Plane Talk - Midwest Flight 50, Seat 3B
(Next to Matt, a great young PSU grad from Pittsburg!) 

Dear Friend,

A good weekend. Oil has come down. $25 a barrel. Now the price of gas needs to match it!

Congress is calling the bluff of Big Oil and it's working! Two things we're doing. First, we've made it clear we not only allow, but we EXPECT the oil companies to drill or they must give up the leases they've been holding onto. Second, we're bringing legislation to the floor this week to curb speculation and manipulation. The market is responding to both.

Now, we must move forward with increasing supply of all types of energies. NOW!

And......it's 4-H County Fair time. Everyone is in a good mood, even though temperatures are soaring!

Sunday night at the Nemaha County Fair in Seneca, I asked the kids sitting on the curb if they were looking forward to the fair. Their eyes lit up as they nodded their heads up and down emphatically. Even ‘kids at heart’ enjoy fair time. Lots of 20- and 30-somethings come home for it. It brings the whole county together.

The Shawnee County Fair pulls together 4-H clubs from across Northeast Kansas with chickens, roosters, goats, cows, hogs, photographs, sewing, cakes and pies. It's all there.

Once again this year, I milked a goat in the "celebrity" goat milking contest. I am pleased to report that I improved over last year and came in third of six. Our State Treasurer Lynn Jenkins came in first and deserves congratulations! It's all (almost) clean fun and everyone has good time laughing at us. All for a good cause.

Of course, the pie judging contest was rough duty. Two apple pies and a rhubarb pie! They were delicious and it was hard to select the best. I'm actually a pretty good pie maker and might even enter one myself next year!

Last weekend, the Kickapoo tribe had its annual Pow-Wow. It's a lot like a county fair. The Grand Entrance is a spectacular parade of traditional dress and dancing of young and old alike. (I was honored to enter with them with a beautiful dance robe over my arm.) Instead of bands, there are traditional drums and native singing. It is very moving.

Like a county fair, it is festive with food and fellowship. Like in ceremonies the world over, it is an opportunity for young boys and girls to meet, but in adherence with rites and traditional customs, under the watchful eyes of their elders.

If you haven't been to a Pow-Wow, you should try and make it for the Grand Entrance. They will be glad to share their customs and you will certainly enjoy it. Take the kids and grandkids so they can learn too.

It’s our last week in DC before the August district work period. I'm always grateful to be home for these work sessions. No, it's not a "vacation!" I spend every minute possible out and about listening, working, meeting with you.

Hope to see you soon!


Nancy Boyda
Member of Congress

Casework Corner – Demand is Running High for TV Converter Boxes
by Rachel Reeves, District Representative

On February 17, 2009, television will undergo a transformation. At midnight, all broadcasting will be required to be 100% digital. This means that those will with an analog set will no longer be able to receive television stations through an antenna. The many advantages of digital broadcasting include clearer pictures, more programming options, and more airwaves for emergency responders.

In an effort to allow households to retain their analog sets if they so choose, Congress created the TV Converter Box Coupon Program. Through this program, households can apply for a maximum of two coupons, each worth $40. These coupons can be put towards the purchase of an eligible converter box. If your TV is connected to cable, satellite, or other pay TV service, then this program need not apply.

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Letter of the Week - Nancy Votes to Override the President's Veto of the Medicare Improvement Bill

Dear Representative Boyda:

Please vote to override the President's veto of the Medicare Improvement for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (HR 6331). This is important legislation that will make a number of critical improvements to the Medicare program -especially for beneficiaries such as myself and my daughter who are living with serious mental illness. 

Sincerely,
John from Manhattan, KS. 

Dear John,

We are finally making progress on Medicare. The common sense of the American people has prevailed. I am glad to let you know that Congress has overridden the President's veto of H.R. 6331 (the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act) by substantial margins. I believe that this bill is the first of many steps to improve Medicare and put it on a sound financial footing.

The President initially succeeded in blocking H.R. 6331, and a series of damaging Medicare cuts went into effect on July 1 that were especially devastating to Kansas. That was a sad day, but it prompted an outcry from the American people that was powerful enough to overwhelm the President and the partisanship in the Senate. When Congress overrode the President's veto on July 15, 2008, H.R. 6331 became law...

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This Week in Congress - July 21 to July 26 

First thing Monday morning, I met with Sharon Cannon from Baxter Springs. She is a representative from Christians United for Israel. I spent the rest of the day in the office and then spoke to a group of retirees at the Goodyear Leisure Club Dinner in Topeka that evening.

I attended a House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee Hearing on Army Medical Action Plan Tuesday, then met with representatives from the Kansas Grain and Feed Association and Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association, as well as representatives from the Southeast Kansas Independent Living Center.

Wednesday started with a House Armed Services Committee Full Committee Hearing on the Comptroller General’s progress report on Iraq. Later that day, I met with Lieutenant General Henry Obering, head of the Missile Defense Agency, as well as Brenda & Mark Frei and their family, who were representing the Secular Coalition. I also attended a House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee Hearing on the policy of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

On Thursday, I attended an Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy, and Research Hearing to review Renewable Fuels Standard implementation and agriculture producer eligibility. I also met with representatives of the Kansas Secondary Principals Association and Billie Jo Drakes of Fort Scott, president elect of Kansas Association of Elementary School Principals. In addition, I participated in an Agriculture Committee Business Meeting to consider the Commodity Markets Transparency and Accountability Act of 2008. Friday evening, I led a tour of the Capitol with constituents Jane Strohmeyer and family from Manhattan, the Frei family from Lawrence, and Jamie Reid of Leavenworth.

I was in Leavenworth Saturday to attend a memorial event organized by Diana Pitts. The event was in memory of Diana’s son Corporal David M. Unger who died last October in Iraq. After the event, I met Stephanie Caldwell, Stephanie LaRue-Davis and Phyllis Bass at the Richard Allen Cultural Center. We spent about an hour there before heading to the Alliance Against Family Violence women’s shelter to meet with Kay Andersen.