Jerry Moran

Mr. MORAN

Mr. MORAN. Madam President, thank you very much. This has been a trying and difficult and challenging time in our country and in my home State of Kansas. There are lots of conversations, care, and compassion going on. We can't give anybody a hug these days. We can't extend a hand--at least literally--but we are extending a hand to all of our friends and our neighbors--those across our community, those across our State, and across the country. I am troubled, of course, by what circumstances Americans find themselves in. There are those who are in a poor circumstance in which they can recover from the circumstances that we face. I want to make sure that Kansans know that we hear their cries, that we know of their problems, and that work is afoot to try to make a difference. Just a couple of examples of things that perhaps, in the overall scale of where we are, don't seem significant enough but can make a difference in individual lives and families' well-being: We have been successful to this point in getting the school lunch program available for students whose schools are no longer in session, who don't go to the classroom, and therefore aren't in the school lunchroom. The USDA and the school food program are now available for those who are at home because their school classes have been canceled as a result of the virus. We are paying a lot of attention, as I hope Kansans know and Americans know, to the veteran and the veteran community. We have had success in passing legislation on the Senate floor--waiting for House consideration--that will allow those veterans who are no longer in the classroom, in a university, or in a technical college and are now learning by distance education, by technology, to be able to continue to receive their GIeducational benefits. That required a change in the law, and it is in the works so that those benefits continue, even though the student is not, as now required, in a classroom itself. We are trying to make sure the Department of Veterans Affairs has the resources necessary to meet the needs of our veterans. It is a vulnerable population because of the age and existing condition of many of our veterans. We are in constant contact not only with the Department of Veterans Affairs but with veterans themselves and with our veteran hospitals and clinics and other healthcare providers in Kansas. Today, we are dealing with economic relief for those who are losing their job, fearful of losing their job, or have already lost their job. Much of life's meaning comes from our employment, from what we do. A job is certainly something that helps put food on a family's table and provides some security for an individual, but it also provides meaning. No one can understand, unless they are without a job, how devastating that can be. I am pleased by the number of business men and women who have called me to tell me the last thing they want to do is lay off anyone who works in their business. We have been through economic difficulties before. We have seen the cycle of the economy, the ups and downs, the normal flows, but this is something totally different from that. Oil and gas--the price of oil is such that keeping our oil and gas producers in Kansas in business is a real challenge. Aviation manufacturing is an important component of the Kansas economy, and today Textron industries, which manufactures Cessna aircraft and Beechcraft, announced they are furloughing 7,000 of their 9,000 workers. That is on top of other challenges in the aviation industry in which Spirit AeroSystems, headquartered in Kansas, has already laid off 2,800 employees. From the oil and gas industry of Western and South Central and Eastern Kansas to the manufacturing hub of Wichita and South Central Kansas, the consequences of the coronavirus are real and felt in the pocketbook, felt in the brain, and felt in the heart. Our restaurants, hotels, our car rental agencies, and those who serve others--I have been in circumstances this week in visiting with the people who work at a restaurant, the people who work at a cafe, the people who work here in Washington, DC, at the cafeteria where I had breakfast this morning. Those who have jobs wonder if they are going to have jobs tomorrow, and those who have already lost jobs wonder how they are going to pay the bills. This morning I had a conversation with an optometrist telling me the circumstances of no longer being able to care for patients except in the emergency setting, which means that the business in the optometrist office--an important healthcare provider--and the business in the dental office has been curtailed, and the necessity of considering laying off the clinical workers there is front and center in that conversation. It is a troublesome situation across Kansas. It does not matter what city or town you live in. If you are a farmer, the cattle prices today are significantly depressed, despite the fact that it is still pretty expensive at the grocery store. I think about my hometown and the loss of a business. There aren't many businesses in many rural communities in Kansas, and many businesses don't really earn much of a living or a profit. It could be a family circumstance; it could be this is what they did; this is what their parents did; this could be a service to the community; and they live on a lot less because that business is important to a small community. But this kind of challenge is such that if that business closes, the chances are that it will not reopen. The financial circumstances of smalltown America are such that there is little likelihood of recovery and reopening. The legislation we