KANSAS CITY, Missouri, March 13 (TNSres) -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics - Mountain-Plains Regional Information Office issued the following report on March 12, 2025, entitled "Consumer Price Index, Midwest Region - February 2025": * * * Regional prices rose 0.3 percent in February, up 3.1 percent over the year * * * The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the Midwest Region advanced 0.3 percent in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics   more

KANSAS CITY, Missouri, March 13 (TNSres) -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics - Mountain-Plains Regional Information Office issued the following report on March 12, 2025, entitled "Consumer Price Index, St. Louis area - February 2025": * * * Area prices rose 0.5 percent in January and February, up 2.0 percent over the year * * * The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the St. Louis area advanced 0.5 percent for the two months ending in February 202  more

WASHINGTON, March 12 -- Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, issued the following news on March 11, 2025: * * * Chairman Moran Leads Hearing with VA, VSOs to Review Pending Legislation WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (Kan.) - chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs - led a committee hearing today to consider 15 pending pieces of legislation, including his Restore VA Accountability Act, Veterans' ACCESS Act, External Provider Sched  more

WASHINGTON, March 12 -- Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, issued the following news release on March 11, 2025: * * * Commerce Committee Leaders Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Reinforce U.S. Space Leadership NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2025 will generate economic growth, help space exploration flourish WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.)  more

WASHINGTON, March 12 -- The U.S. Department of Defense issued the following news: * * * Contracts for March 12, 2025 DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY BOH Environmental LLC, Covington, Louisiana, has been awarded a maximum $466,000,000 firm-fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for specialized shipping and storage containers. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 3204 (a)(1), as stated in the Federal Acquisition Reg  more

TOPEKA, Kansas, March 12 -- Gov. Laura Kelly, D-Kansas, issued the following news release: * * * Governor Kelly Honors Kansas Task Force 1 for Hurricane Response Efforts TOPEKA - Governor Laura Kelly met with members of Kansas Task Force 1 (KS-TF1) Wednesday to recognize them for their deployment to Florida and North Carolina to assist in recovery efforts after Hurricanes Helene and Milton. "I am pleased to proclaim March 12, 2025, as KS-TF1 Hurricane Response Day in the State of Kansas," G  more

TOPEKA, Kansas, March 12 -- Gov. Laura Kelly, D-Kansas, issued the following news release: * * * Governor Kelly Releases Statement Regarding "Black Mass" Event at the Kansas Statehouse TOPEKA - Governor Laura Kelly released Wednesday the below statement regarding the "Black Mass" event scheduled for March 28 at the Kansas State Capitol. "I have been informed about concerns regarding an event at the Statehouse on March 28, and I share those concerns. There are more constructive ways to prote  more

WASHINGTON, March 13 -- Rep. Ron Estes, R-Kansas, issued the following news release: * * * House Passes Unemployment Fraud Legislation Washington, March 12, 2025 | Roman Rodriguez (316-262-8992) Last night, the House passed H.R. 1156 - the Pandemic Unemployment Fraud Enforcement Act - by a vote of 295-127, with 83 Democrats joining all Republicans voting in favor of the bill. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimates $100 to $135 billion in stolen unemployment insurance (UI) benef  more

TOPEKA, Kansas, March 12 -- The Kansas Corporation Commission announced the following dockets on March 11, 2025: * * * 25-TRAM-349-OOS Docket Type: OOS - Out of Service Docket Description: In the Matter of the Suspension of Operating Authority of Top Notch Drywall LLC Date Filed: 03/11/2025 * * * 25-TRAM-5060-TRA Docket Type: TRA - Transportation Order Docket Description: Transportation Orders Date Filed: 03/11/2025 * * * 25-TRAM-347-OOS Docket Type: OOS - Out of Service Docket Des  more

TOPEKA, Kansas, March 13 -- The Kansas Corporation Commission announced the following dockets on March 12, 2025: * * * 25-TRAM-350-OOS Docket Type: OOS - Out of Service Docket Description: In the Matter of the Suspension of Operating Authority of All Tech Excavating Inc Date Filed: 03/12/2025 * * * 25-CONS-3307-CMSC Docket Type: CMSC - Miscellaneous Docket Description: Miscellaneous - Jason Nickell Date Filed: 03/12/2025 * * * Original text here: https://estar.kcc.ks.gov/estar/portal  more

TOPEKA, Kansas, March 12 -- The Kansas State Corporation Commission (SCC) has levied a $4,000 civil penalty against Black Hills Energy Corporation for multiple violations of the Kansas Underground Utility Damage Prevention Act (KUUDPA). The fine stems from four separate incidents in 2024 where Black Hills Energy failed to accurately and timely locate underground gas lines before excavation, leading to damages. The SCC's investigation, documented in Docket No. 25-DPAX-312-PEN, revealed that Blac  more

TOPEKA, Kansas, March 12 -- The Kansas State Corporation Commission (SCC) has issued a penalty order against Atmos Energy Corporation, fining the company $8,000 for multiple violations of the Kansas Underground Utility Damage Prevention Act (KUUDPA). The violations, which occurred between March and December 2024, involved failures to provide timely and accurate pipeline location services, leading to damages during excavation. The SCC's investigation revealed eight separate instances where Atmos  more

