Members of Missouri House Protest Defeat of Farm Loan Bill
Members of the Missouri House walked into the Senate Wednesday, taking over the chamber to protest defeat of a farm loan bill in a Senate committee.
House Speaker Bob Griffin recessed the House to lead the 45-minute demonstration, showing support of representatives for the farm aid measure. The Senate was not in session when representatives walked onto the floor.
The bill, which would have provided $200 million in state deposits for banks to use in making low-interest loans to farmers and small businesses, died Tuesday on a tie vote in the Senate Miscellaneous Bills Committee.
House Speaker Pro Tem Patrick Hickey stood on the Senate floor, raised a clenched fist and shouted: “Everybody pick a senator.”
When Sen. Danny Staples appeared at the railing of an upper gallery and looked down onto the Senate floor, House members chanted: “Jump, jump, jump.”
About half of the 163 House members took part in the occupation. Many sat at the desks of the 34 senators. Others milled around on the floor.
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