By Marshall Griffin
Kansas City, MO – The Missouri Senate is about to take up the MOHELA bill again. The legislation, backed by Governor Matt Blunt, would use about 350 million dollars in excess funds from the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority to build new buildings on college campuses.
The MOHELA bill has been stalled in the Senate for just over a month, due to a filibuster by Democrats. Senate Floor Leader Charlie Shields says it's time to finish up the bill and move it over to the House:
People continue to talk...negotiations are out there...my hope is that we can get it over without doing the Previous Question motion, which really cuts off debate...but we've already had several, several hours of debate, and if this bill's gonna happen we need to get it moving.
Democrats say the money should be used to help more students attend college. Republicans have threatened to remove college construction projects in districts represented by Democrats if they don't end their filibuster.