Boyda Fulfills Promise on Highway Funding with Bipartisan Bill

Kansas Members of Congress Nancy Boyda & Jerry Moran have teamed up to help fund our Kansas highway system.

Yep, you heard it right- Republicans and Democrats working together in an election year for a common cause.

From KSNT Channel 27 in Topekal:

Fulfilling a promise Congresswoman Nancy Boyda has introduced legislation in the United States House of Representatives to temporarily address a shortage in the Highway Trust Fund.

In June a provision to address the transportation shortfall was stripped away in order to ensure Senate passage of the FAA Reauthorization Bill.

Boyda's bill HR6447 will put $8 billion back into the Highway Trust Fund.

Of that $8 billion Kansas will receive about $120 million.

And from the Topeka Capital Journal:

Reps. Nancy Boyda and Jerry Moran have introduced a bill to fix the federal highway fund shortage that threatens to delay or cancel four Kansas transportation projects.

The projected $3.4 billion shortfall in the Highway Trust Fund would leave Kansas $120 million shy of the amount needed to finish work in the final year of its 10-year highway plan.

[...]

"We're in a part of the country where we have to move goods like agricultural products," said Moran, a Republican. "So here, the highway system is vital."

[...]

Boyda, a Democrat, cautioned against complacency on the issue. She said with declining motor fuels tax revenues and ever-increasing construction costs, the need for a long-term fix is still present.

"This is a stop-gap measure," Boyda said.

Moran said it was unlikely their bill would pass Congress, but he expects action on the issue before lawmakers depart Washington at the end of the year.

Good work, both of you- now both of you work on members in your respective parties and get this thing done for the people of Kansas!

President Bush Vetoes Farm Bill; The House Overrides

For only the second time during his Presidency, George W. Bush has seen one of his vetoes reversed.

The House quickly rejected President Bush's veto of a $290 billion farm bill Wednesday, and the Senate was poised to follow suit, a stark rebuke of a president overridden only once in his two terms.

Republicans abandoned the president (and their House leadership) in droves over this bill, designed to provide assistance to farmers and pay for nutrition programs.

Supporters praised the spending on food stamps and emergency food aid.

"Twenty-five percent of my state is now in need of food assistance," said Rep. Thaddeus G. McCotter, R-Michigan. "I work for them, not for the president."

One would have to wonder, then, who Kansas Republican Representative Jerry Moran works for- he voted against today's successful override.

More on the Farm Bill

Another article today from the Wall Street Journal talking about why the Farm Bill found veto proof success, even though the President and the Republican leadership in the House instructed members to vote against it (which bleary-eyed lapdogs Todd Tiahrt & Jerry Moran dutifully did).

Last time around, Republicans were pretty generous when it came to larding up the farm bill.

This year, though, some of them had a change of attitude.

President Bush directed his party to get back to its fiscally conservative roots. He said he would prefer no new farm bill to the one written by Democrats.

The elected leader of the House Republicans, John Boehner from a corn-growing district in western Ohio, called the bill “a great example of what’s wrong in Washington.”

But half of Rep. Boehner’s caucus didn’t see it that way – 100 Republicans voted for the bill, which racked up such a large victory margin – 318-106 – that overriding a veto shouldn’t pose much of a problem, if it comes to that.

It’s a testament to the power of an important constituency in both congressional and presidential contests: the rural vote.

Yep, the rural vote, and the deep necessity to protect our farmers. Democrats and Republicans expressed the same reason for voting as they did: "I was voting my district."

That's what Nancy Boyda did. Dennis Moore, who's district has almost no farmers (if any) voted the way he knew Kansas farmers needed him to vote. Even Senators Pat Roberts and Sam Brownback voted with a veto-proof majority in the Senate to pass the bill (though they both expressed the same hesitations Boyda did- that the bill wasn't perfect, but it was certainly better than nothing). Heck, Farm Bureau back the dang bill.

Only Tiahrt & Moran seemed to forget they represent a state of farmers and not San Francisco. Luckily Nancy Boyda was looking out for their constituents.

Boyda Secures $404 Million for Ft. Riley

Congresswoman Nancy Boyda announced in a press release today that the Emergency Supplemental Budget the House acted on today included $404 million for a new hospital at Ft. Riley.

Congresswoman Boyda said "This funding is a huge step in the right direction. The new hospital will improve the quality of life for our soldiers and their families by providing them with the best and most modern care available."

The bill, which was broken up into three parts, also includes $50 million for the Transitioning Warrior Support Complex at the fort, which will provide better housing for wounded soldiers residing at the fort.

Additionally:

The Supplemental Act also contains the new GI Bill, in honor of the hard work and sacrifices of our brave men and women in uniform, and recognizes the debt America owes them for their service. The new GI Bill expands the education benefits veterans receive under the GI bill to restore the promise of a full, four-year college education, and make the veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan part of an American economic recovery, just like the veterans of World War II were.

Also included, are extended unemployment benefits for workers who have exhausted their benefits by up to 13 weeks. The number of Americans looking for work has grown by 800,000 over the last year, and the number of American jobs has declined by 260,000 since the beginning of 2008.

The portions of the bill that contained those deeply needed programs and construction requests passed the House, but the bill that contained funding for the wars in Iraq & Afghanistan drew a Republican protest vote and failed to pass.

