EC from DC - June 20, 2014
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Almost two million dollars is on its way to numerous organizations and municipalities in Missouri's Fifth District to help the homeless. These dollars are critical for our area and I am honored to continue fighting for them. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded this money to our area as part of the Continuum of Care Program to fight homelessness.
Federal dollars are scarce and getting even more so, while the need continues to grow. These dollars will help ensure safe and available shelter, stability, and the opportunity for some of the vulnerable in our community to begin to turn their lives around.
I look forward to continuing to work with the outstanding recipient organizations (listed below) in the fight against homelessness.
Recipients include:
- City of Kansas City, Missouri / City of Kansas City - Newhouse
- Missouri Housing Development Commission / MO-606 Planning Application FY2013
- reStart, Inc. / Family Rapid Rehousing 2013
- Rose Brooks Center, Inc. / Rose Brooks Center Housing Program
- The Salvation Army / Harbor Light Village Chronic Permanent Supportive Housing Program
- The Salvation Army / Linwood Center Permanent Supportive Housing Program
- The Salvation Army / Project Able Chronic Permanent Supportive Housing Program
- The Salvation Army / The Salvation Army Transitional Housing Program
- Truman Medical Center, Inc. / Haven of Hope
- Truman Medical Center, Inc. / New Roots
- Catholic Charities of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Inc. / St. Michael Housing (KC)
For more information please visit my website: /
Our veterans in this country have given us their best, and they deserve ours. It's that simple.
Keeping our promises to veterans is not only critically important, it is unequivocally the right thing to do. This is not an issue that should be used as political leverage, it is one that strikes at the very heart of the fundamental beliefs this country was founded on.
I thought of the great sacrifices our veterans have made throughout the generations, as I celebrated the official opening of the Kansas City VA Medical Center Honor Annex recently. It was the result of endless hours on the part of countless staff, administrators, and others, who know the added services will serve our veterans well. In addition to outpatient services and increased opportunities in serving those with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), there will also be facilities to support primary care, specialized women's health services, and a Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery Center.
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Children, going green, and helping others – three of my favorite things came together this week as I talked with students, administrators, including Dr. Marc Hahn, President and CEO, and others at the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences (KCUMB), located in Kansas City's historic Northeast.
I have visited KCUMB many times over the years, but this time I wanted to focus on the community garden. Close to 2,000 pounds of food is harvested here, grown by the staff, tended by students who are learning to appreciate and understand the food they eat, and donated to local food banks. I had the great honor of touring their community garden and visiting with first-grade students from Scuola Vita Nuova Charter School, as well as KCUMB students that volunteer to help the children.
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This Sunday is the 70th anniversary of the G.I. bill, a law that upheld our pledge to vets, and we must renew our pledge to do just that. We must also move forward in passing VA reform, and address some profound challenges facing those who serve this country with courage and excellence. Funds are needed:
- for sexual assault, prevention, and response
- for the processing of electronic health records to ease the VA backlog
- for PTSD and traumatic brain injury
Our men and women in the military sacrifice for us in a variety of ways each and every day - we must stand behind them - and support them, and do so with speed and unity of commitment.
I thought you might be interested to see a few headlines from around the country concerning the Affordable Care Act.
Numbers to know
- Up to 129 million Americans with pre-existing health conditions can no longer be denied coverage
- 3 million young adults now have healthcare coverage because they can stay on their parents' plan until the age of 26
- Almost 8 million seniors in the ‘donut hole' have already saved almost $10 million on their prescriptions – averaging a savings of $1,265 per person
Kansas City was all the rage this week after the United States won its first game in the World Cup. I thought I'd share with you the video that has been seen all over the country. It is of the elated reaction of the crowd that was watching the game at Kansas City Power and Light, after a US goal.
As we attempt to breach the divide in Congress, I wanted to share an insightful civility story:
Two young boys went to a neighborhood park to have some play time before their respective mothers called them in for dinner. But upon arriving, a controversy ensued. One boy said, "Let's play on the seesaw." "No," the other replied, "I want to play catch." One boy got on the seesaw, but because no one sat on the other end, he never got off the ground. The other boy threw the ball but no one threw it back.
That sounds a lot like the two sides in Congress. Both sides have come to Washington for the same purpose, but with different priorities. As representatives of the people of the greatest nation on earth, we must be willing to alter one preference in order to acquire another, often resulting in the accommodation of both.