{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://estes.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=5646", "Rep. Estes Sends Letter Demanding Energy Secretary Respect Kansas Property Rights", "2024-09-03", "2024", "2024-09", "Republican", "House", "KS", "Ron Estes", "E000298", "estes.house.gov", "estes", "https://estes.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx?DocumentTypeID=27", "scraper", "On Friday, Rep. Ron Estes (R-Kansas) sent a letter to Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Jennifer Granholm regarding the DOE\u2019s proposed designation of the Midwest-Plains National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor (NIETC) that would go through Kansas, including two counties in the 4th District \u2013 Edwards and Pawnee.\n\n\u201cRespect for private property rights is essential to our American way of life, and I am firmly committed to protecting those rights,\u201d said Rep. Estes. \u201cThe DOE\u2019s disregard for the private property rights of Kansans and lack of transparency in this process is unacceptable.\u201d\n\nThe letter details how the NIETC project could subject Kansans to federal land grabs and distorts the intent of the private Grain Belt Express transmission line project.\n\n\u201cThe 45-day comment period for this project did not provide enough time for local groups to fully understand the impacts this designation would have on their communities, nor were many Kansans even aware of the comment period,\u201d Rep. Estes wrote in his letter to Secretary Granholm.\n\nSince the comment period closed, there have been a number of public meetings, community engagement, and stakeholder outreach on this issue. Rep. Estes\u2019 letter calls on DOE to reopen the comment period to fully address the concerns of Kansans living in the path of this proposal.\n\nYou can read the full letter here.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:43:57Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://estes.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=5646"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7456790190190077, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}