Roberts defeats Milton Wolf in GOP Senate primary

By NICK SLOAN, nick@kansascitykansan.com

KANSAS CITY, KAN. ----- All eyes were on Kansas tonight as U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts defeated challenger Milton Wolf in Tuesday night's U.S. Senate Republican primary.

Roberts won 48 percent of the vote to Wolf, who won 41 percent. The remaining 11 percent went to candidates D.J. Smith and Alvin Zahnter.

Roberts earned over 125,000 votes.

In an interview with news reporters after his victory speech, Roberts said his new goal is to unite Republicans across the State of Kansas.

“We need the tea party. We need their passion,” Roberts told The Lawrence Journal-World. “They’re very upset with the direction of the country. I’m upset with the direction of the country. And we just have to know that we have to have a Republican victory to get that Senate back so we can stop the Obama agenda.”

While Roberts prevailed state-wide, Milton Wolf actually won the Kansas City metro area.

He won Wyandotte County by a 49-39 percent margin. He earned a slim victory among Johnson County voters and also carried Leavenworth and Miami counties.

Roberts will take on Democrat Chad Taylor and Independent candidate Greg Orman.

GOP Senate candidate Wolf says Republicans shouldn't make friends with Democrats

By SCOTT ROTHSCHILD, The Lawrence Journal-World

In his criticism of U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., on Monday, Dr. Milton Wolf indicated Republicans shouldn't make friends with Democrats and that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's recent controversies have been caused by the media.

Wolf, a tea party-backed challenger to Roberts in the GOP primary, was interrupted several times by applause during his 24-minute talk to about 50 people who attended an event put on by the Douglas County Republican Party at Famous Dave's restaurant.

One of Wolf's major criticisms of Roberts is that Roberts voted in the Senate to confirm President Barack Obama's selection of Kathleen Sebelius in 2009 as secretary of Health and Human Services. Sebelius has been at the forefront of implementing the Affordable Care Act, commonly called Obamacare, which is opposed by all Republicans in Congress.

"One of the problems with our party is too often we're the go-along to get-along party," said Wolf. "We try to get people in the media to like us, we try to get the Democrats to like us. It never works. Ask Chris Christie about that. He can walk on the beach every day of the week with Barack Obama, but as soon as he starts looking like a candidate for the presidency, the media is going to stab him in the back," Wolf said.

In 2012, Christie, a Republican, praised the response of President Obama and the federal government to Hurricane Sandy, which battered the Northeast. Christie's appearances with Obama just days before the presidential election was criticized by some Republicans as helping Obama.

Recently, Christie has been embroiled in controversy over an allegation that his aides closed lanes to the George Washington Bridge in political retribution against a New Jersey mayor.

Wolf added, "You cannot make friends with our adversaries, and yet what we have — and this should trouble us all to know — is we have Sen. Roberts who voted to put Kathleen Sebelius in charge of Obamacare," he said.

Sebelius was confirmed as secretary on a 65-31 vote. Nine Republicans voted for her, including Roberts and then-U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, a Republican who is now governor of Kansas. In recent months, Roberts has called for Sebelius to resign after the troubled roll-out of the ACA's enrollment website.

Tea Party activist Wolf says Roberts too late in calling for Sebelius to resign

By SCOTT ROTHSCHILD, The Lawrence Journal-World

The campaign of Dr. Milton Wolf, the Tea Party activist challenging U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., says Roberts' call for the resignation of U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius was "too little, too late."

Wolf's campaign said Roberts should apologize for voting to confirm Sebelius as President Barack Obama's secretary of Health and Human Services. Sebelius, a former Kansas governor, is implementing the Affordable Care Act.

"With her help, President Obama and the democrats rammed through the most disastrous legislation in recent history. Senator Roberts owes every American an apology," Wolf's campaign said.

Wolf, a radiologist from Leawood, announced his candidacy in the 2014 Republican Party primary last week. Just days later, Roberts issued a news release, saying that Sebelius, a former Kansas governor, should resign for "gross incompetence" because of glitches in the rollout of the federal online health insurance marketplace under the ACA.

