Missouri Republicans push back on ‘doomsday’ warnings over COVID-19
Roughly $40 million in state and federal funds were approved by the Missouri House this week to respond to the ongoing spread of COVID-19.
Democrats say that isn’t nearly enough.
Missouri now has 28 reported positive cases of COVID-19. But on Thursday, public health experts warned the Kansas City metro area’s coronavirus outbreak could be as severe as Seattle’s within two weeks.
State Rep. Jon Carpenter, D-Kansas City, said urgent action is needed if there is any hope of staving off the worst-case scenario in Missouri. He pushed for an amendment that would have shifted $87 million in state funds to hospitals for equipment and mobile testing that was soundly defeated on a nearly party-line vote Wednesday.
“We’re not pumping significant resources into preparing for what’s coming,” he said, “That is a massive abdication of our responsibility. Disappointed is not a strong enough word.”
Republicans argue the plan approved by the House Wednesday is a reasonable approach that won’t leave the budget out of balance. If approved by the Senate, the bill would provide the state authority to spend $33 million expected to come from the federal government and $7 million in state emergency money to fight coronavirus.
“I reject the argument that we are not doing enough based on what we know right now,” said House Budget Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage. “We can reconvene later on to appropriate more money should it be needed to address this situation.”
The debate was contentious, as Democrats accused their GOP colleagues of not taking the threat of the virus seriously enough.
“This is a real global pandemic,” said state Rep. Greg Razer, D-Kansas City “People are dying. Missourians are going to die.”
In turn, several Republicans accused Democrats of engaging in histrionics.
“I’ve grown a little frustrated and weary of the doomsday picture that’s being painted,” said state Rep. Kathryn Swan, R-Cape Girardeau.
Asked about the debate Thursday, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican, agreed with Swan.
“I don’t think there is a doomsday for the state of Missouri or the United States over COVID-19,” Parson said. “It’s something we have to be concerned with. But to try to put that into a fear category is wrong. This is like viruses we’ve dealt with before. It’s going to take us some time to be able to treat that virus and come up with a vaccine at some point. But if people will follow simple instructions they can sure slow the process down of COVID-19.”
Legislature in flux
The Senate must still approve the funding package. When that will happen is unclear.
Both the Missouri House and Senate are not scheduled to return to Jefferson City until March 30. But legislative leaders aren’t optimistic they will convene so soon.
The Capitol will undergo a “deep cleaning” next week, said House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield. But the health and safety of lawmakers and staff could mean the legislature won’t return to the statehouse for a while.
“Obviously it’s in flux right now,” Haahr said. “I truly believe we’ll be back at some point. We’ll have to monitor the situation and be nimble.”
Lawmakers have until May 8 to approve the state’s $30 billion budget, and the legislative session ends at 6 p.m. on May 15.
If they blow past the constitutional deadline for the budget, the legislature would need to call itself back into special session before the next fiscal year begins on July 1.
Those deadlines, and the still-unfolding pandemic, mean it’s unclear if any other legislative business will get done this year.
“At this point, it’s too fluid to know how many legislative days we’ll have in this session,” Haahr said, adding: “Without knowing how much time we’ll have in session, it’s hard to say what other priorities we’ll be able to get done.”
Democrats said the uncertainty about when or if lawmakers will return to the Capitol is exactly why the spending package should have been larger. If it becomes too dangerous for the 163-member House to meet, they argued, how will lawmakers be able to respond adequately to future funding needs?
“Do we want to have to come back to this building, in tight quarters with a group of 163 people, when we’re telling everybody else they’re supposed to stay home, in order to pass it again?” asked state Rep. Peter Merideth, D-St. Louis.
In Kansas, where lawmakers are debating the state budget, Sen. Gene Suellentrop, R-Wichita, told other senators Tuesday that “we can’t dig a hole and live in it.”
“We are the government. We need to lead. We can’t overreact,” he said. “So I encourage others to continue to move on.”
During a Kansas House GOP caucus meeting Thursday, Rep. John Eplee urged his fellow Republicans to take the virus seriously and even suggested some lawmakers may die from the virus.
Eplee, a Republcian and family physician from Atchison, acknowledged that leaders will be criticized as overreacting if they do too much, but also warned that if many people die, politicians will be judged harshly. He then issued a deadly-serious warning to lawmakers that their own health could be in peril.
“Be aware that out of this body, I mean there could be one or two people who get critically ill and we could even lose a person from this,” Eplee said. “And I know you’re pooh-poohing that right now, but those are just the demographics of this.”
The Star’s Nicole Asbury and The Eagle’s Jon Shorman contributed to this story.
This story was originally published March 19, 2020 at 5:15 PM.
