Here are today’s headlines from the Kansas congressional delegation:Sen. Pat Roberts (R)!(New York Times) Bush Defends Veto of Health Care Bill: President Bush today defended his veto of a popular children’s insurance program but said he was willing to negotiate with Democrats if they make up their minds to put the well-being of poor children first. “My attitude is, let’s help the poor children,” Mr. Bush said at an appearance in Rogers, Ark. “Let’s make sure the program does what it’s supposed to do.” … eanwhile, the issue continues to pit some otherwise loyal Republicans against the Bush administration. Today, for instance, Senators Charles E. Grassley of Iowa and Pat Roberts of Kansas complained in a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Michael O. Leavitt that the administration was “flatly incorrect” in asserting that the S-chip bill would render the federal government powerless to deny coverage to families in the $83,000 range.Rep. Dennis Moore (D) !(Democracy Now! commentary) Iraq War Veteran Returns War Medals To Protest War: An Iraq war veteran has returned all of his war medals to protest what he describes as the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq. Specialist Mike Sanger returned the medals on Friday to the office of Democratic Congressman Dennis Moore of Kansas. Sanger said he choose to target Moore’s office because the Democrat has supported the continued funding of the war. Since returning from Iraq, Sanger has become a vocal war critic and now serves as president of Iraq Veterans Against the War in Kansas City. During the war Sanger received the National Defense medal, the War on Terror medal and a combat medal.Rep. Jerry Moran (R) !(Fox 12 Oregon) Rep. David Wu Fights Criticism Over Earmarks: Oregon Rep. David Wu fought criticism Monday following a report in the Seattle Times that he got the U.S. Marines to buy shirts that can melt in battle, causing severe burns. The Times reported on the T-shirts Sunday as part of a story about the links between campaign contributions and earmarks, which are appropriations lawmakers tack on to spendin g bills that often benefit specific companies or organizations. … The Seattle Times report detailed several other major projects from the Northwest where members of congress secured taxpayer dollars for questionable projects. Critics say it did highlight the potential problems with earmarking. Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., introduced legislation last week with Rep. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., to put a moratorium on earmarks until a bipartisan committee reports back on how to better vet the requests.Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R) !(KSN.com) Critics target Tiahrt’s stance on child health care: Critics are mounting a final push to change minds in Congress. At issue– President Bush’s veto of $35 billion extra for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP. On Thursday, the U.S. House votes on whether to override the veto and several Wichita groups are taking aim at a Kansas Congressman. With just a few days before the vote in Washington, supporters of expanding SCHIP, continue to put the heat on U.S. Rep. Todd Tiahrt, just as they did at a protest earlier this month in front of Tiahrt’s Wichita office. “The stats are just overwhelming,” Diane Tinker, an SCHIP expansion supporter, said. “And we really encourage people to contact Mr. Tiahrt and say, ‘Please, vote to override this veto.'”Campaign funds(AP) Campaign funds pouring into 2nd District congressional race: Two Republicans vying to challenge Kansas Democratic Rep. Nancy Boyda are prepared to pour plenty of money into the hotly contested race. Former Kansas Republican Rep. Jim Ryun has $335,000 in cash on hand in his bid to win back the seat he lost to Boyda last year. Kansas State Treasurer Lynn Jenkins, who is running against Ryun in the GOP primary, has $360,000 in the bank. Boyda, meanwhile, has about $460,000 in the bank. The numbers were included Monday in quarterly reports to the Federal Election Commission.(LJWorld.com) Moore, challenger report funds in 3rd District race: In the 3rd congressional district, which includes eastern Lawrence, U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore, a five-term incumbent Democrat, held a sizable lead in campaign funds over Nick Jordan, a Republican state senator from Shawnee who announced his candidacy in August. Through Sept. 30, Moore had raised $581,664. Combined with funds from previous reporting periods, Moore reported a campaign war chest of $621,323. “The overwhelming financial support for our campaign demonstrates confidence in the moderate, common-sense message I work to bring to Congress,” Moore said.Jordan raised $107,596 in six weeks and had $99,351 cash on hand Sept. 30.(AP) Roberts has $2M to fight off potential challengers: Sen. Pat Roberts hauled in about $400,000 over the last three months as he tries to scare off prominent Democrats from challenging his bid for a third term in Congress. The amount gives the Kansas Republican more than $2 million in the bank with just over a year before the 2008 election, according to his latest Federal Election Commission report released on Monday. “Roberts is clearly prepared to run a strong campaign with the help of Kansans across the state,” said Dennis Jones, a member of Roberts’ campaign steering committee from Lakin, Kan.