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Like many of my friends and neighbors in the 82nd District, I am a fiscal conservative and social moderate. My actions in Jefferson City as the 82nd District's Representative are rooted in these principles.
Affordable Medication for Seniors
As a representative, I co-sponsored bipartisan legislation to improve the Missouri SenioRx program. This program was in danger of becoming unable to provide drugs to seniors by losing the participation of generic drug companies.
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My legislation allowed generic pharmaceutical manufacturers to continue participating in the Missouri SenioRx program, as well as encourage other generic manufacturers to join. As Lt. Governor Joe Maxwell stated, "This is a victory for the more than 20,000 Missouri seniors enrolled in the program who will be able to continue to purchase less costly generic medications."
Nursing Home Reform
Too many Missourians cannot afford adequate healthcare, but when a patient has the means to acquire needed healthcare services, it's the responsibility of the providers and the facility to implement physician's orders. That's why in 2007 I sponsored and passed legislation stating that physician orders must be implemented immediately for any resident of an assisted living facility on return from a hospital or skilled nursing facility. In 2006 the Department of Health issued 198 citations for failure to follow physician orders, and 59 were in residential care facilities and assisted living facilities. In addition the legislation requires an assisted living facility, within 24 hours of the patient's return to the facility, to review the resident's hospital discharge care plan or the skilled nursing facilities discharge care plan and modify the individual service plan for the resident accordingly.
On January 5, 2007 a death occurred at an Assisted Living Facility in my district. The resident who died was not found for 13 hours. The patient was admitted into a hospital for suicidal ideations, however, after treatment the assisted living facility failed to continue care and administer adequate follow-up procedure. This death was avoidable.
Protecting Students from Sex Offenders
Sexual assault is a major concern for students and parents on a college campus. Dormitories have a large concentration of young women, co-ed floors and unlocked doors, making the dorm building tempting to would be sexual predators. My bill will stop convicted sex offenders from living in college dormitories. Too often sex offenders have not been rehabilitated and are still susceptible to commit another crime. Students and parents of students deserve to know that their children are in a safe environment.
I will also support legislation to help police track the whereabouts of convicted pedophiles using a GPS monitoring system. Child predators should not be living near our schools where they could easily harm our children. I've further sponsored legislation that would enable Missourians to register with the Missouri Highway Patrol to receive an email if a convicted offender moves into their neighborhood.
Making Government More Accessible
Sam's Human Voice Contact Act
I sponsored the Human Voice Contact Act to require that you get to talk to a human being every time you call one of our state's many agencies. Under the Act, no longer would you have to sit through a recording and guess at which extension you need to select. A real, live fellow Missourian would be there to answer and direct your calls.
Serving Our Veterans as They Served Us
stationed overseas
Our war veterans were willing to give their lives to protect us and our state must do more to protect them. That's why I've always supported more funding for our veteran's hospitals. Missouri's veterans should not have to go to Little Rock, Arkansas to find an open hospital bed. I've also voted to support the MO Military Family Relief Fund to provide financial assistance to families of members of the Missouri National Guard or Missouri citizens who are reservists who were deployed after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Promoting Life Science Research
Missouri is home to some of the most state-of-the-art research institutes in the world, with the Stowers Institute for Medical Research in Kansas City and Washington University in St. Louis. We have an opportunity to be a world leader in the field of Life Sciences. By supporting life science research, we can bring high paying jobs to this state and gain renown for our progress toward a 21st-century economy.
Providing Access to Lifesaving Vaccines
make the new vaccine available to
children whose parents opt in.
A new vaccine was approved by the Food and Drug Administration and recommended by the Centers for Disease Control that could prevent many cases of cervical cancer in our country. Cervical cancer kills 3,700 American women per year, and this vaccine would help to dramatically reduce that number in the coming decades. Protection from such a fatal disease should be available to all girls, not just the ones who can afford it. That is why my "inform and provide" legislation would have picked up the cost of the vaccine for girls and women on Medicaid or who are uninsured. It would also have required doctors to inform parents of adolescent girls of all the available research on the vaccine, so parents could make an educated decision on whether their daughter should receive the vaccine.
Transportation Department Accountability
One of the concerns that I often hear voiced relates to the quality of the roads in our state and concerns with the credibility of the Department of Transportation. That's why I supported legislation to expand the duties of the Joint Committee on Transportation Oversight and create the Office of Transportation Inspector General. This act increases the accountability of the Department of Transportation by requiring the Inspector General to report to the General Assembly in a State of Transportation address and to investigate citizen complaints.
Taking Action to Protect Children
I supported the creation of a statewide "Amber Alert" program that notifies all state law enforcement and media agencies in the horrific event of a child kidnapping. By having an immediate and coordinated response to such a tragedy, more effective and efficient campaigns can be put into place to ensure the child's safe return. I also supported a new law increasing the penalties for endangering the welfare of a child.
Bringing More Money to Local Schools
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The cornerstones of any community are its children. Our children are our future, and it is critical that we provide them the best possible education. This is why I fought hard to preserve funding for our local schools. I also voted for the creation of the Classroom Trust Fund act. This act would fulfill the promises made to voters by making sure that revenues generated from gambling go directly to schools on a per pupil basis. When this legislation is approved, our local school districts will see a greater share of state funding.
Improving Access to Quality Health Care
As an anesthesiologist, I have witnessed first hand the problems caused by the state's current shortage of qualified anesthesia providers. I worked for legislation to allow highly specialized physicians assistants in anesthesiology to practice in Missouri. This shortage of anesthesia providers had caused long waits for surgical procedures. Using all available operating rooms has been impossible due to lack of qualified, certified staff. As a medical doctor who understands our health care system, legislation that promotes public safety and addresses problems in our health care system will continue to be my priority.
Demanding Fiscal Responsibility
I demand accountability for the use of taxpayer money. This is why I supported the Performance Based Budgeting Act that requires the Budget Director to develop and implement a fiscally responsible and accountable budget plan for the state. This law will restore accountability by requiring a review of each department and agency at least once every five years. I also worked to ease the tax burden on Missouri families through the creation of a sales tax holiday for items such as clothing, school supplies, and personal computers for a three-day period in August 2004. This will make it easier for families to purchase needed supplies prior to the beginning of the school year and provide a benefit to businesses through increased sales during this period.
