WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) – all senators who represent states through which the Southwest Chief route runs – today announced that Amtrak at long last will provide $3 million in matching funds to complete the federal TIGER IX grant awarded in January of 2018 for safety upgrades and maintenance on the train’s route in Kansas, Colorado and New Mexico.

“As the divide between urban and rural communities in America continues to expand, passenger rail services like the Southwest Chief are valuable in connecting Kansans to the rest of the country,” said Sen. Moran. “Local communities whose residents and businesses depend on Amtrak should be provided the stability of rail service that the Southwest Chief has delivered to them for decades, which is why I am pleased that Amtrak has upheld its commitment to repair, improve and continue the Southwest Chief rail line. I appreciate my colleagues from New Mexico and Colorado and our bipartisan efforts to keep this line in service.”

“Thanks to the tireless efforts of local communities and bipartisan work in Congress, Amtrak will fulfill its promise to match $3 million in TIGER funding,” said Sen. Udall. “This critical grant will fund badly needed improvements to the Southwest Chief rail line, and keep it rolling down the tracks from Raton to Gallup and beyond. Today’s funding is part of the $50 million in additional money that we secured in the most recent appropriations bill, and this major investment in rural infrastructure will ensure a strong and stable future for this historic route, support construction jobs, and benefit our economy. As a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, I’ll keep working with New Mexico communities, Amtrak leadership, and other stakeholders to make sure this engine of economic growth will keep chugging long into the future.”

“I am pleased Kansans will continue to have access to long-distance Amtrak routes and improved rail service when riding the Southwest Chief,” said Sen. Roberts. “This service is important to our rural riders.”

“I’m pleased Amtrak is keeping their commitment to maintain the Southwest Chief route. This funding will make much-needed repairs and improvements to upgrade this important long-distance passenger rail service,” said Sen. Heinrich. “The Southwest Chief isn't just a railroad route in New Mexico, every summer it brings thousands of Scouts from around the country to New Mexico’s Philmont Scout Ranch and generates economic activity in our communities. I’ve been proud to work with this bipartisan coalition that has fought to save the Southwest Chief and will continue fighting to protect this essential service for our communities and ensure the long-term viability of the route.”

“Amtrak’s Southwest Chief line is critical to the economic development of our rural communities throughout Southeastern Colorado, and this funding is great news for our state,” said Sen. Gardner. “For years, I have worked with my colleagues and our state and local partners to support the Southwest Chief, and this funding is an important step forward and fulfills Amtrak’s previous commitment. Going forward, I’ll continue my efforts to support Colorado’s transportation priorities at the federal level.”

“We joined a coalition of community leaders years ago and pledged to find the funding to keep the Southwest Chief line running,” said Sen. Bennet. “Today’s TIGER Grant rewards the dedication of leaders across Southern Colorado and again validates the importance of the Southwest Chief. I'll continue to work with my colleagues from Colorado, New Mexico, and Kansas to support long-distance train service and other infrastructure projects that benefit rural communities."

Earlier this month, Congress passed and the president signed the FY2019 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related (THUD) Appropriations Act, which sets aside $50 million of Amtrak’s appropriations for long-term maintenance and safety improvements on lines like the Southwest Chief.

Amtrak is using $3 million of these funds to match a $16 million grant successfully sought by Kansas, New Mexico and Colorado. This grant and matching funds from the partners will result in an investment of more than $26 million in the Southwest Chief. The legislation also prohibits Amtrak from replacing long-distance train service with buses.

The Southwest Chief runs daily between Chicago and Los Angeles and connects towns and cities in Kansas, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and California, and provides passenger train and long-distance passenger service, particularly through rural communities.

Timeline of the senators’ work:  

• This month, Congress passed and the president signed the FY2019 THUD Appropriations Act, which provides $50 million of Amtrak’s appropriations for long-term maintenance and safety improvements along the Southwest Chief.
• On August 1, 2018, the Senate approved the senators’ amendment to maintain Southwest Chief train services.
• On July 31, 2018, the senators introduced an amendment advocating for Southwest Chief.
• On July 26, 2018, the senators sent a letter to Amtrak CEO Richard Anderson urging him to uphold Amtrak’s side of a longstanding public-private partnership to continue operating the Southwest Chief passenger train and long-distance passenger service.
• On July 25, 2018, the Senate overwhelmingly passed a Sense of the Congress measure to affirm support for the long-distance rail service.
• In June 2018, the senators met with Amtrak CEO Richard Anderson to discuss solutions for the Southwest Chief and to encourage more transparency in Amtrak’s decision-making.
• On May 31, 2018, the senators sent a bipartisan, multi-state letter condemning Amtrak’s decision not to match TIGER Grant funds.
  
  

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U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) - member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs - questioned Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on issues relating to community banks and ag lenders during a Senate Banking Committee hearing on Tuesday, February 26, 2019.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) spoke on the Senate floor regarding legislation he cosponsored and voted in favor of, the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, that the Senate failed to advance. Despite receiving bipartisan support, the legislation failed to receive the 60 votes needed to break the Democratic filibuster. The final roll call vote was 53-44.

