A Thick Skin & Determination Keep Boyda Fighting for Us

Another article from another one of Congresswoman Nancy Boyda's Congress on Your Corner events, this one in Humboldt.

The article leads with something about Boyda everyone on both sides of the aisle have learned about her since she took office: She's got a thick skin.

Why? Because even when she does something good for her district, she gets attacked by partisan broadsides- nevermind she helped her constituents back home.

Earmarks are a trickle of money, in comparison to all federal expenditures, from Washington, D.C. that members of Congress, House and Senate, propose for projects within their districts or states. Unlike most others, Boyda released the ones she proposed and they became fodder for political junkies on the 24-hour news channels.

None rivaled the infamous Alaskan “bridge to nowhere,” a $300 million project offered by Alaska Rep. Don Young to build a bridge from Ketchikan, population 8,000, to Gavina, an island where 80 people live, but “I still got a tongue lashing,” Boyda said.

She explained one to Humboldt listeners, a $100,000 proposal to aid construction of a museum in Lansing that would include $2 million to $3 million in private funding.

“There are four prisons there, including a U.S. prison and the U.S. military maximum detention center, and 14 men have given their lives,” working as prison guards, she said. “As a country we want to preserve our heritage and having a museum that documents the history of Lansing and its prisons is, I think, a good idea.”

Everyone knows the Radical Right (like our good friends at Americans for Prosperity) will never ever see that Boyda did in fact do something good for the people of Lansing with that appropriation...but the people of Kansas see it for what it is: their member of Congress caring about what's important to them.

Responding again to false Republican claims she wants to increase taxes on the middle class, Boyda told the crowd exactly what she does (and doesn't) want to do with the tax code.

Boyda is eager to end $18 billion in annual subsidies to the five biggest oil companies particularly in light of them having $181 billion in profits last year, and is critical of similar subsidies to the health insurance industry. Meanwhile, she voted against $22 billion in cuts to domestic programs (that were proposed by President Bush- BB), “including money to Area Agency on Aging, which funds this place (Humboldt’s Senior Center).”

“My opposition to he subsidies and cuts in domestic spending, money that filters down to help local government that has to face unfunded federal mandates, has been reported as me voting for tax increases,” Boyda said. “I’m in favor of keeping the tax cuts in place in for the middle class, but not for the very wealth and corporations” that enjoy huge profits.

“No one thinks tax money should go to subsidize big oil, except in Washington along partisan lines.”

She also mentioned that the top 16 hedge fund managers each made more than $1 billion last year, but none paid income tax.

“They paid 15 percent on capital gains, but no income taxes,” she said. “Does anyone think that’s right?”

She hit on immigration:

Illegal immigration was mentioned by several constituents.

Boyda said she preferred an identification system, through Social Security registration, that would offer better verification “than what we have now, which is a failure and inaccurate as much as 15 percent of the time.”

She has proposed documentation, with a photograph, name and Social Security number, in a computer database that could be checked at the click of a mouse.

“I don’t know the answer to world peace, but I don’t think immigration is that hard,” she said, noting that documenting newcomers and checking employers’ records shouldn’t be difficult.

And, just on a basically heartwarming side, Boyda told the crowd she was there in Humboldt because she didn't want to "go Washington."

“I went to Washington to make life better for everyone. Sometimes I think we can, sometimes I get awfully frustrated,” Boyda told about 40 people who listened to her 90-minute presentation, followed by individual conversations with constituents.

“Good people go off to Washington and change. I worry some about that. I don’t want to ‘go Washington,’” become insulated from the realities of everyday life in the 2nd District.

“Democracy is a contact sport and it also is a team sport. You have to understand what you’re doing” and how it plays out through layers of government, from the federal level to state to local.

“I think changes slowly are changing in Washington,” she said. “You can see it month by month.

We sent Nancy Boyda to Congress in 2006 because the direction or then-current Congressman was leading us was simply wrong. It's sad the Radical Republicans in the Senate along with the President have blocked quality change, but it's encouraging to know we have an advocate like Boyda still fighting the good fight.

Boyda & Moore lead on earmark transparency; Moran and Tiahrt MIA

Following Congresswoman Nancy Boyda's lead, Congressman Dennis Moore from the Kansas 3rd District has released a list of the federal funding he has requested for FY2009.

Republican Congressmen Todd Tiahrt & Jerry Moran have not (typical from the party of "fiscal responsibility). Neither have either of our US Senators.

