Madam President, I wish to address the Senate in regard to a terrible tragedy that has occurred in our state. I start with the premise that our immigration system is terribly, terribly broken and the consequences of flawed immigration policies exhibit themselves across our society. It’s hard to understand why nothing has been done to address certain obviously dangerous vulnerabilities – specific problems that put American lives at risk.

Sanctuary city policies, an indifference about prosecution of illegal immigrants arrested for dangerous crimes and the tolerance of bureaucratic red tape by [the] administration all contribute to a dangerous degrading of the criminal justice system. The failure to address illegal immigration at all levels of government has been accounted for in lost lives.

Sometimes a government failure is just annoying. Sometimes it’s deadly. Decades of broken immigration policy contributed to the situation that led to the murder of four people in Kansas and another in Missouri. The victims are Michael Capps, 41 years old, Jake Waters, 36 years old, Clint Harter, 27 years old, Austin Harter, 29, all of Kansas City, Kansas, and Randy Nordman, 49 years old, of New Florence, Missouri. The man suspected of taking these lives is an illegal immigrant—a man who has unlawfully entered the United States three times. He has been arrested over and over. He has repeatedly demonstrated that he is a serious threat. Yet, despite these red flags, the system failed and this man was free and able to commit these barbaric acts.

The extent of the systemic breakdown in this case is sickening. The process – how criminal suspects unlawfully in the country are processed – is a failure. The policies are terribly ineffective. In the current system, justice is delayed by bureaucracy or obstructed, in some cases, amazingly, by design. A broken system: some people prefer it that way and work to make it so. Others simply permit it to persist. Regardless, this has resulted in horrific crimes.

Sanctuary city policies and the laws that enable them must be fixed before the unnecessary loss of innocent life happens again. Failure to do so only allows more crimes like these murders and the spree of criminal behavior that preceded them.

Congress needs to act now. The President needs to act now. The Department of Homeland Security needs to act now. Local governments and law enforcement agencies need to act now.

The Senate's attempt to do just that has been stymied, but we must not give up on an effort to secure our nation and protect Americans from harm. Failure to address these problems will only make the problems worse and will make them more difficult to solve later. Continuing the status quo means empowering career offenders, incentivizing law-evading behavior, impeding the prosecution of crime, and releasing dangerous and habitually unlawful individuals who have no place in our communities.

These victims of crime like last week's horrors in Kansas City, have been failed by their communities and by their political leaders. Americans and our communities will continue to pay the price for the failure of our immigration system and the refusal of policymakers to work together to fix it.

Americans and their families will continue to pay; hopefully not again in the loss of life, but how can we guarantee that? We must act quickly. We must act now to correct these immediate problems, improve our nation's broken immigration policies and laws, and stop the terrible consequences.

The loss of life is a terrible thing and probably, in this circumstance, had no reason to happen – would not have happened if the jobs had been done.

Kansans, Kansas families, Americans, American families deserve much, much better. These victims and their families – we honor them today, we offer our condolences and provide our sympathies – but these individuals and their families deserved better.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) released the following statement after bipartisan Senate passage of S. 524, the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016 (CARA), by a vote of 94-1. CARA will help address the national epidemic of prescription opioid and heroin abuse by expanding prevention efforts, supporting law enforcement, addressing overdoses, and expanding access to treatment.

“Far too many Americans are suffering from addiction and dying of overdoses from heroin and prescription pain medication,” Sen. Moran said. “CARA represents a broad plan to combat the devastating effects of the addiction epidemic that damages individuals and communities alike. Many of us know a family member, neighbor or friend who has suffered from addiction. This legislation will aid recovery for those affected and help roll back this growing national crisis.”

In recent years, there has been an increase in the abuse of heroin and prescription painkillers throughout the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control, overdoses from heroin, prescription drugs and opioid pain relievers surpassed car accidents as the leading cause of injury-related death in 2014.

S. 524 is supported by medical professionals, addiction recovery experts and groups such as the National Association of Attorneys General, the National District Attorneys Association and the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors (NASADAD) among others.

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) yesterday introduced the Veterans Choice Improvement Act of 2016 (S. 2646) along with U.S. Senator Richard Burr (R-N.C.). This legislation makes the Veterans Choice Program, which was created under the Choice Act in 2014 to allow veterans to get needed health care outside of the VA system, a permanent program. It will also provide needed changes and reforms to address the bureaucratic delays, hassles and confusion that veterans have continued to experience in attempting to access health care.

“Thousands of veterans are still struggling to access the care they were promised through the Choice Act. Persistent red tape at the VA continues to hold the program back from doing greater good,” Sen. Moran said. “This legislation is an important step toward making certain veterans no longer struggle with unacceptable wait times at VA facilities or go without care because they live in rural communities. I am committed to our nation’s veterans, who should be treated like patriots, deserving of the best health care our country can offer.”

S. 2646 addresses three key problems that have come to light since the creation of the Veterans Choice Program in 2014:

1. Systemic confusion with accessing health care outside the VA: The VA has the legal authority to send veterans outside of the VA to receive care, but there are multiple programs, contracts and laws that confuse everyone involved. The Veterans Choice Improvement Act simplifies the process by consolidating redundant and overlapping programs into the Veterans Choice Program and creating one funding source for all non-VA care programs. This will streamline and simplify the process for veterans who need to go outside of the VA to receive care. 
   
   
2. Medical providers fear working with the VA, which is jeopardizing the ability of veterans to get the care they need: VA has an antiquated, slow, and inefficient claims processing system that often makes it very difficult for private medical providers to work with the VA. The Veterans Choice Improvement Act requires that the VA will create a modern, secure and efficient claims submission process with industry best practices. It gives strict timelines for reimbursement to providers and includes measures to make sure that the VA meets those timelines.
   
   
3. The VA does not use local medical providers to help veterans, which means veterans have to drive for hours to receive care, even for simple things like getting eyeglasses. The Veterans Choice Improvement Act allows the VA to enter into provider agreements with local providers, which will help thousands of veterans who live in areas with health care shortages to receive the care they need much more easily and conveniently.

S. 2646 is also sponsored by Sens. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and John Boozman (R-Ark.).

The full text of the bill is available here.

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) joined U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) today in introducing a resolution formally rejecting President Obama’s plan to transfer detainees from the Guantanamo Bay detention facilities to an alternate location in American communities, which is prohibited by law.

“This resolution once again reiterates Congress’ strong opposition to the administration’s plan to move detainees to Kansas or anywhere in the United States,” Sen. Moran said. “The president should focus his efforts on the serious national security threats we face across the globe instead of wasting energy to fulfill a campaign promise that his own administration has confirmed is illegal.”

The resolution states that the Senate:

• Rejects the “Plan to Closing Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility” presented by the President on February 23, 2016, to transfer, release, or assist in the transfer or release of Guantanamo Bay detainees to the United States homeland, in contravention of current United States law that explicitly prohibits such transfers;
• Finds that Guantanamo Bay detention facility is the optimal location to house dangerous foreign enemy combatants;
• Asserts that any potential transfer or release of Guantanamo Bay detainees to the U.S. homeland represents a threat to United States national security due to the risk of providing law of war detainees with rights and protections under the United States Constitution, including the potential for release into the United States, and particularly, a threat to the safety and security of local communities in the States of Kansas, Colorado, and South Carolina; and
• Demands that the President immediately abandon any ill-conceived and illegal plans to transfer Guantanamo Bay detainees to the United States homeland without explicit authorization from the United States Congress.

The full text of the resolution is available here.

Sites in Kansas, South Carolina and Colorado have been surveyed as potential replacements for Guantanamo.

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