Missouri General Assembly approves UM system projects

By Elliot Njus

Published Feb. 22, 2008

The Missouri General Assembly approved funding for MU’s Ellis Fischel Cancer Center and a pharmacy and nursing building at UM-Kansas City on Monday.

The bill would allocate $31 million to build facilities for the cancer center on the MU campus and $15 million for the building at UMKC. The bill is awaiting Gov. Matt Blunt’s approval.

In his State of the State address, Blunt said he supported the appropriations. Blunt’s office could not be reached for comment.

The funding will come from the Lewis and Clark Discovery Initiative fund, which was generated from the sale of assets from the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority, the state’s student-loan agency. Sen. Chuck Graham, D-Columbia, whose congressional district includes MU, and Sen. Jolie Justus, D-Kansas City, whose congressional district includes UMKC, opposed the sale when it was proposed last year.

In response, the two projects were removed from an appropriations bill that allocated the funds. When the bill passed, Blunt said he would restore the funding for the projects in the next legislative session.

The bill, sponsored in the House by Rep. Allen Icet, R-Wildwood, passed unanimously in the House, 151-0, and passed in the Senate with a 30-3 vote.

Graham released a statement Tuesday that praised the General Assembly for passing the bill.

“I want to thank my Senate and House colleagues for getting past the petty politics of last year when this project was stripped out of the budget for purely partisan reasons,” Graham said.

But Graham slammed the Republicans in the legislature who supported cutting the projects last year.

“My father was a patient in Ellis Fischel when they cut the appropriation last year, and he unfortunately died of the same form of cancer that my mother did 14 years ago,” Graham said. “Some Republicans had insisted that no medical research be allowed in the new facility as a condition of the bill. I wasn’t willing to trade a potential cure for cancer for a nicer bed for my father to die in.”

Graham also said he’s glad the bill passed without any academic restrictions. He said such restrictions would discourage researchers from working in “a state that shows such disdain for academic freedom.”

Graham had said earlier in the legislative session that he would make securing funding for the projects a priority.

Rep. Ed Robb, R-Columbia, also supported the projects. He issued a statement that stated he was “pleased” with the General Assembly’s approval.

“The new facility will advance Ellis Fischel’s expansive research and ensure their continued service to the community,” Robb said.