JEFFERSON CITY | Questions apparently remain about President Barack Obama‘s citizenship and eligibility for the office he’s held for the last 25 months.

That was the clearest conclusion from this morning’s hearing on House Bill 283, which would require the Missouri Secretary of State to verify the citizenship of all presidential and vice presidential candidates appearing on the state’s ballots.

Proponents of the bill — and there were several who testified before the House Elections Committee — raised a number of points in support.

There is no mechanism at the federal level for verifying candidates’ citizenship, one said.

It’s a fairness issue for state-level candidates, who receive such scrutiny while presidential candidates apparently get a pass, said another.

To not verify citizenship is an affront the U.S. Constitution, still another attested.

And, of course, there was some talk about short- and long-form birth certificates, certificating procedures in Hawaii circa 1960 and earnest questions over whether military men should risk their lives for a commander in chief of questionable national origin.

These latter concerns were raised primarily by Mitch Hubbard, the unsuccessful 2008 Republican candidate for secretary of state.

“Missourians need to know if a person running is eligible,” Hubbard said. “Our military needs to know if the commander in chief is eligible to lead them.”

No one spoke in opposition.

After hearing testimony, the committee took no further action on the bill.