Dear Friend,

Last Saturday, I had the privilege to join Pittsburg State University to celebrate their homecoming. The day was a beautiful crisp fall afternoon, perfect for parades and football. PSU kicked off their festivities with the annual homecoming parade, under the theme of "Gus Among You" -- a tribute to television game shows. After the parade, my staff and I had the opportunity to visit with Pittsburg residents in the lobby of the historic Hotel Stilwell.

My favorite part of the weekend was the homecoming game itself, where I served as "honorary cannoneer." As the last notes of The Star-Spangled Banner rang out, I joined the PSU Army ROTC to fire a cannon to officially start the game. My Pittsburg office is now home to the cannon shell, a 75-mm blank bearing a black decal:

Presented to
Congresswoman Nancy Boyda

Honorary Cannoneer
October 27, 2007

PSU ARMY ROTC

What a thrilling day, made all the better by the football game’s final score: PSU 35, Fort Hays 0.

With warm regards,

Nancy Boyda
Member of Congress


Casework Corner - New Law May Affect Your Student Loans

In September of this year, the College Cost Reduction Act passed Congress by a wide, bipartisan margin and with Rep. Boyda's strong support. It is apparent from the bill's passage that Congress believes education is the pathway to greatness and that American government has a role in keeping that path free from unnecessary financial barriers.

The legislation includes several important provisions that may affect your student loans or help make college more affordable to you and your children. For example, the Act provides for Loan Forgiveness for public service employees after the public service employee has made 120 monthly payments on the Federal Direct Loan (after October 1, 2007), and the employee has held a public service job at the time that each of the 120 payments were made.

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Letter of the Week - SAFE Consumer Product Act

Thank you for contacting me about the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). We must do all we can to ensure that the products that enter our country and that we use on a daily basis meet the highest standards of safety. I appreciate this chance to tell you about some of the work being done in Congress on this topic.

Recently, there have been a lot of news stories about recalls and safety inspections that are less than rigorous. Some of the biggest stories in the news are about the safety of children's toys. On October 11, 2007, the Washington Post reported that "Marvel Entertainment stopped shipments after the Center for Environmental Health, a private watchdog group, said a Curious George doll bought from Toys R Us had more than 10 times the legal maximum of lead paint."

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This Week in Congress - 10/22 to 10/29

On Monday, the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce held a breakfast reception, where I talked about the economic challenges and opportunities presented by the expansion of Fort Riley. Only days earlier, the Manhattan Mercury had reported that Riley may serve as home to an additional 3,800 new troops – a major chance to strengthen the local economy.

Later on Monday, Dennis and Denise Bixby of Tonganoxie sat down with me to share their family's heartbreaking story. The Bixbys' daughter, Amanda, died earlier this year after she was struck by car driven by an illegal immigrant.  Her parents now speak passionately about the need for legislative reform to prevent such a tragedy from ever happening again.

On Monday afternoon, I caught a flight to D.C., where I met with a delegation from Lawrence and Douglas County area. Attending were Lavern Squier, Joan Golden, and Becca Booth of the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce; Lawrence Mayor Sue Hack, Vice Mayor Mike Dever, and City Manager Dave Corliss; Douglas County Commissioner Bob Johnson; LaVerne Epp of the Lawrence / Douglas County Bioscience Authority; Keith Yehle of the University of Kansas; and Dr. Bruce Passman of USD 497. Later that evening, I joined a Youth Summit Dinner for the National Military Families Association.

On Tuesday, Dr. Ron Barrett-Gonzalez, and aerospace professor at the the University of Kansas, visited my D.C. office, as did a representative from aviation parts supplier Dodson International. I also met with a group of Kansas community bankers, including Kent Needham, President of First State Bank & Trust Tonganoxie; Frank Carson, Chairman and President of Mulvane State Bank; and Craig Meader, Chairman and President of First National Bank of Kansas Burlington / Waverly.

On Wednesday, the full U.S. House Armed Services Committee met to hear about Air Force strategic initiatives, and the U.S. House Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management met to review reauthorization of the Commodity Futures Trading Program. Visiting my office were Philip Bradley of the Kansas Licensed Beverage Association, as well as Joyce Elcock from Wamego.

On Thursday, Katie French of Highland, Kansas, who was participating in the Nation Young Leaders Conference, visited my D.C. office for an afternoon meeting. That evening, I flew home to Kansas.

On Friday, a group of Veterans Service Organization commanders stopped by my Topeka office to describe their legislative concerns and their members' needs. Later, I visited the Structural Biology Center at the University of Kansas, a state-of-the-art new laboratory where KU scientists will pursue groundbreaking pharmaceutical research. That evening, I attended a visitation for the late SPC Micheal Brown, a 25-year-old Kansan who recently died of a non-combat illness.

On Saturday, I joined in Pittsburg State University's homecoming celebration. I had the chance to speak with PSU students and to serve as honorary cannoneer at the homecoming football game.