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D.C. and District Talk

" Dr. Condoleezza Rice Testifies Before 9-11 Commission
On Thursday the National Security Advisor to the President broke precedent and testified publicly before the 9-11 Commission on the role of the White House in national security issues both prior to and post September 11, 2001. I applaud the insightful testimony of Dr. Rice and will continue to support the efforts of the 9-11 Commission to learn how this disaster occurred and what can be done to prevent it from happening again. For more information on Dr. Rice's testimony please visit <http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,116517,00.html>.

Constituent Corner

" Prepare for College Seminar
I am going to be hosting, along with Sallie Mae, a 'Prepare for College' Seminar on Wednesday April 14th at 7:00 p.m. at Effingham High School. The Sallie Mae Fund conducts a nationwide "Paying for College" tour that visits local communities and offers workshops to help make high school students and their parents aware that college is valuable and affordable. Each 90-minute workshop-available in English and Spanish-is free to all attendees. Financial aid experts from local colleges are on hand to answer questions. Workshop topics include:
* Benefits of continuing an education beyond high school
* Affordability of college through various types of financial aid (e.g., grants, scholarships, work-study, and loans)
* Resources available to help families prepare for the college admissions process.

For more information please contact Bill Olson in my Springfield office at 217-492-5090. To register for the seminar or to get some of the available materials if you will be unable to attend please visit <http://www.thesalliemaefund.org/preparing/>.

" New Grant Available for Teachers
The U.S. Department of Education is inviting local education agencies and public, non-profit or private organizations serving preschool-age children to apply for approximately $94 million in grants to improve young children's preparation for reading. This Early Reading First grant program supports local efforts to enhance the oral language, cognitive and early reading skills of young children-especially those from low-income families.

As part of the No Child Left Behind education reforms, Early Reading First is President Bush's initiative to transform existing early education programs into centers of educational excellence that provide high-quality education to young children. The program builds upon the president's Good Start, Grow Smart initiative to improve early reading.

The pre-application deadline is April 22nd, so get your applications in early if you're interested in this funding! To find out how you can apply please visit: <http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/announcements/2004-1/030804a.html/>

" Saline County to Receive Help for 9-1-1 Service
I am happy to announce that Saline County is receiving federal help to purchase equipment for its 9-1-1 Emergency System. Rural Development, under the United States Department of Agriculture, is providing a grant of $20,000 to the county. As a sponsor of 9-1-1 legislation, I am proud we can provide federal money for improvements to the 9-1-1 system in southern Illinois, where it is needed. With more than half of all 9-1-1 calls now coming from mobile phones, it is important that the technology used by emergency responders stays up to date.

I am also the sponsor of HR 2898, which will aid in coordination of Enhanced 9-1-1 implementation in each state, discourage the raiding of local E-911 funds, and give local jurisdictions additional funding to help them finally achieve Enhanced 9-1-1 capability. HR 2898 has passed the House and is waiting action in the Senate. I hope to see it signed into law soon so we can get this important technology out to rural areas.

" ABC Introduces New kids.us Website
As some of you may already know, I was the sponsor of the law that established a safe haven for children on the Internet - known as kids.us. I am now pleased to welcome ABC to the list of content providers who have volunteered to present their website to the new domain.

The success of kids.us depends on adding quality providers like ABC and getting the word out about its availability. I would like to thank the Disney Company (owner of ABC) for stepping forward.

ABC becomes the first television network to contribute to the kids.us domain. The new site, at www.ABCKids.kids.us, premiered on April 1st. It features games and activities that revolve around and integrate information from some of the most popular shows on the ABC Kids Saturday morning lineup, including "Disney's Recess," "Disney's Fillmore!," "Disney's Kim Possible," "Disney's Lilo & Stitch: The Series," "That's So Raven," "Lizzie McGuire" and "The Proud Family," among others.

