Posted by Joel Mathis June 15, 2006 at 7:11 a.m.

Moran fights for Cuba food sales

Jerry Moran links[(Reuters) House votes to ease rule on food sales to Cuba:][1] The House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to make it easier to sell U.S. farm products to Cuba by overriding a Bush administration requirement to pay in cash before the ship leaves harbor. ... In an exception to the four-decade-old embargo, Congress authorized food sales to Cuba in 2000 as long as Havana paid in advance. The Treasury Department announced in February 2005 that payment must be made before the ship sailed. "What happened in February 2005 makes no economic or commercial sense," said Kansas Republican Jerry Moran, sponsor of the amendment on food trade. "At least in the agricultural world, there is an understanding that unilateral sanctions don't work."Sam Brownback links[(Focus on the Family) Lawmakers Say Pledge Protection Act Needed Now More than Ever:][2] Members of Congress told the nation today that, if we are not careful, the right of Americans to go public with their religion is in danger of being lost to activist courts. ... Brownback, meanwhile, said that God and country have been inextricably linked since the founding of the republic. But some judges have been rewriting that history. "You've got 40 years of decisions by activist judges trying to remove any trace of God in the public square, and the march continues," Brownback said. "We really have to fight back against that for our own fundamental freedoms of the free expression of religion in society -- which is guaranteed in the Constitution." Last week, Brownback, along with Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., issued a resolution commemorating the 50th anniversary of the national motto, "In God We Trust."[(Salt Lake Tribune) Hatch calls flag desecration ban 'dodge' for cover:][3] Sen. Orrin Hatch said Wednesday that for senators to back a law banning flag desecration instead of his constitutional amendment is a "dodge" by members looking for political cover. ... Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., told a gathering of about 75 members of various veterans' groups that they needed to push Democratic senators to support the measure. Without backing from the minority party, it likely will not pass, he said. Miscellaneous links[(Wichita Eagle) Brownback's richest; Ryun is poorest:][4] Sen. Sam Brownback earned $8,512 from his Linn County farm, and Rep. Jim Ryun earned $2,505 for signing autographs at a church, according to congressional financial disclosure statements released Wednesday. The annual reports state the finances and income sources of federal lawmakers, as well as trips funded by outside sources. Members' precise wealth is hard to determine, because of how income is reported, and their personal residences aren't included. But the details provide glimpses into the relative wealth, and some of the income-related activities, of Kansas delegation members.How to contact As always, you can find information to contact members of the Kansas congressional delegation [here.][5] [1]: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/14/AR2006061402094.html [2]: http://www.family.org/cforum/extras/a0040885.cfm [3]: http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_3938861 [4]: http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/state/14820205.htm [5]: http://ljworld.com/extra/where_to_write.html#fed