Sam Brownback(Washington Times) Pro-marriage bill seeks $4 million budget add: The chairman of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on the District said yesterday that he will add $4 million to the D.C. budget next year to help married or engaged couples buy a home, get job training or start a business. “We need more family formation in the District … We need more children raised in two-parent homes,” said Sen. Sam Brownback, Kansas Republican. “This initiative will help with doing that … It will expand job-training funding for those who get married; there’s also funding in there for mentoring and counseling couples.” Mr. Brownback’s proposal would add $1 million to a matched-savings program approved by the Senate last year. (Reuters) U.S. Republican Brownback looks to Africa: For Republican Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas, a potential 2008 presidential contender, the quest for the White House begins amid the abject poverty and rampant disease of Africa. Brownback, a prominent Christian conservative, says finding a solution to Africa’s festering problems will be the proving ground for a “compassionate conservative” agenda that could propel the Republican Party to another electoral victory in 2008. “I think as a party our growth potential lies in the compassionate conservative agenda,” Brownback told Reuters in an interview. “If you see somebody in a horrific plight and you have the capacity to be able to help them, then you should do it,” he said. “Africa looms very large in this.”(AP) Brownback urges quick passage of Sudan sanctions measure: Congress is close to approving penalties against Sudan after lawmakers agreed not to endorse efforts in some states to remove their funds from companies dealing with the Sudanese government. With violence increasing in the Darfur region of Sudan, a bipartisan group of senators on Thursday called for quick passage of the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act, which has already cleared the House of Representatives and Senate. “This is a horrible situation that has gotten worse and things need to happen now,” said Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., who spearheaded the bill.Jerry Moran(Hutch News) Economists testify amid farm bill debate: Moran said there was support for conservation programs, or green payments. That includes support by his counterparts on the 25-by-25 measure, which promotes having 25 percent of the nation’s energy sources coming from renewable fuels like ethanol, wind and biomass by the year 2025. Still, Moran said, lobbying for a farm bill that helps farmers is difficult with an urban-based Congress. “It will be a difficult sell,” Moran said of getting in everything producers want. “Ag is the minority. Those who care about these issues are fewer than those who don’t.”(Brownfield Network) University ag economists suggest major overhaul of farm programs: The American Farm Bureau Federation and National Farmers Union may want Congress to extend the 2002 farm bill, but not a single university ag economist testifying at a House Ag Subcommittee hearing Thursday recommended doing so. Kansas GOP Representative Jerry Moran opened the hearing by telling the ag economists that he hoped to get their unvarnished opinions on what the next farm bill should look like. “My guess is that these agriculture economists have no restrictions on what they will say today, and will feel comfortable in expressing their opinions way outside the realm of politics,” said Moran.Todd Tiahrt(Wichita Eagle) Bill aims at suits defending Phelps: Attorney General Phill Kline and some state lawmakers are seeking to choke off funding for lawsuits challenging state and local restrictions on funeral protests. Kline and a half-dozen fellow Republicans plan to introduce a bill on funeral picketing once the 2007 Legislature convenes in January. They’ve enlisted the help of U.S. Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, who on Thursday introduced federal legislation to prevent anyone who challenges such a law in court from recovering legal fees.Misc.(Wichita Eagle) Congressional staff can make big bucks: Capitol Hill talent doesn’t come cheap — at least not according to a new Web site that for the first time gathers all congressional staff salaries in one place. Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, pays six-figure incomes to two of his staffers. Sen. Pat Roberts has one six-figure staffer, and Sen. Sam Brownback has four, according to the site, www.legistorm.com. Some of the highest-paid staffers have salaries that approach those of the lawmakers themselves –$165,200 a year.(McClatchy) House vote allows arrest of illegal immigrants: The House of Representatives voted Thursday to arm state and local law enforcement officers with powers to arrest undocumented immigrants as Republicans continued to stitch together pre-election initiatives to fortify the nation’s porous borders and get tough on illegal immigration. … In the Kansas delegation, Republicans Jerry Moran, Jim Ryun and Todd Tiahrt voted for the bill. Democrat Dennis Moore did not vote.How to contact As always, you can find information to contact members of the Kansas congressional delegation here.