Sam Brownback links(LifeNews.com) Senate Still Primed for Fierce Embryonic Stem Cell Research Debate: The Senate is primed and ready for what will likely be an intense debate on the issue of embryonic stem cell research. The House has already approved a bill that would overturn President Bush’s limits of using taxpayer dollars to fund the destructive research and the Senate could vote in May or June before it has its summer recess. Kansas Republican Senator Sam Brownback, a leading pro-life lawmaker, said he thinks he has enough votes to uphold a filibuster against a bill to overturn Bush’s limits. “These are the ones you just have to state a truth and stand by it,” he told Bloomberg News. “It’s human life. And I mean, that has to be stood up for.”(Slate.com) What’s really happening in Washington this week: With the Senate’s immigration debate ongoing, the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce picked a good time to hold its annual legislative conference in Washington. Today, the group will hear from Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., a presidential prospect.(AP) Brownback Addresses GOP: Kansas Senator Sam Brownback says Republicans need to support initiatives to help strengthen families. One thing Brownback wants is a federal constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union of a man and a woman. Brownback spoke today to the North Dakota Republican state convention in Minot. (Time Magazine) How Kennedy Got His Way: After efforts at reform in 1986, 1990 and 2001, Kennedy saw his latest chance when Bush, at the start of his second term, expressed interest in revolutionizing immigration policy. Before the 2004 election, Kennedy and Republican Senator John McCain agreed to combine competing bills, and last May they came to terms that included a path to citizenship for most illegal immigrants. Kennedy spent the next 10 months building support. In the end, two Senators proved crucial: Democrat Dianne Feinstein of California and Republican Sam Brownback of Kansas. Both faced immigrant-hostile constituents but also pressure from the agriculture industry to legalize a huge portion of its workforce.Pat Roberts links(Washington Times) Kennedy Center hoedown: City suits met cowboy boots at “The Country Salutes Country” concert at the Kennedy Center Friday evening, part of the institution’s three-week program devoted to a national celebration of that indigenous American art form presented in partnership with the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Guests included a tall man who kept his cowboy hat on throughout dinner. Later he explained straight-faced that he did so because he was “folliclely challenged” — i.e. bald — and said jokingly that his identity was “classified.” It was Sen. Pat Roberts, Kansas Republican, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, who received a special mention on stage later from veteran performer Ray Price, who dedicated a song to him.How to contact As always, you can find information to contact members of the Kansas congressional delegation here.