U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick [D-District 1] is back in Congress for her second term and said she is eager to start working. She was meeting her constituents in Sedona on Jan. 26.

Kirkpatrick said the newly sworn-in 113th Congress has already passed two major bills. The first was the Hurricane Sandy Emergency Relief Bill, authorizing $50.5 billion to help victims of the storm that devastated the Atlantic coast in October. The second was the No Budget, No Pay Act, which stipulates that if members of 113th Congress don’t pass a budget by Monday, April 15, they won’t receive their $174,000-per-year salary until the last day of their term in January 2015.

“So right now the focus is we have to do something about the budget,” Kirkpatrick said. “We’re going to deal with sequestration again in March so that’s a really important issue.”

For the full story and Kirkpatrick’s views on the Sedona National Scenic Area, the Violence Against Women Act, veterans issues, gridlock and bipartisanship, gun control, and her goals on congressional subcommittees, see the Wednesday, Feb. 6, edition of the Sedona Red Rock News.