passed today is now on its way to the President. It included a few things that I was troubled by and think will create significant difficulties for some. We need to continue to work to change those provisions that are troublesome and cause problems. But it was important in my view to make certain the things that were wrong in that bill didn't prevent us from passing something to help those with the things that are right. None of our economic efforts that we have to make certain people feel more secure economically will work until they feel more secure in the health and well-being of themselves and their families. Even though you may get some assistance--a person may get some assistance, a family may be relieved of some of the financial burdens they now face, a laid-off worker may get unemployment benefits--your mind is always going to be on the issue of your health and the well- being of your children and your parents and your grandparents, those we know in the nursing home and those we know in the nursery. And as long as we are troubled by what may happen to us and our health, no amount of economic stimulus can overcome the fear of one's well-being and particularly the well-being of their spouse, their children, and their parents. So clearly economic relief in and of itself, in my view, is insufficient. We need to make certain that our healthcare providers have the necessary tools to meet the healthcare needs of American citizens. Front and center in that regard is testing, and we are woefully inadequate and undersupplied in what we need to test the necessary number of Kansans and Americans to know what they face and to know what their circumstances are and to respond in the medically required way. We are working to make sure there are more tests across the country and working to make certain those tests are distributed in a way that Kansans and their healthcare providers can access them. Most recently, we were successful in getting CDC to undo a problem that kept tests from being transferred to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment in my home State. We are pleased to see that the FDA, for example, has modified the necessary steps it takes for a manufacturer of these test kits to be certified to be qualified to manufacture them. And the amount of test kits that are being produced, the amount of manufacturing has increased, and we are expecting significant improvements in the next couple of weeks. Yes, I wish they were here earlier, but can we fix the problem we face now and get them here soon, immediately? I sit in the desk of Senator Bob Dole, a predecessor of mine in Kansas--his name is etched in this desk drawer--now known for his bipartisanship and held in great respect not only at home in Kansas but across the country. I stand at the desk that is here in the place of Senator John McCain. These are two people who demonstrated the desire to work together. While I have outlined a few things that I think are important, and I wanted Kansans to know, the mission in my remarks today--maybe the most important--is to ask my Republican colleagues and my Democratic colleagues to set aside the usual bickering and political posturing that takes place in the U.S. Congress. No American can feel well, no American can feel that things are going to be OK if they don't see leadership and cooperation among us. So while we today are preparing for the presentation of new legislation dealing with the challenges that businesses, employers, and employees face, trying to relieve the economic and financial burden that many Americans are experiencing and more will experience in the future, could Americans please see that I and my colleagues are taking every step not to make this a political exercise but to demonstrate our care and concern for those we represent. I mentioned a moment ago about veterans. This is the point in time in which, if you take a walk on the National Mall, as I have often done, to walk to the Lincoln Memorial, I will walk by now the World War II Memorial; I will walk by the Vietnam Wall; and on my return, I will walk by the Korean War Memorial. We should hold those veterans--those military men and women who are honored in those settings--as our role models. We should do that every day, but could we please do it over the next few weeks, the next few months, and into the next year as we try to address the challenges that America faces today. No person memorialized in those settings fought and sacrificed their life for a Republican or for a Democrat. They sacrificed because they believed they could make life better for the folks back home--their own family members, their neighbors, and people they didn't know. They sacrificed because they believed they could make the world a more safe and secure place. I pledge myself in every way possible to see that I do the things today, tomorrow, and into the future that mean that this Congress has come together on behalf of the American people, just like those who served our country did and now rest in peace. To the Democratic colleagues here in the Senate, please consider me open to their suggestions. And to my Republican colleagues, please know that I am an ally in the things that we believe in. But we may all need to give a little so America can return, Americans can be safe, Americans can be secure, our health is protected, and our economy flourishing. I would ask God in these circumstances to bless this country, to bring us together, hold us in his arms in a way that we can't do today, and to make certain that this Congress represents the will of the people, not the will of any political party. I yield the floor

