Date: February 9, 2026 To: Committee Chair Brad Christ, and members of the House Emerging Issues Committee  From: Lucas Caldwell-McMillan, Chief of Policy Staff, Empower Missouri Re: Support for HB 2830 Founded in 1901, Empower Missouri is the largest anti-poverty advocacy organization in the state. As part of our work, we convene a statewide Affordable...Read More

Date: January 13th, 2026To: Chair Pollitt and Members, House Legislative Review CommitteeFrom: Lucas Caldwell-McMillan, Chief of Policy Staff, Empower MissouriRe: Our opposition to HJR 154 On behalf of our staff, board, and coalition members convened by Empower Missouri, I stand in opposition to HJR 154. Empower Missouri believes that access to healthcare is a human...Read More

When Congress returns in January, the U.S. Senate will face a series of votes that will determine the future of federal housing programs Missourians rely on to stay housed. In late December, Senate leaders made progress in negotiations to prevent a February shutdown. The negotiations focused on an early January vote on a “minibus” bill...Read More

Below is a quick summary of key issues for Empower Missouri in the upcoming legislative session. If you would like to learn more, please register for our Legislative Preview webinar on December 16th from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.  We’re just four weeks away from the start of the 2026 Missouri legislative session. Prefiling began...Read More

Homeless prevention programs are the latest anti-poverty program under threat from the federal government. On November 13th, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that it would disregard the existing two year planning process (2025-2026) and require homeless prevention programs to reapply for funding for 2026. This change, announced only seven weeks before...Read More

The Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, commonly known as WIC, is under threat of significant cuts by the federal government. Right now, the House Appropriations Committee has advanced a budget proposal that follows the Trump administration’s plan to slash WIC benefits. Specifically, it would cut the fruit and vegetable portion of WIC...Read More

The 2025 Missouri legislative session ended last week with some controversy and tension as the Senate invoked Previous Question, or “PQ”, to cut off debate. The Senate employed this “nuclear option” to force a vote on two bills that were in direct contradiction to laws passed by the majority of Missouri voters in the November...Read More

This week, committees in the U.S. House of Representatives released major reconciliation proposals with cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and other programs. As the title suggests, these proposals will have big impacts for Missouri families, our healthcare, our nutrition, and our state budget. The federal government controls the budgets for most major anti-poverty programs. Unfortunately, many...Read More

The latest issue to face intense debate in the Missouri Senate is paid sick leave. HB 567, which would remove paid sick leave for workers, passed the Missouri House in March.  Since then it has progressed through the Senate and is now eligible for discussion on the Senate floor. On Wednesday night, multiple Democratic Senators...Read More