As we've said before, Boyda has taken the lead on earmark reform, and, hopefully, will succeed in passing legislation to force her Kansas colleagues who are lagging behind to catch up to her.

Under these new, more transparent rules, the total cost of earmarks in the 2008 federal budget dropped by 42% – the first decline in a decade.

Calls for further reform are quickly gaining momentum. One proposal would require Congress to list all earmarks within the text of a bill, rather than in legislative committee reports (as has been a common practice in the past). The idea is worth considering, but it seems to me that shifting earmarks from one venue to another is not enough to end corruption. Instead, we must make the entire budget process more transparent.

That's why I'm sponsoring legislation to require all Member of Congress to post their earmark requests online – not just the earmarks they receive, but every earmark they request. Taxpayers have the right to know how Congress wants to spend their money.

I began holding myself to this standard of accountability last June, when I posted my 2007 earmark requests to my Congressional website. This was a sharp break from the traditional secrecy of the budget process: CNN went so far as to call me a "maverick." Maverick or not, it just makes sense that greater transparency will lead to a more efficient, more effective federal budget.

No one called him a maverick, but CongressmanTiahrt did get a particularly auspicious bit of recognition recently- Citizens Against Government Waste listed him the 34th biggest "porker" in their annual "Congressional Pig Book, " which ranks Members of Congress based on the dollar amount of earmarks they've secured for their district.

This blog doesn't have a problem with earmarks, but we don't mind providing perspective. Tiahrt was 34th, followed by Jerry Moran at 103rd, Congresswoman Boyda at 114th, and Dennis Moore at 367th.

Hopefully Kansas Republicans (and their online minions on the blogs) will remember Boyda and Moore are both out passed in "pork barrel spending" by our two Republican members.

Boyda puts in requests for Kansas, Ryun reminds us he wouldn't

Congresswoman Nancy Boyda followed her own example and again released her full list of earmark requests- while challenging every single other member of the Kansas delegation to do the same thing.

These aren't the projects Boyda has received funding for- these are just the projects that local governments and police departments all over the district have asked her to ask for in the federal budget.

The full list can be found here.

The other side is going to scream "pork-barrel projects," but Kansans know the truth: these aren't fluff, these aren't some pie-in-the-sky project, these are deeply necessary, gravely important funding issues that many of these city's have no other way to obtain.

Boyda, who is running for re-election this year, seeks $2.5 million for planning a new section of the Interstate 70 viaduct through Topeka. The Kansas Department of Transportation is interested in options to a curved 45 mile per hour zone that has recorded 122 crashes, including 44 injury accidents, in the past dozen years.

Boyda also recommended $1.6 million to buy land and design a redevelopment project on the Kansas River near the Great Overland Station and $1.5 million for water and sewer improvements near Heartland Park Topeka.

Smaller Topeka projects are: $834,000 to restore Constitution Hall, $500,000 for a Children's Discovery Center in Gage Park and $250,000 to study restoration of the former Wanamaker wetlands.

Thousands for local police forces, thousands for infrastructure improvements- the list is filled with all the sorts of things Congress should be paying for and the sorts of things that could benefit tens of thousands of Kansans everyday.

Jim Ryun is quoted in this same article, and the juxtaposition is just devastating- for him. Boyda has just announced the works she is doing on behalf of the district- and the work she is doing on earmark reform, and Ryun is quoted saying he'll not ask for a dime- even though he always used to- because we're in an earmark "crisis."

A crisis he let happen on his watch. He always leaves that part out.

Congresswoman Boyda didn't this time- and good for her for saying something.

Boyda said local communities support the earmarking process. She received a joint letter from the city of Topeka and the Topeka Chamber of Commerce urging her to oppose an earmark moratorium.

She said Ryun was a member of the Republican-led Congress that increased earmarks 285 percent from 1994 to 2005, climbing to 15,877 from 4,126. She said Congress last year cut earmarked funding by one-third below the previous year.

"I have been a strong advocate for transparency," Boyda said. "It was the lack of transparency that created the crisis that Mr. Ryun pointed to."

Boyda announced she is proposing a bill that would require every member of Congress to follow her lead and make all earmark requests public. It will probably fail. Why? Because we have too many members of Congress like Jim Ryun, who talk the talk, but when pencil comes to paper, they refuse to actually do the right thing.

