Sam Brownback links Sen. Brownback is likely to head commission: “Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) has emerged as the next likely chairman of the U.S. commission that monitors human rights in Ukraine, which has been engulfed in a democratic uprising for weeks, and other countries from North America to central Asia,” reports The Hill. “The new chairman will help shape U.S. policy toward Ukraine and neighboring Russia and, by extension, take part in efforts to curb nuclear-weapons proliferation, global terrorism and arms and drug trafficking, sources close to the commission said.” Conservatives welcome ‘new day’: “For conservative Republicans, it’s also a new chance to enact their agenda – whether it jibes with the president’s or not,” reports USA Today. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., will reintroduce a bill that would require those who perform abortions after 20 weeks to tell mothers that their fetus feels pain and to offer it anesthesia. The Bush administration has not declared a position but argued during last year’s successful effort to ban late-term or “partial birth” abortions that fetuses feel pain. ‘This was a very clear election cycle. … The country has shifted. You’ve got a pro-life electorate,’ Brownback says.”Jerusalem embassy: “A leading member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this week called for the relocation of the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem,” says The Washington Times. “Sen. Sam Brownback, Kansas Republican, said he will urge the Bush administration to fulfill a 1995 law that requires the embassy relocation unless the move would be harmful to U.S. national security. Both President Clinton and President Bush have declined to relocate the embassy. Mr. Brownback said he will ‘work hard in the coming year’ to see the embassy moved to Jerusalem, which the Palestinians claim as the capital of a future Palestinian state. Muslims see Jerusalem as one of their holiest cities. Key Senators Join Republican Leadership in Voicing Support for Rumsfeld: Brownback was part of a coalition of senators who signed a statement in support of the embattled Secretary of Defense, according to Human Events. “Secretary Rumsfeld has successfully led one of the largest organizations in the world, helped lead the ouster of two terrorist and totalitarian regimes, and brought long-overdue reforms to the military. He is a strong, smart and experienced part of the Bush Administration during this time of war, and understands the nature of the enemy we face and what is at stake.”How to contact As always, you can find information to contact members of the Kansas congressional delegation here.