Blog #3

Lately, Senator Roberts has done quite a bit of traveling within Kansas.  During the President's Day Congressional work period, Roberts spent his time traveling through the state visiting different town hall meetings.  One of these town hall meetings included a joint session with Senator Jerry Moran and Congressman Kevin Yoder where the three men addressed and questions and concerns the citizens had.  Roberts consistently makes trips back to Kansas to meet with constituents and discuss their issues and concerns.  Roberts posts his upcoming stops on his website (http://www.roberts.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Home), he doesn't seem to give much notice.  His last visit started on February 18th, and he posted an update to his website on the 15th of February.  Although it is good that he is going home to address the concerns of his constituents, it seems to me that it would be more beneficial to give more advanced notice.  

Roberts at a town hall meeting in Olathe on February 20th.

Roberts keeps his constituents up to date with his affairs through updates on his website and through social media with the use of Facebook and Twitter.  He posts "Roberts Report" to his website usually about twice a month, although he often skips months.  These reports detail what he has been working on and his thoughts on various pieces of legislation or other important matters.  In his most recent report, Roberts discussed Obama's State of the Union address and openly criticized his ideas and plans for the future.  Roberts relayed the message that the people of Kansas are tired of government regulations, taxes, and uncertainty of the future of Healthcare.  He seems very pessimistic about the country's future under Obama and says, "If it was the President’s intention to lead the nation to an economic recovery, I am afraid the President missed the mark."  I think it is good that Roberts tells his constituents his feelings about what is happening in Washington and what he plans to do to change it in the future.  

Picture of article Roberts posted in one of his newsletters

Roberts has sponsored 13 and co-sponsored 143 bills in the 112th session.  A few of the bills he has sponsored include the Regulatory Responsibility for our Economy Act of 2011, Restoring Access to Medication Act, Freedom to Breathe Act of 2011, and the Underground Gas Storage Facility Safety Act of 2011.  Roberts has tried twice to introduce A bill to authorize and request the President to award the Medal of Honor posthumously to Captain Emil Kapaun of the United States Army for acts of valor during the Korean War.  He recently announced on his Facebook page that Kapaun will receive the Medal of Honor.  Roberts spends much of his time with bills that will impact Kansas directly, often dealing with issues that relate directly back it his constituents.  So far, in the new session of Congress, Roberts has sponsored five bills.  

Sources:
http://www.thepoliticalguide.com/Profiles/Senate/Kansas/Pat_Roberts/Bills/112/ 
https://www.facebook.com/SenPatRoberts?fref=ts
http://www.roberts.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=NewsletterArchive
https://twitter.com/SenPatRoberts
http://www.roberts.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=SponsoredBills