We had a good crowd Tuesday at Leawood City Hall for my Town Hall Forum. Thank you to everyone who attended – I appreciate your feedback and advice. We covered a lot of ground and talked about several important topics for Kansans; including the budget and deficits, immigration reform, the Affordable Care Act, growing our economy and creating jobs, the investigation into Benghazi and more. 

 

Thank you to Leawood Mayor Peggy Dunn for the kind introduction and having us at City Hall. Click here, or on the image above, to enlarge the photo and to view more pictures from our Leawood Town Hall Forum.

I was honored to meet with the Sunflower Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America last week. We were able to discuss several topics that are important to military veterans and their families. I also spoke about legislation I'm currently cosponsoring that was written to ensure retired military veterans are able to receive the full benefits they have earned through their service. The bill, H.R. 3790, would completely repeal the COLA change made by the Ryan-Murray budget. We must continue to provide needed services and benefits that our brave military men and women have earned through sacrifice and service.

 

I am encouraged by MOAA’s continued support of our active duty force, national defense and community service initiatives.

It was a pleasure to sit down with members of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce last week to discuss several important issues. As a member of the Appropriations Committee, I gave an update on the appropriations process, including the recently passed Omnibus bill. This legislation allowed Congress to prioritize spending while at the same time represents the fourth straight year in which the federal government has reduced discretionary spending, the first time this has happened since just after the Korean War.

 

I appreciated taking questions from the audience on many federal issues including taxes, the importance of focusing on STEM education, working to find bipartisan solutions and more. Click here, or on the image above to enlarge the photo.

 

Thank you for the opportunity to visit with you and discuss these important topics.

Last week, I toured an outstanding facility, the new Culinary Center at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park. JCCC’s Culinary Apprenticeship program is the largest in the country and accredited by the American Culinary Federation. Thank you to JCCC President Dr. Joe Sopcich and Hospitality Management Program Director Ona Ashley for your leadership of this award winning program and for the tour.

 

It wasn’t too long ago I was on hand for the groundbreaking, and it was amazing to see the state of the art finished facility last week. Congratulations on a wonderful building and program!

It was a cold morning last Thursday, but I appreciated the warm welcome from the Leawood Rotary Club. As a fellow Rotarian, I enjoyed the chance to update the group on our recent work in Congress and what we need to tackle in this New Year.

 

Thank you to Paul Rueschhoff for the invitation to speak, and thank you to everyone for your advice and feedback to me before Congress heads back into session next week after the District Work Period.

I stopped by KMBZ radio on Thursday to visit in studio with Scott Parks and Dana Wright on 980 KMBZ.

 

We spoke about several important topics, including an update on H.R. 1865 - my Email Privacy Act legislation.