The Old Way

"Only four years ago, bad public policy was causing our state to lose jobs at an alarming - and unacceptable rate. Business-as-usual in the state capital was hurting Missouri families." -Gov. Matt Blunt

• Gov. Blunt inherited a $1.1 billion deficit from the previous administration.
• Missouri was losing jobs at an alarming rate with 34,000 jobs gone under the previous administration.
• Spending was out of control.
• Education funding had been cut, withheld and sacrificed.

Change Is Working

"Missourians demanded change: to put Missouri families, Missouri values and Missouri taxpayers first." -Gov. Matt Blunt

• Gov. Blunt's leadership helped bring jobs back to our state and allowed Missourians to create nearly 90,000 jobs since January 2005.
• We turned a $1.1 billion deficit into three consecutive surpluses without a tax increase.
• Not only did we not raise taxes, we cut taxes.
• Our schools are improving with the help of massive funding increases.
• Our health care system has been transformed for the better.
• Change is working. Our economy is growing. Missourians are prospering.

More Work to Do

"Now is not the time to go back to the old ways of bigger government, higher taxes, more lawsuits, and too much regulation. The changes we secured - lawsuit reform, regulatory improvements, and working with rather than against farmers and small business owners - were vital in creating new jobs." -Gov. Matt Blunt

$1.2 Billion for Education

"Education is the most important investment we can make in our own, and in our children's future. It promotes our freedoms. It promotes our happiness, and, by creating opportunity, nurtures a society of rising prosperity." -Gov. Matt Blunt

• Gov. Blunt has made education the state's highest priority and he has kept his promise to never cut or withhold education funding.
• If his education budget is approved, Gov. Blunt and the General Assembly will have provided an additional $1.2 billion for education over a four-year period.
• Gov. Blunt recommends $100 million for needs-based scholarships, a four-fold increase to expand opportunities for thousands of Missourians.
• Elementary and secondary schools would receive an increase of $121 million, more than 4 percent from last year.
• Missouri colleges and universities would receive an additional $54.2 million, an increase of more than 6 percent including funding to train more doctors, nurses, dentists and pharmacists to meet the health care needs of Missourians.

Innovative Health Care Initiatives

"I want more Missouri working families to have access to affordable health care. Missouri is among the 20 best states in the United States for the share of people with health coverage. I want us to do even better and I will not rest until every Missourian has access to affordable health care." -Gov. Matt Blunt

• Last year, Gov. Blunt and the General Assembly enacted Mo HealthNet, the state's improved health care safety net for vulnerable Missourians.
• Mo Health Net empowers participants through personalized care in a health care home, and, for the first time in Missouri history, guarantees access to primary and preventative care.
• This year, Gov. Blunt is proposing Insure Missouri to reduce the number of Missouri's uninsured by nearly 200,000.
• Insure Missouri relies on the proven Missouri values of work, personal responsibility and free enterprise.
• Insure Missouri will use some of the resources already in the health care system to help low-income working Missourians purchase their own personal health insurance.

Fourth Major Tax Cut

"Last year, we cut taxes for all Missourians who purchase health insurance. We cut taxes to protect family-supporting manufacturing jobs. And we eliminated state income taxes on Social Security benefits. This year, I propose a fourth major tax cut. I urge the General Assembly to honor our veterans and eliminate all state income taxes on military retirement." -Gov. Matt Blunt

• Gov. Blunt outlined the fourth major tax cut since he took office - the elimination of all state taxes on veterans' military retirement.
• The governor also called for action and outlined important principles to help protect Missourians from excessive local property tax increases.
• Gov. Blunt also recommended a constitutional amendment to prevent unelected judges from raising taxes.

Fighting Illegal Immigration

"Missouri already is taking some of the strongest steps in the United States to curb illegal immigration, but we can and should be doing more. Missourians should know that I will do everything I can to combat illegal immigration - to protect their safety, to defend their hard-earned tax dollars, to protect their jobs and to enforce the rule of law." -Gov. Matt Blunt

Gov. Blunt repeated his concern that Washington has failed to secure our borders and enforce immigration law. He proposes the following action to fight illegal immigration in Missouri:

• Place his tough illegal immigration directives into law.
• Create new penalties for aiding an illegal in obtaining a driver license.
• Forbid local governments from hampering law enforcement efforts to enforce immigration law.
• Ban "sanctuary cities."
• Stop the use of illegal labor and the exploitation of illegal immigrants.
• Pass legislation making it a crime to transport illegals for exploitive purpose.
• Require agencies to verify the legal status of applicants before providing welfare benefits.
• Enact stronger employment verification while protecting from undue penalty those whose failures occur in good faith
• Punish those who knowingly hire illegals.

Responsible Budgets

"We inherited a state budget that was broken and ruined by profligate spending. Many claimed it would be impossible to save the wrecked budget without increasing taxes. We proved them wrong." -Gov. Matt Blunt

• Gov. Blunt and Republicans in the General Assembly have taken our state from a $1.1 billion budget deficit to three consecutive budget surpluses without raising taxes.
• Gov. Blunt's budgets have proposed spending that only depends on available state revenues, and he has cut taxes and proposed job-creating incentives to generate economic development.

Additional Priorities

• New informed consent laws to defend the dignity of human life.
• Making the rape of a Missouri child punishable by death.
• Autism funding.
• Support for veterans.
• Agriculture initiatives.
• Energy and the environment initiatives.
• Fighting meth.