Republican House leaders call on Biden to provide legal justification for proposed vaccine mandate

Citizens of the 125th District,

The House met last week for veto session. This was another first for all us freshman legislators. We felt there were a few things that needed to stay in the budget and we overrode the Governor, but the Senate did not bring any of these matters up on the floor, so the overrides died.

I’ve been keeping very busy in the district from attending parades and festivals to going to different organization’s annual meetings or speaking to local groups.  I enjoy the time back in the district and getting to work with the people of the 125th district. Feel free to give me a call for any concerns or questions you may have.

Members of the House and Senate returned to the State Capitol Building this past week for the annual veto session. The Missouri Constitution requires the General Assembly to meet each year in September to consider bills that were vetoed by the governor. While in veto session, legislators have the opportunity to override the governor’s vetoes if they can obtain two-thirds majorities in each chamber to support the motion.

By a vote of 152-2, House members approved an override motion for the governor’s veto of $150,000 in funding contained in HB 4. The funds were appropriated by the legislature to reimburse legal costs for wedding venues that had fought a sales tax reconsideration made by the Missouri Department of Revenue. House members also overwhelmingly supported the override of a line-item veto of $2.1 million in funding contained in HB 11. House members supported the motion by a vote of 151-3. The funding was appropriated by the General Assembly to provide a three percent pay increase for Children’s Division case workers and supervisors.

By a vote of 150-3, the House approved the override motion for the line-item veto contained in HB 12. The governor had vetoed $300,000 in funding contained in the bill that was appropriated for a task force to fight child sex abuse in Lincoln County.

While the House approved the override motions with strong majorities, the veto overrides were not approved by the Senate. With that, the governor’s vetoes will stand.

Republican House Leaders Call on President Biden to Provide Legal Justification for Proposed Vaccine Mandate

House Speaker Rob Vescovo, Speaker Pro Tem John Wiemann, and Majority Floor Leader Dean Plocher this week submitted a letter to President Joe Biden calling on the nation’s leader to provide his legal justification for a proposed vaccine mandate for private businesses. The letter, which was written by Vescovo and signed by Wiemann, Plocher, and the House Republican Caucus, refers to the president’s directive as “an egregious overreach of federal authority” and as “blatantly unconstitutional.”

“It’s clear there is no legal precedent or constitutional authority granted to the president that allows him to trample on the constitutional rights of Americans. This proposed vaccine mandate is a clear overreach of federal authority and something we will fight wholeheartedly to defend the freedoms of our citizens,” said Vescovo, Wiemann, and Plocher.

The letter states, “Should you not be able to provide sufficient legal justification, which ostensibly does not exist, we demand that you immediately rescind your directive to OSHA regarding a vaccination mandate on private businesses.”