WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) joined his colleagues in urging Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Susan Collins (R-Maine) to support legislation to renew the Compacts of Free Association (COFA) with the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Republic of Palau.

“Our COFA partnerships are critical to U.S. national security,” the senators wrote. “Failure to pass the renegotiated Compacts as soon as possible imperils our relationships with the Freely Associated States and the entire Pacific Island region, who view the COFA as a barometer of the U.S. commitment to the region. The resulting bicameral, bipartisan legislation will secure U.S. national security in the Indo-Pacific for the next two decades. We ask for your support in moving the COFA package forward with the urgency it requires.”

COFA would also allow additional authorizations for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide certain health care services to the estimated 500 U.S. military veterans in the Freely Associated States.

Sen. Moran was join by Sens. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Joe Manchin (D-W.V.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Jack Reed (D-R.I), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Dan Sullivan (R-Ala.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Ala.).

Full text of the letter can be found here and below:

Dear Leader Schumer, Leader McConnell, Chair Murray and Ranking Member Collins:

We write in support of legislation to renew the Compacts of Free Association (COFA) with the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau, including in any legislative vehicle.

Our COFA partnerships are critical to U.S. national security. Failure to pass the renegotiated Compacts as soon as possible imperils our relationships with the Freely Associated States and the entire Pacific Island region, who view the COFA as a barometer of the U.S. commitment to the region. They ensure that we, rather than a nation hostile to U.S. interests, maintain strategic control of the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and the Philippines.

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is engaged in active efforts to undermine Pacific Island nations’ confidence in the United States. Failure to act on COFA opens the door to more corrupting influence and funding by the PRC in the region. The PRC is pursuing military basing and policing agreements in the region and working to undermine recognition of Taiwan, and exerting corrupting influence in several other countries. Without the COFA agreements, these trends would accelerate.

These unique bilateral agreements are the product of nearly four years of negotiations under two Presidential Administrations, and year-long negotiations across eight primary committees of jurisdiction in the House and Senate and multiple others. The resulting bicameral, bipartisan legislation will secure U.S. national security in the Indo-Pacific for the next two decades.

We ask for your support in moving the COFA package forward with the urgency it requires. Thank you for your attention to this matter.  

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) joined their colleagues in calling on President Biden to delete his TikTok account. TikTok, owned by Chinese Company ByteDance, has been highlighted as a national security threat to the United States by members of Congress, the U.S. Department of Defense, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the White House.

“Over the past several years, officials from both sides of the aisle have cautioned Americans against downloading TikTok and worked to eliminate national security risks posed by the app,” the senators wrote. “We urge you to delete your account and publicly acknowledge the national security threat posed by TikTok.”

In 2020, Sen. Moran called on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate TikTok’s consumer data collection and processing practices. Sen. Moran later raised concerns over the risks TikTok poses to U.S. national security and consumer privacy and called for structural restrictions on TikTok’s American operations. Last year, Sen. Moran joined his colleagues in introducing the RESTRICT Act, comprehensive legislation that would address the ongoing threat posed by technology from foreign adversaries.

Joining the letter were Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Representatives Aaron Bean (R-Fla.) Jack Bergman (R-Mich.), Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.), Barry Moore (R-Ala.), Troy Nehls (R-Texas), Bill Posey (R-Fla.), John Rutherford (R-Fla.), Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and Michael Waltz (R-Fla.).

The full text of the letter is here and below.

Dear Mr. President:

On February 11, 2024, during Super Bowl LVIII, your campaign made its first post on TikTok, a social-media platform owned by ByteDance, a company subject to the control of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). TikTok endangers national security, and this concern is aggravated by the platform’s appeal to young people in the United States. We therefore urge you to delete your account and set a better example for the American people by restating that TikTok is a national security threat.

Over the past several years, officials from both sides of the aisle have cautioned Americans against downloading TikTok and worked to eliminate national security risks posed by the app. For example, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray said that TikTok “screams out with national security concerns.” Paul Nakasone, former commander of U.S. Cyber Command and former Director of the National Security Agency, also called TikTok a “loaded gun.”

Furthermore, you supported legislation banning TikTok from government devices. Presumably you signed this legislation into law due to the privacy risks associated with the app. The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has gone a step further, imposing a TikTok prohibition on DoD contractors. Several universities have also adopted this ban.

In short, there was a time when your administration publicly stated the threat posed by TikTok. It is incredibly troubling, then, that you are now ignoring TikTok’s well-established national security risks.

How can the federal government warn Americans about the risks of this app if the Commander in Chief uses it, too? Why should government employees be expected to honor a ban on official devices when the President rebuts the core justification for the law? And why should Americans believe you will protect them from foreign threats, when your use of the platform suggests disregard for well-known national security threats? The office of the presidency is about leadership. By downloading TikTok, you are setting a poor example for the American people, while making them less safe for the bargain.

We urge you to delete your account and publicly acknowledge the national security threat posed by TikTok. Thank you for your attention to this important matter. We look forward to your prompt response.

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) today introduced an amendment to the national security supplemental package to provide a path to permanent residency for Afghans, who supported the United States’ mission in Afghanistan, after undergoing additional vetting.

“After the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, veterans extended the creed ‘leave no man behind’ and helped their Afghan partners flee to the United States for safety,” said Sen. Moran. “Unfortunately, many of our Afghan partners are still overseas, and those who made it to the U.S. face uncertainty as to whether they will be granted permanent residency. I urge my colleagues to support the inclusion of the Afghan Adjustment Act in the national security supplemental to grant Afghan refugees stability, bolster our national security and send a message to U.S. partners and allies that we will honor our word.”

“As we work to pass legislation supporting our allies across the world, we cannot forget the Afghans who stood with us and our military,” said Sen. Klobuchar. “We have growing support for our effort to provide our Afghan allies more legal certainty as they seek refuge in the United States. That is why I am introducing this bipartisan amendment to the security package. We must get this done.”

The amendment is based on the bipartisan Afghan Adjustment Act, which would allow Afghan allies to apply for permanent legal residency to provide certainty as they build their lives in the United States after undergoing thorough vetting. Currently, Afghans who were admitted on temporary humanitarian status can only gain permanent legal status through the asylum system or Special Immigrant Visa process (SIV), which face severe backlogs and long processing times.

This amendment is supported by a broad coalition including The American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, With Honor Action, No One Left Behind, the Chamber of Commerce and many others.

The amendment is cosponsored by Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Angus King (I-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.).

Last week, Sen. Moran wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal encouraging his colleagues to support the Afghan Adjustment Act.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) today released the following statement on the passing of Lance Corporal Donovan Davis, from Olathe, Kansas. Lance Cpl. Davis was one of five Marines aboard the CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter that crashed in San Diego this week.

“Today, we learned that Kansas lost one of its finest in the tragic helicopter crash that took the lives of five United States Marines. Lance Cpl. Davis volunteered to serve his country, and at 21 years of age, he paid the ultimate sacrifice. Even in times of peace, our military men and women put themselves at great risk to make certain the troops are always ready to defend our nation if the need should arise.  

“I can’t even begin to imagine the pain five families and many friends are facing today as they learn of the loss of these young men. Robba and I are praying for the Davis family – and all the military families impacted by this accident.”

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