WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) today released the following statement regarding the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) decision to adopt a temporary policy to suspend its rules related to student athlete compensation for the use of their name, image and likeness (NIL):

“This decision by the NCAA to adopt interim rules to allow college athletes to profit from the use of their name, image and likeness is a step in the right direction as states begin enacting their own student athlete compensation laws. However, this is not a long-term solution and further demonstrates that Congress must act to establish a consistent, federal standard on NIL. Creating a level playing field regarding student athlete protection and compensation through federal legislation will empower amateur athletes while maintaining the integrity of college sports that we all know and love.”

In February, Sen. Moran introduced the Amateur Athletes Protection and Compensation Act of 2021 to establish a consistent, federal standard to allow student athletes greater control of their NIL.

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) secured a clarification from the U.S. Treasury that Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds may be used as grants for households, small businesses and nonprofits with inflated utility bills from the natural gas shortage during Winter Storm Uri in February.

“Many Kansans are concerned about the steep increase in their gas bill following the spike in natural gas prices earlier this year,” said Sen. Moran. “I’m pleased that the U.S. Treasury has now provided increased flexibility to state and local governments regarding the permissible use of federal relief funds after I raised this issue to them in March. As Kansans continue to deal with the economic impacts of the pandemic, this decision will alleviate a lot of consternation for those states impacted by the February extreme weather that caused elevated natural gas prices.”

Click HERE to Watch Sen. Moran’s Full Remarks

In March, Sen. Moran questioned Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen regarding the flexible use of federal funds provided to state and local governments to address the distressing circumstances many Kansans faced as a result of the extreme weather in February. During this hearing, Sen. Moran urged the U.S. Treasury to develop guidance that permitted the most recent COVID-19 relief legislation to be used to alleviate the burden placed on Kansas households and businesses by the costly utility bills.

This week, the U.S Treasury permitted increased flexibility for federal funds to be used for utility costs by issuing the following guidance regarding eligible uses:

What types of services are eligible as responses to the negative economic impacts of the pandemic?

Eligible uses in this category include assistance to households; small businesses and nonprofits; and aid to impacted industries. Assistance to households includes, but is not limited to: food assistance; rent, mortgage, or utility assistance; counseling and legal aid to prevent eviction or homelessness; cash assistance; emergency assistance for burials, home repairs, weatherization, or other needs; internet access or digital literacy assistance; or job training to address negative economic or public health impacts experienced due to a worker’s occupation or level of training.

Assistance to small business and non-profits includes, but is not limited to:

• Loans or grants to mitigate financial hardship such as declines in revenues or impacts of periods of business closure, for example by supporting payroll and benefits costs, costs to retain employees, mortgage, rent, or utilities costs, and other operating costs;
• Loans, grants, or in-kind assistance to implement COVID-19 prevention or mitigation tactics, such as physical plant changes to enable social distancing, enhanced cleaning efforts, barriers or partitions, or COVID-19 vaccination, testing, or contact tracing programs; and Technical assistance, counseling, or other services to assist with business planning needs
• Technical assistance, counseling, or other services to assist with business planning needs

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) spoke on the Senate floor regarding S.1, the For the People Act, and its role in underscoring the importance of maintaining the filibuster, the 60 vote threshold needed to pass legislation.

“Yesterday, the Democrats attempted an unprecedented power grab in the Senate that in my view clearly would have affected the sanctity of our elections and violated the Constitution,” said Sen. Moran. “The vote was designed to fail in order to pressure Democratic Senators into altering the rules of the Senate and render this place a majority-run institution. Should the legislative filibuster meet its demise at the hands of this Senate because Democrats decide on a majority vote that the rules that have been in place for decades should be changed overnight, the august United States Senate will be condemned to a partisan spectacle.”

“This 60 vote rule is designed to moderate both sides of a question to something that is more acceptable to the American people than anything we might decide on our own, Republican or Democrat,” continued Sen. Moran. “America is better when we work together, and 60 votes requires us to do that.”

Click HERE to Watch Sen. Moran’s Full Remarks

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) today introduced legislation that would freeze the daily allowances permitted for federal employees on government travel at their higher, pre-pandemic amounts for the next two years to help hotels that serve government travel receive a fair rate for the services they provide. 

“Federal travelers are a significant part of the hotel industry’s customer base, and federal travel allowances should reflect a fair price for both travelers and hotels,” said Sen. Moran. “Often times the federal per diem rate influences private sector rates. Freezing these allowances so they are based off of lodging prices before the pandemic will provide much needed certainty to help the hotel industry’s recovery while also providing a fair price for their services.”

“The travel industry was among the hardest-hit by the pandemic, and we must help this critical part of our economy and workforce recover from economic hardship,” said Sen. Kaine. “I’m proud to introduce this legislation, which will help ensure that federal employees receive a fair rate when they travel and that hotels receive fair compensation for their services.”

“Government travel supports tens of thousands of hotel jobs and billions in travel spending across the country and is critical to the hotel industry’s recovery, which is still suffering the negative economic impacts of COVID-19,” said Chip Rogers, American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) President and CEO. “As a result of pandemic-related shutdowns, capacity restrictions and safety precautions, calculating per diem rates using 2020 data would lead to an artificially low rate that would only exacerbate the economic crisis facing hoteliers. This commonsense bill would ensure a fair rate calculation by directing the General Services Administration to base per diem rates on data from 2018 and 2019, prior to the pandemic's devastating impact on travel. We commend Sens. Moran and Kaine for introducing this critical legislation and urge Congress to move swiftly to pass it into law.”

The General Services Administration (GSA) establishes the per diem rates, which are the maximum allowances federal employees can be reimbursed for expenses incurred during official travel. GSA per diem rates are updated annually and are calculated on a 12-month basis beginning in April of the prior calendar year and running through March.

Due to stay-at-home orders, mandatory shutdowns and social distancing measures, the rates collected in the past year will produce significantly depressed per diem rates. In light of the impact of COVID-19, GSA adjusted the FY2021 data window for rate setting by one month (April 2019 through February 2020 in lieu of the standard April 2019 through March 2020).

Sens. Moran and Kaine’s legislation, the Restored, Equitable, Coronavirus Adjusted Lodging (RECAL) Act, would freeze federal per diem rates at the 2019, pre-pandemic level to avoid a depressed per diem rate, which would have a significant impact on the hotel and travel industry.

This legislation is supported by the American Hotel and Lodging Association and the Asian American Hotel Owners Association.

Click here to view a one-page summary of the bill.

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