In the News
A bipartisan group of House members is beginning to coalesce around a plan to extend aid to airline employees through March 31 of next year.
House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Peter A. DeFazio, D-Ore., and Subcommittee on Aviation Chairman Rick Larsen, D-Wash., are spearheading circulation of a letter to colleagues that includes a draft letter to House and Senate leadership seeking support to extend the $32 billion Payroll Support Program to keep airline employees on the payroll.
The Small Business Administration recently released new data from the Paycheck Protection Program showing that it has preserved "more than 99,597 jobs in" the Kansas Third Congressional District, according to a press release.
Although the program has helped many Kansans keep their jobs and businesses during a global pandemic, Rep. Sharice Davids is among those who have voiced concerns about some of the loans issued to large, profitable companies.
Amid what the congresswoman calls a devastating pandemic, Rep. Davids has pushed to include in an upcoming health care package more incentives for states that expand Medicaid, and says passing the Justice in Policing Act should be a national priority.
Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday called for expanding and enshrining LGBTQ rights, steps they said won't happen unless former Vice President Joe Biden is elected in November.
Rep. Sharice Davids (D-Kan.) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) were among the speakers at The Hill's virtual Pride summit, and both highlighted the need for action in Washington.
Representative Sharice Davids (D-KS), one of the first American Indian women elected to Congress, has helped secure key provisions to improve tribal infrastructure in new legislation proposed by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Kansas and Missouri, two of just 14 states that have not expanded Medicaid, would receive added incentive to make the move under legislation introduced Wednesday by House Democrats.
When Medicaid expansion was rolled out in 2014, the federal government picked up 100 percent of the costs for the first three years to expand coverage for low income Americans. The federal share has gradually decreased to 90 percent.
Kansas Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids interviews Missouri Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a former Kansas City mayor, about racial equity and criminal justice in the wake of protests against police brutality.
Hundreds of people marched down Santa Fe Drive to downtown Overland Park on Saturday in the latest local show of support for the Black Lives Matter movement. Participants sang, chanted and shouted the names of people killed in officer-involved incidents.
The march culminated in a rally in downtown Overland Park that featured several speakers, including Johnson County NAACP president Fred Jones, Rep. Sharice Davids and Overland Park Police Chief Frank Donchez.
Gov. Laura Kelly lauded Monday's U.S. Supreme Court ruling protecting LGBTQ employees from workplace discrimination, calling it a "remarkable step in the right direction."
"All Kansans deserve protection from employment discrimination," Kelly said in a statement. "We will continue standing up for our LGBTQ+ communities."
The ruling, which comes in the midst of Pride Month, is an important win for the LGBTQ community.
A dog named Merrick spent five years at the Humane Society of Greater Kansas City. But in early March, he found his forever home.
The humane society had 11 dogs that had been at the shelter since before 2018. Now, that number is down to five.
During the pandemic, many animal shelters have experienced similar trends: foster programs are thriving and adoptions are up.