U.S Rep. Nancy Boyda, a Democrat representing the 2nd Kansas Congressional District is running for her second term.

ralphralph

Nuclear energy. Can you give us a straight answer? My vote turns on it.
Your last mailer, as I read it, tried to give the impression that you support nuclear energy, but doesn’t ever really say that. The clincher, then, says you support research way to deal ” – safely! – ” with nuclear waste. Bottom line: you are anti-nuke, and that means you are anti- a big part of the southern end of your district. It also means you are wrong. Nancy, that “waste” is spent fuel, and it’s going to be fuel again when it is reprocessed, and is not a problem but a huge resource. The technology has made great strides, and would progress much faster if the prospect of building new plants arose. Building those plants would help get us off foreign oil and give a really clean alternative to coal. Wolf Creek is already here, and with it you have in your district the infrastructure, highly trained workforce, and welcoming communities to make it work.
Pro or Con, please?

lee66049

This congress was labeled a Do Nothing Congress and had approval ratings lower than President Bush. Why should we reelect anyone?

Lonestar1

Hi Nancy,
Just wanted to say that a lot of folks support you and appreciate the work you have done so far in Congress. We may not all agree but at least you have the honesty to state why you make the decisions you do.
I have talked to a lot of other Veterans who agree that you have done far more for us than the last guy in the office. Keep up the good work! I’ll be pulling for you on election day!

hawkperchedatriverfront

Mrs. Boyda, how come a veteran is not enrolled in VA healthcare at the time of discharge. There are veterans who are still denied, even as far back as WWII vets.

Either it is a VA system or it is not. It should be open to reservists, active duty. A vet is a vet.

What are you willing to do to change this?

jasonc_22

Other than the ‘big ticket’ items (healthcare reform, iraq, etc), what would you have liked to see the 110th Congress redress that it did not?

Moderator

Hello and welcome to this LJWorld.com Election 2008 chat with Nancy Boyda. I’m online editor Jonathan Kealing and I’ll be your moderator today. Thanks to Nancy and everyone else for joining us.

Nancy Boyda

Hi Jonathan! Thanks for doing this again. Like last 2 times, I’ll be doing my own typing, so have patience!

Hello to Kansas 02!

It’s been an honor to work for you the last 2 years. We’ve actually gotten a few things done…..healthcare for veterans and bringing down the cost of a college education. I’ve seen many of you out in the district at a Congress-on-your-Corner event or one of my many public meetings or personal constituent meetings. It’s been a privilege and an honor.

Let’s get going!

Moderator

We have lots of questions already but we’re still taking more. If you have a good one, make sure you get it in early.

AllyKlimkoski

We’ve seen a dramatic increase in youth participation in our elections since 2000 with an amazing spike during 2006 and in our primaries and caucuses this year. What can we do after the election to funnel that enthusiasm into policy and legislative participation like with the tuition overhaul in 2006 and the New GI Bill in 2007?

Nancy Boyda

Hi Ally. Thanks for the question. I’m very glad you recognize the benefits of the College Cost reduction act and the huge impact of the GI bill revamp. Here’s what young people can do keep the momentum going: WRITE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR!!! My staff tells me not use caps! But it”s that important. A lot of people don’t read the whole paper, but they read every LTE. Also, volunteer in your community….at the VA, food banks, tutoring. There are so many ways you can really make a difference. Go in to public service. RUN FOR OFFICE (there I go again with the caps).

neuhofel

The recent advancements in nuclear waste reprocessing (as being using heavily in Europe) have dramatically improved the environmental impact of a carbon-free energy source in nuclear power. With our state’s recent rejection of coal-based power production, do you favor pursuing the development of additional nuclear power plants in our state? and if so, what policies would you support to achieve such a goal?

Nancy Boyda

Yes, I have been a proponent of aggressively researching the reprocessing and storage of spent nuclear fuels. We pretty much stopped that research in the late ’70s. I’m proud of the work going on at K-State to train the next generation of nuclear engineers. We simply need to do everything we can to increase the supply of energy.

rooster

I am someone who voted for you a few years back to change the fall in line party politics of the former congressman. So I am very suprised that you would not endorse Barack Obama who espouses the changes and enthusiasm you brought congress a few years back. Can you explain why you will not at this point in the race endorse him. Although I will not vote for your opponent I may not vote in your race at all depending on your answer.

Nancy Boyda

Hi Rooster. I make a habit of staying out of presidential politics, county commission politics and everything in between. My job is hard enough as it is. When Senator Obama became the Dem nominee in June, I endorsed him!

luckyshot101

One thing that has been lost in this economic turmoil is the investment in scientific research, including basic research (which plants the seeds for future developments, like the internet), by the Federal Government, including the NIH. Since KSU and KU get research dollars from the NIH and other governmental agencies, how would you go about helping direct research dollars back into research that could benefit the United States 30 to 40 years from now rather then “high profile” items?

