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Constituent Corner
· Hurricane Katrina Relief Effort

With the horrible disaster of Hurricane Katrina on all of our minds, Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist immediately met with House Minority Leader Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Reid and agreed on using their emergency powers to convene both Houses of Congress.

The Senate convened on the evening of Thursday September 1, and the House of Representatives convened on Friday, September 2. They also agreed to pass the emergency supplemental by unanimous consent to move quickly and get the money to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) before the weekend.

We must all remember those who have lost so much. We are sure that it will be a long time before things will be back to normal, however, with everyone’s help, we can work to make this possible.

I would like to encourage everyone to get involved in the relief process. Please help by visiting the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s website at http://www.fema.gov.

The caring and compassion of the American people is a large part of what makes our country so great. We need to put disagreements aside and band together to help our neighbors in their time of need.

· Banking Technologies

With all of the new technologies, and because of electronic processing, checks can be processed faster than ever before. It is important to make sure that you have enough money in your account to cover any checks that you have written.

Because of this, banks are not required to keep paper copies of your checks, and you may not even be able to get copies. To explain this, the office of the controller of the currency issued a consumer advisory, “Writing a Check: Understanding Your Rights”, which can be found at www.occ.treas.gov.

If consumers have problems which can not be resolved with their bank, there are places that they have to turn. For questions on national banks, you may contact the Customer Assistance Group of the controller’s office at (800)613-6743, or by e-mail at customer.assistance@occ.treas.gov.

For problems with state-chartered banks, one may contact the state attorney general or the state banking department. You may find contact information for the state attorney general at www.naag.org, which is the National Association of Attorneys General. For the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, you may use www.csbs.org/links/state_links.asp.

For banks that are a member of the Federal Reserve System, you may also contact the Federal Reserve Board at www.federalreserve.gov/consumers.htm. Also, you may contact those who are members of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) at www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/index.html.

· Business Development Mission

Following the passage of CAFTA-DR, Secretary of Commerce Gutierrez has announced a business development mission to Central America. This trip will highlight the benefits of CAFTA-DR to America’s economic growth and job creation by promoting the new opportunities available to U.S. businesses.

This mission will travel, on October 16-22, to Guatemala City, Guatemala; San Pedro Sula, Honduras; and San Salvador, El Salvador. I would like to encourage any of you who would like to join this mission to apply. The selection process will be very competitive and there is limited space.

If you are interested in joining this mission, please visit www.buyusa.gov/centralamerica/en; or contact the Office of Business Liaison by e-mail at obl@doc.gov, or by telephone at (202)482-1360.

· Fire Prevention and Safety Grants

The Department of Homeland Security has posted the instructions for applying for this year’s Fire Prevention and Safety Grants on the website of the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program. The application period begins September 6, 2005, and will continue until October 7, 2005.

I would like to encourage all to apply for these grants and get extra support at www.firegrantsupport.com.

· Fire Grants For Six Departments

I am pleased to announce that six fire departments in the 19th Congressional District have been selected as recipients of funding through the Unites States Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This money comes from the 2005 Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program Administered by the DHS Office for Domestic Preparedness in cooperation with the United States Fire Administration.

Receiving grants for new vehicle acquisitions are the Dieterich Fire Protection District at $150,100, and the Ashley Community Fire Protection District at $142,500.

Receiving grants for operations and safety are the Germantown Fire Protection District at $135,755, Rural Pope County Fire Protection District in Golconda at $139,179, Nokomis Area Fire Protection District at $51,166, and St. Peter Fire Protection District at $117,642.

For more information regarding these grants, please visit www.firegrantsupport.com.

· Grants For Bulletproof Vests

I am pleased to announce that federal funding has been released through the U.S. Department of Justice 2005 Bulletproof Vest Partnership Program. A number of communities in our district have received some of this money. Albion has received $558 for 4 vests; Gallatin County received $730 for one vest; Junction City received $425 for one vest; Richland County received $750 for two vests; Salem received $984.98 for three vests.

For more information regarding the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Program, please visit www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bvpbasi/.

