Boyda: "Congress Needs the Right Kind of Change"

CONGRESSWOMAN BOYDA KICKS OFF RE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN WITH EVENTS IN PITTSBURG, TOPEKA 

TOPEKA, KS – Congresswoman Nancy Boyda (Kansas Second District) today officially kicked off her campaign for re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives with rallies in Pittsburg and Topeka.

A crowd of supporters gathered in the Topeka Statehouse rotunda to cheer on Congresswoman Boyda as she declared, “We’ve had enough infighting, enough partisanship, and that’s why I’m running for re-election:  because Congress needs the right kind of change.”

In her speech, Congresswoman Boyda highlighted two bills that she authored during her first term in Congress:  the Pensions Forfeiture Act, which strips the pensions of Members of Congress convicted of federal crimes, and the Soldier Tax Relief Act, which abolishes the so-called “Soldier Tax” on over 150,000 military families.  Both provisions are now federal law.

Congresswoman Boyda also called for expanded domestic oil drilling, a broad crackdown on illegal immigration, and a permanent extension of the middle-class tax cuts enacted in 2001.  And she emphasized the importance of leadership in Congress:  “We need leaders with courage and guts,” she said.  “You don’t fix Congress by giving in to lobbyists or rolling over before Big Oil.  You fix Congress by working hard, by holding yourself and everyone around you to the highest standards of transparency and accountability.  You fix Congress by sometimes challenging people, sometimes saying ‘no,’ and always standing up for your constituents.”

Congresswoman Boyda was introduced by her husband, Steve Boyda, and by two constituents whom her office has directly served in the last two years.

Among the speakers was Michael Massey, a youth minister from Topeka.  In 2007, Mr. Massey’s church youth group planned a pilgrimage to their ancestral church home in Canterbury, England, but their passports were indefinitely delayed in a State Department backlog.  In desperate need of help, Mr. Massey contacted Congresswoman Boyda’s office, and her staff cut through red tape to ensure that every passport arrived on time.

“Our pilgrimage turned out to be beyond fantastic,” Mr. Massey said.  “The people in England treated us as family and made us truly feel at home.  We deeply appreciate the role that Nancy Boyda played in making this once-in-a-lifetime experience possible.”

A representative also read a statement on behalf of Captain Cale Miller of Topeka, who could not attend today’s conference because he was recovering from surgery.  Five years ago, Captain Miller was injured by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan.  When he returned home to the United States, he found that the Army’s insurance would not pay for the dorsal column surgery his doctor had recommended.

“I hit brick wall after brick wall until I contacted Congresswoman Boyda’s office,” Captain Miller said in his statement.  “Her staff cut through the red tape and the bureaucracy, and the very soon, my surgery was approved.  I’m still in pain, and I just underwent another major surgery last week, but now I feel like there’s hope.”

He added, “Nancy Boyda’s office also guided me through the long, arduous process of qualifying for VA disability benefits.  I deeply appreciate her help and support.”

Congresswoman Nancy Boyda was sworn into the U.S. House of Representatives in early 2007, and she quickly earned a reputation as a bold, common-sense leader. In her first months in office, she led the drumbeat for ethics reform laws to restore honesty and integrity to Washington. She soon gained recognition for reaching across party lines to solve tough problems, leading to her election as Republican Liaison for the freshman Democratic class.

Since her swearing-in, Congresswoman Boyda has returned home to Kansas for over 400 public events, including 58 Congress on Your Corner town halls.