterans' homes.

The Missouri House and Senate are still at an impasse over next year’s state budget.  The Senate has made no progress on persuading Republican Jason Crowell of Cape Girardeau to stop blocking legislation to fund veterans’ homes.

Crowell says he has no objections to transferring gaming revenues from early childhood programs to nursing homes for military vets.  But he won’t allow it or any other bill to advance unless the House strips more than 2 million dollars from Southeast Missouri State University.  Crowell says the extra funding was added on as a political favor to House Speaker and SEMO alum Steven Tilley.  Tilley disagrees.

“There’s a funding inequity, (and) when you see an inequity with taxpayer dollars, you try and fix it…the reality is, he doesn’t like it because he doesn’t like the president of the university…ask anybody around,” Tilley said.

Lawmakers have until Friday afternoon to pass the state budget.

Missouri Public Radio State House Reporter Marshall Griffin is a proud alumnus of the University of Mississippi (a.k.a., Ole Miss), and has been in radio for over 20 years, starting out as a deejay. His big break in news came when the first President Bush ordered the invasion of Panama in 1989. Marshall was working the graveyard shift at a rock station, and began ripping news bulletins off the old AP teletype and reading updates between songs. From there on, his radio career turned toward news reporting and anchoring. In 1999, he became the capital bureau chief for Florida's Radio Networks, and in 2003 he became News Director at WFSU-FM/Florida Public Radio. During his time in Tallahassee he covered seven legislative sessions, Governor Jeb Bush's administration, four hurricanes, the Terri Schiavo saga, and the 2000 presidential recount. Before coming to Missouri, he enjoyed a brief stint in the Blue Ridge Mountains, reporting and anchoring for WWNC-AM in Asheville, North Carolina. Marshall lives in Jefferson City with his wife, Julie, their dogs, Max and Mason, and their cat, Honey.
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