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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) recently introduced Mr. Daniel Crabtree of Kansas City, Kan., during a U.S. Senate Judiciary Hearing. Crabtree is the nominee to the United States District Court for the District of Kansas.

“Providing advice and consent of Presidential nominees is one of the most important roles of the United States Senate and a responsibility I take seriously,” Sen. Moran said. “Mr. Crabtree is a distinguished litigator with extensive experience in federal and state courts, and I will support his confirmation.”

If approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee and passed by the full Senate, Crabtree will join the United States District Court for the District of Kansas with a lifetime appointment. The U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas is a federal trial court that processes civil and criminal cases that come under federal jurisdiction. The District of Kansas covers the entire state of Kansas.

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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has failed to provide straightforward answers to questions about the costs of implementing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance Exchange. Seven weeks after U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) -- Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education -- sought answers from HHS on the cost of the failed Obamacare roll out, the Department responded with vague and incomplete answers to appropriate questions including how much the President's "tech surge" is costing taxpayers and whether the Healthcare.gov website was adequately tested before it was rolled out. Wendell Goler reports from Honolulu.
MANHATTAN, KAN. - U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) recently visited WaKeeney, Kan., on his latest Kansas Listening Tour as he makes stops in each of Kansas' 105 counties. More than 40 folks from the area turned out to share concerns and give feedback on health care, the Farm Bill, education, new voting rules in the U.S. Senate, and wind energy.

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and U.S. Senator Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) have called on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to immediately stop their unlawful regulation of family farms. Sens. Moran, Johanns and a bipartisan group of 41 their Senate colleagues have also directed OSHA to issue updated guidance correcting their misinterpretation of current law. The request was made in a joint letter to Department of Labor Secretary Thomas Perez, who oversees OSHA.

"This is not the first time this administration has proved that Washington’s values are not rural America’s values through regulatory over-reach into the family farm," Sen. Moran said. "I am committed to working with my colleagues to protect the individual rights of farmers and make certain OSHA does not continue to misinterpret the law."

Since 1976, Congress has exempted small, family-run farms from OSHA regulations, but in a 2011 memo OSHA asserted that on-farm grain storage and handling was not part of farm operations. The memo essentially expanded OSHA’s regulatory scope to nearly every farm in the country without going through the established rule making process that allows Congressional review and public comment, in defiance of the law.

A copy of the senators’ bipartisan letter is below:

December 20, 2013

 

The Honorable Thomas E. Perez

Secretary

U.S. Department of Labor

200 Constitution Avenue, N.W.

Washington, DC 20210

 

Dear Secretary Perez:

We write to you regarding reports that regulators at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have begun taking regulatory actions against farms that are specifically exempted by Congress from regulatory enforcement conducted by OSHA. Since 1976, Congress has included specific language in appropriations bills prohibiting OSHA from using appropriated funds to apply requirements under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1976 to farming operations with 10 or fewer employees. 

It has come to our attention that OSHA is now interpreting this provision so narrowly that virtually every grain farm in the country would be subject to OSHA regulations.  OSHA’s interpretation defies the intent of Congress in exempting farming operations from the standards of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. 

In viewing a farm’s “grain bin operation” as somehow distinct from its farming operation, OSHA is creating an artificial distinction in an apparent effort to circumvent the Congressional prohibition on regulating farms.  The use of grain bins is an integral part of farming operations.  Without grain bins, farmers must sell corn and soybeans immediately after harvest, when prices are usually low.  Storing grain in bins is thus a fundamental aspect of farming.  Any farm that employs 10 or fewer employees and used grain bins only for storage prior to marketing should be exempt, as required by law, from OSHA regulations. 

 

A memo issued by the Director of Enforcement Programs on June 28, 2011, stated that “many of these small farm employers mistakenly assume that the Appropriations Rider precludes OSHA from conducting enforcement activities regardless of the type of operations performed on the farm.”  The memo declares that all activities under SIC 072—including drying and fumigating grain—are subject to all OSHA requirements (the memo did not even mention grain storage).  There are many farms that have grain dryers on-farm to address wet harvest conditions or fumigate grain to prevent pests from ruining a crop prior to marketing.  These are basic, common, and responsible farming activities that OSHA has arbitrarily decided are non-exempt. 

