WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) joined nine of his Republican colleagues to unveil details of their targeted COVID-19 federal relief proposal and to request a meeting with President Biden to discuss the proposal in further detail. President Biden accepted the request and invited the Republican senators to the White House for a meeting at 5pm ET today.

“Last year, Congress spent $4 trillion on bipartisan COVID-19 relief packages to support Americans as our country faced the challenges of this pandemic,” said Sen. Moran. “While more can be done to accelerate vaccine distribution and protect small businesses, the Democrats’ $2 trillion plan filled with unrelated, partisan wish list items is not the right path forward.”

“I am pleased to join my colleagues in putting forth a targeted framework, built on a foundation of bipartisan ideas, to get more vaccines in people’s arms and help Americans who are struggling most,” continued Sen. Moran. “President Biden has pledged a spirit of unity, and I hope he will rise to that promise by working with both sides of the aisle in Congress to pass a sixth bipartisan relief package to meet the ongoing challenges of this crisis.”

The $600 billion Republican proposal includes funding for COVID-19 vaccine production and distribution, additional resources to get children safely back to school, support for small businesses and economic relief for families.

Yesterday, Sen. Moran joined his Republican colleagues in sending a letter to President Biden to discuss their alternative COVID-19 relief proposal. Joining Sen. Moran are U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska).

Full text of the letter below, and the PDF is here.

January 31, 2021

Dear Mr. President:

As you proclaimed in your Inaugural Address, overcoming the challenges facing our nation “requires the most elusive of things in a democracy: Unity.”  Heeding that important call, we welcome the opportunity to work with you in a bipartisan manner to combat the COVID-19 virus and provide continued support to families struggling during the pandemic. 

In the spirit of bipartisanship and unity, we have developed a COVID-19 relief framework that builds on prior COVID assistance laws, all of which passed with bipartisan support.  Our proposal reflects many of your stated priorities, and with your support, we believe that this plan could be approved quickly by Congress with bipartisan support.  We request the opportunity to meet with you to discuss our proposal in greater detail and how we can work together to meet the needs of the American people during this persistent pandemic. 

Addressing this public health crisis has required robust and rapid support for vaccine development and distribution, testing and tracing, treatment and supplies, including the production and deployment of personal protective equipment.  We agree with you that continuing to build our capacity in these areas is crucial to overcoming the pandemic.  Like your plan, our proposal includes a total of $160 billion to enhance our capabilities in these areas as well as to support our health care providers, who are on the front lines of the pandemic.  Our plan mirrors your request for $4 billion to bolster our behavioral health and substance abuse services.

Our proposal also includes economic relief for those Americans with the greatest need, providing more targeted assistance than in the Administration’s plan. We propose an additional round of economic impact payments for those families who need assistance the most, including their dependent children and adults.  Our plan also includes extending enhanced federal unemployment benefits at the current level and fully funding your request for nutrition assistance to help struggling families.

We share your goal of providing additional assistance for our small businesses. Included in our plan are additional resources to help our small businesses and their employees through the successful Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program. 

Getting our children back to school and making sure that schools are able to stay open safely are priorities that we strongly support.  Our plan includes resources for these purposes as well as for child care, which is a critical component to getting Americans back to work.  

Finally, we note that billions of dollars remain unspent from the previous COVID relief packages.  Just last month, Congress provided $900 billion in additional resources, and communities are only now receiving much of that assistance.  Some of the spending appropriated through the CARES Act, passed last March, also has yet to be exhausted. The proposal we have outlined is mindful of these past efforts, while also acknowledging the priorities that need additional support right now. 

In 2020, Members of the House and Senate and the previous Administration came together on a bipartisan basis five times to direct the resources of the federal government toward combatting the urgent COVID-19 pandemic.  Each of these laws received the support of members from both political parties. With your support, we believe Congress can once again craft a relief package that will provide meaningful, effective assistance to the American people and set us on a path to recovery.

We recognize your calls for unity and want to work in good faith with your Administration to meet the health, economic, and societal challenges of the COVID crisis. 

Thank you for your consideration of this request.

Sincerely,

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WASHINGTON – This week, U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) cosponsored three pro-life bills that would prevent taxpayer funding and COVID-19 relief funds from being used to fund abortions and allow states to opt-out of giving Medicaid funds to abortion providers.

