U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.) and U.S. Representative Randy Forbes (Va.) led an effort Tuesday to fight for Americans’ First Amendment rights by filing an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court regarding Hobby Lobby v. Sebelius.

The amicus brief was co-signed by a bipartisan group of 15 Senators and 71 House members. The U.S. Supreme Court announced that it will hear oral arguments on March 25, 2014, in two cases challenging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate. To read more about Senator Blunt’s efforts to protect religious freedom, click here.

“As the Supreme Court hears this important case, I join my colleagues on both sides of the aisle and in both chambers to urge the Court to preserve the fundamental religious freedom that Americans have enjoyed for more than 220 years,” said Blunt.

The amicus brief lays out three arguments:

Congress has a long tradition of protecting religious liberty – including that of groups – and there has traditionally been strong bipartisan support for such efforts.
Congress enacted the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) to ensure broad protection of religious liberty, whether or not a specific religious exemption appears in a particular law.
The HHS regulations do not satisfy the high bar set by RFRA. RFRA’s requirements govern the Affordable Care Act like all other statutes that do not contain an express disclaimer. Both Hobby Lobby and its owners are protected by RFRA.

(AP) – Gov. Jay Nixon says Missouri employers could save $186 million in federal taxes after a revised projection indicates that money borrowed to pay jobless benefits will be repaid early.

The state Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund became insolvent in February 2009 during the economic downturn. Missouri borrowed from the federal government, and businesses pay a surcharge to repay the debt.

Nixon said Tuesday the U.S. Department of Labor revised its projection for when Missouri would pay off the loan. Now, the state is expected to repay it in November instead of May 2015. Nixon says that would reduce business’s federal unemployment tax by $84 per worker.

(AP) Eager to cut income taxes, a Missouri House committee was expected to advance two alternatives Tuesday _ one reducing taxes only for businesses and the other reducing them for both individuals and employers.

Either of the bills being considered by the House Ways and Means Committee is projected to reduce Missouri’s revenues by hundreds of millions of dollars annually_ setting up a potential conflict with Gov. Jay Nixon, who has warned that large tax cuts could jeopardize funding for public schools.

“My preference is to just keep sending him bills,” said House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Andrew Koenig, a Republican from suburban St. Louis. “If he wants to keep vetoing them, that’s what he can do.”

Koenig’s preferred bill would cut income tax rates for both individuals and some businesses at an estimated cost of around $700 million when fully implemented.

Starting in 2015, the legislation would gradually reduce Missouri’s top individual income tax rate from 6 percent to 5.3 percent and phase in a 50 percent deduction for business income reported on individual tax returns. But those incremental tax cuts would take effect only if Missouri’s annual tax revenues continue to grow by $100 million over their highest point in the previous three years.

The legislation also would increase the current tax deduction for lower-income individuals, without regard to whether state tax revenues keep growing.

A bill endorsed last week by the Senate Ways and Means Committee included many similar provisions, but would cut the individual income tax rate further, to 5 percent.

Koenig said the House committee also is likely to advance an alternative bill that would cut taxes only for businesses. That proposal includes a similar 50 percent deduction for business income reported on individual returns, as well as a gradual 50 percent reduction in the corporate income tax rate. Those incremental tax cuts would continue so long as state income tax revenues remain above their 2012 level.

The sponsor of that bill, Rep. T. J. Berry, R-Kearney, has said that an income tax cut targeted at businesses could provide a greater boost to the economy, because it would give employers more money to hire people or expand their operations.

 (AP) – After getting stymied in court, many telecommunications companies are supporting a new approach in the Missouri Legislature to try to limit local restrictions on cellphone towers.

A Senate commerce committee heard testimony Tuesday on five separate bills limiting city regulations on cellphone towers, utility poles and right-of-way rules.

All of the measures were rolled into a single bill that passed last year. But it was struck down last fall by Cole County Circuit Judge Pat Joyce for violating the Missouri Constitution’s single-subject requirement for legislation.

Supporters of the legislation say it’s needed to curtail a patchwork of city regulations that can hinder the expansion of high-speed Internet service.

But cities say it undermines their ability to protect property values through local zoning and land use requirements.

 (AP) – A Kansas City letter carrier has been charged with stealing mail from customers on her route and taking nearly $1,700 worth of government food benefit cards.

The U.S. Attorney’s office says a grand jury indicted 45-year-old Shawn C. Henderson on Tuesday on charges of stealing government property, stealing mail and aggravated identity theft.

Henderson was hired as a letter carrier in April 2013. Prosecutors allege that she stole mail from them until early August.

The indictment also alleges she removed greeting cards and gift cards from mail she was supposed to deliver.

Henderson does not have a listed phone number, and she did not have an attorney as of Tuesday.

Good schools are vital to Missouri’s ability to compete and create jobs in the global economy, Gov. Jay Nixon said today during a visit to Center High School in Kansas City. The Governor’s “Good Schools, Good Jobs” plan, which he detailed during his State of the State last week, will provide the resources to help the Center School District to improve its science and technology curriculum and fully fund the state’s K-12 foundation formula by Fiscal Year 2016.

“Good schools in every community will help secure good jobs for every graduate,” Gov. Nixon said. “By fully funding Missouri’s schools, like the ones here in the Center School District, we’re investing in our economy and our students. Today’s growing economy provides us with a clear choice: we can expand opportunities for students and improve our schools, or we can settle for less and watch our students – and our economy – fall behind.”

Gov. Nixon’s Fiscal Year 2015 budget proposal includes an increase of $278 million for K-12 classrooms, putting the state on a path to fully funding the foundation formula in two years. The K-12 foundation formula, passed into law in 2005, establishes the state’s funding level for K-12 schools. This would increase funding for Center public schools by nearly $140,000 which the district will use to improve science and technology curriculum by expanding Project Lead the Way, which gives students hands-on learning experiences.

“Today’s high-tech economy demands that our students have the skills they need to succeed in college and their careers,” said Dr. Bob Bartman, Superintendent of the Center School District. “The Governor’s ‘Good Schools Good Jobs’ plan will provide our district with the resources needed to give our students the opportunities and tools needed to compete and win after high school.”

Gov. Nixon has made public education in Missouri a top priority of his administration. Math and reading scores have increased on his watch and Missouri’s high school graduation rate is now the eighth highest in the nation. Over the past five years, Missouri has also led the nation in minimizing tuition increases at its public universities.