The Missouri House and Senate have wide gaps in their views of what should be funded in the upcoming state budget.
But we hope there's one thing they can agree on: allocating $5 million in next year's budget to aid in the resettling of refugees and legal immigrants.
The funding was added as part of a plan passed by a Senate committee this past week.
As we reported in a Missouri News Network story, Sen. Dan Hegeman, R-Cosby, added the funding to the budget. Hegeman, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said it will be used to help Ukraine refugees who have been displaced as a result of Russia's invasion of the Eastern European country.
"Folks are expecting that we'll get some of the Ukrainian refugees out there, and this is to be prepared," Hegeman said in the story.
It's good to prepare for what might be the inevitable, but it's also the compassionate thing to do.
While we support our government's efforts to help the Ukrainian people, we also encourage our readers to help as well. As we told you previously, there are plenty of good organizations that will make a difference with your donations. Here are just a few:
• The International Committee of the Red Cross (icrc.org).
• Care (care.org). In this international humanitarian organization.
• Doctors Without Borders (doctorswithout borders.org).
• GlobalGiving (globalgiving.org).
• The International Rescue Committee (help.rescue.org).
• Project Hope (projecthope.org).
• Razom for Ukraine (razomforukraine.org).
Russia's invasion of this sovereign country has been roundly condemned. The debate will continue as to whether the world is doing enough to help Ukraine repel this unprovoked attack. But for now, Ukraine and its people need our help with basic needs such as food and shelter.
News Tribune