Lt. Gov. Parkinson meets with colleagues, hears from key federal officials
Agriculture, education, security and transportation to be topics of discussion

WASHINGTON, DC – A conference of the nation’s lieutenant governors is giving Kansas Lt. Governor Mark Parkinson the opportunity to work with his colleagues and to hear from senior members of Congress and the administration on issues impacting the states.

The Winter Meeting of the National Lieutenant Governors Association is bringing together 30 state lieutenant governors to discuss issues such as the farm bill and the No Child Left Behind Act.

“Kansas farmers and ranchers are greatly impacted by federal agriculture policy, and we’ve also seen the effects of the No Child Left Behind Act on our schools.  I want to see where Congress and the administration are headed on the renewal of these two important laws and provide insight on their effects in Kansas,” said Parkinson.

U.S. Senator Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, will brief the lieutenant governors about agriculture and U.S. Rep. Dale Kildee, D-Michigan, will provide information on federal education policy.

“I think there’s no question that some improvements are needed,” Parkinson said.  “I look forward to talking with our federal partners about ways to enhance these laws so we can get better results here in Kansas.”

The NLGA attendees will also hear from U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, and homeland security officials on the latest technology available to cities and counties to enable first responders’ communications systems to work together, something known as interoperability.

“We’ve taken some great steps in Kansas toward full interoperability.  We’re assisting local first responders in moving to an 800 MHz system that will allow them to coordinate their responses to an emergency situation, but we’ll also take advantage of any help the federal government is willing to provide,” said Parkinson.

Officials from the Department of Transportation will give a preview of the road financing report due out in July of this year.  That briefing will include information on how the state’s airports, both large and small, and pilots may be affected by ongoing reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration.

The NLGA Annual Winter meeting is March 14 – 17.

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