Madam President, last Sunday I was at a funeral service in Manhattan, KS, because Kansas lost one of its greatest philanthropists and education advocates when Marianna Kistler Beach passed away on November 1, 2014.

Marianna and her late husband Ross Beach--who passed away in 2010--were residents of my hometown of Hays, Kansas, for more than 60 years before moving to Lawrence. This devoted couple was well known and well loved for their acts of service and kindness to others. Because of Marianna and Ross Beach, numerous Kansans have been inspired through the arts, and individuals with disabilities and their families have lived healthier, more productive lives.

Marianna was born on November 24, 1919, in Lincoln, KansaS, and Marianna learned the importance of empowerment through education at a young age from her parents. Elmer and Myrtle Kistler moved their family from Lincoln--including their 15-year-old daughter Marianna--to Manhattan, Kansas, in 1934 in order to give their children the opportunity for a college education during the Great Depression. Marianna graduated from Manhattan High School and Kansas State University, where she was a member of Pi Beta Phi, Sigma Phi Journalism Honorary, and Mortar Board.

Marianna married Ross--whom she always called Rossie--in 1941, and they were devoted to each other for 69 years until his death in 2010.

Ross Beach was a pioneer in banking, radio and television, and oil and gas, and Marianna was a support system behind all that success. Ross was the president of Kansas National Gas Company and chairman of the board of the Douglas County Bank, and with Marianna by his side Ross created economic opportunities for many Kansans. But the Beaches' business success was overshadowed by Ross and Marianna's generosity.

Marianna Beach worked hard to make certain education and the arts would be a priority of Kansans. She and her husband assisted with the formation of the Beach-Schmidt Performing Arts Center and the Sternberg Museum of Natural History at Fort Hays State University. Marianna was a member of the Mid-America Arts Alliance, president of the Hays Arts Council, and wrote a column on art and city beautification for the Hays Daily News for more than 20 years.

For the Beaches' 50th wedding anniversary, Marianna convinced her husband to establish the Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art on the campus of Kansas State University to ensure that art is accessible to all Kansans. My wife Robba and I have had the honor to serve on the board of visitors of this art museum that bears their name. We are able to witness firsthand the positive consequences of the passion and commitment Ross and Marianna had for culture and for the arts in our state.

Marianna's priorities were guided by a belief in the value of each individual, which was illustrated by her lifelong commitment to supporting and uplifting individuals with special needs. Supported by her husband, Marianna worked tirelessly to maximize the potential of handicapped individuals, serving on the President's Committee on Mental Retardation from 1969 to 1975. She was also actively involved at the local level. She did everything personally. In fact, the Beach Center on Disability at the University of Kansas is named in her honor. The research done there focuses on disability policy, employment, family support, and early childhood services.

The Beaches' level of generosity will truly live on for generations to come.

Despite their stature in our community and state, Marianna and Ross Beach always treated every person they encountered with respect and dignity. As a young newlywed couple starting a new life in Hays, the first invitation Robba and I received was to come to Ross and Marianna's home for dinner. There was never a more gracious, caring couple than the Beaches, who wanted to make sure everyone was included.

For a large portion of my life, I joined Ross and other businessmen and professionals for lunch at The Roundtable. While there was a lot of talk about sports and politics, I learned a lot about life by listening to Mr. Beach. My friendship with Ross Beach certainly opened doors for me in business and politics, but more importantly, it gave me the confidence to realize that this small-town Kansas kid could one day be able to serve here with my colleagues in the Senate.

While my family and I are saddened by the death of Marianna Beach, we take comfort knowing that the legacy of the Beach family will endure far beyond our generation. While Marianna and Ross Beach donated their talents and treasure, it is their caring nature and generous souls that I and many others will miss the most.

Marianna was loved by all who knew her but especially by her family. I extend my heartfelt sympathies to her daughters Mary, Terry, and Jane, as well as her brother Lee, sister Janet, and eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. I know you loved your mother, grandmother, and sister dearly, and she will be greatly missed. I hope you find comfort in knowing that she and Ross are united in their Heavenly home.

