Here are today’s headlines from the Kansas congressional delegation:Rep. Nancy Boyda (D)!(Chicago Tribune) House votes to expand pension forfeiture: At least a dozen former members of Congress have felony convictions on their records but are still receiving taxpayer-funded pensions, and the House thinks that’s a crime. On Tuesday, it voted unanimously to strip future lawbreakers of their public retirement benefits upon conviction of official wrongdoing, including bribery and conspiring with foreign interests. “In the past few years, America’s faith in Congress has been undermined by scandal after scandal,” said Rep. Nancy Boyda (D-Kan.), sponsor of the House measure. “I find it absurd that the politicians behind those scandals are still eligible for congressional pensions. … This bill is a major step toward restoring the public trust in Congress.”(New York Times) Rep. Boyda Achieves Victory in Kansas’ 2nd District Out of Nowhere: Boyda’s 51 percent to 47 percent win over Ryun rates as one of the year’s biggest upsets. That, in turn, has earned the 51-year-old Boyda a spot high up on the preliminary 2008 target lists drawn by national Republican strategists, who note that President Bush cruised with 59 percent of the 2004 vote in the conservative-leaning eastern Kansas district. Democratic leaders, though, have moved quickly to address Boyda’s potential vulnerability. She received assignments to the Agriculture and Armed Services committees, appointments that could carry political heft in a district that is home to sprawling farms and two major Army bases. There is little doubt that the DCCC will keep a close eye on Boyda and offer a helping hand going into 2008. But Boyda, who distanced herself somewhat from the national party and its liberal reputation during her 2006 bid, insists that she will run an independent campaign again in 2008.Sen. Sam Brownback (R) !(Hollywood Reporter) TV sticks on Brownback’s plate: He might be a presidential candidate, but that doesn’t mean Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kansas, is giving up his TV-content campaign. On Tuesday, the lawmaker announced the first meeting of a public-private task force examining whether TV makes American kids unhealthy. “I am concerned about links between media, advertising and children’s health, but I do not necessarily think that more government regulation is the answer,” Brownback said. “I’m hopeful that this task force will forge a voluntary, public-private partnership to effectively address the pressing issue of media and child health.” The candidate for the GOP presidential nomination and FCC chairman Kevin Martin first announced the formation of the Media and Childhood Obesity: Today and Tomorrow task force in September.(The Hill) DeLay warns former colleagues against endorsing presidential hopefuls early: As GOP presidential contenders scramble to cast themselves as conservatives to appeal to primary voters, former Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas) yesterday cautioned right-leaning Republican lawmakers against endorsing a candidate with nearly two years to go before the election. … Despite the early politicking, DeLay is waiting to throw his support behind the “right” candidate, yet noted that Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee are his “two personal favorites” in the field of GOP presidential contenders. “Ronald Reagan raised taxes with a Democratic Congress,” DeLay said. “I’ve known Gov. Huckabee for 25 years, and he is a complete conservative. Both he and Brownback are fiscal and cultural conservatives and they believe it down to the depths of their souls.”(High Plains Journal) Senators Seek to Block IRS CRP Move: A bi-partisan group of U.S. senators is asking the IRS to reverse its proposed rule that would force landowners to pay self-employment taxes on Conservation Reserve Program payments. Farmers nationally received $1.8 billion in CRP payments in 2006. Under the IRS rule, those CRP payments would be subject to 15.3 percent self-employment taxes. Since 1986, CRP payments have been treated as rental income, which is not subject to self-employment taxes. The IRS determined in 2003 that a landowner with acreage in the CRP must meet certain requirements of working the land, which translates into a “material participation” and meets the requirement of a trade or business. The IRS issued a proposed rule in December to formalize its decision. On Friday, Sens. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and Sam Brownback, R-Kan., led a group of senators who wrote a letter to U.S. Secretary of Treasury Henry Paulson and IRS Commissioner Mark Everson asking them to rescind the proposed rule. The letter also included signatures of the Senate chairmen of the Finance, Budget and Agriculture committees as well. Sen. Pat Roberts (R)!(AP) Roberts’ child care legislation included in minimum wage bill: A measure to improve access to child care that Sen. Pat Roberts has been pushing for more than a decade is closer than ever to becoming law. The Senate agreed Tuesday to include the Kansas Republican’s legislation in its version of a bill to increase the minimum wage. Roberts’ plan would provide incentives to small businesses to offer child care for employees with children. The measure is one of several incentives and tax breaks meant to soften the impact of a minimum wage hike on small businesses.Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R)!(Washington Post) Fenty, Other Mayors Decry Gun Trafficking: Mayor Adrian M. Fenty joined counterparts from New York, Boston and more than 50 other cities yesterday in demanding federal help to halt the trafficking of illegal guns. Fenty (D), speaking at a news conference held by the Mayors Against Illegal Guns coalition, said local laws are not sufficient to fight the use of illegal weapons. … The mayors said their top priority is to fight legislation pushed by U.S. Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.) that restricts public access to federal data that trace the possession of guns. They were joined yesterday by a congressional task force headed by Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.), Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), Rep. Peter T. King (R-N.Y.) and Rep. Mark Steven Kirk (R-Ill.). The task force members vowed to help the mayors oppose the so-called Tiahrt amendment and other legislation that prevents cities and law enforcement authorities from tracking illegal guns.State of the Union(AP) Kansas lawmakers skeptical, cautious on Bush plans: Republican Sen. Pat Roberts warned that Bush’s domestic proposals may languish as long as Americans remain skeptical about his management of the war in Iraq. … Republican Sen. Sam Brownback said he remains firmly opposed to sending more forces, despite Bush’s argument that failure in Iraq would lead to a haven for terrorists. … Even Republican Rep. Todd Tiahrt, typically a staunch defender of the president, expressed concerns about Bush’s plan to increase U.S. troop levels in Iraq. But he stressed the need to win the conflict as part of the overall global war on terror. … “In the name of expanding health coverage, President Bush wants to raise our health care taxes,” Boyda said. … Republican Rep. Jerry Moran called Bush’s focus on renewable sources of energy “a beacon of hope” for national security and a revival of Kansas’ rural economy. … Democratic Rep. Dennis Moore commended Bush for pledging to work in a bipartisan manner.