Friend,

While we welcomed the rainfall this week, as you can see in the picture below, it was not enough. As the threats from the drought persist, we must not neglect the harm that the lack of perception does to the district and our crops. Last week’s moisture was welcomed, but we are still far away from the precipitation levels needed to alleviate the drought and wildfire threats.

Sen. Pat Roberts, Sen. Moran, and I signed a letter to the USDA last week asking them to provide crucial assistance to our Kansas producers during this time. The unpredictability of mother nature is a stark reminder of why we need the certainty provided by a comprehensive Farm Bill.

National Agriculture Week!

On Tuesday, the nation celebrated the 45th National Agriculture Day. The agriculture industry contributes $992 billion to the U.S. economy and supports more than 21 million jobs! Kansas continues to be a leader in Ag not just in America but across the globe.

 Besides being the number one producer of wheat in the country, as a state, we also are the top supplier of sorghum and beef. Kansas alone produces enough wheat every year to bake 36 billion loaves of bread, which is enough to feed everyone in the world for about two weeks! With 60 percent of our district’s economy agriculture-related and 45,000 farmers in our district alone, the success of the Big First is largely dependent on our hardworking farmers and producers.

So, if you haven’t already, I encourage you to thank a producer today.

Right to Try Act Passes House

This week the House finally passed The Right to Try Act. This bill authorizes the patients’ right to use experimental drugs that have passed the first phase of safety trials administrated by the FDA. I am a proud co-sponsor of this bill because, despite the terminally ill diagnosis, these patients are not giving up hope, and members of Congress should not try to steal that from them. These drugs could be the last shot to save someone’s life. Go to my website to read more on this legislation.

Omnibus Spending Package

Yesterday Congress passed the omnibus spending bill, which appropriates the funds agreed upon in the FY 2018 Bipartisan Budget Act. This appropriations package has victories that will directly impact Kansas, including a crucial fix for Section 199A, a delay of the Electronic Logging Device mandate on livestock haulers, pay raises for our troops at Fort Riley, rural broadband access expansion, and funds for school safety measures.

But it is not a perfect bill. I have received a lot of calls with concerns on our government’s budget process. I whole-heartedly agree with these concerns, the dollar amount of this spending bill does alarm me, and the last-minute process that we are required to approve a 2,000+ page budget is ridiculous. But I think it is important to mention that congress passed the amount in this bill back in February this omnibus was just allocating those funds, and as it unfolded I believe this bill does a lot for Kansas.

I voted for this omnibus to stop neglecting the needs of our military families and national security, to fix the ‘grain glitch’ that pitted Kansas agri-businesses against each other, to secure our schools, and end the digital divide in our rural communities.

This spending package gives our troops the largest pay raise our service members have seen in eight years and the resources they need to protect this country and themselves. That is a top priority for me and the families at Fort Riley. Go to my website to learn more on this spending package.