Here are today’s headlines from the Kansas congressional delegation:Sen. Pat Roberts (R)!(Washington Times) Drug makers, TV broadcasters fight Senate move to limit ads: The pharmaceutical industry is partnering with broadcasters to kill legislation aimed at restricting drug companies’ advertising campaigns. Debate is under way in the Senate on legislation to grant the Food and Drug Administration more power — and significantly more money — for drug safety. A vote on the bill is expected this week. Under the measure, the FDA would have the discretion to bar pharmaceutical companies from advertising new drugs directly to consumers for the product’s first two years on the market. … Sen. Pat Roberts, Kansas Republican, said he will attempt to kill the bill’s advertising provision on the basis that it violates free-speech rights. Mr. Roberts is expected to introduce an amendment to the bill that replaces the two-year moratorium on advertising with a fine for drug companies that produce dishonest or misleading ads. (CQ Today) FDA Bill Draws Wider Drug Debate: Foes of giving the FDA extended authority call it a First Amendment issue. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., has promised to fight the bill’s advertising restrictions, which would give the FDA stricter power to review and approve ads. In an April 19 markup, he offered an amendment to trim the FDA’s authority under the bill. It was rejected. “I’m not going to go down without a fight when this bill hits the floor,” Roberts told Kennedy during the markup. “I do not think it’s constitutional.”(PharmaLive) Senator Pat Roberts to Lead Kansas Delegation at BIO Convention in Boston: U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS) announced today that he will lead the Kansas delegation at the 2007 BIO Convention in Boston — a move that ensures Kansas will have one of the most high-profile delegations at the annual biotechnology event. The Senator will be the centerpiece of a Kansas team composed of the state’s top bioscience innovators, business leaders and policymakers. The group will represent Kansas at the BIO Convention, a four-day international event that serves to educate the public and policymakers about biotechnology, showcase the latest bioscience innovations and provide states an opportunity to promote their strengths in the biosciences.Rep. Dennis Moore (D) !(KC Star) MOORE PROPOSAL | Social worker safety bill: U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore has introduced the Teri Zenner Social Worker Safety Act to better protect those who work with people who might become violent. “We have a responsibility to make sure that those who have dedicated their lives to helping others have the resources and support they need to do their job well and return home safely,” said Moore, a Democrat from Lenexa. Zenner, a caseworker with the Johnson County Mental Health Center, was killed Aug. 17, 2004, while making a home visit to a client. Since then, Matt Zenner, her husband, has worked to raise awareness and to improve the safety of social workers.Rep. Nancy Boyda (D) !(Star-Telegram) Bill would limit Mexican trucks in U.S. to 1,000: Up to 1,000 Mexican trucks and buses would be permitted to cross the border and use U.S. roads for the next three years under a bill endorsed by a House panel Wednesday. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee voted 66-0 to restrict the Transportation secretary to opening the border to 100 carriers based in Mexico. They would be allowed to use a maximum of 1,000 vehicles under the pilot program. The bill goes to the full House. The bill sets up an independent panel to evaluate the test program and get certification from the inspector general that safety and inspection requirements have been met. The Bush administration announced in February that it would soon let 100 Mexican trucking companies travel beyond the current 20-mile limit from the border for a one-year pilot project. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Nancy Boyda, D-Kan., would also prohibit Mexican trucks from moving loads between two U.S. points. It requires Mexican companies to prove that their drivers are proficient in EnglishRep. Todd Tiahrt (R) !(AP) Lawmakers ask feds to share info on gun trace data that could help find the source of guns: The amendment that bars such sharing of gun trace data has now touched off a feud between its sponsor, Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Kan., and a coalition of more than 200 mayors led by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino. Insisting that gun trace data is an essential crimefighting tool for cities, Bloomberg used his own funds as seed money, formed Mayors Against Illegal Guns and made repealing Tiahrt’s amendment its number one issue this year. Tiahrt and Bloomberg met in Washington earlier this year to try to find a compromise. “I thought we were close,” Tiahrt said.But when Tiahrt showed his proposed changes, “it was one step forward, three steps back,” said Bloomberg’s criminal justice coordinator, John Feinblatt. So last week, the mayors’ group began airing television ads against Tiahrt’s amendment in several media markets, including Tiahrt’s Wichita district _ a step Tiahrt said went too far. “I think that personal attack is something that’s very upsetting to me and very unjustified and a great mischaracterization of all my efforts here,” Tiahrt said.