Biography

Senator Jerry Moran's Official Photo

Kansans first elected Jerry Moran to the United States Senate in 2010. Since joining the U.S. Senate, Senator Moran has been a leading advocate for protecting and preserving the special way of life in Kansas.

Senator Moran has a long history of opposing reckless spending in Washington, and as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee has pushed for spending cuts, tougher funding standards and broad reform. Senator Moran serves as lead Republican on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, which allows him to lead the funding decisions that impact men and women working at agencies like the Department of Justice, the FBI, NASA, the United States Trade Representative and the Department of Commerce, to name a few. This broad committee jurisdiction allows Senator Moran to advocate for priorities important to Kansans in many different contexts.

As a member of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, Senator Moran advocates on behalf of Kansans regarding a number of issues vital to the state’s economy, ranging from communications and product safety to empowering Olympic and NCAA athletes. Senator Moran is also a strong advocate for the aviation industry and continuing service of Amtrak’s Southwest Chief.

Senator Moran understands that overregulation is among the greatest threat to the economy in rural America, and his role on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies positions him well to advocate for family farmers and ranchers and work to eliminate burdensome regulations that threaten the future of rural America. Through this Appropriations Subcommittee, Senator Moran prioritizes resources for a variety of agricultural programs and is a champion for agricultural research.

Senator Moran also works to improve the quality of life for the nearly 200,000 veterans living in Kansas and across the nation as the lead Republican on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee. His priority is to help veterans achieve success after service and to make certain they have the right care at the right time and with the provider they choose.  

Since joining the U.S. Senate, Senator Moran has also been a leading advocate for issues related to entrepreneurship, job creation and innovation. He is committed to putting policies in place that foster a pro-growth environment where businesses can succeed without government-imposed barriers.

Senator Moran serves as a member of a number of caucuses that enhance his ability to represent Kansans' interests in the United States Senate. His focus on protecting rural Kansans and their communities led him to co-found the Senate Community Pharmacy Caucus, the Senate Economic Mobility Caucus and the Senate Hunger Caucus. He also serves as co-chair of the Senate Army Caucus, the Senate Travel and Tourism Caucus, the Congressional Task Force on Down Syndrome, the Senate NIH Caucus, the Senate Aerospace Caucus and the Senate Defense Community Caucus.

During the 2014 election cycle, Senator Moran served as chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC). Under Senator Moran’s leadership, Republicans gained a net increase of nine seats – the largest Senate swing by any party since 1980 and the largest Senate gain in a midterm election since 1958, resulting in a Republican Senate majority.

Prior to his election to the Senate in November 2010, Moran served Kansans in the “Big First” Congressional district for seven terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, as well as eight years in the Kansas State Senate – spending the last two years as Majority Leader. As a senior member of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee, then-Congressman Moran worked with colleagues to craft legislation that allowed Kansas farms and ranches to remain viable in today’s competitive global marketplace and participated in the implementation of two Farm Bills. Moran was also an active member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, as well as the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee where he served as chairman of the Health Subcommittee.

Senator Moran has made it his top priority to stay connected to the people he represents. Despite the distance of more than 1,000 miles between Washington, D.C., and Kansas, he returns home each weekend to meet with people from across the state. The conversations he has with Kansans during his travels around the state greatly impact the work he does in Washington.

While at home in Kansas, he volunteers his time at several community organizations. He serves on the board of trustees of the Fort Hays State University Endowment Foundation, on the executive committee of the Coronado Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America, and is a former trustee of the Eisenhower Foundation. He is also an active Lions Club member, Rotary Club member, and Sons of The American Legion member. He attends the First Presbyterian Church of Manhattan.

Before his election to public office, Senator Moran attended Fort Hays State University and later the University of Kansas, where he completed a degree in economics. After an early career as a small-town banker, he received his J.D. from the University of Kansas. Jerry and his wife Robba continue to live in Kansas. They have two daughters, Kelsey and Alex, and four grandchildren.

116th Congress Stats: 

  • According to the Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL), Sen. Moran was the 7th most effective Republican Senator for the 116th Congress. CEL bases their rankings on a “combination of fifteen metrics regarding the bills that each member of Congress sponsors, how far they move through the lawmaking process, and how substantial their policy proposals are.”
  • According to GovTrack.us, Sen. Moran had the third most bills signed into law compared to all 100 Senators during the 116th Congress. Of note, Sen. Moran’s sweeping Olympic reform bill, the CJS Appropriations bill (provides funding for DOJ, NASA, Commerce and NOAA), and historic mental health legislation for veterans were signed into law. His legislation to designate 9-8-8 as the new three digit mental health hotline and community care for veterans is also of note.

The Town Hall Project awarded Sen. Moran the 2019 Senate MVP Award for holding the most town halls in 2019.