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Posted by Joel Mathis June 16, 2006 at 6:41 a.m.

Brownback pushes for Darfur aid

Sam Brownback links[(AP) Emergency spending bill includes money for Darfur mission:][1] The Senate on Thursday allocated $60 million toward launching a U.N. peacekeeping mission in the Darfur region of Sudan. The money to help stem the brutality and chaos in Darfur is part of the $94.5 billion emergency spending bill to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and aid to Gulf Coast hurricane victims. President Bush has said he will sign it into law. The Darfur money was included in an amendment sponsored by Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., and co-sponsored by Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan. To pay for the proposed peacekeeping mission, funding for a huge U.S. embassy project in Baghdad was cut. ... "The situation is simple: if we don't act, people will die," said Brownback, one of the Senate's leading figures on Darfur.[(Multichannel News) Bush Signs Bill Upping Indecency Fines:][2] President Bush signed Thursday a bill that raises maximum radio and TV indecency fines from $32,500 to $325,000. The new law would not apply to cable or satellite TV providers. ... The bill (S. 173), sponsored by Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), passed the Senate by unanimous consent and the House by a vote of 379-35.[(Newhouse News Service commentary) With Eye on Elections, Republicans Spotlight Assisted Suicide Law:][3] Republicans, confronting the possibility of losing control of Congress in November, are doing everything possible to mobilize their base of social conservatives, including a campaign emphasis on abortion, gay marriage and broadcasting decency. Now Oregon's assisted-suicide law -- and the threat of euthanasia -- may join the list of issues Republicans hope will win them political advantage. ... "I held a hearing on this topic because I think we should carefully consider the unintended consequences and slippery slope of doctor-assisted suicide and euthanasia," Brownback said in an e-mail response to questions. "Legalizing doctor-assisted suicide can lead toward involuntary euthanasia, as we've seen in the Netherlands." The discussion also could help rally conservative voters.Pat Roberts links[(Christian Science Monitor) Congress struggles to ramp up oversight:][4] Inertia has been strongest on the highest- profile investigations. Nearly two years after promising a report on whether the prewar intelligence on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq was politically manipulated, the Senate intelligence panel is still gridlocked over the terms of completing the investigation. "[Democrats] keep moving the goal posts and asking for more information," says Sen. Pat Roberts (R) of Kansas, who chairs the Select Committee on Intelligence. In comments off the floor of the Senate, he said he expected the report to be completed by mid-July.[(AP) Fort Riley gets $25 million to support combat aviation brigade:][5] An emergency spending bill approved by Congress on Thursday includes $25 million to help Fort Riley support a new combat aviation brigade. The funds will be used to support the brigade's Black Hawk, Apache and Chinook helicopters that have already begun arriving at the base over the past few weeks. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., who helped secure the funds, said the money will provide a smooth transition as the base starts receiving new missions this year. "These funds will add a critical element to the maneuver training that troops already receive at Fort Riley," Roberts said in a written statement.How to contact As always, you can find information to contact members of the Kansas congressional delegation [here.][6] [1]: http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newjersey/ny-bc-nj--senate-darfur0615jun15,0,6431881.story?coll=ny-region-apnewjersey [2]: http://www.digitalcad.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=46318 [3]: http://www.newhousenews.com/archive/Kosseff061506.html [4]: http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0616/p03s03-uspo.html [5]: http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/breaking_news/14827245.htm [6]: http://ljworld.com/extra/where_to_write.html#fed