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On Thursday the 15th, I had the opportunity to test drive a Honda vehicle-powered by Hydrogen Fuel Cells. I commend Honda for their innovative work; this is a great step forward in aiming to decrease our Country’s dependence on foreign oil. I am also excited to learn of Honda’s interest in locating a manufacturing facility in Illinois in the future and look forward to working with them in their efforts.

D.C. and District Talk

· President Bush Signs MINER Act into Law This Week
President Bush signed the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response (MINER) Act into law on June 15. Recent mine tragedies have brought the issue of mine safety to the forefront. I supported House passage of this legislation just last week. It had the support of both mine owners and the mine workers union. At the signing President Bush said, “The MINER Act will build on the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s ongoing efforts to enhance mine safety training, to improve safety and communications technology for miners and provide more emergency supplies of breathable air along escape routes.”

For more information on the MINER Act, please visit http://thomas.loc.gov/

· Shimkus Receives Several Awards

I was recently notified of several awards from various interest groups. I hope my voting record – that determines these awards – is shared by my constituents. Americans for Tax Reform presented me with their “Hero of the Taxpayer” award for voting to repeal the death tax, voting to control federal spending, and pledging to oppose “any and all tax increases.” The ATR president said, “John Shimkus is squarely on the side of taxpayers.” The Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council presented me with their “Small Business Champion” award for voting with them on all 23 votes scored in the first session of the 109th Congress. Some of those votes included class action fairness, lawsuit abuse reduction, and tax relief. The Property Rights Alliance named me a “Protector of Property Rights.” I have spoken against the outrageous Supreme Court decision of Kelo v. City of New London that took away private property owners’ rights. The Alliance’s executive director said, “Shimkus is a true champion of private property rights.”

· Iraq Takes Center Stage In House Debate

The United States House debated a resolution regarding our global war on terror all day Thursday, June 15, and into Friday. The resolution declares that we will “prevail in the global war on terror, the struggle to protect freedom from the terrorist adversary.” The resolution (H.Res. 861) states:

· “It is essential to the security of the American people and to world security that the United States, together with its allies, taking the battle to the terrorists and to those who provide them assistance.”

· “It is not in the national security interest of the United States to set an arbitrary date for the withdrawal or redeployment of United States Armed Forces from Iraq.”

· “…Nations of the world (are called) to promote global peace and security by standing with the United States and other Coalition partners to support the efforts of the Iraqi and Afghan people to live in freedom.”

I’ve witnessed the strength and the concern of the Iraqi people. I firmly believe that we cannot abandon them, and it IS in our nation’s best interest and safety to be fighting our enemies on their soil, not our own. This is not a short term commitment, and we must allow our military leaders to determine our deployment levels to maintain the safety of our troops serving there.

· House Provides Funding for 3 Projects

The House passed the Transportation, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary, the District of Columbia, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act on Wednesday, June 14. The projects funded in the 19th district are:

1) The Greenville Business Incubator to assist start-up businesses with guidance and direction.

2) The Lawrenceville Mid American Airport for rehabilitation of a community center on airport property.

3) The St. Elmo Historical Society for the conversion of a theater into a community center.

4) Each project was funded at $250,000. This spending bill now has to be approved by the Senate and signed into law before these funds are actually allocated, but this is a great first step.

· SIUE Nursing Students Grant Renewed

This week, I announced that Southern Illinois University Edwardsville would receive $52,157 to continue funding the Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students program. SIUE nursing students are automatically considered for this program when they apply for financial aid. I know that health professions are in great demand, and I am pleased that this federal grant will help local nursing students. For more information, please visit www.siue.edu

Constituent Corner

· HUD Provides Information for Prospective Homeowners

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has a number of brochures and guides to help prospective homeowners prepare themselves for the process of buying a home. Visit http://www.hud.gov to request “100 Q&A About Buying A New Home.”

