Hello,

July is coming to a close with a flurry of activity both in Washington and back home in Kansas. Wheat harvest is wrapping up, and the difficulties of the drought, along with the lack of a long term farm bill, continue to pose challenges for Kansas farmers and ranchers. NBAF has cleared yet another significant hurdle on its way to completion. And Washington came together to honor Bob Dole on his 90th birthday. It’s been a busy few weeks, but here are some highlights.

Calling for Emergency Haying and Grazing
This month I have been continually urging Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to allow emergency haying and grazing on Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) CP25 acreage to provide an important feed option for Kansas livestock producers, especially those in Western Kansas who have been hard hit by multiple years of historic drought.

Kansas farmers and ranchers continue to experience drought for the fourth and in some cases fifth consecutive year, impacting our rural communities, and the agricultural supply chain. Secretary Vilsack has the authority and ability to provide assistance to those in need.

Livestock producers are running out of forage to support their herds. Kansas has 2.3 million acres enrolled in CRP, including 850,000 acres designated as CP25, which to date has not been released for emergency haying or grazing. The majority of CP25 acreage in Kansas is found in areas experiencing severe and prolonged drought, where additional forage is a critical need for livestock.Â

The livestock industry and wildlife interests in Kansas have a strong partnership. These groups have been actively working to manage grazing that is beneficial to both wildlife habitat and livestock production. I will continue to push the Department of Agriculture on behalf of our farmers, ranchers, and the American people who rely on the food provided by these hard working Kansans.

Protecting Rural Cooperative and Nonprofit Pensions
Rural communities often rely on cooperatives and nonprofits to conduct community business, and their employees rely on pensions provided by these communities. 

The pension plans used by rural cooperatives and nonprofits pose little risk of the employer failing to pay benefits and were, therefore, granted temporary exemption from onerous regulations in the Pension Protection Act of 2006.

If Congress doesn’t act, these exemptions will soon expire, meaning rural cooperatives and nonprofits would be unable to continue providing pension benefits on which many families rely.

So we acted. I led a bipartisan effort to introduce the Cooperative and Small Employer Charity Pension Flexibility Act. This commonsense legislation allows cooperatives and nonprofits to continue providing pension benefits without government intrusion and improves the system ensuring a more stable future for rural cooperative employees.

Kansas communities are conducting their business and providing for their employees. We don’t want the federal government getting in the way.

NBAF Crosses Another Important Hurdle
Last week, I was joined by Senator Moran, a member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, in announcing the Fiscal Year 2014 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill was approved with bipartisan support by the Senate Appropriations Committee. The bill included $404 million for construction of the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF), an amount equal to the U.S. House of Representatives approved appropriations bill.Â

It’s an objective fact. The nation needs NBAF. Every delay leaves the American people and the American food supply at greater risk. This is another important step toward completion was of the NBAF and the funding is now on its way to the Senate floor. We need to get this done, and I look forward to broad bipartisan support of the NBAF on the Senate floor.

The main laboratory in Manhattan will boast safety and security features recommended by the National Academies of Sciences. It will include specialized air and water decontamination systems, new technologies for handling solid waste onsite, and structural components to strengthen the laboratory against hazardous weather conditions. A funding commitment was also made to provide infrastructure repairs at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center to guarantee a smooth transition of research from Plum Island, N.Y., to Manhattan, Kansas.

Happy 90th Birthday Bob Dole
Kansans love Bob Dole. We are drawn to his humor. We know him from his presidential campaign, for his work on behalf of the disabled. Many more still know him for his leadership in the Senate. Kansans know him as the boy from Russell, the lawyer, their Congressman and their Senator.

I know him as a mentor, a friend, a brother.

Then there are those that know him from Walter Reed. There are those that know him for his work on behalf of veterans, those that know him from the Army and from the hospital where he recovered from his war wounds.

There is not much we don’t know about a man who has dedicated his life to our service. But for those of you that have not had the pleasure of visiting Washington, D.C. or the honor of volunteering with an Honor Flight seeing the World War II Memorial for the first time, this is the part of Bob Dole that I want to share with you.

