Huelskamp: Time to get to work

Now that the "super-duper committee" has failed to do Congress' job, it's time for Congress to get back to work on reducing ballooning deficits.

That was Rep. Tim Huelskamp's assessment of the situation in Washington when he spoke Monday to the Salina Noon Rotary Club just hours before the deadline for a bipartisan panel of 12 representatives and senators to come up with a mix of spending cuts and tax increases totaling $1.2 trillion over the next 10 years.

The panel, which has not met for weeks, "decided to declare failure," said Huelskamp, R-Kan.. He added that the failure was "not unexpected" and the committee was a bad idea to begin with.

Salina doctor urges Congressman to bolster primary care doctors' pay

Health care is an important part of maintaining rural populations, yet the kind of practice needed in rural areas doesn't pay nearly as much as setting up shop as a big-city specialist.

Or, as Dr. Rob Freelove told Rep. Tim Huelskamp on Monday afternoon, someone graduating from medical school with $250,000 in debt has the choice of being a primary-care doctor and making two-thirds that amount, or going into a specialty and making twice that.

"They can do the math," Freelove said.

Billinger files for re-election

Billinger is in his first two-year term in the Kansas House of Representatives. He serves on the House committees on insurance, local government, education, commerce and economic development. He also was selected to serve on the state and local government committee for the Council of State Governments.

The 121st House District includes Thomas, Sherman, Sheridan and Graham counties.

Voting

Next time you go to vote, prepare to be carded.

"Is this new rule going to solve problems or create them?" came a question from the back of the room Tuesday after Saline County Clerk and Election Officer Don Merriman had spent about half an hour discussing upcoming changes in voter requirements.

Election fraud group to meet next week

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- A task force created by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach (KOH'-bahk) is meeting next week to continue drafting regulations for administering the state's new voter identification law.

The task force of 17 county officials plans to convene Wednesday in Topeka.

The new law will require voters to show photo identification at the polls beginning in January 2012. Kobach has said he hopes to have regulations drafted by this fall.

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