In the News

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's plan to move hundreds of federal research jobs out of the Washington area— possibly to Kansas City— has triggered a backlash from scientists and other agriculture stakeholders.

Critics of the proposed relocation of the Economic Research Service and National Institute of Food and Agriculture say moving the agencies to the heartland will hamper collaboration with other science agencies in Washington, hinder communication with Congress and risk the perception of regional bias.

House votes on rules to begin debate on legislation are typically party-line tests. But when nine Democrats voted Tuesday against the rule for an immigration bill, it was a high-water mark for Democratic defections this year.

Still, Democrats are more unified on such votes than the House majority party has been in all but two years of the last decade.

After the U.S. House passed a landmark LGBTQ rights bill last week, Rep. Sharice Davids turned to fellow Democratic Rep. Deb Haaland and asked her to pass along a message to her daughter.

The New Mexico Democrat's daughter is LGBTQ.

Davids, the first LGBTQ person to represent Kansas, wanted Haaland's daughter to know how proud she was that the pair had been able to vote for the Equality Act, which will amend the Civil Rights Act to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The entire Kansas congressional delegation and a bipartisan contingent of Missouri lawmakers threw political weight behind a proposal to relocate to the Kansas City area units of the U.S. Department of Agriculture with more than 300 employees each.

The push coincided with site visits this week by USDA to the three shortlist locations, including Indiana and North Carolina, leading to possible selection at the end of May by Secretary Sonny Perdue of new headquarters for the Economic Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture now located in Washington, D.C.

Last November, we were elected to Congress as part of a freshman class full of "firsts."

One of us was one of the first Native American women elected to Congress. The other, one of the youngest women ever elected to Congress.

We're also both first-generation college students. And we're still paying off our student loans.

While it's not an uncommon experience for many Americans, it has been uncommon for members of Congress.

What difference does it make to have Native Americans in the Congress? The debate last week about the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Acrt provided a textbook answer.

A Kansas congresswoman has been appointed to a leadership position on the House Transportation Committee.

On Thursday, Chair of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR) announced Rep. Sharice Davids (D-KS) will serve as Vice Chair of the Subcommittee on Aviation in the 116th Congress, according to a media release.

The Subcommittee on Aviation has jurisdiction over all aspects of civil aviation, including safety, infrastructure, labor, and international issues.

Despite the unseasonably chilly April day, the atmosphere at the Quindaro overlook was warm and cheerful Tuesday afternoon.

Federal lawmakers joined local officials and residents in Kansas City, Kan. to celebrate designation of the ruins as a National Commemorative Site. Over 100 people gathered on a bluff overlooking the Missouri River, which slaves once crossed on their journey to free land.