WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) today voted in support of the Senate Farm Bill, which includes a number of Moran provisions to benefit Kansas agricultural producers and rural communities. The Farm Bill provides a stable safety net for American farmers and ranchers, protects key risk management tools, such as crop insurance, and ensures continued access to credit for producers.

“With the ongoing low commodity prices and uncertainty in export markets that our farmers and ranchers experience today, passing a strong Farm Bill is more important than ever,” said Sen. Moran. “One of the primary ways I judge a Farm Bill is if the policies it contains will encourage more young people to live in rural America, to go back to the communities in which they grew up and to take over family farming and ranching operations. This legislation will provide stability for producers by protecting crop insurance, strengthening the farm safety net and encouraging responsible land stewardship through conservation programs. This Farm Bill supports key rural development initiatives, including a pilot program within USDA to bolster broadband deployment. I was also pleased my amendments were included to allow Emergency Conservation Program payments for fences to be made in advance in times of disaster and to increase the accuracy of the ARC commodity program for mixed irrigated/dryland counties. Thanks to Senator Roberts for leading the Ag Committee and the Senate through this process – I look forward to continuing to work on this important bill as it heads to conference and eventually to the president’s desk.”  

The Farm Bill passed today includes an amendment led by Sen. Moran to allow advance payments through the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) for farmers and ranchers to replace fences following natural disasters. This bill also contains Sen. Moran’s proposal to more than double the amount of ECP assistance a landowner is able to receive when rebuilding from a disaster. These provisions reflect legislation Sen. Moran introduced in 2017 and were drafted based on input from Kansas ranchers following devastating fires in March 2017. Sen. Moran’s amendment carries no cost.

The second amendment Sen. Moran included in the legislation would increase the accuracy of Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) commodity program for mixed irrigated/dryland counties. The amendment would set up a process by which a county with a blended irrigated/dryland yield is able to request that USDA separate the yields by irrigation practice.

Sen. Moran also cosponsored an amendment offered by Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) to add an additional 150-air-mile radius exemption for agriculture to the end of a drive for livestock haulers. Sen. Moran has repeatedly advocated for a lasting solution to make certain livestock haulers in Kansas and across the country can transport cattle and other animals safely and humanely. Sen. Moran will continue to work toward finding a permanent solution to the hours of service challenges faced by our producers.

The Farm Bill addresses a number of Sen. Moran’s priorities in expanding rural broadband access for Kansans. This legislation prevents the federally-subsidized overbuilding of broadband infrastructure in an effort to more strategically use taxpayer dollars to close the digital divide.

Sen. Moran spoke on the Senate floor this week regarding these priorities and the importance of the Farm Bill. His remarks can be viewed here.

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) today joined several of his Senate colleagues to the Keep Families Together and Enforce the Law Act. This legislation would keep families together while ensuring the integrity of our nation’s immigration laws. Additionally, this legislation requires that children and their parents remain together during their legal proceedings.

“The act of forcibly separating children from their parents is a clear sign of how broken our immigration system is and contradicts our values as Americans,” said Sen. Moran. “Our priority must be the welfare of these children. These separations must end and I urge my colleagues to support this legislation and promptly fix this circumstance.”

The Keep Families Together and Enforce the Law Act includes provisions to ensure the humane and fair treatment of migrant children and families by setting mandatory standards of care for family residential centers. Families will be ensured access to suitable living accommodations, food and water, medical assistance and any other service necessary for their care. 

In addition to keeping children and their parents together, the legislation also keeps children safe by requiring children to be removed from an individual who presents a clear and present danger to the health and safety of the child, including: situations in which DHS cannot verify an individual is the parent of the child; a parent with a violent history of committing aggravated felonies; a child who is a victim of sexual or domestic abuse; or a child who is a victim of trafficking.

To prioritize the timely adjudication of family cases, the legislation authorizes 225 new immigration judges and requires the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Attorney General to prioritize resolving the cases of children and families in family residential centers.

Unlike other proposals – which incentivize illegal immigration by codifying “catch and release” policies into law – this legislation keeps families together while also ensuring the integrity of our immigration laws.

Other original co-sponsors include Senators Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Dean Heller (R-Nev.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Mitch McConnell (R-Kent.). 

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WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) – chairman and ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies – included in their bipartisan appropriations bill a measure to fully fund the Student, Teachers, and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence Act of 2018, which was signed into law earlier this year, at its authorized level of $100 million. The measure was reported favorably out of the subcommittee on Tuesday and was approved by the full Senate Appropriations Committee today.

“I am grateful for Senator Shaheen’s partnership in crafting this bipartisan bill, which prioritizes issues important to Kansans and Americans across the country, including funding for the STOP School Violence Act,” said Chairman Moran. “This legislation will help schools train security officers with crisis intervention strategies, strengthen school infrastructure and develop anonymous reporting systems to help intervene in crisis situations before students can harm themselves or others. I encourage my colleagues to support this commonsense measure on the Senate floor.”

“Our kids should be focusing on their school work, extracurricular activities and friends – they shouldn’t be distracted or burdened with the fear of their school being the next location for gun violence,” said Ranking Member Shaheen. “To keep students, teachers and faculty safe, preventative investments are important – and that is precisely what this funding bill includes. Increasing resources to provide evidence-based violence prevention and intervention efforts like training for teachers and school staff and school threat assessments are significant steps Congress and our communities can take to keep classrooms safe. I appreciate Chairman Moran’s efforts to help usher this priority through the subcommittee, and the bipartisanship we’ve seen by Senators on both sides of the aisle throughout the appropriations process to ensure this important work gets done.”

“This critical funding will protect even more students across our country with proven violence prevention programs,” said Co-Founder and Managing Director of Sandy Hook Promise Mark Barden. “We know that violence and suicide in our schools are preventable when we teach students and adults to know the signs and act as upstanders to save a life. We applaud the continued bipartisan commitment of Chairman Moran, Ranking Member Shaheen, and this committee to improve school safety through prevention and early intervention to stop future tragedies before they happen.”

Following tragedies due to school violence, the federal government has funded short-term school safety initiatives focused on crisis response, active shooters and physical infrastructure. The STOP School Violence Act builds on these initiatives and promotes sustained strategies to stop violence in our schools before it happens. This funding provides students, educators and local law enforcement the tools and support they need to take proactive and continuous steps toward improving school safety and security. 

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