“I am astonished we’re debating whether it’s appropriate to leave born children to die,” said Sen. Moran. “One child purposely deprived of healthcare is one too many. It is infanticide.”
 

Click Here to Watch Sen. Moran’s Full Remarks

Remarks as prepared for delivery: 

“Mr. President, I appreciate the opportunity to join so many of my colleagues to speak in support of the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. I thank Senator Sasse for his continued leadership on this issue. I supported this bill when Senator Sasse introduced it last Congress, and I am glad Leader McConnell has brought this to a vote.

“I am astonished that we’re debating whether it’s appropriate to leave born children to die, today, in the year 2019. Science demonstrates that human life begins at conception, and our understanding of neonatal development is increasing by the day.

“As a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor-Health and Human Services, the National Institute of Health this is one of my top priorities in Congress. At the NIH, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development has advanced our knowledge of pregnancy and development in the womb. Under this institute, the Neonatal Research Network has pioneered research that has led to techniques that save the lives of children in their earliest stages, when these children are at their most vulnerable.

“The Congressional Budget Office estimates more than 10,000 babies are aborted each year after 20 weeks of conception, when science tells us an unborn child can feel pain inside the womb. That number will increase as a result of recent state-level efforts to end virtually any restrictions on abortion when a child could viably live outside of the womb. These efforts are extreme and fall far beyond the mainstream of American opinion.

“This legislation does nothing to limit a prenatal abortion. And while we must address the root causes of abortion and ways to curb this heartbreaking trend, that’s not the issue at hand today.

“The question before us today is this: When a child survives an abortion and is born, does the United States Senate believe the child can still be eliminated or should the baby be protected and given all possible care to survive?

“This act requires health care practitioners to “exercise the same degree of professional skill, care, and diligence to preserve the life and health of the child as a reasonably diligent and conscientious health care practitioner would render to any other child born alive at the same gestational age.”

“Any negligence in this regard is subject to criminal and civil punishment, which, at present, does not exist.  And should anyone think this is some made-up issue – despite the shocking comments of Virginia’s governor revealing an openness to infanticide, and New York’s expansion of abortion well past the stage of viability that makes born-alive abortion survivors more likely – we have concrete evidence this grotesque act happens: notorious abortion provider Kermit Gosnell is serving life in prison for these very acts.

“Closing our eyes to what is obscene does not make it any less real. That it is allegedly “rare” doesn’t make it any less real or abhorrent.

“One child purposely deprived of health care and allowed to die is one too many. It is infanticide.

“Which brings us to the crux of this issue. We need to think carefully about the long-term impacts to the definition of health care if Congress refuses to act positively on this measure. Do the guard rails of neonatal health succumb the belief that infants don’t really count as one of us?

“Our society is not one of the ancient Romans or the Aztecs. We don’t sacrifice our children to please an unknown god. In the progress of human history, principles of the Enlightenment—also known as the Age of Reason—declared self-evident truths that all humans are created equal and endowed with the unalienable right to life. Though undoubtedly, we have our flaws, these Enlightenment principles enshrined in our founding documents remain true to who we are as a nation and society. We recoil when we hear of children who are harmed in any manner. Yet today we’re faced with a reality where the ability to terminate an unborn child’s life when it is viable outside of the womb is something that is not only tolerated, but passionately defended by many on the Left.

“That’s bad enough, but to see legislation ensuring the medical care of born children get blocked is incomprehensible. The immutable march of progress in human history has met a roadblock in the United States Senate. The Age of Reason has passed us by.

“Tonight, the Senate had an opportunity to send a message showing who we are as leaders and as a society as a whole—one that protects the weak and the voiceless, instead of one that permits their destruction. I regret the Senate failed a fundamental test.

“I am eager to do more to protect innocent life, including the unborn, but the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act provided us an opportunity to affirm the most basic need for health care for a vulnerable child who has already beaten the odds to survive. Let’s hope we have another opportunity to give these children the chance at life that they deserve.”
 

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WASHINGTON – This week, U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) cosponsored a resolution celebrating Black History Month and the contributions made by Black Americans throughout history. This resolution seeks to recognize the importance of Black History Month as an opportunity to celebrate the wealth of history provided by Black culture and to reflect on our shared history and the path ahead.

“From Langston Hughes and George Washington Carver, to Brown vs. Board of Education and Nicodemus, Kansans recognize Black Americans’ incredible contributions to our state and nation,” said Sen. Moran. “This resolution honors these contributions as we celebrate Black History Month. During this month-long observation, we reflect on the long struggle for equality faced by Black Americans in our country and continue our commitment to striving toward a nation that respects all of its people.”

The resolution was authored by U.S. Senators Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Doug Jones (D-Ala.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-N.Y.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), David Perdue (R-Ga.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska). 

Full text of the resolution is available here.

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