Here are today’s headlines from the Kansas congressional delegation:Rep. Dennis Moore (D)!(The Hill) Wasserman Schultz to lead Frontline: Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) will lead the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s Frontline program, which is designed to help the most vulnerable Democrats win reelection. DCCC Chairman Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) announced the decision yesterday in a memorandum that also said Democrats would organize early to raise money and staff up to defend their new majority. The DCCC two weeks ago released a memo explaining how it would target Republican seats. Van Hollen also will have a “mentor program” with seasoned incumbent Reps. Dennis Moore (D-Kan.) and Jim Matheson (D-Utah) advising Democrats who won Republican seats on how to win reelection.Rep. Nancy Boyda (D)!(The Hill) Hodes elected freshman class president: The 2006 freshman Democratic class – quite possibly the most influential group of first-term lawmakers since the Watergate Babies of 1974 – has a new president: Rep. Paul Hodes (D-N.H.). The winning slate – Hodes, Walz, communications chairwoman Betty Sutton (Ohio), policy chairmen Ron Klein (Fla.) and Keith Ellison (Minn.), and liaison to the House GOP freshmen Rep. Nancy Boyda (Kan.) – will be replaced in six months. Being elected freshman class president hardly paves a path to power. After all, who remembers that Rep. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) in 1995 defeated then-Rep. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) by a single vote to become freshman class president? Twelve years later, Wicker has been relegated to minority status. Brownback, meanwhile, has announced a bid for president – this time, of the U.S. … Boyda, who defeated former Rep. Jim Ryun (R-Kan.), said she did not volunteer and that all eyes turned to her once the group decided they wanted someone to reach out to the Republicans in the class of 2006.(Washington Times) GOP pushes for stricter ethics reform: The House yesterday started considering a bill by Rep. Nancy Boyda, Kansas Democrat, that denies federal pensions to members of Congress convicted of bribery, perjury and conspiracy offenses related to the lawmaker’s office. A vote could come as soon as today.Sen. Sam Brownback (R) !(McClatchy) Brownback finds supporters at march against abortion: Washington – Thousands of people marched against abortion here Monday. More than a few of them also marched for Sam Brownback. Brownback, the conservative Kansas Republican senator, announced his bid for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination Saturday in his home state. Monday’s march was his first major public appearance since. He was feeling the love. Dozens of blue “Brownback for President” posters dotted the National Mall, where marchers gathered before proceeding to the Supreme Court. Well-wishers approached to urge him on. A gaggle of photographers recorded virtually his entire participation. (He was one of the few politicians to march the entire way; most others gave speeches beforehand and then split on this toe-numbingly cold, damp day.)(Washington Post commentary) Despite 1% Poll Standing, Brownback Is a Winner Among Antiabortion Right: Brownback has the power to alter the GOP presidential nomination, while Hunter is little more than a vanity candidate. The difference is in the reaction the two draw from Christian conservatives, who regard Brownback as a cult hero and Hunter, former chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, as a relative unknown. Brownback thinks he can ride that support to victory in the Iowa caucuses, where Christian conservatives have long dominated. “Over 40 percent will not vote for anybody who is not pro-life — period,” he told the antiabortion bloggers. “You know, if I can do 40 percent in this field, I’d probably win.” That’s not as zany as it sounds. Brownback may be 33 points behind Rudy Giuliani and 26 points behind John McCain. But not one of the potential hopefuls who outpoll him can match his social conservative bona fides: not Giuliani or George Pataki (pro-choice), not Mitt Romney (previously pro-gay rights), not John McCain (pro-stem cell research) and not Newt Gingrich (pro-divorce).(Christian NewsWire) Brownback Reintroduces Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act: U.S. Senator Sam Brownback today reintroduced the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act, which would require those who perform abortions on unborn children 20 weeks after fertilization to inform the mother seeking an abortion of the medical evidence that the unborn child feels pain. “It is a scientific, medical fact that unborn children feel pain,” said Brownback. “We know that unborn children can experience pain based upon anatomical, functional, physiological and behavioral indicators that are correlated with pain in children and adults. Mothers seeking an abortion have the right to know that their unborn children can feel pain.” The Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act, in addition to informing the mother seeking an abortion of the medical evidence that the unborn child feels pain would also ensure that the mother, if she chooses to continue with the abortion procedure after being given the medical information, has the option of choosing anesthesia for the child, so that the unborn child’s pain is less severe.Sen. Pat Roberts (R)!(CattleNetwork.com) Sen. Roberts: Expanded Federal Aid for Disaster Areas on Its Way: U.S. Senator Pat Roberts today announced that FEMA has granted new, significant federal aid for disaster areas in western Kansas following severe winter storms in late December. “I must commend the people of Kansas for really leaning forward to help their neighbors,” Senator Roberts said. “I especially want to thank the folks at the Region Seven FEMA office who have worked around the clock to make this new aid available to those still suffering. I also want to recognize the efforts of the State, especially the Kansas National Guard. Their work to help farmers and ranchers has been above and beyond their mission and shows real compassion for those they protect and defend.” The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is set to announce late this afternoon that all categories of public assistance have been approved. This new aid offers public assistance in all remaining aid categories beyond the initial two categories of debris removal and emergency protection, which were granted earlier this month. The state preliminarily has assessed damages of up to $360 million. At a maximum, FEMA will reimburse costs up to 75 percent. Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R)!(Robert Novak commentary) Democrats pass a sham student loan bill DEMOCRATS LAST Wednesday were extolling their student loan bill for opening college to modest-income Americans when Rep. Tom Price, a second-term Republican from Georgia, took the House floor. “If only this bill did what they say,” Price declared. His admonition constituted more than the usual hyperbole of congressional debate. The bill, passed by an overwhelming bipartisan House vote, was headlined as reducing the interest on federally subsidized student loans from the present 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent. Actually, it gradually reaches the 3.4 percent level on July 1, 2011. A student taking out a loan July 1 this year would pay 6.12 percent after graduation. This warning was not expected to impact heady Democrats, but should have promoted caution among Republicans. It did not. While Democrats were 232 to 0 for the bill, only 71 Republicans followed their leadership to vote against it. The 124 Republicans voting aye included such erstwhile conservative stalwarts as Todd Akin (Mo.), Virgil Goode (Va.), Chip Pickering (Miss.), Joe Pitts (Pa.), Dana Rohrabacher (Calif.), Ed Royce (Calif.) and Todd Tiahrt (Kan.).