The House failed to pass a measure funding the war in Iraq on Thursday afternoon by a vote of 141 to 149, with 132 Republicans voting “present” to protest what they see as unfair treatment by the Democratic majority.

[...]

The measure would have provided $163 billion to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Boyda's $404 million for Kansas, however, did pass- with Kansas Republican Representatives Todd Tiahrt and Jerry Moran voting against their own state. Moore, of course, joined Boyda in investing in Kansas.

Moran and Tiahrt also voted against the new GI Bill...just for those of you keeping score. Another day to be glad you live in eastern Kansas (and a day to pity your friends with sub-par representation).

Boyda Joins Veto-Proof Majority in Backing the Farm Bill

From the Hutch News:

Democrat Nancy Boyda, of Topeka, said the bill is far from perfect, but called the measure a reasonable compromise that won the backing of most major farm groups, including the Kansas Farm Bureau.

"I think we all worked to restore those cuts to direct payments, but let's not fool ourselves into thinking that direct payments were slashed," Boyda said. "Over 10 years you'll see less than one half of a percent of the direct payments cut, which I'm not saying is a good thing, but we just need to keep it in perspective."

"The farm groups are not happy about it, but it could have been worse and they know it," Boyda said.

The Farm Bill, which is our national safety net for our farmers, has been delayed for months by threats of vetoes from the president and endless partisan bickering, will provide support to millions of farmers nationwide. While the bill isn't perfect, it's seen as the best that could be done in the present political climate in Washington.

Kansas Farm Bureau President Steve Baccus said his group supported the bill, despite some misgivings, and encouraged the state's delegation to vote for it.

"We don't like the fact that they had cuts to direct payments and cuts to federal crop insurance which is extremely important to our folks," Baccus said. "At the same time, we've gone though a lengthy process of negotiations and this bill is just a compromise. We feel like under the current scenario with the current administration and the current Congress, it's probably the best deal we could work out."

The bill thankfully cut payments to single farmers with an annual income of $750,000 or more, or to married farmers with an annual income of $1.5 million.

Boyda Praised for Actions on Healthcare

From this Sunday's Wichita Eagle, in an article about the state of Kansas's work toward health reform for children:

In the end, the Kansas Legislature chose wisely by approving a health reform package that will make health care more accessible to children in working-class families, provide expanded medical and dental services for low-income pregnant women, and more adequately fund safety-net clinics across the state that provide medical care for uninsured Kansas families.

[...]

Children are a relatively inexpensive population to insure because they are less likely to have developed costly medical conditions. By insuring children from the start, before the onset of such conditions, health care providers can encourage healthy habits and treat medical concerns before they become costly conditions.

Furthermore, federal resources available to the states provide 72 percent of the funding for the Kansas children's health insurance program. Combined with monthly premiums paid by the families of those children enrolled in the program, the cost to the state is minimal.

Some argued during the session that federal resources would not be available to extend the eligibility level for our state children's health insurance program. That is highly unlikely, considering that Congress -- including our own Sen. Pat Roberts and Reps. Jerry Moran, Nancy Boyda and Dennis Moore -- wholeheartedly has supported reauthorization at a level that will more adequately address uninsured children in working-class families.

Clearly, much remains to be done to improve access to health care in our country, but most Kansans will agree that a path to reform that puts children first is good for children and good for the future of Kansas.

If only Todd Tiahrt & Sam Brownback would get on board...

Happy Mother's Day, but just from the Democrats

All of us here at BoydaBloc, Congresswoman Nancy Boyda, Congressman Dennis Moore, and 235 other members of the United States House of Representatives would like to wish you and your mothers a very happy Mother's Day.

Kansas Republican Representatives Todd Tiahrt and Jerry Moran and 169 House Republicans would rather just play politics in the House.

On Wednesday afternoon, the House had just voted, 412 to 0, to pass H. Res. 1113, "Celebrating the role of mothers in the United States and supporting the goals and ideals of Mother's Day," when Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.), rose in protest.

"Mr. Speaker, I move to reconsider the vote," he announced.

Yeah, of course, Tiahrt had just voted in favor of the resolution, and, in this recommit, but then joined 177 other Republicans (just Repubilcans) in voting against it. This was an effort, you see, to prevent the House from accomplishing a singularly important goal:

As House Democrats tried to pass legislation to ease the mortgage crisis on Wednesday, Republicans served up hours of procedural delays, demanding a score of roll call votes: 10 motions to adjourn, half a dozen motions to reconsider, various and sundry amendments, a motion to approve the daily journal, a motion to instruct and a "motion to rise."

The high point came just after 6 p.m., when, after one of the motions to adjourn, 61 members lined up to change their votes, one by one. Forty-six went from aye to no, while 15 changed from no to aye. The maneuver ate up 28 minutes in all -- and caused an eruption by Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, who accused the minority of a "filibuster by vote changing."

The Mother's Day resolution wasn't a big deal, and, really, most of America's mothers are probably just fine today knowing folks like Tiahrt and Moran would rather play politics than honor them, but this sort of obstruction, this sort of rank partisanship, is ridiculous when people all around the nation are losing their homes.

File this one under "Callous, and they don't care."

(By the way, if you needed any more evidence this was just a game, Tiahrt's spokesman has affirmed that Todd does indeed still love his mother).

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.