For more witty analysis on this very subject , visit our friends over at Left Brain Kansas.

Boyda at K-State: Earmarked research monies necessary

The K-State Collegian, the college newspaper at our purple university, has a good article today about Congresswoman Nancy Boyda and earmarks that quite fairly discusses the good and the bad of earmarking.

It comes to the correct conclusion that while some earmarks are filthy, miserable things (like the Bridge to Nowhere in Alaska...which happened when Jim Ryun was "leading by example," by the way), many earmarks, if not most of them, serve incredibly important purposes and those, my friends, can't be just eliminated.

On the good side, universities like K-State receive several millions of dollars each year from earmarks, including funds for stem-cell and biosecurity research, said Sue Peterson, director of government relations at K-State.

Peterson said she has not determined the final amount K-State received from earmarks during the last fiscal year, but she estimated the funding was between $14 and $15 million.

The earmarks will fund projects at the Midwest Institute for Comparative Stem Cell Biology, Great Plains Sorgham Improvement and Utilization Center, and the Biosecurity Research Institute, among other projects.

[...]

Boyda said many of the earmark projects would falter if they did not receive funding from earmarks. It is possible that several of these projects would not receive funding from other areas like separate government grants and private contributions.

"Without this funding, some of these programs could be interrupted," she said. "They could have to stop - it would be a mess."

Congresswoman Nancy Boyda said again that one of the most significant problems with earmarks is that the dirtiest ones, the ones that give the whole process a bad name, are hidden from the eyes of members of Congress- and from the public.

Boyda said this allows legislators to withhold reasons for questionable earmarks from their constituents and other members of Congress.

"They don't want to take all the questions and criticisms that come," she said. "And my view is if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen."

Boyda said the easiest solution to a lack of transparency is forcing all members of Congress to post every earmark they introduce, not just the ones that pass.

Of course, Boyda has lead by example on this particular issue (are you listening, Jim?):

Boyda said she was called a maverick two years ago when she announced she would post earmark requests online, but fellow Kansas Democratic representative Dennis Moore, as well as other legislators, soon followed suit.

"The crazy thing is four members of Congress in Kansas, two in the House and two in the Senate, still haven't," she said.

The article also notes that earmark have decreased in number and in cost since the Democrats took control of Congress, and we'd just like to add the most significant reform in the history of the earmarking system happened while the Democrats were in control.

Ryun promises not to do his job if sent back to DC

Newsflash: Jim Ryun has sworn off earmarks if returned to Congress, in a move that seems much more like a chain smoker announcing, "This time I'm really going to," rather than like a principled stand taken by a would-be elected official.

A shout out to our "friends" at Bounce Boyda and Stay Red Kansas for breaking this story- but, funny, they seem to have left something out. What could it be...oh, that's right, the fact Jim Ryun is a flip-flopper and a hypocrite.

Oh, we say such mean things. If it weren't for pesky facts getting in the way, the Republicans could call us liars, but, those silly facts are just everywhere today!

Jim Ryun said in a press release today this:

“There is no greater way to lead than by example and I challenge my primary and general opponents to join this effort for reform,” Ryun said.

Late to the game, of course, Jim, since Congresswoman Nancy Boyda voted for the most significant overhaul of the earmark system in history in her first month in office- something you certainly should have been championing the whole time you were in Congress but, oops, you must have forgotten...or it didn't matter to you until you saw a poll that told you how to think...or maybe, oh, heck, who knows why you've decided to be the champion of reform after you got kicked out of office while during your tenure earmarks increased by either 653% or 376%, depending on which study you prefer.

Nothing like leadership by example, huh?

It's foolishness, pure and simple, to think every single earmark is wasteful. Deeply important projects are funded through earmark requests, projects that range from life-or-death law enforcement issues, to infrastructure rebuilding that we all know can also be a life-or-death deal. So promising to request nothing- none, nada, zilch- promises you won't do the right thing for your district.

You know what's funny? Jim Ryun used to understand that. In 2004, when he was running for re-election in the toughest race he'd ever faced until Nancy Boyda beat him in '06, Jim couldn't stop reminding everyone he saw how hard he worked to secure tens of millions of dollars in federal earmarks for the City of Topeka- specifically for a new Topeka Boulevard bridge. Yes, folks, Jim Ryun, Mr. "I will never take an earmark again" campaigned- hard- on the fact he was good at bringing home the bacon.