The HealthCare.gov federal website for the health insurance marketplaces has been plagued with technical problems that have prevented many from enrolling.

Sebelius has acknowledged problems and said technicians were trying to expand the site's capacity. The website became operational Oct. 1.

Meanwhile, the Roberts campaign issued a statement saying that it ended the quarter Sept. 30 with $1.8 million cash on hand for the campaign, and touted Roberts' ranking as the fifth most conservative senator, according to Heritage Action.

"Kansans know that Pat is the tough, tested and trusted conservative in this race," said Dave Murfin, of Wichita, and Statewide Co-chair of Roberts for Senate.

Sen. Roberts calls for Kathleen Sebelius to resign

Lawrence Journal-World

U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., today called on Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius to resign for "gross incompetence" in the rollout of the online enrollment for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act.

Roberts said he would rather the ACA be repealed, but in the absence of that "we need new leadership from top to bottom. I am calling on the secretary to resign."

The HealthCare.gov federal website for the health insurance marketplaces has been plagued with technical problems that have prevented many from enrolling.

Sebelius, a former Kansas governor, has acknowledged problems and said technicians were trying to expand the site's capacity. The website became operational Oct. 1.

Consumers have until Dec. 15 to enroll for coverage that starts Jan. 1. They have until the end up March to sign up to avoid tax penalties.

Roberts, Jenkins remain opposed to military strike against Syria

By SCOTT ROTHSCHILD, The Lawrence Journal-World

After meetings on Tuesday with the White House, U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts and U.S. Rep. Lynn Jenkins, both Republicans from Kansas, reiterated their opposition to using the military in response to a chemical weapons attack in Syria.

After President Barack Obama met with the Senate, Roberts said, "This past month at home, not a single Kansan told me they supported military action in Syria."

And Roberts said he didn't believe a diplomatic proposal involving Russia and the United Nations to have Syrian President Bashar Assad give up chemical weapons was credible.

“There is nothing I trust about the U.N., Russia or the Assad regime," Roberts said. "By offering this diplomatic path, we are simply providing a delayed mechanism for the president to pursue his goal of a military strike when the regime does not comply. At that time, I believe Kansans, and all Americans, will feel the same as they do today: opposed to military strikes in Syria.”

Roberts also criticized Obama, saying Kansans "are discouraged, concerned and disgusted with the lack of leadership within the administration. I share all of these sentiments. The actions displayed by the president and the secretary of state do not inspire confidence."

Roberts says war with Syria likely

By PETER HANCOCK, The Lawrence Journal-World

U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts said today that it appears the United States is headed for war in Syria, especially in light of recent reports that government forces there used chemical weapons against Syrian rebels.

"I don't see any way out of it," the Kansas Republican said in a speech to the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce during a luncheon this afternoon. "I think (President Barack Obama) has to use military force."

But Roberts said he believes the American people are "war-weary" and he does not believe military action will involve sending ground forces into Syria.

"We're not going to put boots on the ground," he said. "I don't think this president would put boots on the ground anyway. He is taking boots off the ground. He did that in Iraq."

Roberts' comments came on the same day that the White House said it was considering military options, but that those options do not involve taking down the regime of Syrian President Bashar Hafez al-Assad.

During his speech in Lawrence, Roberts indicated that he doesn't believe the president has decided what the aim of any U.S. military action should be. And he strongly urged the president to consult with Congress before taking any action.

"Whatever is done is going to have to be done strategically and with considerable thought, and really change the outcome of what happens in regards to Syria," Roberts said. "I am not sure the president is ready to do that."

Roberts was in Lawrence Tuesday as part of a statewide tour while Congress takes its traditional August recess.

In his remarks to the Chamber of Commerce audience, Roberts also spoke about several other issues pending in Washington, including the possibility of a federal government shutdown if Congress cannot agree on a budget before Oct. 1.

Some congressional Republicans have talked about refusing to pass a budget that includes funding for the Affordable Care Act, also known as "Obamacare." And the president has indicated he will not sign a budget that does not include funding for his foremost legislative program.

