Sam Brownback links (Lubavitch.com) U.S. To Pressure Russia On Return of Schneerson Collection: In a dramatic gesture in the Senate on Wednesday, Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kan), Chairman of the Helsinki Commission presiding over the hearings on the Schneerson Collection-a library of books and manuscripts that Chabad-Lubavitch is seeking to have returned by Russia–asked Holocaust survivors who had been victims of communist persecution to please rise. About eight of the two dozen Chabad-Lubavitch witnesses stood up to an emotional outburst of applause. (Associated Press) Panel urged to get Jewish texts in Russia (Mosnews.Com/Russia) Rabbis Urge U.S. Govt to Retrieve Jewish Texts From Russia(Westword) The Message: An April 7 press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., will focus on the Uganda tragedy. Confirmed speakers include representatives from Amnesty International and World Vision, as well as Senator Sam Brownback , a Kansas Republican who last year joined Colorado Representative Tom Tancredo to decry the terrible conditions in the Darfur region of Sudan, a country that borders Uganda. (Asia Times) Christian ties may bind US troops to South Korea: Iit is Korean Christians who are most active in helping move North Korean refugees through treacherous territory in China into third countries and freedom. Those North Koreans who make it out tell of seeking shelter in “buildings with a cross” and asking Koreans they meet “if they know the word of Jesus”. And of course, it was the lobbying of evangelical Christians such as US Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas and Democratic Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana, and the activities of the National Association of Evangelicals and the Korean-American Christian Church Coalition (KCC) in Los Angeles, that helped ensure the passage of the North Korean Human Rights Act in the United States. (Wichita Eagle) Amendment fight may go to courts: Opponents of the state’s new constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and civil unions said Wednesday that they will look into challenging the amendment in court. … Debate over the issue is sure to continue. Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback has scheduled hearings this month on a similar amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Other members of Congress also are pushing for a vote on the amendment. Pat Roberts links (Associated Press) CIA, senators trade barbs over ‘Curveball’: The CIA and members of Congress said they want to know how a presidential commission unearthed details on intelligence failures about Iraq’s pre-war weapons programs that previous investigations missed. … Senate Intelligence Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, also acknowledged President Bush’s intelligence commission had details that did not emerge during his committee’s yearlong investigation into the Iraq assessments, released last July. (Asheville Citizen-Times commentary) Intelligence report can fix failures – if we heed the lessons it contains: Lawmakers in both parties were impressed by the thorough nature of the report. “I don’t think there should be any doubt that we have now heard it all regarding prewar intelligence,” said Republican Pat Roberts of Kansas, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Todd Tiahrt links (The Hill) DeLay on the defensive: House Republicans circled the wagons yesterday as media scrutiny of Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) escalated, lengthening the shadow that has fallen over his leadership in recent weeks. … Reps. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.), Dave Weldon (R-Fla.) and Bob Ney (R-Ohio) spoke in support of DeLay at yesterday’s morning conference meeting and called on their colleagues to back him. How to contact As always, you can find information to contact members of the Kansas congressional delegation here.