WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), member of the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, this week introduced the Protecting Our Security Through Utilizing Right-Sized End-Strength (POSTURE) Act of 2016 (S. 2563). The POSTURE Act would reverse ongoing and future reductions to end strength levels in the Active U.S. Army, U.S. Army Reserve, U.S. Army National Guard, Active Marine Corps and Marine Corps Reserve. U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), also a member of the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, is a cosponsor of the POSTURE Act.

“President Obama’s tenure is marked by across-the-board spending cuts to our military in the face of increasing threats to our national security,” Sen. Moran said. “Given the volatile, uncertain, and dangerous developments over the past several years, the readiness of our Armed Forces, particularly land forces in the Active and Reserve Components of the Army and Marine Corps, must not be not jeopardized.  This legislation would help safeguard our nation while global threats demand America’s full vigilance and capabilities.”

“The president’s primary responsibility is to keep Americans safe,” Sen. Blunt said. “Yet the steep defense cuts he has proposed would do just the opposite, undermining our military readiness at a time when we face more threats, coming from more directions, than ever before.  The POSTURE Act would reverse dangerous end strength reductions to our Armed Forces, ensuring our military leaders have the personnel they need to carry out their missions.”

Companion legislation was introduced in the House (H.R. 4534) by Reps. Christopher Gibson (R-NY-19) and Michael Turner (R-OH-10). This bill is supported by the National Guard Associated of the United States (NGAUS) and the Association of the United States Army (AUSA).

To read the bill text, click here.

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), member of the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, released the following statement about reports that the administration will submit a plan to Congress today to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and transfer detainees to the United States:

“The president’s move down the unlawful path to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay is reckless – especially after numerous Department of Defense officials and his own Attorney General confirmed it is against the law. Over the last seven years, this administration has been incapable of presenting a comprehensive, legally justifiable closure and relocation strategy that maintains the safety and security of Americans, and I don’t anticipate the plan presented to Congress today will provide any substantive planning or legal justification.

“I remain committed to blocking the transfer of Guantanamo detainees anywhere in the United States, especially Fort Leavenworth. The critical mission of the Command and General Staff College in educating military members from ally nations across the world would be compromised. We must safeguard the missions on Fort Leavenworth, the nearly 14,000 military and civilian personnel and their family members, and the thousands of Kansans who live in the Leavenworth community.”

Click here to download an audio version of Sen. Moran’s statement.

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), member of the Senate Commerce Committee and Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety and Security, released the following statement tonight after the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee passed the Aviation Innovation, Reform, and Reauthorization (AIRR) Act (H.R. 4114), by a vote of 32-26. This legislation would reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) through 2022.

“The proposal to privatize air traffic control has dangerous long-term implications on general aviation and the small airports and rural communities it serves,” Sen. Moran said. “General aviation would forever be under the threat of higher, unfair fees and costs, with no opportunity for American citizens to affect change through their elected officials.”    

Sen. Moran added, “I am as frustrated as anyone with FAA bureaucracy that has caused significant delays in modernizing our air traffic control system, and I believe FAA Reauthorization this year is the right time to address these problems with specific and targeted reforms. Unfortunately, handing all authority over access to airspace, airport funding and investment, fees, charges, and tower operations to a private board with no government or consumer recourse is a misguided idea that could create more problems than it actually solves.

“There are many important reforms and policy advancements in the AIRR Act, particularly in regards to aircraft certification and pilots’ rights. But on ATC privatization, there are still too many unanswered questions that I hope to see addressed on the House floor. On the Senate side, I will make certain the concerns of Kansans are heard and look forward to a robust debate as we work to provide long-term certainty and stability for our nation’s aviation system.”

The legislation would drastically overhaul the national Air Traffic Control (ATC) system, transferring authority over the nation’s skies to a new, privatized corporation governed by a board of aviation industry stakeholders. The new entity, known as ATC Corporation, would take control in 2019 following a three-year transition period and operate beyond the reach of Congressional oversight, establishing a new cost and fee structure to finance all air traffic control operations.

With FAA funding set to expire March 31, 2016, the Senate Commerce Committee is expected to consider FAA Reauthorization legislation in the coming weeks.

Background
General aviation is Kansas’ largest industry, generating more than $3 billion in annual exports. More than 42,000 Kansans make a living manufacturing, operating and servicing the world’s highest quality aircraft. Ever since pioneers like Clyde Cessna moved to Wichita nearly one century ago to establish what would become the “Air Capital of the World,” Kansas aviation workers have supplied three out of every four general aviation aircraft. Today, general aviation employs 1.1 million Americans nationally, spurring economic development in small towns and rural communities, and helping businesses large and small compete in the global marketplace. Largely unique to the United States, with three-quarters of all general aviation flights globally, the industry is a critical link in our national transportation system.

