(Washington, DC)—

Contact:   MARC: Marlene Nagel, Community Development Director, at 816/474-4240 or Jody Ladd Craig, Public Affairs Director, 816/701-8241 or jcraig@marc.org; Congressman Cleaver: Danny Rotert 816-842-4545 or 816-519-2011
 

Tomorrow, local officials from the Kansas City metro area will brief Congressman Bennie Thompson (MS-02), Chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee, on the work of the Regional Homeland Security Coordinating Committee.

“I am very proud of the Kansas City area’s Regional Homeland Security Coordinating Committee and its nationally recognized efforts in preparedness and response. The bistate region is a model of cooperation and effective planning. I believe Washington can learn a great deal from the work that is being done here,” said Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, II, who requested Thompson visit the Mid-America Regional Council (MARC).

Congressman Bennie G. Thompson is currently serving his eighth term as the representative for Mississippi's Second District and third term on the Homeland Security Committee.  With 39 years of continuous public service, he is the longest-serving African-American elected official in the state of Mississippi. As the 110th Congress began, Thompson was promoted by his colleagues to serve as the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, which was created by the U.S. House of Representatives in 2002 in the aftermath of September 11, 2001. As Chairman, Congressman Thompson recently introduced and engineered House passage of the most comprehensive homeland security package since September 11th, H.R. 1, the "9/11 Commission Recommendations Act of 2007".

Who:    Chairman of the House of Representative’s Homeland Security Committee, Bennie Thompson (MS-02) and leaders of the Regional Homeland Security Coordinating Committee

What:    Briefing on homeland security issues facing the region

When:   Friday, November 2, 2007, Press availability promptly begins at 11:30-11:45

Where:  Mid-America Regional Council, 600 Broadway, Suite 200, Kansas City, MO

Emanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri’s Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee's Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Belton, Raymore and Peculiar, Missouri. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee and the Speaker’s Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. Congressman Cleaver also serves as a Regional Whip of the Democratic Caucus and Second Vice-Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.