Men and women of the Greatest Generation know Bob Dole from the National Mall, on a sunny day in the nation’s capital, when a tour bus pulls up and the heroes arrive from the latest Honor Flight. Bob and Elizabeth are there to greet them. Word spreads. A crowd forms. The excitement and the respect are palpable.

Bob Dole is one of them. Like them he sacrificed for the preservation of our nation. He went on to give his life to public service, and, when most would have faded from the causes and the headlines, he returns to serve again, this time to honor his generation with a long overdue recognition of their courage before it was too late.
It is hard for Kansans to imagine resistance to this Memorial, but there was.

Disparate groups had their own ideas about what the Memorial should look like, where it should be. The non-voting Delegate for the District of Columbia in the U.S. House of Representatives said at the time, “Our generation will be blamed not only for obstructing the Mall, but for defacing it in the large chunks that would have to be carved out to make this space approachable." She opposed a war memorial on ground that has "come to stand for the freedom, democracy and equality themes associated with Washington and Lincoln."
Imagine fighting that kind of view.

As you can see, Senator Dole had to fight it in the Congress and in courts. But there also were challenges in securing donations to build the memorial. Senator Dole went to California to visit a Hollywood executive that was thought to be writing a large check for the effort but who instead said he had other “priorities” for his money.

Bob said to him, “When I was 22, I had other priorities too. I went to war.”

In raising the funds for this Memorial and shepherding it to completion, Bob Dole is responsible for this recognition of the Greatest Generation of farm boys and city boys, factory workers and girls next door who fought for the freedom and liberation of people they had never met.

We Kansans knew he was the right man for the job. And he prevailed.

Many travel to this monument and it gives them a reason to share their stories, some for the first time. Bob Dole put it best himself when he said, “Many bring with them intensely personal memories to lay on history’s altar. They come like pilgrims of old, accompanied by children or grandchildren. Some arrive on Honor Flights, cheered by people they have never met. Their step may be slowed, but their pride is as robust as their patriotism. To stand within these embracing arms of stone is to kindle memories of distant battlefields, bottomless seas and endless skies. It invites both reflection and renewal.”

Bob Dole, purveyor of reflection and renewal, shakes hands, takes photos, inspires younger generations in a matter of minutes on the National Mall at 90 years old.
What kind of man can make this reverence a reality? What kind of man leaves this as his wake?

A great man, a Kansan, Bob Dole, who loves America.

This week, I was honored to be the master of ceremonies at Senator Bob Dole’s 90th birthday celebration in National Statuary Hall in the United States Capitol Building. I had the true pleasure of introducing members of Congressional leadership from both sides of the aisle, Senator Elizabeth Dole, and of course the great man himself to say a few words. We were even joined by Lee Greenwood for a rendition of “Proud to be an American” and to sing Happy Birthday to Bob.

Happy 90th Bob. We love you.

Lee Greenwood Sings Proud to be an American at Senator Dole’s 90th Birthday Celebration

Click to watch us sing Happy Birthday to Senator Bob Dole

Washington Visitors
July has brought a lot of Kansas visitors to my Washington office. Here are some of the groups who we able to make it to the nation’s capital in the last few weeks.

I was proud to spend time with American Legion Auxiliary Girls Nation Boys Nation students this week. They are doing great work.

I had a moment on the way votes to meet with Marks Stevens from Lawrence who was here as a member the National Youth Leadership Council.

I got the chance to meet with some FFA students and chat about farm policy with as a part of their trip to Washington.

And Dr. Jerry Farley, President of Washburn University dropped by for a visit.

Check Senator Roberts' Website, YouTube and Facebook Sites for Updates
You can visit my YouTube site for more information on what's happening in Washington, D.C. and Kansas by visiting www.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 Twittersites.

If you wish to contact me about an issue or want more information, please visit my website, roberts.senate.gov.