Senator Roberts Speaks to Kansas TRiO Participants

Senator Pat Roberts delivered the keynote address for the Kansas TRiO annual breakfast in Washington, DC. TRiO is the name given to describe a series of federal education opportunity programs. There are 50 TRiO programs in Kansas reaching over 13, 000 students across the state. The programs offer tutoring, counseling, life and study skills workshops, computer instruction, and much more to help students start and successfully finish a college education.

Roberts remarked, "As a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, I have long been a strong supporter of the TRiO programs and am extremely proud of our programs in Kansas. A noble goal of K-12 education is to give all children the opportunity to move onto and be successful in postsecondary education. Unfortunately, a college education may seem out of reach for some Kansans who might be the first in their family to attend college, are from low-income backgrounds, or who are physically disable, which is why TriO is so critical."

On March 15, members of the Roberts Advisory Committee on Science, Technology and the Future met in Topeka. Senator Roberts formed this committee in 1997 to enable leaders in the high technology fields located in private industry, academic institutions, government agencies and the military to meet and work together to advise him on the creation of a growing and impressive high-tech job base for Kansans, both now and in the future.

The Committee, organized into Task Forces of specific technologies, has led to a successful exchange of ideas and relationship-building. A major result was the recommendation that new research facilities be built in Life Sciences at the University of Kansas, in Food Safety Science at Kansas State University and in Aviation Research at Wichita State University. These facilities will attract research dollars, which will spin off thousands of new jobs over time.

At the meeting in Topeka, the Task Forces delivered reports with updates on goals of the various technologies. Included in the reports were strategies to help industries in Kansas: to be first in the marketplace with new ideas; to create plans for such innovation, and to maintain leadership in each industry.

Senator Roberts, Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, recently offered this assessment on the quality of intelligence on Iran:

"I would like to tell you that the Intelligence Community has its act together in regards to our intelligence assessments about Iran’s nuclear activities, but the fact is, I am very concerned. The Senate Intelligence Committee’s Iraq investigation revealed that Intelligence Community analysts failed to explain the difference between what they knew, what they didn’t know, and what they thought about Iraq WMD. We can’t afford to make those same mistakes on Iran."

"There is no question that the nuclear capabilities Iran is trying to develop are ‘dual use’ – they could be used to produce electrical power or nuclear weapons material. The Intelligence Community confronts this ‘dual use’ dilemma every day, and it is precisely why we need good intelligence on Iran. When there is more than one plausible explanation for an action, good intelligence is essential for determining the plans and intentions of those that could threaten our national security."

"The Intelligence Community has had a significant increase in funding since 9/11, and the question is now less a matter of resources. We must have more thorough analysis that is honest about uncertainties and we need more aggressive collection that works to reduce those uncertainties with regard to Iran."