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Mr. President, thank you for recognizing me. The pending legislation that we are visiting about today provides tougher sanctions on North Korea and I consider it a significant development and it’s certainly welcome as Congress once again begins to assert its role in defending national security and curtailing the growing number of nuclear weapons around the globe.

In the decade since North Korea's first successful nuclear test, the threat of nuclear proliferation has not diminished. We concluded, the United States concluded an agreement with Iran that leaves its nuclear infrastructure in place, causing others in the region to declare their own interest in obtaining nuclear weapons.

Pakistan's nuclear arsenal is the fastest growing in the world, and it continues to destabilize the region through its ties to terror organizations. And North Korea continues to build its nuclear stockpile and its ability to deliver future weapons.

In all three of these circumstances, Congress has been the source of pressure on these nations--enacting tougher sanctions on Iran, placing a hold on security funding for Pakistan, and now this legislation today builds on those previous efforts. The results may vary, but as I see it, my colleagues in this Chamber and in the House have been much more proactive than the administration in imposing the costs for failing to adhere to international norms.

President Obama's approach of strategic patience has failed to accomplish the objective in bringing North Korea back to the negotiating table, and certainly no agreement by them to dismantle their nuclear arsenal and their nuclear program. North Korea has tested three nuclear weapons on the President's watch and some experts believe its stockpile could grow to 100 weapons by 2020 – from 10 to 15 weapons today. In addition to nuclear weapons, the regime is believed to possess chemical and biological weapons.

North Korea is advancing in missile technology and has engaged in cyber-attacks against South Korea, Japan and American entities. North Korean missiles might not yet be able to reach the continental United States, but American service members stationed in South Korea and Japan and tens of millions of innocent lives are menaced by the threat of weapons of mass destruction in the possession of an aggressive regime with little regard for what the world thinks of it.

The Arms Control Association notes, and I quote, “North Korea has been a key supplier of missiles and missile technology to countries in the developing world, particularly in politically unstable regions such as the Middle East and South Asia.” The recipients of such expertise are said to be Pakistan and Iran, among others. In fact, American intelligence judged the Syrian nuclear reactor destroyed by the Israeli Air Force in 2007 to have been constructed with North Korean assistance.

Equally worthy of attention is Kim Jong Un's regime’s brutal treatment of its own people. Just 2 years ago, the U.N. Human Rights Council published a report concluding that “the gravity, scale, and nature of these violations reveal a State that does not have any parallel in the contemporary world.”

It would be disingenuous to stand here and place all the blame on the President or the administration. North Korea is the one – is one of the most difficult nations in the world to understand and regional complexities make it difficult to find a solution.

North Korea has taken advantage of lapses in American resolve during both the Clinton and Bush administrations, conducting its first nuclear test in 2006. Nevertheless, it’s obvious to me that a change in approach is necessary. “Strategic patience” has been exhausted. Stronger measures are necessary. While the ideal approach is to work in concert with the U.N. Security Council, we cannot afford to wait for consensus on punitive measures from the U.N. that may never come.

My colleagues have written legislation that ensures sanctions are mandatory, only to be waived on a case-by-case basis that requires a written explanation justifying the waiver.

The secondary sanctions will penalize those outside of North Korea who assist in the regime's nefarious behavior. Without China's support in restricting North Korea's ambition, the efforts of America and the world face an uphill battle. Up to this point, China believes that an unstable North Korea is more dangerous than a North Korea with an advanced nuclear program; therefore, the enforcement of secondary sanctions is a necessary step to seek cooperation in dismantling their nuclear program.

I am pleased that the bill includes language to deter and punish cyber-attacks by codifying sanctions as well as requiring the President to offer a counterstrategy to North Korea's cyber capabilities. The ongoing cyber activities are damaging to our security and our economy as well as the economy and security of our friends. The bill also attempts to address the deplorable treatment of the North Korean people by their own government.

This legislation is certainly not without risk. China may retaliate in some manner, North Korea may become even more bellicose, and it could be – could very well fail to pressure Kim's regime to surrender its nuclear program. Yet, it’s painfully clear that the status quo is not working and that global security is imperiled as our government stands by.

Fear of risk and failure will not stop us from exhausting all peaceful options to curb nuclear proliferation. Every effort must be made to convince North Korea to surrender its nuclear weapons. Congress is once again doing its part in the fight against proliferation.

Chairman Corker, and Senator Gardner, and the members of the Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Durbin – who is on the floor – ought to be commended for their leadership on this issue and I look forward to joining them in passing legislation later today that will put teeth to American diplomacy.