---

Illinois Capitol Forum

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of participating in a panel discussion in the Illinois House chambers during the Illinois Capitol Forum. Approximately 200 high school students attended the forum, including students from Greenville High School in the 19th District.

D.C. and District Talk

· Supplemental

This week we passed H.R. 4939, the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Hurricane Recovery, 2006.

This bill provides more funding for our troops in the form of the safest, most effective armored vehicles. These funds assure that this funding is going to all of our men and women in uniform, including National Guard units. The Supplemental also provides more funding to prevent attacks from Improvised Explosive Devices (IED).

There is also much funding in the war on terror to help stabilize nations and ensure that people are taken care of.

We will also be able to continue our recovery effort in the Hurricane affected areas. This includes funds for cleanup, community and economic development, levee repair and flood control projects, as well as increased funding for more oversight.

For more information on this bill, please visit http://appropriations.house.gov/ or http://thomas.loc.gov.

· Congressional Directory

I am happy to announce that the 16th edition of the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress 1774 – 2005 has just been published.

This directory was first printed in 1859 and hasn’t been printed since 1989.

If you would like a PDF version of the Directory, you may visit www.gpoaccess.gov/serialset/cdocuments/hd108-122/index.html.

Constituent Corner

· Multiple Storms

This week, Springfield and areas in Greene County were hit by multiple storms bringing tornadoes and the difficulties that follow.

Unfortunately, many businesses and houses sustained damage, including my office, located at 3130 Chatham Road. When the storms came through, the heating and air conditioning units were ripped off of the roof leaving a clear view of the sky.

My colleague, Congressman Ray LaHood has opened his doors to me and is allowing my staff to share his Springfield office until my office can be reopened.

If you would like to contact me, please call my Collinsville office at 618-344-3065 or visit my website, www.house.gov/shimkus.

· Passports

There currently are delays in the processing of passport requests for individuals who have requested or need to request one.

Please allow a minimum of eight weeks for normal processing of passports. If you need your passport any sooner than that, you should expedite processing. For passports required in just two weeks, expedite processing and include an express email.

If you are even thinking about foreign travel, go ahead and get your passport. They are valid for ten years, and travel is not necessary just because you apply for your passport.

For more information on passports, please visit http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html.

· Credit Report

Recently a new credit scoring system has been created to make it easier for financial institutions to evaluate loan applications and to give consumers a better way to measure their financial health.

This new system is called “VantageScore”. It is being released to banks, mortgage lenders, and credit card companies immediately and these new scores will be available to you as soon as the proper implementation is accomplished.

VantageScore will create more uniformity in credit scoring by putting the three major consumer credit bureaus – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion – on the same page, rather than each using their own processes.

For more information please visit www.equifax.com, www.experian.com, www.transunion.com, or www.fairisaac.com.

Keep in mind that you are entitled to one free credit report per year, as allowed by federal law. Please visit www.annualcreditreport.com, or call 877-322-8228.

There will be one report from each of the bureaus listed above, so one can request them all at once, or just get them one at a time throughout the year, until they go to the VantageScore system.

I recommend checking your credit report at least once a year to assure that your score is what you believe it should be.

· New “Traveling Help Desk” Dates

On Thursday, March 30, 2006, Holly Healy of my Harrisburg district office will be available to help the residents of Joppa and Cypress. In Joppa, she will be in the Joppa Village Hall from 9:30 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. In Cypress, she will be in the Cypress Village Hall at 7750 Main Street from 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.

On Thursday, April 5, 2006, Deb Detmers of my Collinsville district office will be available to help the residents of Sumner and Olney. In Sumner, she will be in the Sumner Village Hall from 11:00 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. In Olney, she will be in my Olney district office at 120 South Fair from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

For more information, please visit my web page at www.house.gov/shimkus/helpdesk.shtml. I hope you stop in to see us!

Legislative Week in Review

· The following bills were passed by the House of Representatives this week:

o H.R. 4939 – Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Hurricane Recovery, 2006 (Rep. Lewis – House Judiciary)

· To keep up to date on legislation as it moves through the legislative process please visit http://thomas.loc.gov and type in the bill number.

Anticipated Action on the House Floor Next Week

· Congress will be in recess next week and will return on March 27th, 2006.

· Keep an eye on the Office of the Clerk’s web site for upcoming legislation: http://clerk.house.gov/legisAct/index.html. This site provides up-to-date information on House legislative schedules.

Did You Know?

· Gas Prices

Gas prices continue to fluctuate due to different effects throughout the globe. If you would like, you can check the daily prices at gas stations in your area by visiting http://autos.msn.com/everyday/gasstations.aspx?zip=&src=Netx.

Thank you for the interest in my newsletter! Remember to tell your friends about it as well--they can sign up on my web page at http://www.house.gov/shimkus.

Sincerely,

Congressman John Shimkus

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This electronic newsletter is a weekly publication sent to all interested constituents. If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, please send a message to shimkus.il19@mail.house.gov and put UNSUBSCRIBE in the Subject Line, and we will remove you from the mailing list.

Please do not reply to this e-mail for any other reason; instead, visit http://www.house.gov/shimkus/emailme.shtml to contact me.