TOPEKA, Kansas, March 12 -- The Kansas State Corporation Commission (SCC) has granted Panasonic Energy Corporation of North America's petition to intervene in the review of Evergy Kansas's proposed Large Load Service (LLS) Rate Plan. The decision, documented in Docket No. 25-EKME-315-TAR, allows Panasonic to participate in proceedings concerning a new tariffed rate for large-scale customers. Evergy Kansas Metro, Inc., Evergy Kansas South, Inc., and Evergy Kansas Central, Inc. filed an applicati  more

WASHINGTON, March 12 -- Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Missouri, issued the following news release: * * * Rep. Cleaver Joins 159 Lawmakers in Condemning Any Effort by Trump Administration to Privatize USPS (Washington, D.C.) - This week, U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) joined Representative Nikki Budzinski (D-IL) and 158 members of Congress in condemning any effort by the Trump Administration to privatize the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). In a letter to President Trump, the lawmakers ex  more

WASHINGTON, March 13 -- Rep. Ron Estes, R-Kansas, issued the following news release: * * * Rep. Estes Applauds EPA Announcement Washington, March 12, 2025, Rep. Ron Estes (R-Kansas) issued a statement following Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin's announcement that the EPA would be reviewing the definition of Waters of the United States, or WOTUS. "For too long, Kansas farmers and ranchers have dealt with ambiguity and uncertainty as a zealous EPA attempted to dic  more

WASHINGTON, March 12 -- Rep. Tracey Mann, R-Kansas, issued the following news release: * * * Rep. Mann Applauds WOTUS Announcement WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Representative Tracey Mann (KS-01) applauded U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin's announcement (link is external) on the Trump Administration's decision to revise and define the "waters of the United States" (WOTUS) in a clear, simplified direction. Rep. Mann released a statement after the announcemen  more

WASHINGTON, March 12 -- Rep. Tracey Mann, R-Kansas, issued the following news release: * * * Rep. Mann Protects Integrity of Taxpayer Dollars WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Representative Tracey Mann (KS-01) voted to advance H.R. 1156 (link is external), the Pandemic Unemployment Fraud Enforcement Act. The legislation will extend the statute of limitations for prosecuting fraudulent COVID-19 unemployment claims, allowing law enforcement to recover billons of stolen taxpayer dollars while holding cri  more

WASHINGTON, March 12 -- Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Illinois, issued the following news release: * * * Schakowsky, Markey Introduce Legislation to Close Tax Loophole that Allows Dirty Tar Sands to Avoid Paying for Oil Spill Cleanup Full Text of Bill (PDF) WASHINGTON - U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (IL-09) and Senator Edward J. Markey (D-MA) introduced the Tar Sands Tax Loophole Elimination Act, legislation that would close the tar sands loophole in the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, which   more

WASHINGTON, March 13 -- Rep. Derek Schmidt, R-Kansas, issued the following news release on March 12, 2025: * * * Schmidt Visits Southern Border WASHINGTON, DC: Last week, Congressman Derek Schmidt (KS-02) joined a delegation of freshman representatives at the southern border. The delegation - led by Congressman Juan Ciscomani (AZ-06) - visited the Nogales Port of Entry, U.S. Border Patrol Nogales Station, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations Nogales, U.S. Army   more

WASHINGTON, March 13 -- Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, issued the following news on March 12, 2025: * * * Sen. Moran Urges GAO to Investigate Ways to Support VA Employees Responsible for Processing Military Sexual Trauma Claims WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) - chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs - called on the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate how the Department of Veterans Affairs can bett  more

WASHINGTON, March 12 -- Sen. Edward J. Markey, D-Massachusetts, issued the following news release: * * * Senator Markey Applauds Passage of Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Legislation Through Committee Washington (March 12, 2025) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee and co-author of the Green New Deal resolution, today applauded the passage of the bipartisan and bicameral Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance and Rehabilitation Act   more

WASHINGTON, March 12 -- Sen. Edward J. Markey, D-Massachusetts, issued the following news release: * * * Senator Markey Introduces Legislation to Close Tax Loophole that Allows Dirty Tar Sands to Avoid Paying for Oil Spill Cleanup Bill Text (PDF) Washington (March 12, 2025) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, today reintroduced the Tar Sands Tax Loophole Elimination Act, legislation that would close the tar sands loophole in the Oil   more

WASHINGTON, March 12 -- Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, issued the following news release: * * * Senator Marshall Reintroduces End Taxpayer Funding of Gender Experimentation Act Washington -U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-Kansas) today reintroduced the End Taxpayer Funding of Gender Experimentation Act. This legislation prohibits the use of federal funding for gender transition procedures and bars federal healthcare facilities, physicians, and providers from providing such procedures. I  more

WASHINGTON, March 12 -- Rep. Mark Alford, R-Missouri, chairman of the House Small Business Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations and Regulations, issued the following news release on March 11, 2025: * * * Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Regulations Holds Hearing on Restoring the SBA to Its Intended Mission: Serving Main Street WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Congressman Mark Alford (R-MO), Chairman of the Small Business Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Regulations,   more

WASHINGTON, March 12 -- Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, issued the following news release: * * * Welch, Marshall, Warner and Cassidy Lead Bipartisan Bill to Crack Down on PBMs' Abusive Pricing Practices Bill will protect pharmacies in Medicaid and save $2 billion over 10 years WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) today led Senators Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) in introducing the bipartisan Protecting Pharmacies in Medicaid Act, legislati  more