STAY CONNECTED
Did you know you can follow my updates on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and now Instagram? Be sure you like my page on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, subscribe to my playlists on YouTube, and check out my brand new Instagram as well. Here's a sneak peek:
| My first Instagram features a taste of KC in DC: Gates BBQ for lunch. |
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
I rarely go to the House Floor to speak on an issue, for a lot of reasons (most of them are negative), because I didn't come to Congress to make an enemy. I came to Congress to make a difference. Yesterday I went to the Floor to speak on the decades-long symbiosis between the urban core and the farm community.
Please click here to watch the video, and be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel for the latest updates.
GOOD NEWS FOR THOSE WHO DO GOOD
I am pleased to announce nearly $300 million in grant funding from the Department of the VA. These funds will help approximately 120,000 homeless and at-risk veterans and their families.
In the Fifth District of Missouri, Catholic Charities of Kansas City – St. Joseph will receive $666,547 to serve approximately 130 households in Jackson, Cass, Lafayette, Ray, Clay, Platte, Clinton, DeKalb, Andrew, Buchanan, Johnson, and Henry. The Salvation Army will receive $595,290 to service 220 households in Kansas City, St. Joseph, and the northwest region of Missouri.
The SSVF Program supports VA's efforts to prevent at-risk veterans from becoming homeless and rapidly re-house those who have recently fallen into homelessness. Grantees will provide a range of services that promote housing stability and play a key role in connecting veterans and their family members to VA services such as mental health care and other benefits.
VISITING WITH A YOUNG ADVOCATE
This week I met with Zach Jonas, one of more than 160 young advocates visiting Washington, DC, from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). During our meeting, we talked about the importance of diabetes research and the latest scientific developments in diabetes prevention and treatment. We discussed the hard work that the JDRF is doing to advocate on behalf of patients diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. The JDRF requested that we support the Special Diabetes Program that supports research to one day find a cure for Type 1 diabetes. In the state of Missouri, 8% of the state population suffers from diabetes, many from Type 1 diabetes.
It was a pleasure to meet with Zach, who is such a young and impressive advocate for a worthy cause. The mission of JDRF is to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research. JDRF was founded in 1970 by the parents of children with Type 1 diabetes - a disease that strikes children, adolescents, and adults suddenly, makes them insulin dependent for life, and carries the constant threat of devastating complications. Since inception, JDRF has provided more than $1.4 billion to diabetes research worldwide. More than 82 percent of JDRF's expenditures directly support research and research-related education. JDRF's mission is constant: to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research. The Kansas City Chapter of JDRF is responsible for $3 million annually, largely made possible because of its award winning special events and partners.
SPOTLIGHT ON SEQUESTRATION
I opposed sequestration when it first came before the House Floor for a vote, and I stand by that. Missouri's economy is already frail, and these drastic and dangerous cuts have hurt children, seniors, small businesses, federal employees, and men and women who so proudly and selflessly wear a uniform to protect our country. Many have forgotten or dismissed sequestration, but this story tells the truth about its impact in our communities.
Eastern Jackson County, MO — In Missouri, the effects of the sequester - the mandatory spending and staff cuts imposed by Washington officials - are far reaching. The state is expected to lose about $11.9 million in federal funding for education, and around 160 teacher and aide jobs could be at risk. About 1,280 fewer low-income students will receive financial aid to help them with college, and 750 fewer students will get work-study jobs, which also help pay for college. Title I, which covers special education, could take a big hit. Funds will be eliminated from more than 2,700 locations, affecting more than one million children in the state. This loss of funding also puts the jobs of teachers and other staff members at risk, and students will lose access to special programs that help with instruction and after-school activities that help to close the achievement gap. |
Click here to read more.
Emanuel Cleaver, II
Member of Congress
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