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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), along with Senate Western Caucus Chairman John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), have warned U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack that the U.S. Forest Service’s recently proposed Groundwater Resource Management Directive will restrict access to public lands and interfere with state and private water rights. The Directive would initiate the Forest Service’s authority over state-managed groundwater resources claiming that surface water and groundwater is “hydraulically interconnected” and that the agency could object to state-regulated projects on “adjacent” land that purportedly harm groundwater.
Sens. Moran and Roberts warn that this Directive – proposed without state or local input – will encourage litigation, restrict Americans’ access to public lands, and potentially interfere with adjacent state, local and private land and water rights.
The full text of the letter is below:
June 24, 2014
The Honorable Tom Vilsack
Secretary
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, DC 20250
Dear Secretary Vilsack:
We are troubled by the U.S. Forest Service’s recently proposed Groundwater Resource Management Directive (Directive) to manage water resources purportedly impacting National Forest System (NFS) lands.
Like other proposals stemming from this Administration, including the Forest Service Planning Rule, the Interim Directive on Ski Area Special Use Permits, the Blueways Secretarial Order and the proposed Clean Water Act Jurisdictional rule, this Directive seeks to further federalize water resources at the expense of state authority. This sweeping proposal additionally seeks to impose water use restrictions and deny agricultural, recreational, and other economic activity in 155 National Forests and their adjacent state, local and private neighbors in 40 states. The end result could be lost jobs and reduced recreational access to public lands, with little or no environmental benefit.
The Directive specifically seeks to “manage surface water and groundwater resources as hydraulically interconnected,” laying the groundwork for unilateral, federally-imposed mandates on the exercise of state-endowed water rights. The Directive further requires Forest Service cooperation with the Environmental Protection Agency and an evaluation of “applications for water rights on adjacent land that could adversely affect NFS groundwater resources and identify any potential injury to those resources.” In addition, the Directive appears to expand or modify permit requirements relating to climate change that could impact water users adjacent to NFS groundwater resources.[4] These and other provisions would impose a chilling effect on existing and future water resource development and the uses dependent on that development not only within NFS lands but outside these lands.
We are further concerned that this Directive will lead to regulations that undermine the Forest Service’s statutory multiple-use responsibilities for managing the nation’s national forests and grasslands. The proposed Directive could also encourage litigation and impose de facto federal buffer zones on water users and job creators adjacent to NFS lands. In addition, this action has been pursued without the initial and necessary input from impacted states, farmers, recreationists and ranchers and many others who would be directly impacted by this Directive.
This proposal has reinforced our belief that the Forest Service is continuing its action to override state water laws. We therefore urge you to withdraw this ill-timed and punitive Directive.
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Sen. Moran Receives Commitment from Acting VA Secretary on Future of ARCH Program
"I am pleased you understand that access to quality care is vital for the health and well-being of all veterans; particularly those who are underserved and struggle to receive the care they deserve in rural areas."
Jul 02 2014
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, was recently alerted to plans by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) to instruct all Access Received Closer to Home (ARCH) pilot program sites – including the site in Pratt, Kansas – to send letters to veterans notifying them that their medical services through ARCH would be ending this fall. Sen. Moran immediately reached out to acting Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Sloan Gibson and requested these letters be halted given the VA’s continued public statements to Congress that the future of the successful ARCH program has not been decided. Hours later, Sen. Moran received word that VHA Assistant Deputy Undersecretary for Health for Administrative Operations Philip Matkovsky put a hold on sending letters to veterans regarding the future of their medical services through ARCH.
In light of VHA’s unpredictable decisions about the future of ARCH, Sen. Moran spoke personally with acting Secretary Gibson last Friday, June 27, 2014, to make certain he was personally involved in assuring that veterans currently receiving medical services through ARCH will continue to receive those medical services. Today, Sen. Moran sent a follow up letter to acting Secretary Gibson calling for his commitment to providing medical services through ARCH as he expressed during their phone conversation.
"I am pleased you understand that access to quality care is vital for the health and well-being of all veterans; particularly those who are underserved and struggle to receive the care they deserve in rural areas," Sen. Moran wrote to acting Sec. Gibson. "As we continue to work together to make certain rural veterans have access to quality care, I’d like to confirm the assurance you offered during our conversation that veterans currently receiving medical services through ARCH will continue to receive those medical services. Veterans from the five ARCH pilot sites are overwhelmingly satisfied with the care they receive through ARCH, and are counting on you to make certain they continue to receive quality care closer to home."
