Repeal of Country of Origin Labeling (COOL)

As Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Senator Roberts is continuing to fight for the repeal of mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) in order to avoid $3.2 billion in trade retaliation from Canada and Mexico. Senator Roberts last week introduced legislation to fully repeal COOL requirements for meat – identical legislation recently passed the U.S. House of Representatives and publicly endorsed by Canada and Mexico to prevent retaliation. Alternative legislation with a voluntary labeling system has been proposed in the Senate, which was yesterday condemned by Canada’s Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz.

Minister Ritz said, “The only way for the United States to avoid retaliation is for the United States Senate to follow the lead of the House of Representatives and Senator Roberts and put forward legislation that repeals COOL once and for all.”

In response, Roberts said, “If Minister Ritz’s comments don’t spell it out for Congress, I don’t know what will. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: it’s repeal or retaliation.”

Click here for Minister Ritz’s full statement.

Defunding Planned Parenthood

Following the gruesome footage and abhorrent comments from high-level employees at Planned Parenthood, Senator Roberts has joined his fellow senators to introduce legislation that would prohibit federal funding of Planned Parenthood while also protecting women’s health by directing the federal funds to other entities that provide women's health care services. This legislation is expected to come up for a vote in the Senate on Monday.

“The recent comments of high-level Planned Parenthood employees are deeply disturbing and must not be tolerated on any level,” said Roberts. “Any organization that allows such abhorrent behavior should not receive any taxpayer dollars, and I’m proud to cosponsor this legislation that would ensure that no federal funds go to Planned Parenthood. Every life is a precious gift that we have a responsibility to protect.”

This bill would prohibit federal funding of Planned Parenthood or any of its affiliate organizations. It ensures the preservation of federal funding for women’s health services including relevant diagnostic laboratory and radiology services, well-child care, prenatal and postpartum care, immunization, family planning services including contraception, sexually transmitted disease testing, cervical and breast cancer. It ensures there is no reduction in overall funding available to support women’s health.

Helping Veterans Save for Health Care

Yesterday, the Senate passed legislation Senator Roberts introduced that gives veterans and their families more freedom when saving for health care by allowing them to contribute to a health savings account while receiving care at the VA, which they were previously not eligible to do. The HSA can be used to pay for the cost of health care of the veteran, veteran’s spouse or children. The legislation passed by a vote of 91-4 and will now head to the president to be signed into law.

“This commonsense legislation provides clarity and relief to veterans with a service-connected disability by allowing them to make contributions to a health savings account while receiving care at the VA. The funds in this account can also be used by the veteran’s family," said Roberts. "At a time when the VA is struggling to provide veterans the service they need, our veterans deserve better access to health care and the ability to save for health care expenses.”

Happy Birthday, Senator Dole!

Senator Roberts and the rest of the Kansas Congressional delegation joined together to wish Senator Bob Dole a happy 92nd birthday. Watch the video they created below:

Catching up with Mike Mahoney at KMBC in Kansas City

Enjoyed having a Snickers ice cream bar with the KMBC news team on Ice Cream Friday before catching up on the latest news with Micheal Mahoney.

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Check Senator Roberts’ Website, YouTube and Facebook Sites for Updates

You can visit Senator Roberts’ YouTube site for more information on what’s happening in Washington, D.C., and Kansas by visiting youtube.com/SenPatRoberts. It's a great place to find speeches and debates on the Senate floor, press conferences, interviews and Senate hearings. You can also stay updated on all these happenings on my Facebook and Twitter sites.