WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) is joining the U.S. Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), as well as retaining his membership on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies in the 115th Congress. Both roles put him in a better position to advocate for family farmers and ranchers and work to eliminate burdensome regulations that threaten the future of rural America.

“I often hear from Kansans that overregulation is the greatest threat to the economy of rural America,” said Sen. Moran. “My seat on the EPW Committee will give me the opportunity to work to roll back burdensome rules from the EPA and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service that harm our farmers and ranchers, raise the cost of energy for families, and hinder economic development in rural communities. I will fight for commonsense solutions to issues facing our state.   

Sen. Moran continued, “I also look forward to continuing my focus on investing in policies that are vital to Kansas farmers and ranchers, such as agriculture research, crop insurance and efforts to increase exports as a member of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee. I will push to make certain our next Secretary of Agriculture understands the unique challenges facing rural communities. Additionally, through the subcommittee’s jurisdiction over the FDA budget, I will work to advance public health innovations, including development of new medicines, medical devices and food safety practices”

“Sen. Moran’s new role on the Environment and Public Works Committee gives Kansans another strong advocate against the threats of overregulation at the EPA that hurt family farmers,” Kansas Farm Bureau President and Montgomery County farmer Richard Felts said. “Sen. Moran has always been a champion for farmers and ranchers, and we appreciate his leadership on behalf of Kansas agriculture.”

“Ranchers in Kansas and across the country will benefit from Sen. Moran’s new role on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee,” said Kansas Livestock Association President David Clawson of Englewood, Kan. “We appreciate his efforts to scrutinize existing regulations and repeal those that unnecessarily harm Kansas cattlemen and women and look forward to working with him in the future.”

The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works maintains jurisdiction over a wide-variety of federal policies concerning environment, energy, wildlife, and infrastructure issues, which directly impact the day-to-day functions of our farmers, small businesses, and families in Kansas.  More specifically, the committee oversees the implementation and enforcement of federal air and water quality standards, but it must do so without unduly harming Kansans’ livelihoods as a result.  Additionally, burdensome wildlife conservation regulations drastically hinder economic development in rural communities in some cases, and it is the duty of the committee to weigh the costs of such decisions.  The committee also plays a critical role in addressing the national infrastructure and public works needs of a competitive American economy so that Kansas farmers and ranchers can transport their produce and livestock efficiently.

Prior to being elected to the U.S. Senate, Sen. Moran served for 14 years on the U.S. House Agriculture Committee including as chairman of the Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management. Sen. Moran continues to fight to make certain farming and ranching families have the opportunity to earn a living and pass on their agricultural heritage to the next generation of producers, all while working to eliminate wasteful spending.

Sen. Moran was appointed chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies for the 115th Congress.

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WASHINGTON – In a letter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) today requested an extension of their deadline for comments and information relevant to the latest 90-day petition funding and status review of the lesser prairie chicken (LPC).

“Kansans are concerned about conserving the lesser prairie chicken and are interested in providing comments based on the most up-to-date information regarding the bird’s population and habitat area,” said Sen. Moran. “With results from WAFWA’s 2016 annual progress report expected to be finalized and made public in the near future, I urge the FWS to extend the deadline for comments to be submitted on the 90-day petition finding and species status review. Closing the comment period before the progress report regarding ongoing conservation efforts in the habitat area is finalized undercuts the ability of stakeholders to provide meaningful comments.”

On Nov. 30, 2016, the FWS issued a notice in the Federal Register regarding its 90-day finding that a petition to list the LPC as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) had presented substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that a listing may be warranted. The deadline for submitting comments was set for Jan. 30, 2017, before the completion of the 2016 LPC Range-wide Conservation Plan (RWP) Annual Progress Report developed by the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA). 

To stakeholders requesting a deadline extension in order to accommodate the best possible scientific information, the FWS has indicated an extension was unnecessary because it was open to receiving relevant information past the deadline. Sen. Moran today requested that the FWS reconsider their refusal to extend the deadline in order to help erase any confusion on when information may be provided to the FWS, and to grant stakeholders ample opportunity to provide comments.