Since 2011, the ARCH pilot program has been operating in five rural sites across the country including Pratt, Kansas. ARCH serves rural veterans by giving them access to health care from a community provider close to home instead of traveling hundreds of miles to seek care at a VA facility. Independent analysis shows that more than 90 percent of veterans who received primary care services through ARCH are “completely satisfied,” and cite significantly shortened travel times to receive care. Sen. Moran has repeatedly asked VA officials – including Sec. Shinseki directly at a March 2014 SVAC hearing – about the future of the successful ARCH program which is set to expire in September 2014. Instead of the straightforward analysis promised by Sec. Shinseki, Sen. Moran has only received empty promises and non-answers from the VA. Sources outside the VA now tell the Senator that the national program director for ARCH directed the five pilot sites several months ago to begin contacting veterans who participate in ARCH to let them know the program would be ending. The VHA has consistently given Congress the impression they were waiting on analysis about the success of the program to inform their decision about extending the program and all along that has been a misleading storyline. At a time when the VA says it is looking for ways to “accelerate access to care” for veterans, the VHA made an intentional decision not to inform Congress about their plans to discontinue this successful program.
Please see Sen. Moran’s full letter to the acting VA secretary below or click here:
The Honorable Sloan Gibson
Acting Secretary
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
810 Vermont Ave, N. W.
Washington, D.C. 20420
Dear Secretary Gibson,
I appreciate your willingness to discuss the pilot project known as Access Received Closer to Home or ARCH – an issue that is incredibly important to me as it supports hundreds of rural veterans in my home state of Kansas. During our conversation on Friday, June 27, 2014, we had the opportunity to address the success of ARCH and my growing concern that rural veterans who currently benefit from access to care in their communities through ARCH will soon experience a lapse in care due to the decision by the Veteran Health Administration (VHA) to unnecessarily end medical services accessed through ARCH for veterans in the five pilot locations.
I am pleased you understand that access to quality care is vital for the health and well-being of all veterans; particularly those who are underserved and struggle to receive the care they deserve in rural areas. As we continue to work together to make certain rural veterans have access to quality care, I’d like to confirm the assurance you offered during our conversation that veterans currently receiving medical services through ARCH will continue to receive those medical services.
Veterans from the five ARCH pilot sites are overwhelmingly satisfied with the care they receive through ARCH, and are counting on you to make certain they continue to receive quality care closer to home. No veteran should struggle to access and receive timely, quality care just because of where they live, which is why ARCH is so critical. Hundreds of veterans are anxious about the VHA’s plans to end ARCH, and are concerned their medical care will suffer as a result.
I strongly urge you to put an end to their worries by confirming your plan to use existing authorities, or whatever means available, to ensure the continuation of their medical services through ARCH. I look forward to our next conversation and your timely response to this request.
Sincerely,
Jerry Moran
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) responded to the release of two U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Inspector General (IG) reports on Obamacare verification systems. The first report reviews the effectiveness of the procedures and safeguards for preventing fraudulent or inaccurate information by applicants enrolling in health plans through the Obamacare insurance Exchanges. This report finds that the Obamacare system lacks internal controls to verify information provided by individuals enrolling through Obamacare. The second report details the inconsistencies that arose as part of the haphazard enrollment process. The IG finds that most exchanges were unable to resolve the majority of inconsistencies, most often relating to income and citizenship. In particular, the federal exchange was unable to resolve 2.6 million out of 2.9 million inconsistencies as of February 2014.
"The Administration has unilaterally changed Obamacare to bend every rule it can – delayed regulations, changed the enrollment period, and given select individual and employer exemptions – to try and make the law work," Sen. Moran said. "Once again, we are provided further evidence that Obamacare is not working. In fact, the Administration is relying on nothing more than the honor system to run a billion dollar program. Without adequate safeguards or the ability to reconcile inconsistencies in income and citizenship, the Administration is wasting millions in American taxpayers’ dollars to provide subsidies to individuals who do not actually qualify."
Without a process in place to verify an enrollee’s income or citizenship, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the government agency responsible for implementing Obamacare, will continue to process applications based on nothing more than the honor system. As a result, the Administration will hand out inaccurate subsidies while relying on an unproven, incomplete back-end system to recoup incorrect subsidies during the tax filing process. This disorganization will result in massive uncertainty with the Administration having to dedicate more taxpayer dollars to reclaim the incorrect subsidies from enrollees who may not have the money to pay them back. In addition, many Americans who based their insurance choice off inaccurate subsidy information may now see their premiums increase as their subsidy is reduced by the Administration.
In May, Senator Moran demanded a response from the Department of Health and Human Services about a press report stating the federal government may be paying incorrect Obamacare subsidies to more than 1 million individuals. The Department has yet to respond to the Senator’s letter.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) issued the following statement upon learning of the death of Dan Johnson, a Hays-native and former member of the Kansas House of Representatives:
“A farmer, veteran and representative for the 110th District, Representative Johnson will be remembered for his work ethic and commitment to improving his community and our state. Dan was independent in thought and firm in his conviction, and I am honored to have called him a friend. I send my deepest sympathies his wife Gwen, and ask all Kansans to join me in keeping the Johnsons in our thoughts and prayers during the days ahead.”