We are told that to whom much is given, much is expected. Ross and Marianna Beach more than fulfilled any expectations. I am thankful for having the good fortune of knowing them for more than 40 years.

God bless Marianna and Ross Beach for their life together and let them be a role model for all of us.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, and a group of senators also on the committee called on Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Bob McDonald to meet in-person to discuss the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 (VACAA) and make certain it is implemented and upheld the way it was intended and in the best interest of veterans. This includes offering non-VA care to veterans who are unable to receive healthcare services from a VA medical facility within 40 miles of where a veteran resides.

“We understood that it is your desire to carry out VACAA as it was intended and in the best interest of the veteran,” the senators wrote to Sec. McDonald. “Regrettably, the VA’s interpretation of the 40-mile eligibility criteria is inconsistent with your message and guidance.  Due to numerous discussions on this issue, the VA has agreed to a review utilizing existing authorities to identify the types of non-VA healthcare services that may be offered to a veteran when the same services are not available at a VA facility within 40 miles.  We are concerned that this narrow review will fail to guard against subjective determinations by bureaucrats of which medical services warrant an exception to the 40-mile rule and which do not.”

On Sept. 9, 2014, during a Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Hearing, Sen. Moran asked VA Sec. McDonald to clarify how the VA was going to handle care for rural veterans. Sen. Moran received a commitment from Sec. McDonald that the VA will make certain veterans receive the care they need through VACAA and will not experience the burden of travel to access that care, particularly if a VA facility within 40 miles of where a veteran resides does not offer the care and treatment the veteran is seeking. Click here to view the exchange.

See below the full text of the letter to Sec. McDonald:

November 14, 2014

The Honorable Robert A. McDonald
Secretary of Veterans Affairs
810 Vermont Avenue, NW
Washington, DC  20420

Dear Secretary McDonald:

We write to urge the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to comply with the intent of the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 (VACAA) by offering non-VA care to veterans who are unable to receive healthcare services from a VA medical facility within 40 miles.  The VA should either implement the law as intended under VACAA or pursue existing authorities under Title 38 to provide access to quality healthcare that veterans deserve.  

In response to VA wait time manipulation and failure to provide timely, quality healthcare to veterans, Congress passed VACAA with the expressed purpose of improving transparency at the VA and providing veterans the choice to access healthcare outside the VA healthcare system when timeliness and distance put their well-being at risk.  Unfortunately, the VA’s decision to exclude veterans who live within 40 miles of a VA facility, but who may be in need of a service or treatment not available at that facility, from the 40-mile eligibility criteria limits veterans’ choice and runs counter to Congressional intent.  It was Congress’s intent that if veterans cannot receive VA care within 40 miles of their home, they be permitted to receive non-VA care within the local community.

Based on your testimony before the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee in September, we understood that it is your desire to carry out VACAA as it was intended and in the best interest of the veteran.  Regrettably, the VA’s interpretation of the 40-mile eligibility criteria is inconsistent with your message and guidance.  Due to numerous discussions on this issue, the VA has agreed to a review utilizing existing authorities to identify the types of non-VA healthcare services that may be offered to a veteran when the same services are not available at a VA facility within 40 miles.  We are concerned that this narrow review will fail to guard against subjective determinations by bureaucrats of which medical services warrant an exception to the 40-mile rule and which do not.  For example, a service that may seem insignificant to a VA staff member who determines a three hour drive is acceptable in order to receive that care, may be quite impactful to the health and well-being of veterans.  If a VA facility simply cannot offer healthcare services veterans are requesting, regardless of the size and capability of that facility, the VA can and should provide veterans the choice of utilizing non-VA care closer to home.

While we would prefer that the VA adjust its interpretation of the 40-mile eligibility criteria, an effective use of existing authorities would be to allow VA Medical Center (VAMC) Directors to exercise their discretion in the use of fee-basis care if it is determined the veteran would be unduly burdened by excessive travel.  We urge you to direct VAMC Directors to exercise their discretion in authorizing non-VA care for veterans who reside more than 40 miles from a VA facility that provides the health care services the veteran requires.

