&nbsp;<span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">Congress has been very busy in early 2017. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">Read further to find out what is happening on both sides of the aisle!</span>

<span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8012809753418px; font-style: normal; line-height: 19.2019214630127px;">Today, Vote Smart released the results of the National Political Courage Test to&nbsp;</span><a href="http://votesmart.org/voteeasy#.VbuQA7NVhHw" target="_self">VoteEasy</a><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8012809753418px; font-style: normal; line-height: 19.2019214630127px;">&nbsp;at&nbsp;</span><a href="votesmart.org" target="_self">VoteSmart.org</a><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8012809753418px; font-style: normal; line-height: 19.2019214630127px;">, giving Kansas voters an invaluable resource for identifying their&nbsp;best&nbsp;political match November 4th. Twenty-one congressional, state legislative and gubernatorial candidates passed the 2014 Political Courage Test.</span> <div> <span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8012809753418px; font-style: normal; line-height: 19.2019214630127px;"> <br> </span> </div>

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> After Wednesday's vote in the Senate on President Obama's proposed gun bill, the Internet was rife with mixed emotions. </p>

<span style="color: rgb(64, 64, 64); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8012809753418px; font-style: normal; line-height: 19.2019214630127px;">Sign up for our monthly E-Newsletter&nbsp;</span><a href="http://votesmart.org/newsletter#.VbkZv7NVhHw" style="color: rgb(0, 38, 100); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8012809753418px; font-style: normal; line-height: 19.2019214630127px;" target="_self">here</a><span style="color: rgb(64, 64, 64); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8012809753418px; font-style: normal; line-height: 19.2019214630127px;">.&nbsp;</span>&nbsp;

&nbsp;<a href="http://votesmart.org/newsletter" target="_blank">Sign up now</a>&nbsp;to receive a copy of this monthly publication.

Every election year,&nbsp;Project Vote Smart&nbsp;uses the&nbsp;<a href="http://votesmart.org/about/political-courage-test" target="_blank">Political Courage Test</a>&nbsp;(PCT)&nbsp;to measure the willingness of candidates to provide their positions on key issues. Find out now if your candidates are currently being tested.&nbsp;

<p> <a href="http://www.votesmart.org/newsletter" target="_blank">Sign up now</a><font face="Arial, sans-serif"><font size="2">&nbsp;to receive a copy of this monthly publication.</font></font> </p>

The inability of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, or 'Supercommittee',&nbsp;<a href="http://votesmart.org/blog/2011/nov/22/supercommittee-misses-deadline/" target="_blank">to come to an agreement</a>&nbsp;to reduce the United States'&nbsp;government debt by over one trillion dollars has prompted a significant&nbsp;response by both Democrats and Republicans.&nbsp;

<br>