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Sen. Moran: Reports on Accountability, Transparency of Obamacare Exchange Subsidies to be Released Tomorrow
"Once again, we are provided further evidence that Obamacare is not working. In fact, the Administration is relying on nothing more than the honor system to run a billion dollar program."
Jun 30 2014
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) learned that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Inspector General (IG) will release the findings of two reports tomorrow, Tuesday July 1, 2014, on Obamacare verification systems. The first report reviews the effectiveness of the procedures and safeguards for preventing fraudulent or inaccurate information by applicants enrolling in health plans through the Obamacare insurance Exchanges. This report finds that the Obamacare system lacks internal controls to verify information provided by individuals enrolling through Obamacare. The second report details the inconsistencies that arose as part of the haphazard enrollment process. The IG finds that most exchanges were unable to resolve the majority of inconsistencies, most often relating to income and citizenship. In particular, the federal exchange was unable to resolve 2.6 million out of 2.9 million inconsistencies as of February 2014.
“The Administration has unilaterally changed Obamacare to bend every rule it can – delayed regulations, changed the enrollment period, and given select individual and employer exemptions – to try and make the law work,” Sen. Moran said. “Once again, we are provided further evidence that Obamacare is not working. In fact, the Administration is relying on nothing more than the honor system to run a billion dollar program. Without adequate safeguards or the ability to reconcile inconsistencies in income and citizenship, the Administration is wasting millions in American taxpayers’ dollars to provide subsidies to individuals who do not actually qualify.”
Without a process in place to verify an enrollee’s income or citizenship, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the government agency responsible for implementing Obamacare, will continue to process applications based on nothing more than the honor system. As a result, the Administration will hand out inaccurate subsidies while relying on an unproven, incomplete back-end system to recoup incorrect subsidies during the tax filing process. This disorganization will result in massive uncertainty with the Administration having to dedicate more taxpayer dollars to reclaim the incorrect subsidies from enrollees who may not have the money to pay them back. In addition, many Americans who based their insurance choice off inaccurate subsidy information may now see their premiums increase as their subsidy is reduced by the Administration.
In May, Senator Moran demanded a response from the Department of Health and Human Services about a press report stating the federal government may be paying incorrect Obamacare subsidies to more than 1 million individuals. The Department has yet to respond to the Senator’s letter.
# # #
Sen. Moran on Supreme Court Hobby Lobby Ruling
Jun 30 2014
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (Kan.) today released the following statement after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Obama administration’s attempt to restrict Americans’ religious freedom in the case of Hobby Lobby v. Sebelius:
“Since our nation’s earliest days, the U.S. Supreme Court has consistently affirmed our First Amendment right to exercise our religious beliefs freely,” Sen. Moran said. “Today’s Supreme Court decision rightly rejects the federal government’s intrusion into an individual’s religious liberty. This ruling protects religious practice beyond places of worship without harm to others. I applaud the Supreme Court’s decision.”
Sen. Moran was one of 15 Senators to co-sign an amicus brief in the case challenging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate. The Supreme Court’s decision applies to family-owned, closely-held corporations.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), along with Senator Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and nine of their Senate colleagues have demanded answers from President Obama regarding the release of five high-value prisoners from Guantanamo Bay in exchange for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. In a letter, the senators also expressed concerns over the legality of the exchange, saying it violated provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The law mandates a 30-day congressional notification requirement for detainees transferred from Guantanamo Bay to foreign countries.
The full text of the letter is below:
June 19, 2014
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear President Obama:
We write to express our strong concern with your decision to release five high value prisoners from Guantanamo Bay– defying both Section 1035 of the Fiscal Year 2014 (FY14) National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and the recommendations of at least one panel of experts established by your own executive order.
On January 27, 2009, you issued Executive Order 13492, which described a process for a “prompt and thorough review of the factual and legal bases for the continued detention of all individuals currently held at Guantanamo.” This executive order established the Guantanamo Review Task Force, an inter-agency panel chaired by the Attorney General. Members of the task force included the Secretaries of Defense, State, and Homeland Security; Director of National Intelligence; and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The final disposition of the review was reported on January 2010 and recommended that 48 detainees, including the five individuals recently released in exchange for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, warranted continued detention under the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force. No publicly available decisions of subsequent review boards, including the Periodic Review Board established by your Executive Order 13567, indicate that the assessment of these five individuals haschanged. The Wall Street Journal reported on June 10, 2014 that the intelligence community believes at least four of the five detainees would or were likely to rejoin the fight in Afghanistan. It is deeply concerning that in releasing these individuals, you overrode the recommendations of at least one panel of experts that you called on to guide national security decision-making.
