Register to Vote at Rock the Vote

Monday, April 14, 2008

Boyda Creates Scholarship with Her Automatic Pay Raise

Congresswoman Nancy Boyda did the right thing last year when she voted to prevent Congress's automatic pay increase from going into effect. She went above and beyond to do even more when she co-sponsored the bill that would have prevented it.

At the time she said:

“In my district, the median wage is still going down, so it just doesn’t seem right for Congress to take care of itself,” Boyda said. “I guess maybe it depends where you’re coming from . . . . If we get a pay raise, I will donate it to charity.”
It went into effect anyway.

In a press release today, Congresswoman Boyda said she thought long and hard about what to do with the money added to her pay that she had worked to prevent, finally deciding to create a $1,500 scholarship for a 2nd District high school senior.

Full text of the press release:
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Nancy Boyda (Kansas Second District) has announced that she will create a scholarship fund with a $4,100 automatic Congressional raise in pay.

Boyda said, "As the middle class struggles to get by on shrinking paychecks, it is unconscionable for Congress to vote itself a pay raise. I voted against automatic raises last year and I have cosponsored another bill (H.R. 2934) that would suspend pay raises to Members of Congress in 2008."

"I just could not, in good conscience, put this raise to personal use." said Boyda. "There are so many worthy causes in Kansas that it took long and careful consideration to decide exactly where to put this money. I ultimately decided to put it toward the education of tomorrow's Kansas leaders."

The requirements for the Representative Nancy Boyda Scholarship are:
Applicant must be a graduating senior residing in the Second District of Kansas who is planning to pursue studies in one of the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) fields and planning to attend an accredited school in the state of Kansas.

Applications must include the following information:

1. A statement of circumstances of financial need (completed Parent Financial Analysis form).
2. An essay of no more than 500 words answering the following two questions: "What do you think should be done to encourage an interest in and the study of STEM fields?" and "Why is this your chosen area of study?"
3. Applicant should have at least a 3.0 G.P.A., and must provide verification of G.P.A. via a high school transcript or equivalent.
4. Proof of United States citizenship with a copy of a birth certificate or U.S. citizenship naturalization papers.

Procedure for selection of recipient:
1. An independent reading team of the Topeka Community Foundation will review and select the recipient of the scholarship.
2. The award is for one year and a family is eligible to receive the award one time.
3. In all other respects, these funds will be awarded without restriction to race, gender, religion, age, sexual orientation or disability.
4. The $1,500 annual scholarship will be paid to the college or university of choice and the student.

The scholarship fund will be managed by the Topeka Community Foundation, whose mission is to improve the quality of life in the region by connecting donors to their philanthropic priorities as well as to the needs of the community, by increasing charitable giving and providing leadership on critical community issues. The Foundation celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. It has more than $50 million in assets and granted more than $2 million in 2007.
Nancy Boyda didn't just do what was right when she voted against giving herself a pay raise. She didn't just do what's right when she sponsored the bill up for a vote. She also did what was right by given the money back to her constituents- and, even better than that- she'll help someone further their education.

This was truly above and beyond the call of duty, and we hope even our Republican reads will agree that Boyda deserves credit for her actions today.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ok, so she's keeping $2600?

And why would she let it go to the students college of choice? Does she not care to support Kansas Schools? Unless I read that wrong the student can go out of state and take the money with them. Why wouldn't she limit the money to a community college or university in the 2nd District?

Anonymous said...

oops, never mind. well kind of. I still don't see where it says what she's doing with the other $2600.

Anonymous said...

Are you kidding me? You're honestly going to say "Nancy Boyda sucks because she is only giving PART of her raise to a scholarship fund!?!?"

She didn't have to give one red penny, and to the best of my knowledge, the other 534 members of Congress aren't exactly lining up to give ANY of their raise.

There really are some people out there who will NEVER say "Man, that was a pretty cool thing that Nancy Boyda did."

If she saved 400 puppies from a burning building, they'd ask why she didn't save 401.

Anonymous said...

I think she said she was giving some to charity when they first announced the pay raise

Anonymous said...

Kudos to her for the scholarship. It's a good move. I would, however, like her to clarify the amount question. Not because giving part of the increase would be a bad thing - it wouldn't - but rather because her words in the record do clearly state that she would give it all to charity. And her press release certainly lends that impression. I'm just hopeful that she'll clarify it one way or the other, so there's no confusion and so we can know that her words mean something. As it stands, it's impossible to view this good act without a bit of skepticism that it's part publicity stunt. I'm betting she clears it up.

Anonymous said...

you're all sick cynics. the woman created a scholarship. Get over yourselves

Anonymous said...

My first impression is that she created a scholarship FUND with the $4100. $1500 from the FUND will be awarded annually.

That's how scholarship funds work. You need more money in there than you plan on giving out.

And, yeah, get over yourselves.

This blog is not affiliated in any way with the Kansas Democratic Party, the Democratic National Committee, Congresswoman Nancy Boyda, the Office of Congresswoman Nancy Boyda, or the campaign to re-elected Congresswoman Nancy Boyda. All commentary herein not directly attributed must be considered the opinion of the authors of this blog and not of any other individual, including Congresswoman Nancy Boyda.