Based on the commencement of the Choice Card deliveries to veterans, we request an opportunity to meet with you and discuss this issue in-person.  We strongly encourage you to adjust VA’s interpretation of the 40-mile eligibility criteria or utilize existing authorities to coincide with Congressional intent as stated in the VACAA Conference Report.  Our veterans deserve nothing less.  We look forward to your timely response, and thank you for your commitment to our nation’s veterans.             

Sincerely,

Jerry Moran
Mike Johanns
Johnny Isakson
John Boozman

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) issued the following statement on the U.S. Senate vote on construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline:

“This vote to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline should have happened years ago, and while I am disappointed it failed by a single vote in the Democrat-led Senate, it is only a matter of time before it is passed in the next Congress by the new Republican majority and sent to President Obama’s desk. At that time, the President will finally be forced to decide whether increases in energy security and American jobs trump special interest politics.

“There is overwhelming support for construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline across the country because Americans understand the importance of this shovel-ready project to job creation and increasing the supply of North American energy. That is why the House has overwhelmingly approved legislation to authorize construction nine times. I look forward to the Senate joining the House in approving the Keystone XL Pipeline in the very near future. This is merely the first of many issues to finally receive the Senate’s attention after years of being denied votes.” 

The Keystone XL Pipeline is an additional phase to the original Keystone Pipeline that currently moves crude oil from Steele City, Nebraska, through Kansas to the processing facility in Cushing, Oklahoma. Portions of the Keystone XL Pipeline have already been built and are in operation, including a pipeline linking Cushing, Oklahoma, to Port Arthur, Texas. The newest addition voted on today would link the existing Keystone infrastructure to the oil-rich Bakken granting greater accessibility to domestic natural resources. Unfortunately, the White House has refused to approve the permit application for the remaining 1,200 miles of pipeline to be built despite President Obama’s own State Department’s view that this project can move forward. The Administration’s delays have prevented the creation of new well-paying jobs and economic growth for Americans.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) recently appointed a new team to handle agriculture and trade policy in Washington, D.C., and Kansas. Legislative Assistant Judd Gardner, Legislative Correspondent Trey Joy and State Agriculture Representative John Sachse will serve Kansans as part of Sen. Moran’s agriculture team. 

“Judd, Trey and John are important additions to my legislative staff,” Sen. Moran said. “Their backgrounds allow them to understand first-hand the challenges Kansas farmers and ranchers face. Ensuring a bright future for agriculture in our state is one of my top priorities in the Senate, and I am confident they will serve Kansans well on my behalf.”

Gardner and Joy—based in Washington, D.C.—will focus their efforts on agriculture and trade policy, as well as meet and work with Kansans and agriculture organizations to address policy concerns. Sachse—based in Manhattan, Kan.—will meet and work with constituents from across the state, including county leadership and agriculture organizations, to address policy concerns.

Gardner has advocated on behalf of agriculture interests for a number of years, including a stint with the House Committee on Agriculture. He received a bachelor’s degree in animal science from Texas Tech University and a master’s degree in agricultural sciences from West Texas A&M University. Gardner was raised on a cow-calf operation in central New Mexico.

Joy achieved a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Business from Fort Hays State University. While at Fort Hays State, he was elected mayor of Smith Center, Kan., where he served for more than five years focusing his efforts on rural economic development. Additionally, Joy and his twin brother are fifth generation farmers in Smith County.

Sachse achieved a bachelor’s degree in animal science, with a minor in agricultural economics at Kansas State University. At K-State, he held numerous leadership positions in agriculture-related organizations including co-founding the K-State Collegiate Cattlemen’s Club. Additionally, he holds his Masters of Beef Advocacy and is Beef Quality Assurance Certified. Sachse will be residing in Manhattan, Kan.

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