Don't believe us? Read here, here, here, here, or even, here.

That last one is great, because it's the most recent- from the day he filed for his ill-fated last run in 2006. It says, briefly, this, regarding why he was the best choice in '06:

He also touted his work to secure federal funding for replacement of the crumbling Topeka Boulevard Bridge.

Also, separately, he was very proud of himself for securing $5 million in earmarks for transportation projects in a bill...regarding which he said:

"I am pleased that this bill provides much-needed funding for critical transportation priorities," said Rep. Jim Ryun, R-Kan., who represents the Topeka area.

Still think we're just liberal liars? Jim Ryun took, secured, announced, brought home hundreds of millions of dollars while in Congress and trumpeted it on his official web site- click here, here, here, here or, yes, here to see for yourself.

He certainly was for earmarks before he was against them- because he knew they were important.

And you know what- thank you, Jim, for working to get these funds for the bridge and other projects- thank you. You did your job asking for that money. If you hadn't, like you're promising now, you would have been failing the people of your district.

One thing does make you a hypocrite in all of this, though, outside from the fact you used to be willing to do your job and now you aren't- you voted against the bill that included the money for that bridge...but you took credit for it anyway. That, sir, is disappointing.

You heard it hear first, folks, Jim Ryun's first campaign promise of 2008: "If you will elect me, I promise to fail you. I will not do my duty to the people of the 2nd Congressional District of Kansas."

"I think of pork-barrel spending as bridges to nowhere"

The quote in the headline is from Dr. John Iley, Chairman of the Pittsburg State University Technology Studies and the Automotive Technology Department. He said it after Congresswoman Nancy Boyda asked him if he thought the $263,310 federal allocation to the school’s Kansas Technology Center she secured fell in that category.

We agree, and we think most Kansans would agree, with his "of course not" assessment, and that maybe, just maybe people are starting to realize "earmark" isn't a dirty word.

Working in tandem (and in a bipartisan manner) with Senator Sam Brownback, Boyda was able to secure a total of more than $1.3 million for PSU in an effort to make sure the university has the best equipment possible.

It's about the future of Kansas, both Boyda and Illey said, and it's about making sure Kansas graduates can compete on a global scale.

[...] but she said this money will make a difference in preparing PSU students for careers. She also said the money will be used at the technology center for woodworking, plastics, automotive and other programs.

“We’ve got to get ready for the 21st century,” she said. - The Joplin Globe

Just another example of Boyda's bipartisan leadership style, her dedication to her district, and her smart use of federal dollars to improve the lives of all of us back at home.

Boyda on the front lines of earmark reform

It's interesting that both of the major anti-Nancy Boyda blogs picked today to throw up posts lambasting Congresswoman Nancy Boyda for securing money for projects for communities all over the district. (Gasp! How horrible! She's helping improve the lives of Kansans! Stop her!)

We all here think the earmark debate is silly, and that it is stunningly hypocritical of the Republicans to cry fowl now, even though they never did anything about dreaded earmarks when they were in control for more than a decade.

Don't let the facts get in front of the rhetoric, right?

Really, though, their attacks aren't because she's helping her district (even they won't say that's bad). No, they're attacking her because she's lying- LYING I say!- about wanting to reform the process because, jeez, anyone who would dare use the process must be against changing it.

Right?

Wrong- as they so often are.

Earmarks are only bad when they're wasteful- and they're bad when they're secret. None of Congresswoman Boyda's funding requests are wasteful because they help Kansans, and she has certainly been more up front about her requests than any other member of the Kansas delegation- making all of them public, not just the ones approved.

That in itself was an amazing step in the right direction. Boyda didn't stop there, and voted for the most sweeping earmark reform bill in history her first month in office. Only days ago voted for a total moratorium on earmarks until the process is further reformed and other members are held to the same standard she already holds herself. The Club for Growth praised her for that one, along with the 7 other Democrats who broke ranks and voted with the Republicans.

Reform hasn't gone far enough- probably Congresswoman Boyda would agree on that- but this Congress, and Nancy Boyda, have gone farther than the Republicans ever did to eliminate wasteful spending (including cutting earmarks in half from the 2006 Republican level).

