Moore co-sponsors Gonzales impeachment effort

Here are today’s headlines from the Kansas congressional delegation:Rep. Dennis Moore (D) !(AP) House Democrats to seek impeachment inquiry for Gonzales: Some Democratic House members – including several former prosecutors – said Monday they will seek a measure directing the House Judiciary Committee to investigate whether to impeach Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., who was a prosecutor in Washington state in the late 1970s and 1980s, is the lead sponsor of the measure. Co-sponsors of the resolution include Democratic Reps. Xavier Becerra of California, Michael Arcuri of New York, Ben Chandler of Kentucky, Dennis Moore of Kansas, Bruce Braley of Iowa and Tom Udall of New Mexico. The measure, to be introduced Tuesday, comes as Congress and White House aides worked Monday to expand the government’s surveillance authority without jeopardizing citizens’ rights.(MyFoxKC.com) Fallen Soldier Honored in Gardner, Kansas: A soldier who sacrificed his life for his country will be honored Tuesday morning. The postal facility in Gardner, Kansas, will now be known as the “Private First Class Shane R. Austin Post Office,” in honor of the 19-year-old killed while on patrol outside Bagdad last October. Austin grew up in Edgerton, Kansas, and attended high school there before joining the army. Congressman Dennis Moore introduced legislation to honor the fallen soldier who died when an insurgent threw a grenade into Austin’s tank while outside Ramadi. Austin was part of the Army’s 1st Battalion. Moore said that Austin sacrificed the most precious think a person can offer his country, his life. Rep. Nancy Boyda (D) !(AP) Boyda defends decision to step out of Iraq hearing: Kansas Rep. Nancy Boyda is defending her decision to step out of a hearing room last week while a retired Army general testified about U.S. progress in Iraq. But Republicans on Monday accused Boyda of refusing to listen to the positive aspects of the Bush administration’s new Iraq strategy. Boyda, a freshman Democrat from Topeka, said she left the House Armed Services Committee hearing on Friday for about 10 minutes during the testimony of retired Gen. Jack Keane. “There was only so much that you could take until we in fact had to leave the room for a while,” Boyda said after she returned, according to a transcript of the hearing. “So I think I am back and maybe can articulate some things – after so much of the frustration of having to listen to what we listened to.” See the video of aftermath.