In the News
STILWELL, Kan. (AP) — Traffic whizzing behind her, Rep. Sharice Davids gathered reporters at a transportation facility along U.S. 69 in eastern Kansas this week to celebrate the surge of federal money headed in her state's direction.
The next time you are outside, look up.
You might see houses, buildings, a few trees. Higher you may see some clouds, a commercial airplane, a military airplane. Maybe there's a helicopter.
In other words, not much. That's changing.
Kansas and Missouri could get $14 billion from the new infrastructure bill passed by Congress. Congresswoman Sharice Davids says it could affect our area for a generation.
The plan has money for roads, bridges, even water quality improvements. Davids, the democrat from the Kansas side of the Kansas City metro is the vice chair of the House Transportation Committee. She's worked on the infrastructure project all year.
"I just think we're going to see inter-generational change in our infrastructure," Davids said.
The House passed the measure 228-206 late Friday, and President Joe Biden says Americans will begin to see the effects of this bill in just two to three months, but it has a long-term payout. Democrats say this bill's impact will be seen for generations, but how will this affect Kansans?
In addition to better roads and bridges, Representative Sharice Davids says Kansans will see expansion and improvements to broadband in rural and urban areas. Flood mitigation, security against cyber-attacks, and water sanitization plants are all plans stated in the infrastructure bill.
U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, D-3rd, said in a statement today that the infrastructure bill that passed the House will bring $3.8 billion to Kansas to create jobs, tackle climate change and boost economic recovery.
"For months, I have been working hard to deliver an infrastructure bill that creates jobs, tackles climate change and boosts our economic recovery here in the Kansas Third District. Today, I voted to send a bipartisan bill to the President's desk that will bring $3.8 billion to Kansas to meet those priorities—without raising taxes on the middle class.
A bill sponsored by Representative Sharice Davids to advance new aviation technology in the Sunflower State has passed the House of Representatives and will now head to the Senate.
The New Roots for Refugees program was awarded over $500,000 in grant funding Friday.
The program helps refugee families learn to grow produce and maintain small businesses.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is providing the funding, which will support farm training and market support.
The New Roots for Refugees program is led by the Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas (CCNEK) and Cultivate KC.
While Cleaver advocated for affordable housing, Kansas Rep. Sharice Davids promoted increased access to healthcare. One of the provisions she pushed for — allowing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices, was dropped for lack of support in the Senate.
In a call with reporters on Wednesday, Davids said she often heard "heartbreaking" stories about people who could not afford their medication. Allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, she said, would bring down costs and is popular in her district.
Kansas received a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture aimed at destigmatizing mental health and supporting the agriculture community on Friday.
"Kansas farmers and ranchers feed the world – they're critical to society, and my administration will continue to use every resource available to support them," Kansas Governor Laura Kelly said in a press release. "I want to thank the USDA and the Kansas Department of Agriculture for prioritizing the mental health of Kansas' agriculture community."
The Kansas congressional delegation renewed the bipartisan campaign to convince Congress to imposed at the federal level a law requiring wireless communication companies to promptly share cellular telephone data with law enforcement officers searching for people at risk of physical harm.