The previous listing of the LPC as a threatened species was vacated by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit because the FWS failed to adequately take into account the impact of local, voluntary conservation efforts in the habitat areas to conserve the bird.

Text of the letter can be found here.

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) – member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee and chairman of the Senate Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee – released the following statement regarding his meeting today with President Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Dr. David Shulkin:

“Speaking with Dr. Shulkin today, we discussed the desperately needed changes that must take place at the VA to make the agency worthy of every single veteran it is sworn to serve,” said Sen. Moran. “The VA is tasked with the direct care of our nation’s heroes; but too frequently, veterans face a greater burden accessing the benefits they deserve as a result of failures that are symptomatic of a bureaucratic culture inflexible to change. The opportunity Dr. Shulkin could have to make a difference in the lives of American veterans cannot be overstated, which is why I requested that he reach out and speak with Veterans Service Organizations seeking an opportunity to share insights and priorities with President Trump. I look forward to continuing the dialogue with Dr. Shulkin about how to reform the VA and restore veterans’ trust in the agency created to serve them.”

Following the Presidential Inauguration on Friday, Jan. 20, Sen. Moran sent a letter to President Trump encouraging the new administration to consider his priorities for veterans.

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Mr. President, I’d like to take just a few moments of the Senate’s time this evening. We all work in an environment in which we’re surrounded by dedicated people. And one of those in my world, Todd Novascone who has been my chief of staff for 12 years, has had his last day of work in our office today. I wanted to take just a few moments to pay tribute to him and others like him. 

Now, I think we are here because we want to make a difference. And I have no doubt that’s the case for my 99 colleagues here on the Senate floor; but it’s also true for all the folks who work here in the Senate chamber, who work in our individual offices, who work in the committees. The goal is to be in the nation’s capital in hopes that we can make better things happen for America. 

I’ve had the privilege of being surrounded by many dedicated individuals, most of them Kansans, over the period of time that I’ve served in the Congress of the United States of America. I know that my ability to work on behalf of Kansans and on behalf of the citizens of our nation is greatly altered, enhanced, improved by the fact that people who care about America, and who care about our home state, are there by my side. One of those most important to me has been my chief of staff. Todd was an elected official in his own right. He was elected to the Kansas House of Representatives and served there with distinction, and now, 12 years ago—back in the days in which I was a member in the United States House of Representatives—I asked him to uproot his family and move to Washington, D.C., and assume the task of managing our office and helping accomplish the things we all want to accomplish. And he’s done it with great style and with grace and with friendship. 

He has been the person who has motivated us to do better, and always done it in a way in which we felt good about what we were doing. Done in a management style that made us feel good about ourselves — bringing us together, not taking us apart; making certain that we knew that the outcome was important, but [also] how we got there. Matters that are important to us as individuals, as human beings — integrity, doing things right, telling the truth, those things were always honored and achieved — because of his leadership. 

People are hard to replace and Todd is especially difficult to replace. I spend most every week in the nation’s capital away from my own family and like many people here in the Senate, those who work in our offices have become part of our family. And that’s true certainly for the people who work in our office today and — although when I came to congress I was more their age, now there’s a wider gap in the age of our staff and me — my wife Robba and I believe that I’m surrounded by people who are part of our family, and Todd is certainly that. In fact, his family grew while he was my chief of staff, two children, Grace and Will, born during the days of his time as an employee in our office. And again, a reminder about how to put things in perspective, always taking care of his kids, always there for their school activities, part of their school board, involved in their athletic and musical activities, and that’s a good thing for a chief of staff to [do]. Because if it’s important to him, he’ll make certain that that is permitted and honored and is encouraged by those who work in the office. 

So, tonight I just want to say thank you to Todd Novascone of Andover, Kansas, who decided to devote 12 years of his life here in the nation’s capital trying to make things better, trying to make our office work well, and try to achieve the things that all of us want to achieve on behalf of our nation. So, to Todd Novascone: Thank you for a job well done, thank you for being my friend, and thank you for the way that you have conducted yourself on my behalf.

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