Here are today’s headlines from the Kansas congressional delegation:Sen. Pat Roberts (R)!(Atlanta Journal-Constitution) Perdue PeachCare plea meets tough questions: Gov. Sonny Perdue asked skeptical lawmakers here Thursday to be “good Samaritans” and save Georgia’s PeachCare program, which covers the health care needs of thousands of the state’s poor children. “We’re all familiar with the story of the good Samaritan,” Perdue told members of the Senate Finance Committee. “Why can’t we all be good Samaritans?” But he came away with little encouragement in his quest to erase a $131 million federal funding shortfall for PeachCare, a joint state and federally funded program that provides health coverage for 273,000 eligible children. … But Perdue’s appeal encountered stiff resistance from some Republican senators, who expressed concerns over the $12 billion to $15 billion cost of renewing the program. “I don’t know where on earth we’re going to get the money for this very worthy cause,” said Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.). Related: (Sen. Pat Roberts press release) Senator Roberts Urges Senate to Renew Funding for State Children’s Health Insurance Program: At a hearing of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Roberts today urged his colleagues to renew funding for a critical federal program for states to provide health insurance for children in need. The program, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), needs to be reauthorized before the current authorization expires on September 30, 2007. “Here in Washington, we often talk about the programs that directly affect our constituents back home. SCHIP is truly one of these programs. It is a critical tool for our hardworking families who would otherwise struggle to provide health care for their children. Renewing this program is a top priority of mine for the 110th Congress.”Rep. Jerry Moran (R) !(Topeka Capital-Journal) Rep. Jerry Moran said Thursday the new federal farm bill would help Kansas agriculture find new uses for wheat straw, corn cobs and native grasses. During a joint meeting of the Legislature’s agriculture committees, the Republican congressman said the Bush administration’s proposed farm bill contains billions of dollars for cellulosic biofuel research that could have positive economic and environmental implications for Kansas. Conversion of straw, cobs and grass into fuel would bring jobs to Kansas and help the nation reduce reliance on imported oil, Moran said. “Our foreign policy and our military stance around the world, in part, is affected by the fact that we’re meeting 60 percent of our energy needs from places in the world that are very unstable,” he said. “It would be a wonderful day in my life when we could tell Saudi Arabia and others that we no longer depend upon them for our oil.”Etc.(McClatchy) Senate OKs wage hike; obstacles await: The Senate voted 94-3 Thursday to increase the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour, from $5.15. The House of Representatives approved such a raise weeks earlier. The sticking point between the two versions is $8.3 billion in Republican-backed tax breaks for small businesses in the Senate version. Kansas senators Pat Roberts and Sam Brownback voted for the bill.