---

Constituent Corner

· Time for Students to Apply to be Summer Congressional Pages

I would like to invite high school students throughout the 19th district to apply to be a House page in Washington, DC, this summer. Pages act as messengers and assist in the operations of the House of Representatives.

This is an excellent opportunity for students to get first-hand experience with the legislative branch of our federal government. Students live in our nation’s capitol and get to witness history in the making.

To be qualified to serve as a page in Washington, applicants must be at least 16 years of age at the time their appointment would begin and have a cumulative grade point average of a “B” (3.0/4.0 or 80/100) or better in the five major subjects: English, math, science, social studies, and foreign language. Electives are not counted in the GPA.

Students must apply for the summer before or after their junior year of high school. This year the summer sessions run June 13 – July 1 and July 11 – 29. Applications for a separate school year program will be taken later this spring.

To obtain a summer page application, which contains additional information about this unique opportunity, please call Congressman Shimkus’ office at (618)252-8271. Completed applications must be returned to the Congressman’s office by March 18. Applicants must be residents of the 19th Congressional District.

We review our applications and submit two nominations to the Speaker of the House. The final decision is made by the Speaker’s office.

For more information on the Page Program, please visit http://www.house.gov/shimkus/pageprogram.htm.

· Important Notice About Internet Based Telephone Service

Consumers who are considering buying Internet-based telephone services should be aware that not all such services provide access to the 9-1-1 network. Sometimes 9-1-1 service is provided but is not the full service we are used to receiving via regular wireline telephones.

When a person calls 9-1-1 from a wireline telephone, emergency service providers automatically know the caller’s location and can direct emergency personnel to that location even if the caller is not able to provide an address.

If you are considering an Internet-based telephone service for your household, you should ask whether the offer includes 9-1-1 service. If the advertising, whether in store brochures, media print, online, or oral communications, is silent on this issue, it is likely that 9-1-1 is NOT being provided.

If the provider claims to provide 9-1-1 service, ask whether 9-1-1 calls are routed to the traditional 9-1-1 network. If yes, then the service is just like traditional telephone service. If the provider makes it voluntary or mandatory to sign up for 9-1-1 service, you may be required to go on line and enter your name and address so you can be located in an emergency. It will be very important for you to enter the information accurately and keep it up to date.

If you are considering a telephone service which does not include traditional 9-1-1 service, you should ask yourself how members of your household, including children, visitors and babysitters, will call for help in an emergency. Don’t forget that they will have to know your address and be able to communicate it to emergency personnel.

· Illinois Receives Grant Funding through Department of Homeland Security

I am pleased to announce that the Illinois Emergency Management Agency will use grant funding in the amount of $102,592,707 for Fiscal Year 2005 from the Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP). This funding will be used for costs related to preparedness activities associated with implementing the State Homeland Security Strategy (SHSS) and any respective Urban Area Security Strategies (UASS).

HSGP consists of the State Homeland Security Program (SHSP), the Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI), the Law Terrorism Prevention Program (LETPP), the Citizen Corps Program (CCP), the Emergency Management Performance (EMPG), and the Metropolitan Medical Response System (MMRS) program. Together, these programs provide an integrated mechanism to enhance the coordination of regional efforts to prevent, respond to, and recover from terrorism related chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive (CBRNE) incidents, cyber attacks, and natural disasters.

These FY 2005 awards for Illinois breakdown as follows:

State Homeland Security Program (SHSP) will receive $35,298,886.
Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) will receive $48,000,000.
Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Program (LETPP) will receive $12,835,959.
Citizen Corps Program (CCP) will receive $448,119.
Emergency Management Performance Grants (EMPG) will receive $5,782,151.
Metropolitan Medical Response System (MMRS) will receive $227,592.

For more information on the Homeland Security Grant Program, please visit http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/display?content=4206.

· New “Traveling Help Desk” Dates

On Thursday, March 10, Amy Weber of my Collinsville district office will be available to help the residents of Troy, Glen Carbon and Godfrey. In Troy, she will be in the Meeting Room of the Troy City Hall on 116 East Market Street from 9:30 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. In Glen Carbon, she will be in the Council Chambers of the Glen Carbon City Hall on 151 North Main Street from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. In Godfrey, she will be in the Godfrey Village Hall Meeting Room on 6810 Godfrey Road from 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

On Thursday, March 17, Jed Nelson of my Springfield district office will be available to help the residents of Litchfield and Chatham. In Litchfield, he will be in the Meeting Room of the Litchfield City Hall on 120 East Ryder Street from 12:30 p.m. until 2:00 p.m. In Chatham, he will be in the Municipal Room across from the Chatham City Hall on 117 East Mulberry from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Appointments are not necessary, so feel free to drop by at any time. For more information, please visit my web page at www.house.gov/shimkus/helpdesk.htm. I hope you stop in to see us!

For more information on Troy, please visit http://www.ci.troy.il.us

For more information on Glen Carbon, please visit www.glen-carbon.il.us

For more information on Godfrey, please visit http://www.hometownlocator.com/City/Godfrey-Illinois.cfm

For more information on Litchfield, please visit http://www.litchfieldil.com

For more information on Chatham, please visit http://www.chathamil.net

Legislative Week in Review

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

o H.R. 912 – To ensure the protection of beneficiaries of United States humanitarian assistance (Rep. Delahunt – International Relations).

o H.R. 27 – Job Training Improvement Act of 2005 (Rep. McKeon – Education & the Workforce)

o H.R. 841 – Continuity in Representation Act (Rep. Sensenbrenner – House Administration)

· 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 session from Tuesday through Thursday of next week. Some of the legislation which will be considered includes:

o H.R. 3 - The Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (Rep. Young - House Transportation and Infrastructure)

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

Did You Know?

· Illinois Residents are Now Eligible to Receive Free Credit Reports

Illinois consumers received an important tool in the fight against identity theft on March 1st when a new federal law offering people access to free credit reports took effect.

Under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, consumers will be entitled to one free copy of their credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus -- Equifax, Experian and Trans Union -- each year. The reports can be ordered online at www.annualcreditreport.com or by calling, toll-free, (877) 322-8228.

Knowing your credit score in this day and age is especially important and the number of victims of identity theft increases yearly. I encourage all of my constituents to take advantage of this service and monitor their credit for any unusual activities.

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 somewhere in the Subject or Body, 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.htm to contact me.