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Senator Moran Honors Former Senator Dole for his Work Establishing the WWII Memorial
04/14/2011
Apr 14 2011
Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, thank you. I am a firm believer in the view that an individual can make a difference. I am a firm believer that what happens in Washington, DC, is important in our Nation's history and what goes on in our country, but the reality is we change the world one person at a time. That individual is how we make life better.
Earlier this week, on Tuesday morning, I was on the National Mall near the World War II Memorial, and I was there for the dedication of a plaque honoring an individual that made a tremendous difference in the lives of many and made a tremendous difference in the life of our Nation. It was the moment in which a plaque was unveiled recognizing Senator Bob Dole for his contribution--in fact, his efforts and leadership--in seeing that the World War II Memorial was built. And clear from those who spoke and from what I know of the subject, the World War II Memorial would not be available for us as a nation today in the absence of that individual, Bob Dole , who led the efforts.
There are many thing in Bob Dole's career here in Washington, DC, as a Member of this body, of the U.S. Senate, that we can heap accolades upon him, but certainly one of the things that I know he is most proud of and certainly one of the things I and the American people are most grateful for is his efforts to recognize the 16 million Americans who served their country in World War II. There are only about 2.5 million Americans who served in World War II now living, and we lose hundreds of them every day.
Last week, I was at the World War II Memorial with Kansas World War II veterans welcoming an honor flight telling World War II veterans from my home State thank you for their service to our country. The World War II Memorial is a magnificent tribute to the sacrifice many have made before us.
I saw the World War II Memorial. It serves its purpose. I saw the World War II Memorial before it was ever dedicated and I put my walking shoes on and walked down to the World War II Memorial a few days before the official ceremony back in 2004, and I saw the place that says “Kansas,” and I thought about Kansans.
I thought of my own dad, who is a World War II veteran who served in northern Africa and up the boothill of Italy. And I tell this story because the World War II Memorial served its purpose. I walked away from the memorial, used my cell phone to call my dad back home in Plainville, KS. And, from a son’s point of view, fortunately, got the answering machine at my parents' home, I conveyed the message to my dad: Dad, I am at the World War II Memorial. I respect you, I thank you for your service, and I love you. It is something that sons don't often say to their parents, but it is something that we as Americans--something that the World War II Memorial brings out in us not just to our parents but to all World War II veterans: We respect you, we thank you for your service, and we love you.
We had the opportunity on Tuesday to pay tribute to a special World War II veteran, Bob Dole. One of the things Bob Dole's service to his country certainly in the military, but here in the Senate, here as an American, was to take care of those who served with him, and not only in World War II but he has been the caring and compassionate guide for all of us as we try to make certain that no military service goes unrewarded and that no commitment that was made to those who serve our country is forgotten.
So I am here today to pay tribute really to all World War II veterans, to all our military men and women now serving, and to those veterans of other wars, but to especially pay tribute to Bob Dole, who recognized and continues to recognize throughout his life the value of service to country and the value of service to other veterans. That plaque is a special reminder that Bob Dole made it possible for all of us as Americans to pay tribute to that generation and is a loving reminder for those who served that we are a grateful nation. It is important that we never forget those who gave us the opportunities to live the lives we live today. And Bob Dole’s life, while there are many things on which we could congratulate and express our gratitude for, I hold him in highest esteem for his military service.
Sixty-six years ago today, April 14, 1945, young Bob Dole was wounded in northern Italy. He lay on the field in blood and mud for 9 hours. He was rescued. He was returned to home. The people of his hometown raised money. I still remember the photograph of a cigar box in the drugstore into which people back in those difficult times put their dollars and their quarters and their pennies to raise money for Bob Dole's rehabilitation. He was able to access the services in Battle Creek, MI, of a VA hospital.
Amazingly to me, three future Senators who served in World War II ended up in that hospital at the same time. Our own colleague Senator Inouye, our previous colleague Senator Hart, and our previous colleague Bob Dole were all at the hospital at the same time recovering from their wounds in service to their country.
So it is today that I recognize an aspect of Bob Dole's life--most important, his willingness to sacrifice his life and his service to his country as a member of the 10th Mountain Division; his courage and dedication to his ability to reteach himself, to relearn to write, to bathe, to eat, to become a productive member of our society, and to lead our country in so many ways. I was honored to be present on Tuesday, 2 days ago, in which a grateful nation said: We thank you for your efforts in recognizing other veterans, in the creation and development of the efforts to see that the World War II Memorial, so long in waiting, is now on the National Mall.