· Military Academies

I am happy to announce that I am now accepting applications to the United States Military Academies for the summer 2006 admission. As a graduate of West Point, I believe this is a great time of the year, because I get that chance to nominate young adults to add to the future of our great military.

The U.S. Military Academies are very selective and have many tough requirements. To be eligible for appointment, one must be an American Citizen at least 17 and not more than 23 years of age on July 1, 2006, unmarried, not pregnant, have no obligation to support children or other dependents, and be a legal resident of the 19th Congressional District of Illinois. The average ACT score is 24 in both math and English.

All applications must be received prior to November 15, 2005. If you have any questions, feel free to call my Collinsville district office at (618)344-3065.

· Veterans Education Assistance

The Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC), along with the state’s public universities and community colleges, will award $26 million to eligible Illinois veterans during the 2005-2006 academic year to help pay for their college educations.

Veterans are eligible for the Illinois Veteran Grant if they enter federal active duty service as an Illinois resident, serve at least one year of federal active duty service or less than a year of service if the service is in a foreign country during times of hostilities in that country. And honorable service record is also a requirement. Those who have left service must return to Illinois within six months to remain eligible. Members of the Illinois National Guard are also eligible as long as they meet the above criteria.

For more information regarding the Illinois Veterans Grant, please contact ISAC at www.collegezone.com, or by phone at (800)899-ISAC.

· Gas Prices

I know that gas prices are a worry for many of us, and I assure you that we are doing everything that we can right now. Many of you may be worried that gas stations and companies may be taking advantage of the current problems and are “price gouging”.

If you perceive any specific cases in your area, please report them to the Illinois Attorney General, who has a gas price gouging hotline. They may be contacted at (800)243-0618.

· New “Traveling Help Desk” Dates

On Thursday, September 8th, Matt Pickett of my Centralia and Olney district offices will be available to help the residents of Dix and Geff. In Dix, he will be at the Dix Village Hall on 217 Main Street from 10:00 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. In Geff, he will be in the Geff Village Hall on 220 Mechanic Street from 12:45 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.

On Tuesday, September 13th, Rodney Davis of my Springfield district office will be available to help the residents of Assumption and Stewardson. In Assumption, he will be at the Assumption Village Hall on 229 North Chestnut Street from 9:00 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. In Stewardson, he will be in the Stewardson Community Center on 108 South Pine Street from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

On Wednesday, September 28th, Jed Nelson of my Springfield district office will be available to help the residents of Altamont and Brownstown. In Altamont, he will be at the Altamont City Hall on 202 North Second Street from 10:30 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. In Brownstown, he will be in the Brownstown Village Hall on 114 East Main Street from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

On Wednesday, October 5th, Deb Detmers of my Collinsville district office will be available to help the residents of Metropolis and Eddyville. In Metropolis, she will be at the Metropolis Community Center on 516 Market Street from 11:00 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. In Eddyville, she will be in the Eddyville Village Hall from 1:15 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.

On Thursday, October 13th, Matt Pickett of my Centralia and Olney district offices will be available to help the residents of Pocahontas and Irvington. In Pocahontas, he will be at the Pocahontas Village Hall on Kavanuth Street from 10:30 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. In Irvington, he will be in the Irvington Village Hall from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Appointments are not necessary, so feel free to drop by at any time. For more information, please visit my web page at 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.R. 3645 - Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act – provides $10.5 billion for the Relief effort after the disaster of Hurricane Katrina. (Passed by Unanimous Consent Agreement) (Rep. Lewis, Appropriations) (Expected to be signed into law by the President today)

· 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. 250 – Manufacturing Technology Competitiveness Act of 2005 (Rep. Ehlers, House Science Committee)

o H.R. 889 – Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2005 (Rep. Young, Transportation and Infrastructure; Homeland Security)

· 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?

· Labor Day

Labor Day was first celebrated in New York City on September 5, 1982. By 1894, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories. Labor Day was created by the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It celebrates the strength, prosperity, and well-being that workers have given to our country.

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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