· Six Vision 2007 Rural Discussion Forums

Hosted by the Illinois State Rural Development Council, the state is allowing rural residents, businesses, community leaders and educators to bring issues, concerns and ideas to the forefront. They would like to hear on topics such as:

· Quality of Life

· Economic Vitality

· Leadership Development

· Homeland Security

These Forums will be held over the next five months in central locations throughout the state

and the information received will be compiled in a document that will be used by rural

partners to guide State policy leaders and ensure that rural Illinois issues are clearly defined

and presented with a unified voice. The document will then be used to design rural goals and

objectives for the state. For more information and schedules about this discussion forum

visit the following website: www.ruralpartners.org

· Promote Local Businesses

The National Trust for Historic Preservation offers access to the “New Rules Project” slide show. By visiting www.newrules.org/retail/slides/index.html you can see various marketing ideas from around the country that promote locally owned businesses. The slide show is full of decals, flyers, bumper stickers, ads, and other ideas. You can save copies of the images or you can request copies and information kits that can be sent directly to you. This program is overseen by the National Main Street Network which can be contacted via 202-588-6219, e-mail: mainst@nthp.org, or http://mainstreet.org.

· New “Traveling Help Desk” Dates

· On Tuesday, June 20, 2006, Dora Rohan of my Collinsville district office will be available to help residents in Ste. Marie and Louisville. She will be at the Ste. Marie Village Hall on North Main Street from 10:30 a.m. until Noon. In Louisville, she will be at the Louisville City Hall, located at 177 South Main, from 2:00 p.m.until 3:30 p.m.

· On Wednesday, June 28, 2006, Mary Ballard of my Springfield district office will be available to assist the residents in Beckemeyer and Trenton. She will be at the Beckemeyer City Hall, located at 191 East First Street, from 9:00 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. In Trenton, she will be at the Trenton City Hall, located at 14 W Broadway, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

· On Wednesday, July 12, 2006, Deb Detmers of my Collinsville district office will be available to help the residents of Bellmont and Carmi. In Bellmont, she will be at the Bellmont Village Hall at 214 N Main from Noon to 1:30 p.m. In Carmi, she will be in the Carmi City Council Chambers at 225 E Main from 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

· On Monday, July, 17, 2006, Rodney Davis of my Springfield district office will be available to help the residents of Litchfield and Rochester. In Litchfield, he will be at the Litchfield City Hall at 120 E Ryder Street from 9:30 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. In Rochester, he will be in the Rochester Village Hall at 1 Community Drive Rochester from 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

· On Thursday, July 27, 2006, Holly Healy of my Harrisburg district office will be available to help the residents of Fairfield and McLeansboro. In Fairfield, she will be at the Wayne County Courthouse Board Room at 305 Court Street from Noon until 1:30 a.m. In McLeansboro, she will be in the County Clerk’s Office - Hamilton County Courthouse at 100 S. Jackson from 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

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

Legislative Week in Review

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

· H.Res. 861, Declaring that the United States Will Prevail in the Global War on Terror, the Struggle to Protect Freedom from the Terrorist Adversary

· H.R. 5576, Making appropriations for the Departments of Transportation, Treasury, and Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary, District of Columbia, and independent agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2007, and for other purposes

· H.R. 4939, Making emergency supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2006, and for other purposes

· S. 2803, Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act

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 Monday through Friday of next week. Some of the legislation which will be considered includes:

· S. 655, Amending the Public Health Service Act With Respect to the National Foundation for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

· H.R. 5573, Health Centers Renewal Act of 2006

· H.R. 5574, Children’s Hospital GME Support Reauthorization Act of 2006

· H.Con.Res. 426, Recognizing the Food and Drug Administration of the Department of Health and Human Services on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the passage of the Food and Drugs Act for the important service it provides to the Nation.

· H.R. 4157, the Health Information Technology Promotion Act of 2005

· H.R. ( ), Department of Defense Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2007

· H.R. 9, Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks, and Coretta Scott King Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006

· H.R. 4890, Legislative Line Item Veto Act of 2006

· 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?

· Mary Katharine Goddard, Patriot printer, publisher and postmistress – 1738

Today June 16 in 1738, Mary Katharine Goddard was born in New London, Connecticut. She went on to publish “The First version of the Declaration of Independence” to include all of the Congressional signatures…

· For more information about the remarkable life of Mary Katharine Goddard, please visit the following website:

http://thehistorychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?month=10272958&day=10272981&cat=americanrevolution&x=47&y=12

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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