Worker safety is an important concern for all of us—including the many farmers who probably know better than OSHA regulators how to keep themselves and their employees safe on farms.  If the Administration believes that OSHA should be able to enforce its regulations on farms, it should make that case to Congress rather than twisting the law in the service of bureaucratic mission creep.  Until then, Congress has spoken clearly and we sincerely hope that you will support America’s farmers and respect the intent of Congress by reining in OSHA. 

We would ask that you direct OSHA to take the following three steps to alleviate this concern.  First, OSHA should cease all actions predicated on this interpretation, which is inconsistent with Congressional intent.  It is important that OSHA also issue guidance correcting this misinterpretation of the law.  We suggest consulting with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and organizations representing farmers to assist with this guidance.  Finally, we ask that OSHA provide a list and description of regulatory actions taken against farms with incorrectly categorized non-farming activities and 10 or fewer employees since the June 2011 memo.  Given the nearly four decades of Congressional prohibition of OSHA enforcement against farms, this should be a simple request to fulfil. 

We would appreciate your response by February 1, 2014, to include a copy of the corrected guidance, the data regarding enforcement actions on farms, and confirmation that OSHA will cease such enforcement. 

 

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) released the following statement today regarding the Ryan-Murray budget plan:

"I appreciate the efforts of Rep. Paul Ryan and Sen. Patty Murray to work together in an attempt to get our spending under control. Unfortunately, the final agreement falls far short of making the meaningful spending reforms we need to address our out-of-control debt and deficit.

"The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 replaces sequester spending cuts with a spending increase of $63 billion over two years, split between defense and non-defense programs. This increased spending is paid for through increased aviation fees, changes in retirement pay for the Armed Forces, and the promise of future mandatory spending reductions – much of which will take place a decade from now.

“What remains missing from this agreement is a genuine effort to address the real cause of our debt problems: mandatory spending. As long as the solvency and unfunded liabilities of Social Security and Medicare remain ignored in favor of minor tweaks to discretionary spending, our budget crisis will never go away.

"While I didn't vote for sequestration, the reality is it forced Washington to acknowledge the hard truth of our spending and set budget caps. It is disappointing to see Congress change the law to increase spending now while delaying further spending cuts until many years in the future. With the national debt soaring above $17 trillion, we should not allow ourselves to – yet again – postpone responsible fiscal policy.”

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Obama Administration Fails to Answer Questions on True Cost of Implementing Obamacare

Contracts for the two main contractors responsible for Healthcare.gov have more than doubled since being originally awarded in September 2011

Dec 17 2013

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has failed to provide straightforward answers to questions about the costs of implementing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance Exchange. Seven weeks after U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) – Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education – sought answers from HHS on the cost of the failed Obamacare roll out, the Department responded with vague and incomplete answers to appropriate questions including how much the President’s “tech surge” is costing taxpayers and whether the Healthcare.gov website was adequately tested before it was rolled out.

“Without approval from the Appropriations Committee, HHS continues to spend more taxpayer dollars on Obamacare implementation. In doing so, HHS has increased contract awards to the very contractors HHS themselves blamed for the dysfunctional Healthcare.gov website,” Sen. Moran said. “Problem solving and a functional government requires understanding, accountability and  inter-branch cooperation. The Department’s long overdue and completely lacking responses to Congressional inquiry undermine both. HHS must provide Congressional committees of jurisdiction adequate information about the costs of ACA delays, federal Exchange implementation, and the ongoing technical ‘glitches’. With so much as stake, Congressional oversight and cooperation from the executive branch is needed to address the Obamacare chaos at HHS.”

