Missouri Republican leaders this morning used a news conference about pending insolvency in the state’s Second Injury Fund to take a few swipes at their favorite demon: trial lawyers.

Sen. Gary Nodler, Rep. Steve Hunter, Rep. Allen Icet, Rep. Jim Lembke and Rep. Charlie Schlottach announced their intention to seek short term fixes to the cash flow problem of the fund, in part by reducing the level of one-time payouts to disabled workers to $40,000 from its current level of $60,000. The Republicans blame the payouts for the Second Injury Fund’s problems. And who benefits from those payouts? Nodler doesn’t mince words: “We do have one group that benefits from the scheme. The trial lawyers,” he said.

While members of both parties, and various actuarial studies, agree that the fund has insolvency problems, there is disagreement on the solutions, which has turned the debate into a political football. A current proposal in the House budget bill would take all the lawyers responsible for dealing with SIF cases from Attorney General Jay Nixon’s office and instead assign them to the Department of Labor. That provision is contentious in House budget negotiations. If it makes it to the Senate, Nodler said he was “comfortable” with the move.