But, this quote sums up what's really going on here:

So what is all this shouting about? Could it be an effort to distract voters from the record, which is that under Republican rule, pork-spending in Congress jumped from $12 billion in 1999 to $29 billion in 2006, the Times op-ed points out. "The Republicans are the last people who should be lecturing on earmark reform," said Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesman Doug Thornell. "They have absolutely no credibility on this issue."

Boyda's done more to reform the process than Ryun ever did, and has still been able to make sure important projects have been funded back at home. While the Republicans might not realize it, Congresswoman Boyda obviously knows this isn't an either/or situtation- you can be responsible within an irresponsible system while working to reform it- and the only ones being hypocrites are the Republicans.

And thank you Bounce Boyda and Stay Red Kansas for the chance to point that out!

Boyda puts the nail in USA Today story's coffin

Perfect explanation and full-throated defense of the Iola water treatment plant earmark in today's Topeka Capital-Journal.

First, Iola had tired unsuccessfully for years to convince Jim Ryun's office to help them, but got nothing other than lectures on the hot button issues of the religious right. So, they decided when they had a new member of Congress, they'd try again.

The story in the Cap-J provides the exact course of events, wholly undermining all my conservative blogging friends and USA Today:

Timeline:

Late January 2007: A task force from Iola traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet with Boyda to discuss possible funding for the facility.

March 15: Boyda made a request to the Interior Appropriations Committee for an earmark for the Iola project.

June 6: The earmark was included in the full committee markup of the Interior Appropriations Bill.

(Note: A June 13 article in The Topeka Capital-Journal described how a dozen Iola residents had traveled to Washington to discuss federal funding for three community projects, including the wastewater treatment facility.

"We're not talking about well-heeled lobbyists. It was 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.' " Iola city manager Judy Brigham said at the time.

June 27: The Interior Appropriations Bill, with the Iola earmark, was passed.

Early November: Boyda said Richard Zahn, a retired native of Iola who was appreciative of her efforts on behalf of the city, asked a lobbyist with whom he was acquainted to put together a fundraising luncheon for her in Washington.

"It was a small gathering that raised $6,800," Boyda said. "The topic of conversation for the entire hour was the struggles and challenges of rural America."

Dec. 17: The House passed the Omnibus Appropriations Bill, with the Iola earmark included.

It's sad shoddy reporting on the part of USA Today lead to a story like the one that ran, and we're glad the issue's been cleared up. In the end, the folks around Nancy Boyda that don't like her tried, unsuccessful thank God, to turn something wonderful she did for her district into something bad.

But, of course, the Iola earmark was on the up-and-up, and the fundraiser held months after it was secured was on the up-and-up, too. This was all the politics of attack first, ask questions later, and that's disappointing.

Boyda helps towns, connects with constituents

Congresswoman Nancy Boyda has made a name for herself with the residents of eastern Kansas by bringing home federal money for her district- including almost a half million dollars for the city of Iola for a new water treatment plant.

It isn't just Iola, of course, it's cities all over her district, and the money goes to fund deeply important projects that will directly benefit thousands of her constituents.

Iola went so far as to hire a firm to help them secure their money, and while that might be needed when dealing with the offices of our Senators, Nancy Boyda doesn't need anyone to help her connect with her voters- look at the millions of dollars she got for her constituents with no one other than regular Kansans lobbying on their behalf.

But saying Iola had a "lobbyist" goes a little far, though- it was Kansans who had a passion for improving their community:

A dozen residents of Iola, including one who had never been on an airplane, met in Washington, D.C., with U.S. Rep. Nancy Boyda to discuss federal funding for three community projects.

"We're not talking about well-heeled lobbyists," said Iola city manager Judy Brigham, who was in the delegation. "It was 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.' "

This novice delegation urged the Kansas Democrat to support a $1.5 million sewer system upgrade, $750,000 community center renovation and $500,000 public library program expansion.

Boyda was persuaded by the presentation and included at least partial funding for all three on a list of 64 projects she recommended to receive support in the federal government's new budget.

Stories like that tell you things can be better in Washington when you have the right kind of people representing you. For the most part, though, the system in Washington is broken, and special interests and big money have too much power. It's refreshing to have someone like Nancy Boyda representing us, because she does what's best for her district regardless of what K Street says.

Boyda secures $94,000 for Miami County Sheriff

Story in the Miami County Weekend details the $94,000 earmark Nancy Boyda secured for the Miami County Sheriff's Department in the recently approved budget bill.

