Plane Talk - Sunday, August 5, Seat 12A

Plane Talk is a regular series of articles I write on my airplane rides back and forth between Kansas and Washington, D.C.

Finally headed home for the August recess. We've done so much this week that is critically important to so many. Certainly it wasn't easy, and we had to jump a lot of hurdles on the way. I'm glad to return home to Kansas.

Because last week was so busy, this update will be longer than most, but I thought you'd want to hear what's happening.

Ethics Reform. At last Congress has passed a meaningful ethics reform package and sent it to President Bush to sign into law. We can't clear up America's problems until we in Congress clean up our own house.

The legislation is also a personal victory for me. My Pensions Forfeiture Act, which strips the pensions of former Members of Congress who are convicted of abusing their offices, is now one step away from law! It's crazy that you and I pay the pensions of former Congressmen who are sitting in jail.

The ethics package also includes real reforms to lobbying, fundraising, earmarks, and gifts, and it puts an end to the corrupt "K Street project."

Health Care. Last week the House passed the Children's Health and Medicare Protection (CHAMP) Act, and not a minute too soon. Medicare had announced plans to cut its reimbursements to doctors by 9.9%. This would strike a crippling blow to Kansas seniors. Seniors have told me again and again how difficult it is to find good doctors who accept Medicare; imagine how much worse the problem would be had Medicare cut its rates even further! The CHAMP Act stops these reimbursement cuts and protects seniors' access to health care.

Also, the CHAMP Act reauthorizes the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The legislation will extend health coverage to five million uninsured children, and best of all, it won't increase the federal budget deficit. The bill pays for itself by ending the ridiculus 12% overpayments to private insurers who administer Medicare Advantage. It also raises the cigarette tax by $0.45 per pack, which not only helps fund children's health care but discourages youths from taking up smoking in the first place!

Energy. For years now, I've said that America's energy policy is like a three-legged stool. We need conservation, renewable energy research, and investment in fossil fuel technologies, and without any of these legs, the stool will fail. Now, finally, America is embracing all three approaches to reducing our dependence on foreign oil:

• Conservation: The House shifted tax credits away from high-energy vehicles, like Hummers, to efficient cars such as hybrids. New energy efficiency standards will eliminate billions of tons of CO2. And, the bill requires the federal government operations to be carbon neutral by 2050--a longterm and very worthy goal.
• Renewable Energy: America is poised to make our largest-ever investment in homegrown biofuels. The House passed tax credits for solar, wind biomass and geothermal technologies.
• Oil and gas: The House passed incentives for additional drilling opportunities to improve America's short-term energy independence until we can depend on alternative energy resources.

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The House and Senate passed a revised Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Bill that gave the President broad powers to monitor people's communication without oversight. I can't overstate how deeply worried I am about what happened and how it happened. The bottom line: America can gather this needed intelligence to keep our country safe and have oversight. It's not an either/or.

So... what a week! But I'm about to land in Kansas for our August recess, with lots of meetings and events scheduled throughout the Second District. I hope to see you at one!

Glad to be home,

Nancy Boyda
Member of Congress

Congress on Your Corner This Saturday in Overbrook

This Saturday afternoon, I'll hold a Congress on Your Corner at Wheat State Pizza in Overbrook.  I hope to see you there!

Saturday, August 11 - Overbrook
2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Wheat State Pizza
Highway 56
Overbrook, Kansas

Each Congress on Your Corner is an informal, friendly get-together in a grocery store, restaurant, library, or mall in the Kansas Second Congressional District. I usually begin each event with a few remarks about my work in Washington and a brief, public Q&A.; Afterwards, I sit down one-on-one with constituents to discuss their legislative concerns and offer assistance with federal agencies.

Casework Corner - Boyda's Office Can Speed Up Passport Applications

Casework Corner is a regular feature on my official website. Every week, members of my constituent services staff share ways that they can help Kansans deal with the federal government.

By Joshua Dieker
District Representative

If you read this blog often or follow the news, you are probably aware that the past several months have seen a major backlog in the processing of passport applications. Fortunately, many travelers are contacting our office in hopes that we can speed up the process and save their vacations.

Our office has assisted in the neighborhood of 500 people in the district get their passports. I’m proud to have had a hand in many of those, but the story of one particular group sticks out in my mind: the Grace Episcopal Cathedral’s Youth Group. This organization has been planning for months a pilgrimage to London and Canterbury in the United Kingdom. They raised funds, they studied their history, and they prepared for an exciting and educational trip that they would never forget. Those who didn’t already have passports applied well in advance of the trip to ensure that they would receive their documents in plenty of time. What they didn’t count upon, however, was the “Passport Crisis of ’07."

Continue reading...

This Week in Congress - 7/30 to 8/4/2007

On Monday morning, callers to the Jim Cates Show in Topeka asked me questions about issues now pending before Congress, including immigration reform and border enforcement. Later that morning, constituents Don Lambert, Brandon Wilson, and Kevin Surbaugh visited my Topeka office for separate meetings. I then flew back to Washington, D.C., for evening votes, where my office also received visits from the Couch family of Girard and the Dryer family of Paola.

On Tuesday, Gary Foulke, the principal of Overbrook Attendance Center, dropped by with his daughters to discuss education-related legislation. I also met with Lloyd Lavin of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 226, and the Foulke family of Overbrook visited for a Capitol tour.

On Wednesday, my staff and I sat down for a "thank-you" lunch with our summer interns, who have shown incredible dedication, intelligence, and compassion as they've helped us serve Second District residents in the last few months. Later I attended a House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee hearing on Army recruiting and retention. David Walker, the Comptroller General of the GAO, and Nancy Kraft, the director of the Kansas Parent Info Resource Center, visited for afternoon meetings, and Troy and Bobette Geiger of Troy also dropped in.

On Thursday, U.S. Attorney Eric Melgren visited, as did Kristin Bock of Lawrence. The House held numerous votes as we cleared away legislative business in advance of the August Congressional recess.

Friday and Saturday also held a very busy legislative schedule, with votes lasting as late as 1:00 a.m. Early on Sunday morning, the House recessed, and I caught a flight back to Kansas, ready to spend the next month meeting with constituents and visiting cities and towns across the Second District.

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