On December 19, 2013, the Senate passed the FY14 NDAA and you signed it into law seven days later. As you know, this legislation included a 30-day congressional notification requirement for detainees transferred from Guantanamo Bay to foreign countries. This law was not followed ahead of the transfer of Khair Ulla Said Wali Khairkhwa, Mullah Mohammad Fazl, Mullah Norullah Noori, Abdul Haq Wasiq, and Mohammad Nabi Omari.
In your decision to release these individuals, we are further concerned about the increasing recidivism rate among Guantanamo detainees. According to the Director of National Intelligence, an additional four former Guantanamo detainees were confirmed of rejoining the fight between July 2013 and January 2014, raising the combined suspected and confirmed recidivism rate to 29%. On June 16, 2014, Spanish authorities detained Lahcen Ikassriena, former Guantanamo detainee, who is believed to have led a recruitment cell for the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, further raising concern about the actions of former detainees.
Contradictory to your own advisory committee, and without observance of Public Law No. 113-66, five senior Taliban leaders were released and many will likely return to the battlefield. None of the remaining 149 detainees should be released without a full investigation of the process by which the five detainees were released outside of the legal process.
Sincerely,
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Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) issued the following statement today upon learning of the death of former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker, husband of former Kansas Senator Nancy Landon Kassebaum Baker.
“My heart goes out to the entire Baker family during this difficult time,” Sen. Moran said. “Senator Baker was a true statesman who dedicated his extraordinary life to serving our country. From the South Pacific in World War II and the Watergate trial, to his leadership of the U.S. Senate and the Reagan White House, Senator Baker was an iconic political figure and remarkable American. I am honored to have met him. I wish to send my deepest sympathies to Howard’s wife, former Kansas Senator Nancy Kassebaum. I ask all Kansans to join me in keeping Senator Baker’s family and friends in our thoughts and prayers during the days ahead.”
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) released the following statement after the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously overturned President Obama’s unconstitutional “recess” appointments to the National Labor Relations Board in January 2012. Sen. Moran and 44 of his Senate colleagues filed an amicus brief in the case and counsel for the Senators participated in oral argument before the Supreme Court.
"The Obama Administration has a bad habit of sidestepping Congress and ignoring the Constitution when they find it politically convenient," Sen. Moran said. "This decision by the Supreme Court puts both the U.S. Constitution and best interests of Americans first."
The legal controversy with the appointments was tied to whether brief Senate breaks called pro-forma sessions, which Congress states are not formal recesses, are in fact recesses. The federal court of appeals ruled that the only congressional break that counts as recess is the one that occurs between formal, year-long sessions of Congress. Even then, the president may only fill vacancies that come open while the Senate is in recess.
This Supreme Court ruling against President Obama nullifies all decisions by these Board members -- Democrats Sharon Block, Terrence Flynn and Richard Griffin – since January 2012.
In May 2013, Sen. Moran joined 44 Senate colleagues in filing an amicus brief in the United States Supreme Court in a challenge (Noel Canning v. NLRB) to the constitutionality of President Obama’s recess appointments in January 2012.
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Sens. Moran and Roberts Statement on SCOTUS Ruling for Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA
Jun 26 2014
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) released the following statement on the U.S. Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling this week on Utility Air Regulatory Group v. United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding a set of EPA greenhouse gas (GHG) regulations:
“This Supreme Court Ruling underscores the EPA’s efforts to expand its reach in the lives of Americans,” Sen. Moran said. “While I was pleased to see the Supreme Court ruled in favor of economic growth and job creation and against the overregulation of the EPA, more must be done to prevent the EPA from implementing any more job-killing regulations until the economic impact of its current regulations are fully known. If home and business owners in Kansas and across our country are to be optimistic about the future of the American economy, reining in regulatory overreach must be a priority of Congress.”
“While I would have liked to see the U.S. Supreme Court go further in its ruling this week to reign in some of the EPA’s overreach and continued assault on affordable, reliable energy, I believe this is a step in the right direction,” Sen. Roberts said. “Moving forward, I will continue fighting on behalf of all Kansans working to make ends meet in the face of rising energy costs driven by this Administration’s continued regulatory overreach.”
On Dec. 16, 2013, Sens. Moran and Roberts, along with three of their Senate colleagues, filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court regarding Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA. In the amicus brief, the Senators asks that the Supreme Court remand the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals decisions that upheld the EPA’s authority to require permits for GHG under the Clean Air Act.
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