April Stops in Atchison, Kansas City and Topeka

During the April Congressional Recess break, Senator Roberts made stops in Atchison, Kansas City and Topeka. Senators Roberts, Brownback and Representative Jenkins hosted Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) officials in touring the Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) infrastructure in Atchison. The group took a firsthand look at the complex situation affecting the Missouri River during peak rainfall. Senator Roberts continues to work with EPA and KDHE on behalf of Atchison, to ensure water quality standards are met for the community.

In Kansas City, Senator Roberts was the keynote speaker for the Kansas City Agricultural Business Council Luncheon and discussed the current health care reform, agriculture and energy issues before Congress. In Topeka, Roberts addressed the Roberts Advisory Committee on Science, Technology and the Future’s Annual Meeting in an effort to create more research and high-tech job development in Kansas.

Tanker Competition

Senator Roberts criticized the Department of Defense’s decision to extend the deadline by 60 days for proposals in the competition to select a new aerial refueling tanker for the Air Force.

Sen. Roberts said, “It is unfortunate that after years of delays, DOD has decided to ignore its own deadlines. Given the controversy of this acquisition, I should think DOD would want to run an undeniably fair competition instead of allowing further games to be played with the process. In school, turning your work in late automatically reduces your grade. Since this is a good indication of the poor ability of EADS/Airbus to submit an adequate proposal, it should be a mark against them from the start. I am concerned these kinds of concessions will mean yet another failed tanker competition. This kind of action is further evidence of why Americans don’t trust their government to get anything done on time and under budget.”

Just this week, EADS announced it would take advantage of the extension and enter the competition. Senator Roberts said, “I am confident Boeing can build the best plane for the Air Force, no matter the competition. However, I urge the Department of Defense to run a fair competition and avoid coddling EADS to the detriment of American warfighters who have waited eight years for this contest to end and decades for a new tanker."

Senator Roberts continues to work in a bipartisan manner and push for a new Tanker for our men and women in uniform at the earliest possible date.

Federal Aviation Administration Bill

After working to eliminate proposed user fees on small aircraft that would have dealt a real blow to Kansas’ general aviation industry, Senator Roberts voted for the Federal Aviation Administration bill, approved by the Senate, to modernize the nation’s air traffic control system, improve regional and rural air service and enhance safety for all passengers. To watch Senator Roberts comment on the bill, go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnWZCUGrD0o .

In 2007, Senator Roberts led the effort to eliminate a general aviation user fee during the Senate Finance Committee’s markup of the Trust Fund. In 2008, following debate within the Senate Commerce Committee about the proposed fee on small aircraft owners, Roberts negotiated with colleagues on the Commerce Committee to eliminate the idea entirely. When the Commerce Committee approved this year’s language, the 2008 negotiation remained intact. The bill now awaits consideration by a conference committee to work out differences between the House and Senate versions.

“I am pleased the Senate has finally approved this bill after several years of negotiations and extensions. Passengers will benefit from an improved air traffic control system, and we didn’t have to penalize general aviation, which is a major Kansas employer, to do it. My goals as we drafted this bill were clear: ensure that our air traffic control system is upgraded and remains safe for all passengers and aircraft; and, protect the general aviation community and Kansas jobs, which would have been threatened by a new user fee,” Senator Roberts said.

Eisenhower National Memorial

As a member of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission, Senator Roberts voted to approve the design for the national memorial honoring Ike. The National Eisenhower Memorial will be the first presidential memorial of the 21st century and only the seventh in U.S. history. It will be built on a four-acre site in Washington, DC between 4th and 6th Streets SW, south of Independence Ave. For more information and to view the plans, visit: http://www.eisenhowermemorial.org/ .

“The design selection brings us one step closer to properly recognizing Kansas’ favorite native son and one of our nation’s finest leaders. I want to congratulate architect Frank Gehry and his team for creating a design that honors not just President Eisenhower and General Eisenhower, but also Dwight David Eisenhower - the humble man from Abilene - who accomplished great things in leading our nation through some of our greatest challenges. Eisenhower was my boyhood hero, and history has judged him to be one of our greatest presidents and a symbol of America’s greatest generation,” Senator Roberts said.

WWII Honor Flight

Senator Roberts and Representative Jenkins recently met up with an Honor Flight group from Kansas at the Iwo Jima Memorial in Washington, DC. The Southern Coffey County High School in LeRoy and Western Plains High School in Ransom under the lead of Mr. Mike Kastle, the principal at the Southern Coffey County High School made this trip possible for many World War II veterans from Kansas. The students paired off with a veteran, giving both generations a chance to learn from each other.

“As a veteran myself, I believe these Honor Flight trips are an incredible way to honor our veterans from the Greatest Generation. Our nation owes them so much and this trip to see their memorial couldn’t be more appropriate. What a great learning experience for the students and I am especially encouraged by these young people who are learning about WWII firsthand from our Kansas veterans,” Roberts said.

Honor Flight Network is a non-profit organization created solely to honor America's veterans for all their sacrifices. For more information on this organization, go to www.honorflight.org .

U.S. Census Reminder

A reminder that mandated by the U.S. Constitution, the United States Census Bureau counts every resident in the United States every 10 years. Forms were mailed out last month, and the Census Bureau will soon follow up with residences that received forms that have not been mailed back yet. The information collected by the Census Bureau is used strictly for statistical purposes. By law, personal information cannot be shared with anyone including other government agencies. The decennial census is used to determine representation in Congress, as well as allocation of federal dollars. It is important that every Kansan fully fill out the 2010 census by mail or by phone.

So far, Kansas has a 74 percent participation rate while the national participation rate is 71 percent. To track participation rates for cities, counties and states, visit: http://2010.census.gov/2010census/take10map/ . For those Kansans who have not received a census form, please call 866-872-6868 to speak with a representative who can take census information by telephone. The regional Census Bureau call center is in Kansas City and the phone number is 816-994-2000. For general information from the Census Bureau, visit: http://2010.census.gov/2010census/ .

With further questions about the census process, please contact one of Senator Roberts’ offices at https://www.roberts.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=OfficeLocations .

Progress for Treece

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues to work with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) toward a solution for the people of Treece. In October, Congress passed legislation that is now law, which Senator Roberts introduced, giving authority to the EPA to buyout the residents of Treece. After a public meeting in March for the residents of Treece and KDHE, a trust is being formed which will lead to a safer solution for the residents. Finally this month, EPA announced it is moving forward on a voluntary relocation assistance plan for Treece residents. For more information on EPA’s announcement, go to: http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/d0cf6618525a9efb85257359003fb69d/7d4c7570ab843367852577060069534f!OpenDocument .

Senator Roberts said, “I am pleased the EPA is moving ahead with their plans to bring real relief to residents of Treece. I am closely monitoring the process as we move forward on the state level.”

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