BY: TIM CARPENTER
Kansas Reflector
TOPEKA — U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner marked final preparations for departing Congress with a speech connecting his rise in Kansas politics to a family legacy of resilience and featuring a special request that colleagues aid children suffering extreme malnutrition.
LaTurner, a Republican who served in the Kansas Senate and as state treasurer before entering the U.S. House, declined to seek reelection to a third term in 2024. He was elected in 2020 by 2nd District voters eager to replace troubled GOP U.S. Rep. Steve Watkins.
He said in April the requirements of serving in Congress and running for reelection every two years had “taken a toll.” He has four young children and wanted to “be more present” for them.
“I want to thank my friends both at home and my colleagues here, my supporters who helped me get here, and my family,” LaTurner said. “To my kids, the best title I’ve ever had is dad. And that title is about to get my full attention.”
In remarks offered on the House floor ahead of his January exit, LaTurner requested Congress and the White House approve $300 million in funding for a global health initiative making use of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Foods or RUTF. It would expand the reach of this U.S.-made, medical-grade, nutrient-dense paste given to children suffering severe malnutrition.
“That increase should be realized. It is the right thing to do,” LaTurner said.
LaTurner said starving children consuming RUFT — at a cost of about $1 per day — had a survival rate near 90%. The nutritional product could be made with ingredients from 28 states, including peanuts, dairy, soy, sugar and micronutrients.
He recalled entering the House in 2021 and speaking with U.S. Rep. Don Young, who became the longest-serving Republican in House history. Young represented Alaska until his death in 2022.
“He told me when he arrived in 1973, it was customary for freshmen members to wait six months before speaking on the House floor,” LaTurner said. “To his surprise, I adopted this tradition. I did so partly out of deference to the dean, but mostly because it showed respect for this institution.”
LaTurner said it was the responsibility of people serving in Congress to preserve “an institution and a system of government that our founders painstakingly designed to safeguard against human nature.”
The departing Republican originally from southeast Kansas said he followed a path carved through sacrifice and tenacity of his family.
LaTurner said his single-parent father worked long hours managing a Sonic restaurant while putting himself through college. His dad became the first in the family to earn a college degree. He was as an educator and mayor of Galena.
His grandmother dropped out of school in the ninth grade because she had only one dress and couldn’t endure ridicule by her classmates. She raised six children and earned a G.E.D. before working as a nurse. LaTurner’s grandfather was the first in the family to graduate high school. He lost sight in one eye while serving in Korea. Unable to pass a physical, he worked odd jobs until he found his calling as a lay judge.
His grandfather’s father was killed in the mines at the age of 41 and left behind a widow and six children. They endured hardships most people cannot fathom, LaTurner said.
“Yet, three short generations later, his great-grandson was called ‘the gentleman from Kansas’ on the floor of the United States House of Representatives,” LaTurner said. “I share these stories because they remind me every day that I did not get here on my own. What a country this is. But it’s not just my story. It’s the American story.”
LaTurner, 36, entered the Kansas Senate in 2012. He was appointed state treasurer by GOP Gov. Sam Brownback. In 2020, he briefly sought the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate before winning the 2nd District House race.