EC From DC - May 15, 2013

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On Monday, the United States Marine Corps announced that the Marine Corps Information Technology Center (MCITC) will remain in its current location in Kansas City under a long-term lease with the General Services Administration (GSA).

My staff and I have been advocating for this center since February 2011, when our Missouri and Kansas Senators and I contacted the Marine Corps to explain the value of this center for our community, and of our community for this center. Thankfully, our concerns were recognized and resolved, saving 425 jobs.

The United States Marine Corps conducted a Business Case Analysis (BCA) to determine the most cost effective long-term facilities solution and location for the MCITC. Using a combination of interviews, independent research, and review of existing requirements, the BCA updated the facilities requirements information, identified and summarized the key operations and business processes among the various organizations that comprise the MCITC, made an assessment of the related workforce and information technology equipment costs, and used this information to conduct an alternatives analysis. And most importantly, they determined that Kansas City should—and would—remain home for these important services.

Recently I met with Col. Anthony Hofmann, KC District Commander of the USACE; Jennifer Switzer, Chief of the Planning Branch; and Steve Iverson, Deputy for Program Management to discuss the budget for the Army Corps of Engineers and local water projects in the 5th Congressional District. As the place where the Missouri, Kansas and Blue Rivers all converge, Kansas City has multiple river projects that merit our attention and make the Army Corps an important partner in our community.

You may have seen this article, The House Prefers Chaos to Order, recently. While there have been recent attempts on both sides of the aisle to call attention to regular order, I recognize that this change in House procedure has occurred under both Democratic and Republican majorities alike. Rather than point fingers at one party or the other, we must work to make this body work once again. Unfortunately, the departure from regular order has engendered profound consequences for the fairness and effectiveness of this body. Legislation which previously passed with broad bipartisan support now struggles to receive serious consideration. Measures which require reauthorization often fail entirely to receive congressional action.

I want you to know that I have signed onto a resolution to urge Speaker Boehner to call a budget conference, and appoint conferees to negotiate the deliberations. Last month the Senate joined the House in passing a Concurrent Resolution on the budget. Now it is the responsibility of both chambers to convene a conference, and appoint members to proceed with budget deliberations. The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 sets a statutory deadline of April 15 for Congress to complete action on adopting a conference agreement on the concurrent budget resolution, and the Congress is not in compliance with that deadline.

Each passing day we are squandering an opportunity to find common ground and move forward. We must establish a budget conference committee to work out our differences, boost job growth, and get our fiscal house in order. I hope you agree.

This week I contacted the House Committee on Agriculture to support the livestock and other emergency disaster assistance programs included in the 2008 Farm Bill.

The Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP); Livestock Forage Program (LFP); Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees, and Farm-raised Fish Program (ELAP); and the Tree Assistance Program (TAP) provide assistance to producers who suffer livestock or grazing damages and other weather-related losses. These programs expired in 2011, and were given a short-term extension in H.R. 8, The American Taxpayer Relief Act, at the beginning of this year.

Those who raise, feed and process cattle in the central and western United States last year felt the heat from the worst dry spell in more than 50 years. Feed and hay costs rose to all-time highs last summer and pressured many farmers to thin their herds because they could not feed all their animals and still make a profit. The nation's cattle herd was reduced to its smallest size in more than 60 years, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service.

The incomes of farmers who grow commodity crops such as corn and soybeans have been largely protected by federally-subsidized crop insurance. But key federal programs set up as a safety net for livestock producers have been unfunded for more than a year. While recognizing that there will be limited resources in drafting this year's Farm Bill, these producers deserve our support. We depend on them, and they have no other fallback when disaster strikes.