Tom Brokaw, the author of the book “The Greatest Generation,” was the master of ceremonies on Tuesday, and he concluded his remarks on Tuesday morning by telling the story of Bob Dole raising money for the World War II Memorial. There are no public funds, no Treasury funds in the building of that memorial. Senator Dole and others raised the dollars from private sources to build the memorial. He tells the story of Bob Dole going to California and meeting with a wealthy Hollywood mogul asking for money to build the World War II Memorial. According to Tom Brokaw, the mogul said, “I am not interested. I have other priorities.” Bob Dole's response to the mogul, to the noncontributor, was, “When I was 22, I had other priorities too. I went to war.” Bob Dole went to war and served his country every day thereafter.
Senator Dole in his remarks concluded by saying, “I am the most optimistic man in America today.” We ought to be optimistic because we have individuals such as Bob Dole who have served our country. Today we recognize that service, 66 years ago, April the 14, 1945, in northern Italy.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) released the following statement tonight on the Senate passage of a short-term funding bridge to prevent a government shutdown:
“The goal of the short-term continuing resolution passed tonight is to provide sufficient time for the finishing touches to be put on an announced agreement between Republican and Democrat leaders on a longer-term spending measure for the remainder of fiscal year 2011. I am anxious to see the details of this agreement and hope it includes the necessary spending cuts. We need to move on to the significant discussion of reducing spending in 2012 and beyond, and set our country on the path toward a stronger economy and more jobs.”
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Sen. Moran: Immoral Not To Support Troops
Legislation provides certainty for troops and families
Apr 08 2011
Mr. President, I come here tonight one more time. I am a very short term Member of the United States Senate--only about 3 months. Every time I have spoken on the Senate floor, I have talked about the importance of reining in spending, the crippling nature of our national debt and the belief that if we don't resolve these issues, the future of our country is at stake. It is really one of the primary motivations I have for serving in this Congress, to see that we turn this country around for the benefit of our children and grandchildren.
I think Kansans would say it is time for all Members of Congress to come together and to fund the government. A shutdown demonstrates once again how we lack the ability or the desire to just use some common sense and to reach a common goal. A primary function of Congress is to see that we appropriate the necessary funds to provide for government.
Today, it seems to me we have come to the point at which this issue needs to be rapidly resolved. We are down to just a few billion dollars--and certainly a billion dollars is a lot of money, it’s a lot of money to Kansans and it’s a lot of money to me, but we need to resolve this issue so we can move on to the more dramatic and important issue we face as Members of the Senate, that we face as American citizens--that being next year's budget and the future of additional spending down the road.
Tonight, in addition to saying let's resolve this issue, let's continue to fund the government, let's not pursue the strategy of a shutdown, I am here to express my genuine concern about the tactics that seem to be ongoing today, in which we, as the Senator from Alabama suggests, are holding hostage our service men and women and their pay.
We have had a lot of discussion in Washington, DC, about who is an essential government employee. I would tell you there could be no questioning the fact that our service men and women are essential government employees, and they will be working regardless of the consequences, regardless of the decisions that are made here about the so-called shutdown.
And from my view, it makes absolutely no sense--in fact, it is immoral--to ask our service men and women to serve in harm's way and have to worry about whether or not the paycheck that feeds their families--and, in fact, most of them live month to month, live paycheck to paycheck. The idea that while they are serving and sacrificing away from family, they would have the additional concern about whether the paycheck is going to arrive and be deposited in their account seems to me to be something beyond the pale, something that we could never expect from a Congress of the United States of America.
So I am here one more time to say, yes, absolutely; let's get spending under control. The idea that we cannot go back to 2008 spending levels plus inflation--we can do that. No one should believe that we cannot accomplish that goal, and no one should be using the service men and wome, their paycheck and their service to our country as hostage or the idea of whether this government is shut down. Resolve this issue now and make certain we resolve it in a way that no member of our Armed Services, or their family, is harmed by the decisions that we make.