In HHS’ response to Sen. Moran’s questions, it was revealed that:

  • HHS has obligated $677 million for the federal Exchange infrastructure through October 31, 2013; 
  • Contracts for the two main contractors responsible for the failed Healthcare.gov website have more than doubled since being originally awarded in September 2011. HHS refused to state why the contractors were selected in the first place, what their qualifications are, and what specific projects they are responsible for;
    • Quality Software Services Inc. (QSSI), which built the Data Services Hub, has had its contract increased from $30 million to $84.5 million; and
    • CGI Federal, which helped build and continues to support the IT systems of the Federally-facilitated marketplaces, has had its original $56 million contract increased to $197 million.
  • HHS will not hold the contractors responsible for developing a non-workable product because the government “is obligated to pay the contractor their allowable incurred costs plus a fixed fee;”
  • HHS refuses to specify the cost breakout for fixing the technical issues associated with the Exchanges; and
  • HHS refuses to outline the specific steps taken to test the Healthcare.gov website prior to the roll-out on October 1, and instead simply states that the system was tested for functionality.

Click below to read HHS’ full response to Sen. Moran’s questions.

Click here to read Sen. Moran’s original October 24th letter to Sec. Sebelius.

 

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Moran, Udall Urge Overhaul of Federal IT Oversight to Save Taxpayers Billions of Dollars

Bipartisan bill would increase accountability, ensure clear chain of command in federal IT process

Dec 17 2013

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Tom Udall (D-N.M.), both members of the Senate Appropriations Committee, introduced a bipartisan bill that would require the first major overhaul of the government information technology (IT) procurement process in over a decade. The senators urged quick action on IT reform, announcing their bill as President Obama met with executives from tech firms to discuss ways to improve the functioning of the health care website, HealthCare.gov.

The legislation would help modernize the government’s computer and technology systems, which in some cases lag far behind the private sector. In the process, the bill would also cut waste to save billions in taxpayer funds and prevent management and accountability problems that have plagued various federal IT initiatives, most recently HealthCare.gov. 

“Americans want an efficient and effective government. As I’m sure President Obama and White House officials heard this morning from technology executives, reforms to and increased oversight of our federal IT procurement process is critical to achieving this goal,” Moran said. “The systemically-flawed rollout of HealthCare.gov is one high-profile example of IT procurement failures, but numerous more projects incur cost overruns, project delays and are abandoned altogether. These examples of waste come at a cost of billions of dollars to American taxpayers. Our bill will help the federal government transition into the 21st Century in a fiscally responsible fashion by optimizing its use of IT.”

"The federal government needs to be able to build cutting-edge, 21st century computer systems, but right now we are hobbled by laws written in the days of floppy disks and telephone modems,” Udall said. “We have an urgent need to modernize the law and especially to incorporate flexibility and accountability. I want to make sure that in the 21st century, citizens can depend on the web to interact with their government – especially when it comes to something as serious as health care insurance or taxes. As chairman of the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee, I look forward to continuing to work for reforms with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle." 

Each year, the federal government spends about $80 billion on information technology. According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), at least 154 major federal IT investments totaling $10.4 billion are at risk and in need of management attention. GAO has also found that federal IT reforms such as empowering Chief Information Officers (CIOs), consolidating federal data centers, and transitioning to cloud computing services could save billions of dollars. 

In July, the GAO detailed a number of problems with IT initiatives and recommended the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) work with federal agencies to better and more effectively implement the programs to save taxpayers billions of dollars. The report is available here.

Moran and Udall’s bill seeks to implement many of the GAO's recommendations and eliminate duplication and waste in federal information technology acquisition and management, in part by:

  • Ensuring accountability by empowering federal CIOs, elevating their role in civilian agency budget planning processes, and increasing their ability to optimize how agencies use IT.
  • Improving the transparency and expanding the scope of the OMB public website, the IT Dashboard, for federal IT spending.

The bill is cosponsored by Senator Mike Johanns (R-NE), who serves with Udall and Moran on the Senate Appropriations Committee. U.S. Reps. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Gerry Connolly (D-VA) have introduced similar legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives. 

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