Sam Brownback links (Agape Press) Commentary & News Briefs: The $200 billion price tag for rebuilding New Orleans, Louisiana, has many lawmakers on Capitol Hill worried. “I think we have to rebuild and need to rebuild New Orleans,” remarks Republican Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas. “It’s an important statement to that region. It’s an important statement to the world. We must do this. We should do this. It’s the right thing to do,” he says. Still, the senator notes, “I think we’ve got to get our fiscal house in order and balance the budget in five years. And we can do that. You’re just going to have to have offsets and do the tough work of making the budget cuts in other places.”Pat Roberts links (CattleNetwork.com) Roberts: Further Japanese Delay of Beef Trade Merits Actions: U.S. Senator Pat Roberts today denounced the decision by the Japanese Food Safety Commission to indefinitely delay the resumption of beef trade with the U.S. and indicated his intent to send a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman calling for retaliatory economic action against Japanese goods. “I am frustrated by the unreasonable and unscientific findings of the Japanese Food Safety Commission,” Senator Roberts said. “They have been unresponsive to warnings by Congress, and U.S. diplomatic efforts, including those of President Bush, by demanding excessive documentation regarding the safety of American beef. None of these demands have anything to do with sound science.”How to contact As always, you can find information to contact members of the Kansas congressional delegation here.