This is an important decision. It is about the future of our country, but the immediate concern is whether our service men and women understand that we value their service and that we will take every step to make certain that they are not harmed by political inaction--the inability of us in Washington, DC, to resolve the issue of the continuing resolution.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Following President Obama’s recent town hall and speech on gas prices and America’s energy future, U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) joined a group of 27 Republican Senators calling on the president to reconcile the conflict between the his stated goals of lowering energy prices, creating jobs and reducing our reliance on foreign energy, with certain ongoing, damaging actions by his administration. The full text of the letter is below:
April 6, 2011
The Honorable Barack H. Obama
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:
As rising gasoline prices threaten our nation’s economic recovery, we welcome your acknowledgement of the positive impact which increased domestic supplies of oil and gas will have for American families and businesses. In your speech on March 30, you stated, “producing more oil in America can help lower oil prices, create jobs, and enhance our energy security.”
We agree, and we also share the goal of reducing our dependence on foreign oil. It is an achievable goal, as we know we have the resources to control our energy future. A recent report from the Congressional Research Service detailed our vast energy resources, showing America's recoverable resources are far larger than those of Saudi Arabia, China, and Canada combined. America's combined recoverable oil, natural gas, and coal endowment is the largest on Earth –and this is without including America's immense oil shale and methane hydrates deposits.
However, it is not just rhetoric that is keeping us from achieving the goals you outlined of lowering energy prices, creating jobs, and reducing our reliance on foreign energy. Rather, we are concerned that these goals are in direct conflict with certain ongoing actions of your Administration. In particular, the policies being carried out by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of the Interior (DOI) directly and negatively impact oil and gas production and prices, as well as electricity prices for businesses and consumers. These policies hang heavy over the economy, with the promise of making our existing energy resources more expensive for Americans, and serve to inhibit future growth.
With consumers again facing $4.00/gallon gasoline, the EPA is pursuing job-killing greenhouse gas regulations that, like the failed cap-and-trade legislation, will serve as an energy tax on every consumer. The Affordable Power Alliance recently studied the impacts of this action and found that the price of gasoline and electricity could increase as much as 50 percent. To make matters worse, the EPA acknowledges that unilateral action by the United States will have no impact on the world’s climate, as China and India dramatically increase their emissions.
You also referenced efforts within the Administration to encourage domestic oil and gas production, yet since taking office, DOI has done exactly the opposite. In 2009, 77 oil and gas leases in Utah were cancelled, and the following year 61 additional leases were suspended in Montana. In December 2010, your Administration announced that its 2012-2017 lease plan would not include new areas in the eastern Gulf of Mexico or off the Atlantic coast – though these two areas hold commercial oil reserves of 28 billion barrels and up to 142 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Delaying access to these areas not only hinders the production of domestic energy, but also means the loss of up to $24 billion in federal revenue. In Alaska, the EPA has failed to issue valid air quality permits for offshore exploration after over 5 years of bureaucratic wrangling, although no human health risk is at issue and over 25 billion barrels of oil may be discovered. EPA has also contributed to the continuing delay of production from the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska – an area specifically designated by Congress for oil and gas development.
Last year, American oil production reached its highest level since 2003. The Energy Information Administrator (EIA) Richard Newell recently pointed out that the 2010 production numbers are likely the result of new leases issued during the previous administration that are just recently beginning to produce oil. Unfortunately, in the Gulf of Mexico, offshore energy production is expected to decrease by 13 percent in 2011. This decrease is cited as the result of the moratorium and the slow pace of permitting. EIA’s most recent short-term energy outlook projects that domestic crude oil and liquid fuels production is expected to fall by 110,000 bbl/d in 2011, and by a further 130,000 bbl/d in 2012. To date, only 8 deepwater permits have been issued during the past 12 months, and most of these operations were started before the Macondo well blowout.
At your State of the Union Address, you called for a review of job-killing regulations within your Administration. We believe the Administration hereby has the keys to unlock our domestic energy potential today. As this review is underway, and with recognition of the toll higher energy prices are taking on Americans, we respectfully encourage you to examine the damage these current policies are having on the economy, and to work to reconcile these contradictions.
