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D.C. and District Talk

" Bush Administration Announces Push to Create Rural Jobs
On June 2, Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman and Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Hector V. Barreto announced an Administration effort to stimulate rural business development and jobs by providing greater access to venture capital investment funds. The SBA, on behalf of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), will enable venture capital companies to offer access to capital to rural enterprises under a newly created business and jobs initiative called the Rural Business Investment Program (RBIP).
USDA and SBA will publish in the Federal Register guidelines for making application to the new program. In general, with funding provided by USDA, the RBIP will allow newly formed venture capital investment companies to leverage private capital funds with government financial assistance and to obtain government grant resources for technical assistance. The RBIP will increase the amount of capital available for investment in rural American businesses, and will provide a new resource for technical assistance to such businesses.
Created by the 2002 Farm Bill, RBIP will license Rural Business Investment Companies (RBICs) to support up to $60 million in guaranteed RBIC debentures based on the Bush Administration's Fiscal Year 2005 budget. The Rural Business Investment Program augments investments already being made in rural areas. By licensing qualified management teams and structuring the RBIP appropriately, this new program can contribute significantly to the federal government's efforts to encourage private risk-taking and investment in rural America.
To view the Federal Register guidelines for applying to the Rural Business Investment Program please visit, http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rd/farmbill/rbip060804.pdf.
" Working Hard to Pass New Education Legislation
Recently, I have been speaking out for three bills introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives: the Teacher Training Enhancement Act, the Priorities for Graduate Studies Act of 2004, and the Teacher Shortage Response Act of 2004.
As we move forward with the education reform effort started by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), we must take action to address the problems that inevitably crop up. These bills will help us continue to move toward the goal of leaving no child behind.
The House combined the Teacher Training Enhancement Act and the Priorities for Graduate Studies Act into HR 444, which passed the House 213-203 on June 3. The vote on the Teacher Shortage Response Act of 2004 is pending.
The Teacher Training Enhancement Act aligns teacher training programs with the bipartisan No Child Left Behind Act passed in 2002, which calls for a highly qualified teacher in every public school classroom by the close of the 2005-2006 school year. To help answer that call, the Teacher Training Enhancement Act will provide grants to strengthen teacher training programs by improving accountability and expanding innovative opportunities to train future teachers.
The Priorities for Graduate Studies Act places emphasis on the areas of math, science, and special education for graduate fellowship programs in the Higher Education Act. To increase faculty in these high-demand subject areas, HR 4411 will target federal aid for graduate studies to these subject areas.
The shortage of highly qualified math, science, and special education teachers extends beyond the nation's K-12 classrooms. A lack of faculty at the graduate level to train the teachers of tomorrow is also contributing to these shortages and must be addressed to fortify the pipeline of highly qualified teachers under NCLB.
The Teacher Shortage Response Act, which I have cosponsored, would significantly increase the loan forgiveness available to math, science, and special education teachers, along with reading specialists, who serve in high-need schools for five years. For highly qualified teachers in these high-demand subjects, the bill will provide up to $17,500 in loan forgiveness. That is more than triple the $5,000 in current law and will provide a strong incentive to assist states and schools recruit and retain the highly qualified teachers they need to follow NCLB guidelines.
For more information on the status of the bills in the legislative process please visit http://thomas.loc.gov/ and type in the bill number.
Constituent Corner
" Illinois State Police Get Grant for E-Record Keeping
I am proud to announce a grant of $248,375 from the United States Department of Justice for the Illinois State Police to assist in electronic record-keeping.

I requested this grant as part of the Fiscal Year 2003 Bureau of Justice Assistance Congressionally Mandated Awards. It will allow the Illinois State Police to post arrests directly into the criminal history system, which will improve the timely electronic submission of arrests and provide for more complete record-keeping.

The grant, through the Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs, will be used by the Illinois State Police Bureau of Identification to integrate the State Police Criminal
History Repository system with State Attorneys' Offices as well as a county court clerk's system to improve the timeliness, accuracy and completeness of records.

" Greater Wabash Commission Getting Grant
I am pleased to announce that the Greater Wabash Regional Planning Commission of Albion is receiving federal help to support the commission's continued implementation of economic development plans for the area.

I believe that it is important that we continue to make resources available to bring economic development to our region. While the national economy has improved in recent months, southern Illinois still faces big challenges.

The grant, from the Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration, is for $51,628 of the total investment cost of $85,176.

" USDA Announces Workshops for Rural Broadband Improvement
I'm happy to announce that a new workshop will provide important information on how to expand the use of broadband technology in rural communities. This workshop will be held on June 22, 2004 at SUPERCOMM, Room S101ab, at the McCormick Place in Chicago. This workshop will focus on how to conduct a market survey for broadband services, develop a business plan, satisfy credit support requirements, and how to develop the system design along with many other aspects of this technology. You can register for the workshop by contacting Shirley Reese at shirley.reese@il.usda.gov or for more information please call 217-403-6202.

" New Grant to Aid Centralia Economy
I am happy to announce a $70,000 federal grant to help the city of Centralia improve its economic planning and marketing. I was pleased to be able to help procure these funds for Centralia during these trying times of economic adjustment.

The Economic Adjustment Strategy funding comes from the United States Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration (EDA) and will cover 70 percent of the total investment cost of $100,000.

" Hoyleton Agency Lands Gun Safety Funding
I am pleased to announce a $232,197 grant from the United States Department of Justice for Hoyleton Youth and Family Services to promote gun safety.

This grant is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). It is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime by networking existing local programs that target gun crime and providing those programs with the funding to be successful.

PSN grants, through the Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs, are awarded to a single fiscal agent in each of the nation's 94 federal judicial districts. The fiscal agent, in coordination with the PSN Task Force, will allocate the funds throughout the community to further the goal of safe neighborhoods.

This program is a way of attacking gun crime without infringing on the rights of legitimate gun owners, and I am proud to support it. For more information on Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit http://www.psn.gov/.

Legislative Week in Review
We had two Appropriations Bills pass this week. Specifically they were:
" H.R. 4567 - Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act for FY2005
" H.R. 4568 - Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for FY2005
o For more information on both H.R. 4567 and H.R. 4568 please visit the following websites:
" H.R. 4567 Highlights: http://appropriations.house.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=386&Month=6&Year=2004
" H.R. 4568 Highlights: http://appropriations.house.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=384&Month=6&Year=2004
o For more information on the FY2005 Appropriations process please visit: http://thomas.loc.gov/home/approp/app05.html

Anticipated Action on the House Floor Next Week
" Congress will be in session Monday through Friday of next week. We have yet to receive a floor schedule but keep your eye on http://www.majoritywhip.gov/whipnotice.asp for one as soon as it becomes available.

Did You Know?

" New Resource for Federal Government Info
Everyday more than five thousand citizens call 1-800-FED-INFO. This is a resource that will provide answers to all your federal government questions including how to find programs that will help you buy your first home to how to get a passport for your next vacation. Information specialists are available to take your calls in both English and Spanish from Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST. You can also listen to a recording of the most popular topics and frequently asked questions 24 hours a day.

Sincerely,

Congressman John Shimkus

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