Topeka ? Republican congressional candidate Lynn Jenkins has declined to give a specific reason why she didn’t attend the last three meetings of the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System board of trustees.

When asked why she missed meetings in July, August and September — a period when KPERS lost more than $1 billion in investment income — Jenkins said she had been busy, but didn’t elaborate.

When her campaign was asked what exactly she had been doing to have caused her to miss those meetings, her spokesman Josh Hersh said, “Lynn has been an important and engaged member of the KPERS board since 2003.”

Asked again why she missed those meetings, Hersh refused to answer.

Jenkins is running against U.S. Rep. Nancy Boyda, D-Topeka, for the 2nd congressional district seat, which includes west Lawrence.

During a debate on Monday at the Dole Institute of Politics, Jenkins hammered Boyda for stepping out of congressional committee hearing in 2007 for 10 minutes. The hearing was on bill concerning the Iraq war. Jenkins has said Boyda’s departure was disrespectful, but Boyda has said she stepped away momentarily because the retired four-star general who was testifying was insulting Congress.

At the conclusion of that debate on Monday, Boyda then slammed Jenkins for missing meetings of the KPERS board.

Lon Pishney, chairman of the KPERS board, said Jenkins didn’t tell him why she didn’t attend the meetings. But added, “She has been a productive member of the KPERS board.”

As state treasurer, Jenkins is a member of the board that oversees the nearly $12 billion fund for government retirees. Jenkins has missed 12 of 46 meetings, or 26 percent, since she has been on the board.