This has been a difficult week for our entire community after the horrible and tragic violence that struck the Jewish Community Center and Village Shalom in Overland Park. Through this heartbreaking tragedy we lost three community members; Reat Underwood, Dr. William Corporon and Terri LaManno. On Thursday, I attended the Jewish Community Center’s Interfaith Ceremony of Unity and Hope and was moved by the outpouring of support from the entire community. It was clear to me by all those who attended the ceremony that our entire community has become stronger and more unified in the wake of this violence.

 

Photo by the Kansas City Star

 

Thank you to everyone who attended - and to those who watched on TV or listened on the radio, your presence was felt by all.

 

On Friday, I joined with many community members in a candle light vigil walk from the Jewish Community Center, to Village Shalom, and ending at Valley Park. Thank you to the members of the Jewish Community Center Youth Group for organizing the walk.

 

It was moving to see so many members of our community come together in a sign of unity once again.

 

I spoke with CNN last Monday morning in the immediate aftermath to share with the nation what our community was going through. I felt it was important to speak up for our entire community against the senseless acts of hate we saw, and to say we would comfort each other, stick together and get through this tragedy.

 

Click here, or on the image above, to watch my full interview.

 

Thank you, Chief Douglass. We owe you a debt of gratitude for your many years of commitment to the safety of our community.

We all know April 15th was Tax Day. This year, Americans will send more money to the federal government than at any other time in American history. Washington has a lot of Kansas money – it’s important we hold our government accountable for the bloated and wasteful programs, inefficiencies and outright fraud on the American taxpayer.

 

Throughout the past several weeks, the Appropriations Committee, which I serve on, has held numerous hearings to learn how government agencies plan to spend American taxpayer dollars over the next fiscal year. This is important oversight when deciding how your hard-earned tax dollars should be spent.

 

Click here, or on the image above, to watch and listen to my full Tax Day message.

 

As your Representative, I will continue to be a strong voice for fiscal responsibility in Washington because I understand just how hard families are working in Kansas to make ends meet.

The Appropriations Committee has continued its work to provide oversight into how our government programs and agencies will use American tax dollars in the coming year. It has been a busy few weeks with several important committee hearings, and I used those opportunities to address some overall concerns I continue to hear from Kansans about how their tax dollars are spent.

 

IRS Sends Billions in Fraud and Improper Payments

Whether Republican or Democrat, all Americans want to ensure their tax dollars are spent wisely and not wasted. I recently had the opportunity to speak with IRS Commissioner John Koskinen at an Appropriations Subcommittee hearing. Specifically, I asked him about fraudulent payments made by the IRS to those claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). The IRS’s Fiscal Year 2012 improper payment report indicates the IRS estimated that 21 to 25 percent of the EITC payments made were paid in error - totaling between $11.6 - $13.6 billion. These funds could be used to reduce your tax burden, or shrink the deficit or go to support very important programs like job training for veterans, NIH cancer research funding, or early childhood education (the National Head Start budget for last year was $9 billion).

 

Click here, or on the image above image, to watch our discussion.

 

No Accurate Accounting of Government Assets

 

Click here, or on the image above, to watch our discussion.

 

OMB Director Fails to Address Entitlement Warnings

Also, I recently had the chance to question Office of Management and Budget Director Sylvia Burwell about the President's budget request that recently was defeated by a 2-413 vote on the House floor. I took the opportunity to ask Director Burwell about this proposal, noting that the President's budget never balances and runs deficits until the end of time. We also discussed the fiscal solvency issues facing our entitlement programs, and specifically a Medicare funding warning that when given, should trigger an immediate response by the administration on how these issues will be addressed. The administration has not submitted to Congress how he will take action to preserve these important programs. Administrator Burwell has since been nominated to replace retiring Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius.

 

Click here, or on the image above, to listen to our discussion.

It was a pleasure to catch up with Dr. Doug Girod, Vice Chancellor of the University of Kansas Medical Center, when he was recently in Washington. We spoke about the groundbreaking research being conducted there, as well as their KUMC 2014 legislation priorities. We also discussed the importance of continued investments in the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration, and how they are critical to ensuring patients in America receive the treatments and cures they need.

 

Thank you to Dr. Girod for his leadership at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Rock Chalk, Jayhawk!

I want to thank MOAA Kansas Council of Chapters President LTC Patrick Murphy and Tony Pimentel for speaking with me about important veteran issues and the impact cuts to the military have on our veterans. I'm very pleased Congress last month ensured that veterans' pensions would remain fully funded and I'll continue my efforts to support the brave military men and woman through my role on the Appropriations Committee.

 

Thank you for visiting with me about these important issues.

Representatives of the Kansas Biotechnology Industry Organization (BioKansas) were in Washington to meet with Members of Congress recently to talk about federal legislative priorities and policy issues. I thank them for the important discussion about the great innovative work being done in the greater Kansas City area involving the biotech industries.

 

I'm proud our region is becoming a national hub as a corridor for biotech research.

It was a pleasure to meet recently with several students from the Kansas School for the Deaf, located in Olathe. These students were in Washington, D.C. to participate in an Academic Bowl Challenge. The group stopped by my office before going on a tour of the Capitol.

 

Congratulations to all the bright KSD students in town last weekend for the academic bowl.