Chamber of Commerce Speeches in Kansas City, Ellsworth, and Manhattan

Senator Roberts addressed several Chambers of Commerce including Kansas City, KS, Ellsworth and Manhattan during the past few Congressional recesses. The Senator spoke on a wide range of topics covering national security and intelligence matters to local issues including education, agriculture and the economy.

As chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Roberts said he supports the terrorist surveillance program, saying "Usama Bin Ladin made it clear again just a couple of weeks ago - Terrorists want to attack us here again – with weapons of mass destruction, if possible. When al Qaeda collaborators in the United States plan an attack, our Commander-in-Chief needs to know about it as soon as possible. He (or she) needs to use every Constitutional mechanism at their disposal to find and capture or kill the enemies of this nation.

He added, "we must maintain our resolve to defeat terrorism and achieve stability in Iraq and where terrorism threatens in other parts of the world. Just like our forefathers in 1941, we did not ask for war. Yet today we find ourselves in a unique global conflict which will likely continue for a generation. As a people, we must resolve to rise above pettiness and political self interest to defeat our enemy. Our parents and grandparents did as much for us - - - our children and grandchildren deserve the same," he said.

Army officials recently briefed Senator Pat Roberts, a senior member of the Committee on Armed Services, on a new training mission for the First Infantry Division’s First Brigade Combat Team (BCT) at Ft. Riley. Officials told Roberts that the First BCT will begin working this summer with deployable military units specialized in training foreign security forces such as those in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"I am pleased the Army has chosen the First Brigade Combat Team at Ft. Riley to be the first brigade-sized unit solely dedicated to the development of Iraqi Security Forces," Senator Roberts said. "I have long said that the development of capable and ready Iraqi security force is key to a reduced U.S. presence in Iraq. "

Senator Roberts delivered Baker University’s annual Founder’s Day convocation address in Baldwin City over the President’s Day Congressional recess. Roberts told the audience of students, faculty and alumni, "It is no secret that this university has a strong tradition of success. As a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, I appreciate and support the important part independent colleges play in our higher education system. Simply put, Baker offers students from all walks of life an opportunity to learn in a teacher to student environment, without having to sacrifice top-notch faculty members or academic excellence."

Senator Roberts recently joined other government and military officials in an exercise to practice the government’s response to a possible pandemic flu outbreak. The simulation, called "Global Tempest," projected that over 90 million episodes of illness could break out resulting in more than 1.9 million U.S. deaths. The exercise mirrored that of the 1918 pandemic, commonly known as the Spanish flu, which was a world-wide crisis. Exercises like these enable our government to strengthen the public health infrastructure.

"I think we learned a good lesson from Hurricane Katrina: we must be prepared at all levels to deal with a large-scale public health emergency such as pandemic flu. As Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Senate Agriculture and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committees, I take this threat of flu pandemic very seriously and view it not only as a public health concern, but also a national security concern," Senator Roberts said.