A systematic obstruction lasting several days in the Missouri Senate ended Thursday after a Republican faction allowed a vote on a more than $4 billion Medicaid program it was holding hostage.
Senators gave initial approval in a voice vote to a bill that would renew a longstanding tax on hospitals and other medical providers. The measure requires a second approval vote in the Senate.
Money from the tax is used to take $2.9 billion in federal funding, which is then paid to providers to care for low-income residents receiving Medicaid health care.
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The vote came after members of the Freedom Caucus, a GOP faction, began blocking further work in the Senate on Tuesday. They took turns reading books about former President Ronald Reagan two nights in a row and going line by line through the proposed state budget.
The Freedom Caucus had used the tax to pressure Senate Republican leaders to pass a bill removing Planned Parenthood from the state’s Medicaid program, which the chamber did last month.
Last week, the House sent the measure to Republican Governor Mike Parsonwho should sign it.
The Missouri Capitol is seen, September 16, 2022, in Jefferson City, Missouri. A daylong filibuster in the Missouri Senate ended Thursday, May 2, 2024, after a Republican faction allowed a vote on a more than $4 billion Medicaid program that it had been holding hostage. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, file)
On Tuesday, the Freedom Caucus again used the hospital tax to demand that Parson sign the Planned Parenthood defunding bill and that the Legislature pass a proposed constitutional amendment to raise the bar for passage of future amendments.
The hope is that raising the voting threshold to amend the constitution would hypothetically make it more difficult for voters to pass a pending abortion rights amendment this fall.
Republican lawmakers have said raising the bar for amending the constitution is a top priority.
GOP senators only managed to pass the proposal after negotiations with Senate Democrats to remove other election-related language from the proposal that House Republicans wanted.
Senate Majority Lear Cindy O’Laughlin said in a Facebook post On Wednesday, she plans to submit the measure on constitutional amendments for debate on May 6.
The Freedom Caucus and Senate Republican leaders claim victory in this prolonged standoff.
The Freedom Caucus said in a statement that it had formed a coalition of 18 senators — enough to force a vote without Democratic support — in favor of passing the constitutional amendment.
Other Senate Republicans said advancing the crucial hospital tax represented a defeat for the Freedom Caucus.
“What you saw today is the majority of the majority party came together to say we know we have a duty to govern in this state and we will do whatever is necessary to achieve that ” said Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Lincoln Hough. the Missouri Independent.
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The last time a Missouri Senate filibuster lasted this long was in 2016, when Democrats stood up to protest proposed protections for those who invoke their faith by refusing services such as flowers or cakes for same-sex weddings.