Respectfully,
John Cornyn, United States Senator
James Inhofe, United States Senator
David Vitter, United States Senator
John Thune, United States Seantor
Jim DeMint, United States Senator
Ron Johnson, United States Senator
Rand Paul, United States Senator
Kelly Ayotte, United States Senator
Jeff Sessions, United States Senator
James E. Risch, United States Senator
Thad Cochran, United States Senator
Richad Shelby, United States Senator
Orrin Hatch, United States Senator
Jon Kyl, United States Senator
Mark Kirk, United States Senator
Richard Burr, United States Senator
Jerry Moran, United States Senator
Lindsey Graham, United States Senator
John Boozman, United States Senator
John Barrasso, United States Senator
Kay Bailey Hutchison, United States Senator
Johnny Isakson, United States Senator
Pat Roberts, United States Senator
Saxby Chambliss, United States Senator
Marco Rubio, United States Senator
Roy Blunt, United States Senator
Roger Wicker, United States Senator
Mike Enzi, United States Senator
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Sen. Moran Introduces Bill to Reform Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Would replace director with commission, subject bureau to appropriations process
Apr 06 2011
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee, today introduced legislation to reform the structure of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The Responsible Consumer Financial Protection Regulations Act of 2011, S. 737, would replace the single CFPB Director with a Senate-confirmed five-person commission – similar to the leadership structure of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Commodity Futures Trade Commission (CFTC) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC). It would also subject the CFPB to the regular appropriations process like most federal agencies.
“While my concerns with Dodd-Frank extend beyond the structure of the CFPB, this legislation is an important first step toward making sure Congress has the oversight authority necessary for such a powerful agency,” Sen. Moran said. “Allowing a single unelected official to define their own jurisdiction and regulate vast segments of our economy without accountability or restraint is a ‘reform’ that should be rejected.”
“History has shown that the ‘power of the purse’ is a critical tool that Congress employs to hold agencies accountable,” Sen. Moran continued. “The CFPB has more power and authority than almost any independent agency in history and asking them to present a budget to Congress for approval is a very modest request.”
The Dodd-Frank Act currently allows the CFPB director to set his or her annual budget by withdrawing funds directly from the Federal Reserve, rather than going through the annual Congressional appropriations process like most independent agencies. Additionally, Dodd-Frank denies the Federal Reserve any authority to deny or adjust the CFPB director’s request. Sen. Moran’s legislation would subject the CFPB to the annual appropriations process, authorizing funding levels for FY 2011 and 2012 equal to the president’s estimate of need.
Note: During debate of what would later become the Dodd-Frank Act, then-Chairmen Frank and Waxman produced an agreement establishing that the CFPB be led by a five-member commission appointed by the president, with no more than three members from the same political party. This Democrat agreement was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives but was removed in conference and replaced with a single director.
Click here to view the full text of S. 737, the Responsible Consumer Financial Protection Regulations Act of 2011.
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Sen. Moran Votes to Repeal Burdensome 1099 Mandate on Businesses
Now headed to President Obama's desk for signature
Apr 05 2011
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) today voted in favor of H.R. 4, the House-passed bill to repeal the costly and unprecedented 1099 tax reporting mandate in the new health care law. The Senate passed the measure by a vote of 87 to 12, and H.R. 4 will now be sent to President Obama’s desk. When the president signs the bill into law, it will mark the first significant change to the health care law – a change supported by both sides of the aisle.
“Today’s repeal of the 1099 requirement is good news for small businesses and agriculture producers, who would bear the largest burden under this onerous provision,” Sen. Moran said. “The new requirement would have increased 1099 filings by 2000 percent and buried businesses in paperwork, substantially increasing the cost of doing business in an already challenging economic environment.
“This is the first of hopefully many commonsense reforms to the damaging health care law,” Sen. Moran continued. “I will continue to work to ensure the law is replaced with provisions that improve our current health care system, reduce costs, and keep personal health care decisions between patients and their doctors.”
Sen. Moran voted in favor of a Senate-originated amendment to repeal the 1099 provision in February. He also joined U.S. Senator Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) in sponsoring two pieces of legislation to repeal the provision.
According to the National Taxpayer Advocate, a division of the IRS, the 1099 provision of the health care law would impact as many as 40 million American businesses. Of that number, 26 million businesses are sole proprietorships, not counting farms. The Small Business Association estimates that small businesses have created more than 64 percent of new jobs nationally over the past 15 years. At a time when Washington is urging businesses to hire workers, the new 1099 requirement is a government-imposed obstacle to economic growth and job creation.
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