Kansas Supreme Court Fails Those Most Vulnerable
Friday, the Kansas Supreme Court made a horrific ruling and decided that the state constitution guarantees women the right to an abortion, blocking a law that bans second-trimester abortions. This ruling protects abortions under the Kansas Constitution, and completely violates the sanctity of life.
I am shocked and deeply saddened by this verdict. This anti-life decision goes directly against what I believe in and what I know Kansans across the Big First believe in.
As someone who spent decades helping bring life into this world, I honestly cannot grasp how Kansans came to a decision that does not value life and leaves zero protections for those that are most vulnerable. The fight ahead of us just got a lot tougher, and we must work harder than ever. I am committed to doing so and beg you all to lend me your support in the effort.
This year more than ever we have had to unite as one community and fight like never before. Recently, in addition to the Kansas Supreme Court ruling, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly is rumored to veto a bill that would require doctors to tell their patients that the abortion pills are reversible. This bill will let their patient still know that they have abortion reversible options even if she takes the first round of Mifepristone, the leading pill used to terminate a pregnancy. It is outrageous that even letting patients know their options is considered controversial. As I stated above, we must protect life and fight like never before. Now more than ever, we need to stand up and protect these innocent lives.
EMS/Fire Recruitment and Retention
I had a great meeting recently with many members of the Kansas EMS Association. We focused on the outstanding work they are doing within their communities and on H.R. 1241 the Volunteer Responder Incentive Protection Act. This legislation would bolster EMS/Fire recruitment and retention by allowing volunteers to receive nominal benefits. These include property tax deductions, up to $600 per year, or other types of benefits tax free. Providing these much deserved incentives would be great for our district’s safety, and I am happy to be a co-sponsor of this legislation.
Touring Kansas Military Installments
Our team’s Military Legislative Aid (MLA), Zach Lowry (from Stockton, Kansas) led a Congressional Staff trip to Kansas this week. On the trip, he and other Congressional MLA’s had an incredible experience learning from and working with DOD leadership in the area. They traveled to Ft. Leavenworth, Ft. Riley, Smoky Hill Air Force Base, McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas National Guard Joint Forces Headquarters, and Forbes Airfield.
Throughout the week, in addition to spending time at multiple military installations, they observed numerous defense equities and discussed FY20 budget priorities. He was joined by, Greg Baker- MLA for Rep. Estes, Bri Mikeska- Legislative Assistant for Michael McCaul, Dillon Johnson- Legislative Assistant for Rep Frank Lucas and Tarik Jones- Army Legislative Liaison.
I am proud of Zach’s work on leading this trip and highlighting the great work our service men and women throughout Kansas are doing to keep our country safe.
Happy To See HHS Reconsidering Organ Donation Guidelines That Overlook Patients In Rural America
I am proud to see that the HHS announced they’ll be delaying and reviewing their new organ donation guidelines. Last week we sent a bipartisan letter from Rep. Blumenauer, Rep. Dingell, Rep. Bucshon, M.D, and myself, urging the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to stop a misguided liver transplant allocation change from going into effect on April 30th.
Back in December of 2018, the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), released a new national liver distribution policy that would remove the priority to keep organ transplants local and regional.
Essentially, this new rule would redistribute organs that Kansans donated to big cities and states, which in result, would leave Kansans in need of a liver transplant to deal with costly, and long waiting period putting our rural communities patients at risk.
Kansas would lose up to 45 percent of liver donations because of this policy. In the past, Kansas has been extremely successful in reducing the waiting list through proactive organ procurement and innovative transplant techniques. However, this new policy will make it difficult to keep that up. This letter outlines how we are fighting for the states and communities that are being overlooked.
You can read more about this letter here.
Iranian Oil Sanctions
On April 22nd the Trump Administration announced that they would not renew waivers on the sanctions against Iran for countries importing Iranian oil. This strong move by President Trump will effectively bring Iran’s oil exports to zero. Iran has long been a sponsor of terrorism and I am proud that the President is taking steps to cut off their main source of income.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is doing fantastic work on behalf of the American people and this move also stands to help producers in Kansas as the world market moves to fill the demand previously supplied by Iran. Secretary Pompeo is made it clear that they have worked closely with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as other major producers, to ensure that the transition does not lead to any potential global shortages.
The potential economic benefits from this decision, combined with the clear victory on the national security front make this another slam dunk for the American people from the Trump Administration.
Dr. Roger Marshall, R-Great Bend, is the First District Kansas Congressman.