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CONGRESSIONAL BOOT CAMP
Are you ready to go behind the scenes and get an exclusive look at what actually goes on in Congress? If so, please join me for Congressional Boot Camp on Friday, July 27th. This is something I am hosting with my friend and colleague, Congressman Kevin Yoder (KS-03).
It’s called "We the People: A Look Inside Congress". It’s FREE and all are invited to attend. The event will be held at Penn Valley Health Science Institute (3444 Broadway) from 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM and includes lunch. There will be informative and fun sessions designed to give participants an opportunity to get a unique and bipartisan look inside Congress.
Registration is limited. For more information, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/emanuelcleaverii
HELP ON THE WAY FOR MISSOURI’S FIFTH DISTRICT FARMERS, RANCHERS AND PRODUCERS
I am very pleased the USDA has listened to our request for help, and has designated all counties in Missouri’s Fifth District as disaster areas. This includes the new areas of Ray, Saline and Lafayette Counties. Just this week I sponsored a bipartisan letter to Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, asking him to take this action and praising Governor Jay Nixon for the initial request.
Our farmers, ranchers, and producers are facing extreme conditions with no relief in sight. Crops and livestock are dying, the soil is drying and stock water supplies are declining. The situation is grave and hardworking men and women in my district are struggling to avoid financial disaster.
This designation now means farmers throughout the state will have access to low-interest loans and a variety of other assistance, as they should, from the federal government.
Preliminary precipitation data shows June of this year was the 6th driest June in Missouri’s history, and the driest since 1988. Missouri Agricultural Statistics Service estimates 97% and 93% of the topsoil and subsoil moisture supplies, respectively, are in short to very short condition. We are losing crops at a very alarming rate as this drought continues. It is possible we will not see relief from these conditions until as late as the end of August or September.
The USDA’s decision to declare all Missouri counties as disaster areas should go a long way in making assistance immediately available. I will continue to monitor this situation and work on behalf of all constituents to make sure when help is needed, it is there.
To see my letter on this issue and other information concerning the disaster designations, please visit:
http://cleaver.house.gov/
MISSOURI CORN GROWERS
I also was pleased to meet with representatives from the Missouri Corn Growers this week. There is great concern that the Farm Bill be passed before the end of September. Crop insurance and the reauthorization of a shallow loss assistance program are so very important. This provides vital assistance to farmers so they can get through disasters like the one we are facing this year.
LEGISLATION TO FIGHT FOR CHRONICALLY ILL AND THEIR FAMILIES
This week I introduced the Patient Centered Quality Care for Life Act (H.R. 6157). It is legislation aimed at helping people with chronic and serious illness in Missouri’s Fifth District, and around the country, get better, clearer and more comprehensive health care. This legislation focuses on making sure palliative care is available to patients and families facing serious or life threatening illness. And it also provides assistance for creating excellence in workforce training for those caring for patients, public education and advocacy, and research.
As many of you know, it can be a very confusing and emotionally exhausting time for loved ones as they try to care for chronically ill family members. Unfortunately, right now, those who need to focus on fighting their illness must also battle a deluge of confusing information, duplicative tests and multiple doctors. Palliative care provides patients with a team of trained professionals to help them address their care and improve their quality of life.
Palliative care is one of the fastest growing trends in health care. One of the driving forces behind the service is to give patients added support with specialists who can help navigate the medical landscape. Removing unnecessary stress and coordinating care for both the patient and the patient’s family are top priorities of this legislation.
I am co-sponsoring the Patient Centered Quality Care for Life Act with Representative Spencer Bachus (R-AL).
Research tells us that palliative care works, giving patients a better chance of prolonging life and doing it in a cost-efficient and dignified way. And our heart tells us that taking care of the ill and their families, in the best way possible, is the right thing to do.
NORTHCARE HOSPICE HOUSE TOUR
Congressman Cleaver joins representatives from Northcare Hospice on a tour. |
NorthCare Hospice House, in a wing of North Kansas City Hospital, is a rare facility that focuses on comfort, dignity and respect for people facing health issues that are too serious to be handled at home. I recently go the opportunity to tour this facility and listen to professionals there about the growing demand for hospice care, how to meet those demands, and what I could do to help. I will continue to explore opportunities to assist in funding and support for such facilities, so those who are in the sunset of their lives get the peaceful and quality care they deserve.
DEFENSE SPENDING
This week, I spoke on the House floor about the Defense Appropriations Bill. I strongly believe funding for the military is imperative, and supporting our troops at home and abroad is fundamental. But overfunding it at the expense of vital domestic programs is irresponsible. The Defense Appropriations Bill is $8 billion more than the agreed upon level set by the Budget Control Act. This means that real programs in the Fifth District, which many of my constituents rely on, will go unfunded. These are programs that provide affordable housing, healthy food, and education for our children.
Every family in America knows what it is to make a budget and the reasons why they need a budget. This bill blatantly ignores the need and purpose of a budget. Certain aspects of this bill are hundreds of millions of dollars above requested levels. If a family tried to live like that they would be in dire straits very quickly. And, I believe, that is where we are headed. Designating money, when it is above and beyond what is needed, is a gratuitous earmark, to say the least.
We should be focusing on those fighting wars and their individual needs, rather than funneling money into projects that have proven time and again to be a waste of money. To see the speech, please visit: http://cleaver.house.gov/video/video
GREEN IMPACT ZONE GOES VIRAL
As you know, the creation of the Green Impact Zone in Kansas City is a project that is, and will always be, near and dear to my heart. We continue to work to make sure the 150-square-block area is succeeding in creating and sustaining jobs, promoting energy efficiency and making life better in a part of the city that saw disinvestment and deterioration for decades. The changes are amazing and they continue each day. We recently officially opened the Troost Avenue Bridge, a project I was honored to have secured federal dollars to help make a reality. The bridge is the focus of a new video. To view the video and get the latest on this and other developments in the Green Impact Zone, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/emanuelcleaverii.
Civility Corner
Congressional relations are a matter, not only about the conduct of the others, but also the spirits of comity that we bring to the body. If we are courageous enough to expect goodness and sincerity from the men and women with whom we have political differences, we will very likely inspire a response from many of them.
There can be no higher error than to expect the worse from those with whom we disagree politically. Blessed are the U.S. Representatives who expect satanic qualities in the members on the "other side" for their expectations will be satisfied.
Khalil Gibran was, perhaps contemplating a similar situation when he said, "If your heart is a volcano how shall you expect flowers to bloom.”
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Emanuel Cleaver, II
Member of Congress
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