Sam Brownback links(LA Times) GOP Senators Trying to Shape a Compromise on Immigration: Facing a self-imposed Friday deadline for reaching agreement on the thorny issue of immigration, GOP senators worked Monday toward a possible compromise that would permit some (12 million) illegal immigrants to remain in the country and apply for citizenship but would deny that opportunity to others. “For some people, if you deal with the 12 million at all, people will call it amnesty,” said Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) who favors both a guest-worker program and a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. Brownback said senators’ discussions were making progress and he was hopeful they would reach a deal. “We’re on a short time frame,” he said. “We’ve got to get this done by Friday.”(Agape Press) Commentary & News Briefs: The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved a new immigration reform bill; however one member of the committee, Kansas Senator Sam Brownback, says the legislation will undergo lots of tweaking. He offered an analysis of the bill shortly after its approval, saying, “I think there are a lot of good features to it. I think it is not the final deal. I do believe we’ve got to make reforms in the proposal.” Among his criticisms, Brownback noted that the guest worker segment of the bill needs work. “I do believe that we need to create a more circular system,” he says. “If people want a guest worker provision, want to come here and work and go back home afterwards, we should allow them to do that and not put them on a citizenship track.”(The Hill) Rush to return Rudy cash: Thirteen House Republicans already have returned or plan to return contributions they took from lobbyist Tony Rudy, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy last week and joins former cohort Jack Abramoff as a possible witness in the government’s expanding corruption probe of lawmakers and their aides. Five GOP senators received contributions from Rudy: Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), George Allen (Va.), Kit Bond (Mo.), Sam Brownback (Kan.) and Rick Santorum (Pa.). Allen donated $1,000 to Fisher House, a charity in Richmond, Va., late last year, according to his office. Brownback also has already donated his Rudy money to charity.(Globes Online) US drug cos: Reclassify Israel, keep it out of OECD: The struggle waged by Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) against and Israel and Israeli companies has sharply escalated. On Friday, PhRMA asked the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) in writing that the US administration act to keep Israel out of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). PhRMA alleges that Israel does not provide adequate intellectual property protection for US ethical pharmaceutical companies operating in the country. US Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) has already signed a letter to Portman that calls on the USTR not to reclassify Israel. Congressional sources expect more signatures.Jerry Moran links(Wichita Eagle) Moran to lead delegation to Geneva: Rep. Jerry Moran, R-Hays, will be taking a group of farm-state lawmakers to Switzerland at the end of the month as global trade negotiators try to hammer out world agriculture policy before an end-of-April deadline. The World Trade Organization is meeting in Geneva, attempting to craft the basic framework of a global free-trade accord by April 30 before reaching an overall deal by the end of this year. Moran, who heads the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management, said Monday evening that he and other subcommittee members are planning to spend 2 ? days in Geneva trying to understand how trade talks are progressing and what they might mean for U.S. farmers.How to contact As always, you can find information to contact members of the Kansas congressional delegation here.