Plane Talk - US Air Flight 3882, Seat 5-C

Dear Friend,

Just about everywhere we turn lately we hear another conversation centered on the sad state of affairs. The weather; Hurricane Ike has caused devastating loss in Texas and flooding in the Midwest. The volatile stock market; analysts are very concerned. Home foreclosures. High gasoline prices. The cost of health care. Food prices that are through the roof. The list goes on and on.

And those doing the talking are pretty much right on the money – no pun intended. Things have been pretty grim. We can’t ignore the state of the economy. People are hurting. It’s something I’ve talked about more than a few times in my weekly letter to the Second District.

Please know that I am doing all I can in Congress to turn the tide. Several of my colleagues and I have formed a Middle Class Working Group. This week we rolled out a new Middle Class plan. The plan contains 13 pieces of legislation designed to help middle class families succeed – from college tuition tax credits and “bridge” insurance that will help families maintain health insurance during times of transition, to standardizing home office deductions. My bill, the Elder Care Tax Credit Act, provides a measure of relief for individuals who take care of elderly parents or grandparents not living in their homes.

The United States House of Representatives passed a compromise energy package this week. The bill isn’t perfect, but it’s a good compromise. I’m now urging the Senate to set aside partisan differences and do what’s right for our country. To finally, after three decades of a failed policy, vote for hardworking American families instead of Big Oil.

There’s more good news. No matter what is taking place around the world, our American democracy is working. I’ve heard from thousands and thousands of constituents about a wide spectrum of issues. When this many people care enough about their government and their nation to speak up, the right kind of change begins to evolve. Democracy is a contact sport! And I want you to know that your voices are being heard! I listen to all that you say, and take our conversations back to D.C. Your thoughts are helping to shape the policy of our country.

Earlier this year, when tornados swept through Kansas, I was overwhelmed to visit with storm victims who were more worried about their neighbors than their own situations. I still see this kind of Kansas spirit and compassion each and every day. And because of that Kansas spirit, we shall also weather this storm.

With warm regards, 

Nancy Boyda
Member of Congress

Casework Corner – Helping Our Veterans

One of the most important things our office does is offer assistance to veterans and their families. The men and women who bravely volunteer to serve our country shouldn’t ever face stumbling blocks in receiving the benefits they have earned for themselves and for their families. Unfortunately, given the realities of any system that works to provide benefits and services to large numbers of people, from time to time there are errors or oversights that result in services being wrongfully withheld from their proper recipients.

Pamela Keller of Troy, Kansas contacted our office earlier this year after her husband, a Vietnam veteran, had passed away. She had applied for spousal survivor benefits, but even after four months of waiting, she had still not received a payment. This was putting Pamela into a serious financial problem, because she had no other income.

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Letter of the Week - Nancy on Raising Volunteer Mileage Reimbursement 

Dear Nancy,

I would like you and other members of Congress to explore increasing the mileage rate for volunteer miles driven that can be taken as an itemized deduction on our federal income tax. The rate is currently 14 cents per mile. I'm not cerain what the federal government pays its employees for use of the employee's personal vehicle but I think it is over 40 cents per mile. It would seem for those of that do volunteer work would be able to claim a deduction at least somewhere close to that.

Thank You,

William Wood from Leavenworth, KS.

Dear William,

Thank you for contacting me regarding reimbursement rates for miles driven while volunteering. Please accept my sincere apologies for the delay in this response. I receive literally hundreds of letters every week, and my staff and I work hard to respond to each individual’s concerns.

Currently, volunteers that drive for charitable purposes (such as to provide “Meals on Wheels” or to be part of a volunteer fire company) may deduct mileage reimbursement from their income taxes. For volunteers this rate is fixed at just 14 cents per mile. Business travel reimbursement changes with increases in gas rates and inflation – right now it is 58.5 cents per mile.

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This Week in Congress - September 8 to September 13

Monday I returned from a Congressional Delegation to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
I met with representatives of the Kansas Farmers Union on Tuesday, including:

Tom Clark from Courtland, KS
Lavern Potuzak from Agenda, KS
Don Rezac from Onaga, KS
Rodger Schneider from Salina, KS
Donn Teske from Wheaton, KS

Also on Tuesday, I met with Robert Durst Jr., MD from Topeka on behalf of the American Academy of Dermatology. That evening I was honored by the National Farmers Union with their 2008 Golden Triangle Award.

I attended a House Armed Services Committee hearing on security and stability in Afghanistan on Wednesday, which featured testimony by The Honorable Robert M. Gates, Secretary of Defense, Department of Defense and Admiral Michael G. Mullen, USN, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff. Later that day, I met with representatives of the Kansas Farm Bureau including:

Carol Ann Flock
Alisa Rath
Lori Haresnape
Meagan Cramer
Bill Luebbers
Derek Zongker

I rounded out Wednesday by meeting with Tom Stoffers and Richard Fry, both state representatives of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, as well as Nancy Reyes-Ochoa, from Topeka, who was participating a fellow in the National Hispania Leadership Institute

On Thursday, September 11, I marked the anniversary with my congressional colleagues by attending a Congressional remembrance ceremony on the steps of the Capitol. I also attended an Agriculture Committee hearing on dramatic movements in agriculture and energy commodity markets. Thursday afternoon I toured the Capitol with Janet Garrison and her husband Bill, a Vietnam veteran, and her father in-law Joe Price, a World War II veteran, as well as her mother-in-law Dorothy Price and her aunt, Sara Olivas, all from Atchison, Kansas.

I had the privilege Saturday of attending a live fire demonstration by the 2nd Battalion, 130th Field Artillery of the Kansas National Guard at Fort Riley, where they demonstrated the Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS).