EC from DC - November 16, 2012

Earlier this week, I was proud to be among the first ever winners of the Consensus Civility Award for efforts in bringing civility to public life. Greg Graves, Chief Executive Officer, Burns & McDonnell; Carol Grimaldi, Executive Director, Brush Creek Community Partners; Father Norman Rotert, retired priest, Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph; the Kansas City Star, Congressman Kevin Yoder (R-KS) and I were truly honored to receive this recognition.

Congressman Yoder and Congressman Cleaver were among a group of six who received the Consensus Civility Award.

Often, the debate in DC can devolve into one with a great deal more heat than light. As we return to Washington to work on the issues facing our nation, we must remember that while partisanship is a vital component of democracy, only healthy disagreement can propel us forward, to better ideas and brighter days. Embracing a civil exchange of ideas and respectful differences of opinion fosters real debate, and allows our best ideas to shine.

Consensus, founded in 1984, started the Civility Project in 2010 to focus attention on how to build more civility into the way leaders engage the public, and into how citizens accept the challenge to have a voice in public issues. For more information about the findings and the project, click here.

This Sunday, on Veterans Day, I was honored to attend ceremonies at the Liberty Memorial and National World War I Museum, as well as the Truman Library. Every Veterans Day, Americans come together to remember those who have served our country around the world in the name of freedom and democracy. The debt that we owe to them is immeasurable. Their sacrifices and those of their families are freedom's foundation. Without the brave efforts of all the soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and Coast Guardsmen and their families, our country would not live so freely.

When people talk of the sacrifice made by our military you can see it in the demeanor of our veterans. You know what only a veteran understands, that this country thrives because the sacrifice has been made. On the battlefield, the military pledges to leave no soldier behind. As a nation, let it be our pledge that when they return home, we leave no veteran behind. This day and every day, let us honor their service with actions that fulfill our commitment to our troops, their families, and our veterans – and that are worthy of our grateful nation.

Now, more than ever, we renew our commitment to keep our promises to the nation's more than 2 million troops and reservists, their families, and 23 million veterans, including the over 47,000 veterans here in Missouri's Fifth District. As our young men and women swear to honor and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, we understand that through their sacrifice the very foundation of our democracy will thrive.

Also this week, we received good news about two programs in the Fifth Congressional District. Both DeLaSalle Education Center and the Hartwig Legacy Foundation received funding as part of the USDA Farm to School grants program. The first-ever USDA Farm to School grants will help schools respond to the growing demand for locally sourced foods and increase market opportunities for producers and food businesses, including food processors, manufacturers, and distributors. Grants will also be used to support agriculture and nutrition education efforts such as school gardens, field trips to local farms, and cooking classes. These grants are good news for children, farmers, teachers, and our communities.

Founded in 1971, DeLaSalle Education Center operates a charter high school in Kansas City's urban core serving primarily low income and underserved minority students. In 2006, the school initiated a "Healthy Lifestyles" program to educate students on the importance of good nutrition and exercise. With this $25,000 grant, they can continue to do the work they do. Hartwig Legacy Foundation received a grant of $99,645, in order to achieve the goal of the Farm to School Academy. With this Academy they aim to increase access to and consumption of healthy local food in low-income schools in the Greater Kansas City area and to educate school administrators and staff, teachers, children, parents and other stakeholders on the benefits of growing, buying and eating healthy local food and living an active lifestyle. The Academy will be a farm to school training, resource and garden center, with its own conference rooms, classrooms, demonstration kitchen and garden.

Emanuel Cleaver, II Member of Congress