Roberts: Phase II investigation will be finished

Sen. Pat Roberts is trying to put at least one of his headaches to rest.The Kansas Republican – chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee – on Tuesday announced his plans to complete the so-called “Phase Two” investigation into whether the Bush Administration cooked prewar intelligence to justify the invasion of Iraq.Here is the press release.Reuters reports: “The chairman of the Senate intelligence committee on Tuesday urged lawmakers to begin wrapping up the second phase of its investigation into U.S. intelligence on prewar Iraq, despite fresh demands from Democrats for further scrutiny. Sen. Pat Roberts, the Kansas Republican, laid out a schedule for completing four of the investigation’s five segments by the end of April and pledged to release much of the findings to the public.”The Los Angeles Times adds: _Democrats have accused Roberts of whitewashing the inquiry, and orchestrated a shutdown of the Senate in November to protest the lack of progress. Republicans have accused Democrats of grandstanding for partisan gain.__Roberts said Tuesday that the Democrats’ complaints were unfounded, adding that progress now was dependent on how fast committee members completed their individual reviews of the three drafts, due in early April. __”If people are serious about finishing Phase II, they don’t need to shut down the Senate or hold press conferences decrying the process; they just need to come do the work,” Roberts said.__Roberts did not, however, provide a date for public release of the completed sections, saying they would have to be vetted by intelligence agencies._Other links today:Sam Brownback links(AP) GOP struggles on promised cuts:It is a busy, unhappy budget week on Capitol Hill. At a time when Republicans are eager to prove their mettle on spending restraint, their deeds are falling far short of their election-year promises. GOP faithful are unenthusiastic about a plan that fails to deliver tax cuts and new curbs on spending. “It’s not near enough,” said Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., a prominent conservative.(US News & World Report) Morals issues low on voters’ minds: A new poll conducted to judge American views on education finds that the top concern for most remains foreign affairs and the war, followed by social issues like education and healthcare, next by economic issues, and finally by the types of morals issues that some GOP presidential candidates like Sen. Sam Brownback are basing their campaigns on.Pat Roberts links(AP) USDA gives $930,000 in aid for flooded Kansas farms: he federal government is sending $930,000 in aid to help northeast Kansas farmers recover from flooding last October, Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., said Tuesday. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency allocated the funds to help producers in Atchison, Jackson, Jefferson, Leavenworth and Shawnee counties.Misc. links(Harris News Service) Hundreds seek help for children of immigrants: More than 1,000 people waved posters and yelled, “Justicia!” on the Statehouse grounds Tuesday, calling for legislators to assure an affordable college education for the children of undocumented immigrants. Later, the crowd chanted in Spanish, “United, Hispanics, we will overcome,” as they slowly marched to the downtown offices of U.S. Senators Pat Roberts and Sam Brownback. There, they delivered letters asking Kansas congressmen to reform immigration laws and grant legal status to long-time undocumented workers.How to contact As always, you can find information to contact members of the Kansas congressional delegation here.