---

D.C. and District Talk

· New Legislation to Fund Veterans Access to Health Care in Rural Communities
I am proud to be an original cosponsor of legislation that would allow veterans in highly rural areas to obtain health care at a medical facility close to home.

This important legislation, the Rural Veterans Access to Care Act (H.R. 1741), has wide bipartisan support. Our office receives many complaints from veterans about long waits for appointments at VA (Department of Veterans Affairs) hospitals and clinics. This is particularly the case with specialists. I hope that this legislation will move quickly, as those who have served our nation deserve to receive timely health care.

H.R. 1741 would establish pilot programs in three geographic areas of the country. The legislation would cover the treatment of acute or chronic symptom management, nontherapeutic medical services, and other medical services as determined appropriate.

This would benefit veterans who are over 60 miles away from a VA facility. I would also like to encourage my constituents to show their support for our troops by sending a positive message of support through Operation Dear Abby. Log on to http://anyservicemember.navy.mil and write a message that troops can view. The America Supports You website (http://americasupportsyou.mil) also lists numerous ways to donate time or send a message to the troops.

· Legislation Improving Vocational and Technical Education Passes House
On Wednesday I voted to support the reauthorization of vocational and technical education, as the House nearly unanimously passed legislation improving the current programs.

It is education programs that directly train workers that help our economy grow. Vocational and technical program help both youth and adults build skills. As a cosponsor of this important legislation, I was very pleased to see H.R. 366 pass the House and am hoping for quick action in the Senate.

H.R. 366, the Vocational and Technical Education for the Future Act, would:

o increases local control and accountability ensuring communities implement programs most suitable for their area;

o reforms vocational programs to increase academic content, determined locally, and support student achievement in core subjects;

o simplifies funding by increasing flexibility at the state level;

o improves accountability to build successful and stronger programs;

o strengthens teacher training; and

o rejects federal standards that do not fit every community.

The vocational and technical education programs are also revised so that they may prepare students to go on to earn bachelor degrees, which is currently not allowed. These programs are very important to people re-entering the workforce after a number of years or for those people changing careers.

As H.R. 366 has moved onto the Senate I would encourage you to contact your Illinois Senators with your views. I have included their contact information below:

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin

332 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

202-224-2151

Email Webform: http://durbin.senate.gov/sitepages/contact.htm

U.S. Senator Barack Obama

713 Hart Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

202-224-2854

Email Webform: http://obama.senate.gov/contact

For more information on H.R. 366 as it moves through the legislative process please visit http://thomas.loc.gov and type in the bill number.

· New Travel Requirements for Americans Visiting the Western Hemisphere
Travelers to and from the Caribbean, Bermuda, Panama, Mexico and Canada will be required to have a passport or other secure, accepted document to enter or re-enter the United States. This is a change from prior travel requirements and will affect all United States citizens entering the United States from countries within the Western Hemisphere who do not currently possess valid passports. This new requirement will also affect certain foreign nationals who currently are not required to present a passport to travel to the United States. Most Canadian citizens, citizens of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda, and to a lesser degree, Mexican citizens will be affected by the implementation of this requirement.

The travel initiative requirements will be rolled out in phases, providing as much advance notice as possible to the affected public to enable them to meet the terms of the new guidelines. The proposed implementation timeline is as follows:

December 31, 2005 – Passport or other accepted document required for all travel (air/sea) to or from the Caribbean, Bermuda, Central and South America.

December 31, 2006 – Passport or other accepted document required for all air and sea travel to or from Mexico and Canada.

December 31, 2007 – Passport or other accepted document required for all air, sea and land border crossings.

Please keep this in mind when you make future travel plans. For more information please visit http://www.travel.state.gov.

Constituent Corner

· Free No Child Left Behind Workshops

The U.S. Department of Education Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives will host two free workshops in Illinois to assist faith-based and community organizations in applying to become approved providers of extra academic help for disadvantaged students (supplemental educational services).

Wednesday, May 18, 2005
9:00 am - 12:00 pm
(Registration begins at 8:00 am)

Hilton Springfield - Rendezvous Room

700 East Adams Street

Springfield, IL 62701

(217) 789-1530

Thursday, May 19, 2005

1:00 pm - 4:00 pm

(Registration begins at 12:00 pm)

Hyatt Regency - Columbus Hall - K & L

151 East Wacker Drive

Chicago, IL 60601

(312) 565-1234

In these workshops faith-based and community organizations will

· Learn how to access federal resources for tutoring;
· Learn how to develop quality applications; and
· Learn how to work with students to boost their academic achievement.

