Here are today’s headlines from the Kansas congressional delegation:Rep. Nancy Boyda (D) !(The Raw Story) 145 House Democrats to Bush: Close Guantanamo Bay now: In a letter delivered Friday morning, 145 Democrats led by Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) called on President George W. Bush to immediately close the detention facility for alleged terrorists at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. The letter, which was also signed by one Republican (Rep. Walter Jones of North Carolina), also seeks a restoration of the habeas corpus rights of the detainees at the jail. … But not all Democrats in the House were in favor of this idea. The Congresswoman whose district includes the military brig at Fort Leavenworth offered a muted appraisal of Moran’s idea. “Nancy is concerned about the potential for Leavenworth to become a terrorist target if prisoners from Gitmo are moved to the Disciplinary Barracks at Ft. Leavenworth,” a spokesperson from the office of Rep. Nancy Boyda (D-KS) said in a statement e-mailed last week to RAW STORY. “She also has concerns as to whether the Disciplinary Barracks has the necessary space and security measures in place to accept a transfer in the near future.” Boyda’s response may be a result of concerns about the political peril that closing Guantanamo Bay could create. The Republican presidential primary debate in South Carolina on May 15 showed how the opponents of Democrats are likely to politicize the closure of the detention facility for alleged terrorists in Cuba in the 2008 Elections.Rep. Jerry Moran (R) !(Voice of America News) US Lawmakers Move to Ease Cuba Trade Restrictions: The U.S. House of Representatives has agreed to ease restrictions on agricultural trade with Cuba, so that Cubans would no longer have to pay in advance for goods shipped to the island. Lawmakers passed the measure by voice vote on Thursday. Supporters of the measure say it would eliminate delays in shipping goods to Cuba. But opponents say the current pay-first rule keeps Cuba from defaulting on its debts to U.S. exporters. To become law, the measure would still need to be approved by the Senate and signed by President Bush. The president has vowed to veto any bill easing trade restrictions on Cuba. The House passage marks a rare victory for opponents of U.S. policy on Cuba, who have tried unsuccessfully to overturn President Bush’s tightening of sanctions against contacts, trade and travel with the communist country. The amendment was offered by Republican Congressman Jerry Moran, of Kansas, who said the pay-in-advance rule had reduced U.S. exports to Cuba, was not working and was hurting American farmers. (Jerry Moran essay in the Wichita Eagle) Is the pen mightier than farmer’s plow? Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil and you’re a thousand miles from a corn field. President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s words are a fitting reminder as Congress works to draft a farm bill that will have lasting effects on the livelihoods of the farmers and rural communities I represent. As the farm bill debate takes shape in Washington, D.C., farmers across the country are working from dawn until dusk, harvesting the wheat that will soon be a loaf of bread on a table in New York or San Francisco. The farm bill is a complex legislative package that funds everything from conservation practices to school lunches. In fact, the lion’s share of the new bill, about 66 percent, would go to food stamps for Americans in need.