Starting Oct. 1, people without insurance can start shopping for subsidized coverage in state-based exchange markets. And starting Jan. 1, most adults will fall under a mandate to either have health insurance or pay a tax penalty.

Roberts: KU’s National Cancer Institute designation application was successful, formal announcement expected in July

By GEORGE DIEPENBROCK and ANDY HYLAND, The Lawrence Journal-World

Kansas University’s Cancer Center will receive its long-sought National Cancer Institute designation, with a formal announcement expected in mid-July, sources said Thursday night.

The news was first released by U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., on his Facebook page.

"I am pleased that The University of Kansas has been given a green light and I look forward to a formal announcement of their National Cancer Institute designation," he posted on his Facebook page.

KU applied for the designation in September, after working for seven years and investing more than $350 million toward the effort that would be a boon for the local economy and offer promising new treatments to cancer patients in the region. Last September, KU officials said the effort had already created 1,123 jobs and contributed $453 million to the region’s economy.

“The announcement’s on its way, and I’m excited,” Ed McKechnie, chairman of the Kansas Board of Regents, said Thursday evening.

More details would be forthcoming later, he said.

Tim Caboni, KU’s vice chancellor for public affairs, would not comment beyond a brief statement Thursday night.

“On the 12th of July, we will make a formal announcement regarding NCI,” he said.

Roy Jensen, director of the KU Cancer Center, on Thursday said only that KU still had yet to receive official word on its NCI designation. Jensen, KU Chancellor Bernadette Grey-Little and other leaders issued a message to the KU Medical Center campus Friday about news reports on the NCI designation.

"While we are encouraged by this news, we do not yet have our formal notice of grant award and have been asked by the NIH to reserve July 12 for a formal announcement," the statement said.

Officials have said the prestigious designation would mean more federal research dollars and the high-paying jobs that come with them. Cancer patients would have access to clinical trials open only to patients at NCI-designated centers.

“All I can say is that we think some good news is headed toward KU,” Sarah Little, a Roberts spokeswoman, said Thursday night. “We received some positive correspondence but understand an official notice is coming.”

U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., said Friday he was very optimistic and looking forward to the July 12 announcement.

"I know it will not only be great news for the university and Kansas City, but also a fantastic development for the entire state of Kansas and the region," said Moran, a KU alumnus who attended a February site visit during the review process. "Achieving NCI Designation would dramatically enhance KU Cancer Center’s ability to discover, develop and deliver innovative treatments to patients and enable the Center to recruit the best and brightest researchers to our state. It would also help Kansas’ development into a thriving medical research powerhouse and attract thousands of jobs and billions of dollars to our state’s economy."

McKechnie said the successful effort reflected the hard work and vision of many people along the way, including university leaders in Lawrence and at KU Medical Center, hospital leaders across the state in the Midwest Cancer Alliance, and outside agencies like the Kansas Bioscience Authority.

“The list is longer than that,” he said of people who played a big role in the designation.

Still, he said, the work was not complete.

“This is but a waypoint of what the real goal is, and that is to become a comprehensive cancer center,” McKechnie said.

Becoming a comprehensive cancer center would require an additional designation from the NCI that is the highest designation an academic cancer center can receive.

Jensen told the Journal-World last week that KU and state officials were optimistic about the chances to receive the NCI designation based on the score the center received after a review process. NCI reviewers on Feb. 22 visited the KU Medical Center Campus in Kansas City, Kan. But Jensen said a key factor in the decision would hinge on the amount of federal funding available for a new cancer center.

The final hurdle was the president’s National Cancer Advisory Board, which considers NCI grant applications, including those for cancer center designations, in closed session.

That board met Monday in Bethesda, Md., but KU did not hear after the meeting whether its application was approved. NCI press officials said the board forwards its decisions back to a grants review committee that would notify applicants, but word got out Thursday night.

Leaders at KU in 2005 made pursuit of NCI designation the university’s top research priority. A fundraising council in Kansas City helped generate $62 million for the effort, and the Hall Family Foundation separately contributed a $10.5 million gift.