Under President George W. Bush's No Child Left Behind Act, faith-based and community organizations are eligible to receive federal funds to provide extra academic help to students in certain schools that need improvement. These supplemental educational services are additional academic instruction designed to increase the academic achievement of students in low-performing schools. Services must be provided outside of the regular school day and may include tutoring, remediation, and other educational interventions.

Providers of supplemental services may include non-profit entities, for-profit entities, local educational agencies, public schools, public charter schools, private schools, public or private institutions of higher education, and faith-based organizations.

These workshops are free, but pre-registration is required. If you are not able to access the online registration forms or have any questions, call (202) 219-1741 or (800) USA-LEARN.

Please register by May 16.

o Springfield registration form for the May 18th Workshop: http://epos.edpubs.org/edpubs_report/SP_tele/Newsletterd.asp

o Chicago registration form for the May 19th Workshop: http://epos.edpubs.org/edpubs_report/SES_ConfCall/Newsletterd.asp

· New “Traveling Help Desk” Dates

On Friday, May 13, Deb Detmers of my Collinsville district office will be available to help the residents of Gloconda and Rosiclare. In Gloconda, she will be at the City Hall on 118 N. Monroe from 10:00 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. In Rosiclare, she will be at City Hall on Main Street from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Appointments are not necessary, so feel free to drop by at any time. For more information, please visit my web page at http://www.house.gov/shimkus/helpdesk.htm. I hope you stop in to see us!

Legislative Week in Review

· The following bills were passed by the House of Representatives this week:

o H.Res. 195 – Recognizing the 60th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day and the Liberation of Western Bohemia (Rep. Kingston – International Relations)

o H.R. 366 – Vocational and Technical Education for the Future Act (Rep. Castle – Education & the Workforce)

o H.R. 1185 – Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Act of 2005 (Rep. Bachus – Financial Services)

o Conference Report on H.R. 1268 – Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act (Rep. Lewis {CA} – Appropriations)

· To keep up to date on legislation as it moves through the legislative process please visit http://thomas.loc.gov and type in the bill number.

Anticipated Action on the House Floor Next Week

· Congress will be in session from Tuesday through Thursday of next week. Some of the legislation which will be considered includes:

o H.R. 1279 – Gang Deterrence and Community Protection Act of 2005 (Rep. Forbes – House Judiciary)

o H.R. 1544 – Faster and Smarter Funding for First Responders Act of 2005 (Rep. Cox – Homeland Security)

· For more information on these bills please visit http://thomas.loc.gov and type in the bill number.

· Want to know more? Keep an eye on the Office of the Clerk’s web site: http://clerk.house.gov/legisAct/index.html. This site provides up-to-date information on House legislative schedules.

Did You Know?

· Low Income Families can Apply to Receive Discount Prescription Drugs

RxForIllinois.org is a program that connects qualified, low-income people with discount prescription drugs, direct from the pharmaceutical manufacturer. RxForIllinois.org offers a single point of access to public and private patient assistance programs, including more than 150 programs offered by pharmaceutical companies.

Many people have difficulty affording health care, including prescription medicines. A number of patient assistance programs provide help to patients who lack prescription drug coverage and earn less than 200% of the federal poverty level (approximately $19,000 for an individual or $31,000 for a family of three).

Patients will be directed to the public or private programs most likely to meet their needs. RxForIllinois.org helps low-income, uninsured patients:

· Enroll in more than 150 company patient assistance programs

· Access more than 1,200 medicines for free or at a low cost

· Learn how to contact government programs for which they may qualify, such as Medicaid, Medicare, or the State Children’s Health Insurance Program

For more information and to apply for the program please visit http://www.rxforillinois.org.

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

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This electronic newsletter is a weekly publication sent to all interested constituents. If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, please send a message to shimkus.il19@mail.house.gov and put UNSUBSCRIBE somewhere in the Subject or Body, and we will remove you from the mailing list.

Please do not reply to this e-mail for any other reason; instead, visit http://www.house.gov/shimkus/emailme.htm to contact me.