The kids.us domain is open to all consumers, businesses, educators, government agencies and organizations in the United States or with a U.S. presence to register Internet addresses and establish websites. To date, several other organizations have created content-specific sites that reside on this domain, including The Smithsonian Institution and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. I hope that as more organizations become aware of this important new internet domain we will see even more kids-safe websites up and running. I'll keep everyone posted as new ones are created!

" IHI Turbo America Workers Getting Assistance
I am pleased to announce that workers from IHI Turbo America in Shelbyville have been ruled eligible to apply for adjustment assistance by the United States Department of Labor.

Under the ruling, all employees of IHI Turbo America who became totally or partially separated from employment on or after March 9, 2003, through two years from the date of certification are eligible to apply for adjustment assistance under Section 223 of the Trade Act of 1974.

Workers at IHI Turbo America produce automotive turbochargers, but customers have shifted their purchases to imported automotive turbochargers, resulting in a decline in employment at the Shelbyville facility.

For more information, employees should contact their local office of the Illinois Department of Employment Security. In Mattoon, the phone number is 217-235-2222.

" Seminar for Displaced Workers and Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Recipients
I wanted to remind everyone that I will be hosting a seminar on April 16th at 9:00 a.m. in the gymnasium at Kaskaskia College (http://www.kc.cc.il.us/). This will be a seminar to address all of the plant closings and unemployment issues in Marion County. I will be speaking along with State Senator John O. Jones, State Representative Kurt Granberg, Centralia Mayor John Stuehmeier, Salem Mayor Leonard Ferguson, and Kaskaskia College President Dr. James Underwood. Some of the topics that we will address include federal education assistance and loans, how to go back to school, selecting the program of your choice, receiving state assistance, resume building, and how to manage school with family and work. This seminar will be a valuable resource to anyone thinking about changing careers and going back to school. For more information please call my Collinsville office at 618-344-3065.

" Traveling Help Desk comes to Ashley
On Tuesday, April 20, Deb Detmers of my Collinsville district office will be available to help the residents of Ashley. She will be at the Ashley City Hall on 474 West Main Street from 9:30 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. For more information, please visit my web page at <http://www.house.gov/shimkus/helpdesk.htm>. I hope you stop by!

" Open Office Hours
As part of my ongoing effort to make myself as accessible to my constituents as possible, I will be holding Open Office Hours in several cities in the coming weeks. I encourage you to drop by and share your problems and concerns with me. Appointments are not required, though they are appreciated in order to give me time to adequately address your concerns; if you would like to make one, please call or (618) 344-3065.
Here are the locations and times:
o Collinsville April 13th - On Tuesday, April 13th, I will be in my Collinsville office located at 508 South Main Street in Collinsville from 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
o Newton April 14th - On Wednesday, April 14th, I will be in the small meeting room of the Sunrise Youth Center and Community Building at 1401 Clayton Avenue in Newton from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
o Albion April 15th - On Thursday, April 15th, I will be in the Edwards County Courthouse located at 50 East Main in Albion from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
o Mt. Vernon April 16th - On Friday, April 16th, I will be in the office of State Senator John O. Jones located at 2929 Broadway in Mt. Vernon from 2:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
For more information on Open Office Hours, please visit my web page at <www.house.gov/shimkus/openoff.htm>. I hope you can stop by to share your concerns with me.

Anticipated Action on the House Floor Next Week
" Congress is currently in recess and will reconvene on Tuesday, April 20th. Keep your eye on <http://www.congress.gov/house.html> for more information on floor action as it becomes available.

Did You Know?

" April 15th is Tax Day
Income taxes are due on Thursday, April 15th so I encourage everyone to get them in as soon as possible to avoid any late penalties. The IRS is allowing people to file their taxes electronically via their eFile program. If you're looking to get your return back quickly I encourage everyone to check out this free and easy program. Please visit <http://www.irs.gov/efile/article/0,,id=118986,00.html> for more information.

Thank you for the interest in my newsletter! Remember to tell your friends about it as well--they can sign up on my web page at <http://www.house.gov/shimkus>.

Sincerely,

Congressman John Shimkus

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