The money will go toward tough laptops and mounting equipment for deputies’ cars, Kelly said. With the laptops and a new records system, deputies will be able to file reports using wireless Internet hotspots and not have to leave the field, he said. The office will start using the new software in the next two months.

The number of laptops the office will get will be determined by the total cost, which includes hard-covered laptops, equipment to mount them in the cars and networking, Kelly said.

“We were fortunate to get the money,” he said.

As a follow up to yesterday's post, a commenter provided this link for anyone who wanted look a little deeper at Congresswoman Boyda's record on illegal immigration: It gives bill and vote numbers for Boyda's votes against amnesty and to fund the border fence. Also, the site provide Representative Boyda a grade on her votes thus far on illegal immigration: she gets an "A."

SEK reacts to funding secured by Boyda

More Kansans today thanked Congresswoman Nancy Boyda for delivering for all of us in the 2008 appropriations bill.

Reported in today's Pittsburg Morning Sun, the Omnibus Appropriations Bill included $335,000 to help the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas upgrade technology, including "making all medical records electronic, upgrading the center's ultrasound and cardiac equipment, and the addition of an X-ray machine."

Krista Postai, Director of CHC/SEK is quoted as saying that her staff "danced for joy" when they got word the bill passed.

"This will take us a quantum leap forward in our ability to provide care, especially in the area of technology," Postai said.

Postai recounts a story that you could hear up and down the district this holiday season, and it speaks directly to the level of commitment Nancy Boyda has to her constituents.

"When she (Boyda) first got elected, she came back to southeast Kansas because she really is attached to this area," Postai said. "We had just started construction and it was freezing and she stood with a little hard hat on and she looked at things and really, really was very supportive and encouraging. It's so wonderful to know that she remembered. It was a wonderful Christmas gift."

Scenes like these are heartwarming, and a reminder that all "earmarks" aren't bad things. In fact, responsible members of Congress, members who are doing their jobs, make sure federal funds come home to help fulfill needs like those at the CHC/SEK. We're lucky to have Congresswoman Nancy Boyda fighting for us in Washington, and all the people who rely on the CHC/SEK for medical service are particularly luck she's there working for them.

(As a side note, we'll be posting a little slower over the new couple of week- Christmas and all- but we'll hopefully not miss too many days. We hope all of you, even the people that come here and say mean things, have a lovely holiday season).

Boyda secures nearly $400 million for district

Congresswoman Nancy Boyda announced today the 2008 Omnibus Appropriations Bill approved by the House and Senate and that is expected to be signed by President Bush contains $387 million for the Second Congressional District, including $86 million requested specifically by Boyda for projects district wide.

Boyda's press release both praises the investment the bill makes into Kansas communities and military installations and rightfully criticizes the final bill's unfortunate flaws.

"There's no question that this bill makes important investments in the Second District of Kansas," Rep. Boyda said. "It supports our law enforcement officers, improves rural roads and infrastructure, and strengthens our three military bases."

Rep. Boyda added, "Unfortunately, this isn't a perfect bill, and it should have been much better. In the House, we passed a bill to fix the Social Security disability backlog; the president vetoed it. We passed a bill to fully fund BRAC, and it got bogged down in politics. This is no way to run the federal government. Next year, we have got to find a way to bring Republicans and Democrats together to do the job right."

The $86 million Boyda requested for Kansas communities will provide much needed support for a wide range of projects, including hundreds of thousands of dollars in public safety equipment for Kansas police offices, and millions of dollars specifically requested by Boyda for Ft. Leavenworth and Ft. Riley. The bill also pays for infrastructure improvements all over eastern Kansas.

Federal funds are an especially important source of revenue for rural towns that have few other financial resources. "In small, rural communities in Kansas, there's not a lot of money that can be put toward projects of need," said Judy Brigham, the city administrator of Iola, Kansas, which has a population of about 6,000.

Under the Omnibus Appropriations Bill, Iola will receive a $492,200 earmark to build a new wastewater treatment facility. "Wastewater treatment certainly isn't a very sexy project, but it's a public health issue for our communities," Brigham added. "To have money come toward that project means that we can put more money toward police and fire protection and those kinds of items that we always have difficulty funding. We're just thrilled to have received this money."

We'd like to thank Congresswoman Boyda for her hard work securing monies to benefit all of us back home. A complete list of all of Boyda's approved appropriation requests are available here, and a list of all of her requests, both approved and rejected, can be found here.