Congressional Briefing
Will Roberts join GOP defectors on Iraq?
Posted Monday, July 9, 2007
Here are today's headlines from the Kansas congressional delegation:
Sen. Pat Roberts (R)
(Political Bulletin) Bush May Be Mulling Iraq Exit: It appears that the President and his aides had hoped to postpone such talk until after the September 15 status report by Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, but circumstances are making it difficult. The Financial Times says the "Republican rebellion against the war in Iraq widened over the weekend," leaving the President "increasingly isolated." A Saturday AP story said "more than a dozen" GOP senators up for reelection next year "head the list of lawmakers to watch" for future defections, among them Georgia's Saxby Chambliss, Minnesota's Norm Coleman, Wyoming's Michael Enzi, Oklahoma's James Inhofe, Kansas' Pat Roberts, Alabama's Jeff Sessions, and Alaska's Ted Stevens. And as USA Today reports this morning, even Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell faces a tricky situation in Kentucky, where he is up for reelection next year. At a stop near Kentucky's Fort Campbell last week, McConnell said, "The majority of the public has decided the Iraq effort is not worth it. That puts a lot of pressure on Congress to act because public opinion in a democracy is not irrelevant."
(High Plains Journal) Senator Roberts introduces bill to improve rural health care:U.S. Senator Pat Roberts, Kent Conrad, D-ND, and Tom Harkin, D-IA, introduced critical rural health care legislation, named in honor of the late Senator Craig Thomas, R-WY, to help shoulder the financial burden rural health care providers have when caring for small communities. Senator Thomas had been a leader on rural health care issues and last year joined Senators Roberts, Conrad and Harkin in introducing the bill. "Rural health care providers have very different needs than their urban counterparts," Senator Roberts said. "It is important that we realize health care is not one size fits all." The Craig Thomas Rural Hospital and Provider Equity (R-HoPE) Act of 2007, makes changes to Medicare regulations for rural hospitals and providers recognizing the difficulty in achieving the same economies of scale as large urban facilities. These changes include changes to lab, ambulance, home health care, hospice and rural clinic Medicare reimbursements.
Rep. Nancy Boyda (D)
(Parsons Sun) Boyda gets KAAP update: Progress is continuing on the redevelopment plan for the Kansas Army Ammunition Plant. U.S. Rep. Nancy Boyda, D-Kansas, and Assistant Secretary of the Army Keith Eastin met with Labette County commissioners and members of the Local Redevelopment Planning Authority's Executive and Steering committees in Parsons on Friday.
Rep. Jerry Moran (R)
(Hutchinson News) Rep. Moran district endures tough times: It's been a tough eight months for Congressman Jerry Moran's 1st District in terms of natural disasters. How tough? With the addition of flood-damaged Greenwood County into a southeast Kansas federal disaster area, 62 of the 69 counties Moran represents have received the distinction in the last eight months, according to Moran's office. The designation opens up disaster-ravaged areas to federal funding for their recovery efforts. ... The natural events have damaged property and disrupted lives and taken a toll on crops and public infrastructure. But Moran also said he's always amazed by the rebuilding spirit by folks living in his district. Still, the congressman acknowledges that his office has been forced devote a significant amount of its time and resources to assist people in recovering from the calamities. "We've become a bit of a disaster agency in a number of ways," Moran said of his office.
Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R)
(McClatchy) Radio hosts like dials tilt to right: No one has yet introduced legislation to bring back the Fairness Doctrine. But before Congress left town for its weeklong July Fourth break, the House passed an amendment to a federal spending bill that would block all funding for implementation of the Fairness Doctrine. And separate bills were introduced in both the House and Senate that would prevent the Federal Communications Commission from reinstating it. Republican Rep. Todd Tiahrt of Kansas, one of the House co-sponsors, said the Fairness Doctrine would "effectively and dangerously mandate what can and cannot be said." Another House co-sponsor, Republican Rep. Connie Mack of Florida, called it "a left-wing idea that only the likes of self-proclaimed communist Hugo Chávez (the U.S.-baiting president of Venezuela) could love."
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