At this time of year our schedules are full of backyard bar-b-ques, ball games, yard work, and summer vacations. You probably prefer these pastimes to keeping track of events in the U.S. Senate, but I wanted to alert you to some significant legislation I have introduced on your behalf that has been signed into law, or that is well on its way.

First to aid in the recovery of Greensburg and surrounding areas after the tornados and storms of May 4, I introduced a sweeping tax relief bill approved unanimously by the Senate, that will provide significant tax relief to individuals and businesses in counties declared disaster areas. Senator Sam Brownback cosponsored the bill.

As a member of the Senate Finance Committee which has jurisdiction on tax issues, I worked with Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and Ranking Member Charles Grassley (R-IA) on getting the legislation immediately to the Senate floor. It is rare to get a tax bill approved unanimously through the U.S. Senate in few short days, but that is what we did.

One of the more unique provisions of the bill is a tax credit for wages paid by employers located in an eligible county. This credit will help businesses, struggling to start back up again, meet payroll and continue their operations.  The bill now awaits introduction and debate in the House. I look forward to working with my colleagues to ensure swift passage.

Also to aid in storm recovery, Senator Brownback and I were successful in securing $40 million in disaster relief funding, administered through the Department of Agriculture, for Greensburg, Kiowa County and other Kansas counties designated federal disaster areas. The majority of relief funding should go toward rebuilding homes, businesses and community and government facilities. These funds are on top of aid from FEMA. This significant federal investment will help those committed to recreating their communities.

I am very proud of another piece of commonsense legislation I introduced, and was just signed into law, to encourage small businesses to work together to provide access to affordable, quality child care for their employees. The bill creates a short-term, flexible grant program to provide small businesses opportunities to join together and receive grants up to $500,000 for start-up costs, training, scholarships, or other related activities.

This is a major plus for working families We want to know our children are safe and thriving while we work to provide for them. Now Main Street businesses will have creative opportunities to give employees new child care options. I look forward to seeing the results of these grants.

And finally, Kansans saw a big win when the Congress approved $3 billion in long overdue Agriculture Disaster Assistance for crop years 2005, 2006 and 2007 in federal disaster areas. (Producers should note that assistance for the 2007 crop year applies only to crops planted before Feb.28.) Livestock losses from this winter's blizzard are also eligible. It can not be overstated how important these funds are. For many producers, this assistance is the difference between selling the farm and having another chance.

Kansas has had a big month; we weathered storms and floods, are recovering from a multi-year drought and from pretty tough blizzards this past winter. With this new federal investment, I am confident we can further strengthen our communities.

I look forward to doing much more in your behalf this summer. I have introduced a rural broadband bill, to ensure federal dollars intended to bring the internet to rural areas are spent in rural areas. We also have a rural health care bill we are introducing to help shoulder the financial burden rural health care providers have when caring for small communities. And there is much, much more to come!