HB1102-March 18

Posted March 18, 2002 (HB1102 Update)

This morning (3/18/02), the House Budget Committee voted to amend HB 1102 and restore the staff of the Missouri Commission for the Deaf to its current level of seven (7) persons. They also have restored most of the Expense and Equipment (E&E) moneys of MCD. Instead of losing all of our general revenue E&E moneys, the committee cut those moneys by twenty percent (20 %). We will do our best to get some more of the E&E money restored when HB 1102 goes to the House floor for debate and final vote, as it represents the funds that are used to pay for MCD operations, programs and services.

On behalf of the MCD staff, I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who responded to the MCD budget cuts by calling, writing, and e-mailing their legislators and asking them to restore those cuts. Clearly this was an outstanding example of what can be accomplished in the political process when advocates take the time and energy to get involved and work for a common goal. The MCD staff is truly appreciative of the outpouring of support that we have witnessed in the past week. We will do our best to justify that support as we continue to work for the benefit of all persons with hearing loss, including those who are culturally Deaf, oral deaf, late deafened, hard of hearing, deaf blind, hard of hearing and cochlear implantees. I would urge everyone to contact the members of the House Budget Committee and thank them for listening to our many voices and restoring most of the cuts in the MCD budget.