Nancy Boyda

Wow…….this current Administration has cut research dollars at NIH, NSF,DOE, abcdefg…….the list goes on. We must invest in scientific research. It’s our seed corn. We need more students pursuing science and math. That’s why i set up a personal scholarship fund for Kansas students to study STEM subjects. Funny, my opponent calls research dollars “pork.” I’m very proud of KU, KSU and PSU for the incredible research that they do. GO KANSAS!

neuhofel

As a new physician, I believe the primary inflationary cause in health care costs is the shifting of health care decisions from patient and doctors to insurance companies and bureaucrats (such as yourself). Do you believe that we should promote the return health care management to the individual? and what types of legislation would you support to achieve such a goal (e.g. removing the penalty for paying for private non-employer based health insurance or expanded health savings accounts)?

Thanks,
Dr. W. Ryan Neuhofel

Nancy Boyda

Congratulations on getting through the med school gauntlet. Not an easy task.

We have a health care crisis on our hands. I made the very difficult decision to NOT take the health care plan offered that members of Congress have available. I know exactly what it’s like to pay (with after tax dollars) for non-employer health insurance. It’s a nightmare.

We need to provide opportunities for our small businesses to pool together. The prices are really hurting them badly.

There are short term answers to bring down the costs of health care: rein in the big drug companies and the big health insurance companies and spend that money on actual health CARE.

Then, we need EMR, cost transparency and we really need to look harder at actual outcomes data.
Yes, individuals need to be responsible for making decisions about their health care. They also MUST start taking responsibility for living a healthy life style!

Moderator

Here’s a follow-up to a previous answer you gave:

sandysslick

“When Senator Obama became the Dem nominee in June, I endorsed him!”
Why? Explain your endorsement to us please.

Nancy Boyda

I believe he may be able to bring our country together! Heaven knows we need it.

RichLorenzo

Mrs. Boyda, thank you for your service. I have received big brochures in newspapers etc…that tout things you have done or been a part of in a bi-partisan manner. However, when I look at the record, it appears that you have voted party line except for on a couple of occasions. Is your record really bi-partisan? What is the real truth?

Nancy Boyda

Hi Rich. Please call me Nancy!

These numbers get thrown out to try just to make people mad. Both sides do it. It doesn’t actually move any discussion forward. When she was in the KS house and Senate, my opponent voted with her party something like 98% of the time! But you didn’t see me trying to demonize her for that in a TV commercial.

Here’s the deal….the oldest journal of government and politics in our country (The National Journal) had me and 8 others on the COVER because we were in the middle of middle. I was ranked 222 out 435 members of Congress on a liberal to conservative scale. I think people are really rejecting the bash, bash, bash politics. THEY ARE SICK OF IT! They just want to know what you stand for, not all this crazy partisanship.

cgunther78

A lot of prescription drug benefits require that people use mail order pharmacies to fill maintenance prescriptions by making it a lot more expensive to fill these scripts in small town pharmacies. What can congress do to level the playing field so that consumers have the choice to support their hometown businesses?

Nancy Boyda

Hi 78! This is one of the battles we really fight hard. Policies in DC are driving out community pharmacies and trying to push everyone to mail order. I’m not against mail order, I just don’t want it as the only option available. I’m afraid that we’re going to end up with 3 or 4 HUGE mail order companies and that would not be a good thing for any of us. (What happens when one of them gets “too big to fail?”)

There were 3 policies that we fought hard for. One simply insisting that insurance companies reimburse pharmacies for Medicare Part D drugs within 2 weeks. They were legally withholding payments sometimes for months! It was legalized highway robbery. We still have a lot more work to do and we’ll continue the fight. We have to. These guys are a vital part of our health care team.

stuckinthemiddle

Representative Boyda… Lynn Jenkins has released an ad criticizing you for walking out of a House Armed Services Committee Hearing on Iraq Legislation. I’d like to hear your side of the story.

Nancy Boyda

Thanks for asking. The Topeka Cap Journal has done a couple of articles/editorials about this. Their editorial finally had to ask her to get back on the issues that matter. Their words…”hyperbole overdrive!” Not a kind description of her. I’ve attached the links here.

http://www.cjonline.com/stories/082608/opi_322937591.shtml

http://www.cjonline.com/stories/081708/kan_319587911.shtml

This guy kept stalking me and a staffer in DC for the video clip. That clip was done this summer when were just trying to get to a completely unrelated meeting. Believe me, it’s not fun for anyone.

You can read the account in the paper and let me know if you have further questions. What I can tell you is Retired General Jack Keane is a very good guy and does NOT appreciate being used for political purposes.

We’ve only heard two things from my opponent. 1) That she is a CPA and 2) bash, bash, bash. That’s all. For every person who believes this bash nonsense, there are 10 others who know the truth and are very unhappy that they are being misled. The voters get it. They’ve seen all these accusations too many times. These really are serious times. We need serious leadership.

BTW, has she participated in these chats? I think they are a great way to communicate with constituents–even when we disagree!!

Thanks so much.

Moderator

That’s the last question we’ll have time for today. I’m sorry if we didn’t get to your question. Thanks to Nancy for joining us. Though we’ve invited Nancy’s opponent, Lynn Jenkins, to also chat online here, she’s so far declined all offers. Tomorrow is the deadline. If you’d like to read transcripts of any previous chats, you can log on to LJWorld.com/chats. We also have another chat this afternoon with Mayor Mike Dever about the two sales taxes on the ballot. Thanks again to Nancy and everyone who submitted questions or logged on to read the answers.