Here are today’s headlines from the Kansas congressional delegation:Iraq, budget(Washington Post) Senate’s Iraq debate put on hold by GOP: A long-awaited Senate showdown on the war in Iraq was shut down before it even started Monday when nearly all Republicans voted to stop the Senate from considering a resolution opposing President Bush’s plan to send 21,500 additional combat soldiers into battle. A day of posturing, finger-pointing and back-room wrangling came to nothing when Democratic and Republican leaders failed to reach agreement on which non-binding resolutions would be debated and allowed to come to a vote. The Senate’s 49-47 vote Monday night to proceed to debate Bush’s new war policy fell 11 votes short of the 60 needed to break the logjam. Sens. Pat Roberts and Sam Brownback voted against allowing the debate to proceed.(AP) Bush’s budget plan gets mixed reviews in Kansas: Kansas Republicans on Monday generally praised President Bush’s budget plan for holding down taxes, but Democrats warned that planned cuts to Medicare would mean higher premiums for many residents. … Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., called the White House’s defense spending plans a “significant investment” and credited Bush’s tax relief measures for helping the economy grow. … I am concerned that the president’s budget sets aside billions of dollars to finance an expansion of the Iraq war, but cuts desperately needed funds from Medicare and Medicaid,” said freshman Democratic Rep. Nancy Boyda, of Topeka. “As Congress reviews the president’s proposals, we’ll work to ensure that the final budget reflects our nation’s priorities.” Republican Jerry Moran said he opposes Bush’s plan to cut $193 million from health professional training programs, which are needed to keep small hospitals open and staffed with qualified personnel in his rural western Kansas district. … oining Roberts in defending the Bush plan was Republican Rep. Todd Tiahrt, who represents the Wichita area. Tiahrt said the budget proposal keeps the economy strong with low taxes, keeps spending under control and protects national security.Sen. Sam Brownback (R)(Common Sense Media) Clinton, Brownback and Lieberman spotlight media’s impact on kids’ health: Clinton, Lieberman and Brownback have all been vocal advocates of legislation aimed to increase understanding of the relationship between kids and the media. All three Senators sponsored the Children and Media Research Advancement Act, which would provide significant funding for media effects research. The bill passed the Senate in September 2006, and is waiting for a vote in the House.Sen. Pat Roberts (R)!(LJW) Roberts touts biodefense center efforts: acing fierce competition from other states, Kansas has offered the use of a new state-of-the-art lab and may pitch in another $50 million to lure a $450 million federal biodefense research facility, officials said Monday. “Securing this facility would be one of, if not the greatest economic development initiatives in state history,” U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., said in a speech to a joint session of the Kansas House and Senate. Roberts kicked off a daylong show of unity on the part of state and local officials to try to lure the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility.Rep. Nancy Boyda (D) !(Topeka Capital-Journal) VA call center hung up on hiring freeze: Nearly three months after announcing the creation of 90 jobs at the Veterans Affairs Health Revenue Center, none of the positions has been filled. The lack of a permanent 2007 budget from Congress forced a hiring freeze at the VA Revenue Center, VA officials said Monday. … Rep. Nancy Boyda, D-Kan., said she was confident funding for the 90 VA jobs would be approved. “The recent continuing resolution not only allocated money to meet the VA’s 2007 fiscal year needs, but actually increased their discretionary funding by $3.4 billion – an increase that will provide care to over 200,000 new patients and help the VA fund its many other ongoing projects,” Boyda said. “If the Senate approves the continuing resolution as passed in the House, then this money would be forwarded to the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the VA would allocate the funding according to their needs. I’m very hopeful that this would include support for the 90 new jobs in the Second District.”Rep. Jerry Moran (R) !(The Hill) Companies urged to push for easing Cuba restrictions: Congressional supporters of easing restrictions on travel and agricultural trade to Cuba say business supporters need to offer stronger backing for several measures introduced this year if they are to become law. Of the several Cuba bills that have been introduced this year, legislation introduced last week by Rep. Bill Delahunt (D-Mass.) easing restrictions on travel to Cuba by Cuban-Americans is considered to have the most momentum. Under rules imposed by the administration in 2004, Cuban-Americans may visit family members in Cuba once every three years. In addition, they only may visit “close relatives,” which, under the administration’s rules, does not include aunts and uncles. If Delahunt’s bill is approved by Congress, Flake said he would be “very surprised” if President Bush vetoed legislation easing these rules. “From a humanitarian point of view, it’s hard to argue about allowing Cuban-Americans to go home and see their grandmother,” agreed Rep. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), who supports the legislation. … Separately, Moran has introduced legislation easing restrictions on exports of food and agricultural commodities to Cuba. The key provision in Moran’s bill allows sales of agricultural goods to Cuba once shipments leave U.S. ports. Current rules do not allow U.S. shipments to leave U.S. ports until a payment is received, which critics say thwarts efforts to increase agricultural exports to Cuba. Moran’s bill would also allow visas to be issued to Cuban officials and U.S. citizens to travel between the U.S. and Cuba to conduct agricultural sales, and would let U.S. banks participate in transactions, although they could not finance sales.