WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-Kan.) this week joined their Senate colleagues in voting to pass a Congressional Review Act (CRA) joint resolution of disapproval that overturns President Biden’s overreaching Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule. The Senate passed the CRA by a vote of 53-43.

Sens. Moran and Marshall joined a group of their colleagues in introducing the resolution in February 2023 after the Biden administration announced a new rule in December 2022 repealing the repealing the Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR), and changing the definition of Waters of the United States in a way that will significantly expand federal regulatory authority.

“Kansans do not need more complicated federal rules telling farmers and ranchers how to use the rivers and creeks on their land,” said Sen. Moran. “I am pleased the Senate took action to challenge these harmful and unnecessary regulations on Kansas landowners and small businesses, and I am hopeful that President Biden will sign this resolution of disapproval.”

“The Biden Administration’s failure to understand the ramifications of its WOTUS rule is alarming,” said Sen. Marshall. “As members of Congress, we must ensure agricultural producers and other stakeholders have the regulatory certainty to take care of our nation’s land and water resources.”

The U.S. House of Representatives previously approved the measure on March 9, led by Representative Sam Graves (R-Mo.-06). The resolution now heads to the President’s desk.

Full text of the resolution can be found HERE.

Background on WOTUS, NWPR:

• In 2015, the Obama administration finalized a rule that expanded the definition of WOTUS, creating confusion and burdensome red tape, especially for Kansas farmers and ranchers.
• The Trump administration released a proposed rule to replace the 2015 WOTUS rule with a new one that provided much-needed predictability and certainty for farmers by establishing clear and reasonable definitions of what qualifies as a “water of the United States.” The NWPR was finalized in 2020.
• On day one of his administration, President Biden signed an executive order to begin the process of rolling back the Trump administration’s NWPR.
• In December 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a new rule repealing the NEPR and changing the definition of WOTUS in a way that will expand federal regulatory authority.

# # #

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) – member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence – joined his colleagues in introducing legislation to end lending to the Chinese Communist Party from multilateral development banks, including the World Bank and Asian Development Bank.

The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank were created to promote economic growth in developing countries and eliminate extreme poverty. Despite having access to capital and being the second-largest economy in the world, China is still receiving loans and assistance from both banks.

Since meeting the criteria for graduation from lending in 2016, the World Bank approved $9.6 billion in projects to China. The Asian Development Bank provided China with $10.6 billion in loans and $2.4 billion in non-sovereign commitments in China during that same timeframe.

“The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank should not be providing loans and assistance to China,” said Sen. Moran. “These banks were designed to help spur economic growth in developing countries, not the country with the world’s second-largest economy. This legislation will help reprioritize the lending from these banks and end loans to China.”

“China is the world’s second-largest economy, yet it continues to profit off World Bank and Asian Development Bank loans largely funded by American taxpayers,” said Sen. Barrasso. “While China obtains subsidized loans, it is engaging in predatory lending to developing countries across the world. As the largest contributor to these banks, the United States has a duty to make sure our money and resources are going to countries that need it most, not China. It’s time to stop sending Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars to the Chinese Communist Party. This legislation will put an end to lending to China and help refocus the development mission of the multilateral development banks.”

This legislation was introduced by Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and was also cosponsored by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.).

Summary:

This bill requires the Secretary of Treasury to instruct the U.S. Executive Director at each of the multilateral banks to oppose any loan, extension, or technical assistance by the bank to China and to end lending to countries that exceed the criteria for graduating from lending.

The legislation creates an annual report to Congress: 

• Assessing the status of China’s borrowing from the multilateral development banks,
• Describing China’s voting power, shares and representation at the banks, and
• Listing countries exceeding the graduation discussion income at each bank,
• Listing countries that have graduated from assistance from each bank, and
• Describing U.S. efforts to end lending to countries once countries exceed the eligibility requirements.

Background:

On September 21, 2022, the Senate, in a 96-0 vote, approved an amendment declaring that China is not a developing country and should not be treated as such by the international community.

# # #

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) – ranking member of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Aviation and co-chair of the Senate Travel Caucus – joined Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) in announcing this week that the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation passed their bipartisan legislation to help prevent Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) system outages. The NOTAM Improvement Act would require the FAA to strengthen the resiliency and cybersecurity of the NOTAM system, which alerts pilots of safety and location hazards on flight routes. This bill follows a recent NOTAM system outage in January that grounded flights nationwide. Companion legislation led by Representative Pete Stauber (R-Minn.) passed the U.S. House of Representatives in January with a strong bipartisan vote of 424-4.

“The complete failure of the FAA’s NOTAM system stranded millions of Americans and was a warning of the need to strengthen and modernize our air travel system,” said Sen. Moran. “The FAA has a responsibility to make certain air travel in our country is as safe and efficient as possible. Moving this legislation forward is an important step to help meet the demands of 21st-century travel and prevent a similar failure in the future.”

The task force would be composed of representatives from air carriers, airports and airline pilots, aircraft dispatchers and FAA personnel unions, as well as aviation safety and cybersecurity experts.

In January, Sens. Moran and Klobuchar spoke with FAA Acting Administrator Billy Nolen following the NOTAM system failure to discuss his agency’s efforts to identify the factors behind the system outage that grounded all flights nationwide and to prevent similar breakdowns from happening again.

# # #