“Millions of Americans, including many Kansans, agree that we should defend the unborn, and a majority believe using taxpayer dollars to fund abortions misrepresents their convictions and values,” said Sen. Moran. “Not only should we prevent taxpayer funds from being spent directly on abortions, but states should not be forced to give Medicaid funds to abortion providers. Furthermore, we must make certain abortion providers do not use our current global pandemic to get their hands on taxpayer dollars through the COVID-19 relief packages. I am pleased to once more support these bills that would make certain taxpayer dollars are not being used to terminate the unborn and help prevent billions of taxpayer dollars from going to support abortion providers like Planned Parenthood.”

Sen. Moran was given an A+ rating on the Susan B. Anthony List National Pro-Life Scorecard.

Background on the Women’s Public Health and Safety Act

Under current law, states are required to allow any qualified provider to participate in a state’s Medicaid system. A non-partisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) report revealed that Planned Parenthood received nearly $1.3 billion in Medicaid reimbursements over a three year period, accounting for 81 percent of the abortion provider’s joint federal-state funding stream. This legislation would give states the authority to exclude abortion providers, like Planned Parenthood, from receiving Medicaid funds.

Background on The Protecting Life in Crisis Act

This legislation prohibits any funds that are authorized or appropriated for the purposes of preventing, preparing for, or responding to the COVID–19 pandemic, domestically and internationally, from going toward abortions or abortion coverage. Sen. Moran joined several of his Senate colleagues in May in calling for an investigation into how Planned Parenthood was able to obtain loans through the Paycheck Protection Program.

Background on the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act   

Currently, policies that regulate federal funding for abortions, like the long-standing Hyde Amendment, have to be reapproved each year and can be terminated at any time. This bill would eliminate the need for annual action and ensure a permanent, government-wide prohibition on funding for abortions.

In addition to establishing a government-wide ban on federal funding for abortion, this legislation would:

• Prohibit funding for health benefits coverage that includes coverage of abortion with funds authorized or appropriated by Federal law;
• Prohibit abortion in federal health facilities (such as DOD and VA hospitals) and ensure that no federal employee provides abortion services in the course of their employment;
• Make permanent the provisions of the D.C. Hyde Amendment, or the Dornan Amendment, which clarifies that the federal provisions regarding abortion funding also apply to the government of the District of Columbia;
• Ensure that elective abortion is not deductible for tax purposes by amending Section 213 of the Internal Revenue Code; and
• Ensure that Affordable Care Act premium assistance subsidies provided in the form of refundable, advanceable tax credits are not used to pay for health insurance plans that include abortion, except in cases of rape, incest or when the life of the mother is at risk.

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WASHINGTON – This week, U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) cosponsored the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act to provide commonsense protections for unborn children at 20 weeks after fertilization, a point at which there is scientific evidence that abortion inflicts tremendous pain on the unborn.

“Every year, thousands of unborn children are aborted after 20 weeks gestation—a point where we know, based on science, those babies can feel pain. I will always vote to defend the sanctity of life and hope that one day we will become a society that protects our most vulnerable, instead of one that permits their destruction.”

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WASHINGTON – This week, U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) joined a group of Senators in introducing a resolution to express support for the Navigable Waters Protection Rule – the Trump administration’s replacement for the Obama-era Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule.

“Repealing the Trump administration’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule will reinstate burdensome regulations on Kansas farmers, ranchers and small businesses,” said Sen. Moran. “This commonsense rule promotes clean water for our communities and families, while respecting private property rights and providing certainty for landowners. We’ve already seen the damage and confusion caused by the Obama-era WOTUS rule, and returning to that standard is unacceptable.”

In 2015, the Obama administration finalized a rule that expanded the definition of the Waters of the United States, creating confusion and burdensome red tape for the agriculture industry and many others. Sen. Moran cosponsored legislation in September 2015 that would have nullified the Obama administration’s rule. After passing both the House and Senate—with bipartisan support—the bill was vetoed by President Obama.

The Trump administration proposed a new rule to replace the Obama administration’s 2015 WOTUS rule that provided much-needed predictability and certainty for farmers by establishing clear and reasonable definitions of what qualifies as a “water of the United States.” The new Navigable Waters Protection Rule was finalized last year.

This week, President Biden signed an executive order that would roll back the Trump administration’s executive order which originally began the process of rescinding Obama’s WOTUS rule.

Sen. Moran joined 25 of his colleagues on this resolution, including Senators Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), James Risch (R-Idaho), John Barasso (R-Wyo.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.).

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