Mr. MORAN

Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. MORAN

Mr. MORAN. Madam President, I am pleased to have arrived on the Senate floor just a bit early to have heard the Senator from Arkansas, Mr. Boozman, pay tribute to the DAV, Disabled American Veterans, and I very much want to join in his comments. I will also take a moment to thank him for his continual service for veterans, not only for those of Arkansas but of our Nation, and to recognize that he and I, since our days in the House of Representatives, have worked together on veterans' issues and both now find ourselves in positions in the hopes that we can do even more. To Senator Boozman, I say thank you for his continued efforts in making sure that all who serve our Nation have a better future and that the Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as the American people, do everything they can to make sure that what they are entitled to they will receive. So I thank the Senator from Arkansas.

Mr. MORAN

Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, I rise to support the remarks of my colleague from Missouri, Senator Blunt. I thank him for his leadership. He is in an important position as the chairperson of the Health, Education, and Labor Appropriations Subcommittee, which is responsible for appropriating funds to the Department of Health and Human Services. I serve on that subcommittee with him. He is a leader in so many ways. I am so pleased that we are allies in this issue of life and death for Kansans and Missourians. To my colleagues on the Senate floor, it is really a life-and-death issue for many of your constituents across the country but particularly in rural areas, in the Midwest, and in the South. The decisions that are being made have huge consequences that will affect families, individuals, and their lives today and for years to come. I express my concerns and my deeply held belief that the Department of Health and Human Services is failing to do its job. Their harmful actions will damage the liver allocation policy in this country in the way I just described. The policy discussion we are having here today is important. It is important any day, but it is relevant since National Donor Day is this Friday, February 14. I want to take a moment to thank those across Kansas and Missouri and around the country who have donated their organs to give that gift of life. Senator Blunt is right. I think there is a tendency on the part of people to donate an organ knowing that somebody--maybe they don't necessarily know them, but somebody who might live down the street or live in the same community or live in the same State. There is a sense of community across this country that is being destroyed. The end result of that is there will be fewer donors donating organs for the lives of others. These changes to the United Network for Organ Sharing's distribution policy will redistribute the organs from States and regions that have high organ donor rates to areas that have historically underperformed. This results in patients in Kansas and those in the Midwest and Southern States to wait a much longer time for the organ. I have spoken on this topic on the Senate floor before, as this destructive policy was pushed forward. I spoke in 2018. We are still here today. The lack of interest and concern exhibited by those involved in this process is appalling to me. I stand here today because of the outright refusal of the Secretary of Health and Human Services to halt the implementation of this damaging and unfair health policy that has not withstood examination by either medical experts or our Nation's judicial system. In fact, the U.S. district court has been forced to place multiple injunctions on the implementation of this policy last year as HHS tried to force this policy upon patients across the Nation, despite a lawsuit from a collection of our Nation's best transplant centers. The organizations that are fully engaged in opposing this process are the people who transplant the organs to those who are in desperate need of it. They are the experts--the surgeons, the transplant centers in universities and hospitals across a wide swath of the country. HHS has ignored the initial injunction order and began to implement this harmful policy. They had to seek a second injunction in order force the injunction to be upheld. In explaining the court order, this district judge in the district of Georgia described the policy as ``difficult and wrenching,'' ``creating profound issues and institutional disruption'' and concluded that this policy will undoubtedly cause harm to patients, particularly those in rural areas. There is also mounting evidence that the United Network for Organ Sharing and its CEO have acted in callous disregard for rural areas in the Midwest and South throughout the development of this policy. These are the same areas that have the highest donation rates and play an enormous role in the lifesaving transplant system. The people who live there are the ones who are being harmed. Those who are crafting and implementing this system continually disregard the evidence that shows these areas are already suffering under the suffocating weight of HHS's new policy. As I said before, this policy tosses aside all public concerns from patients, transplant surgeons, and hospitals on best practices to improve the availability of organs across the Nation. There is no reason to have a regional fight. There are ways to do this that benefit all regions of the country. It also carries the risk of decreasing those organ donations that will then damage everyone. This limits availability and access to donated organs and damages the ability for major transplant hospitals-- in the case of Kansas, the University of Kansas Hospital--to perform these services for patients. This is particularly frustrating because dating back to December 2017, the board of the Organ Procurement and Transplant Network has approved an equitable liver allocation process that served the entire community's best interest. This was a necessary policy reform that took years of consideration that would benefit the entire country, based on compromise by transplant experts, patients, and important stakeholders. That policy was abandoned. We were assured when it was abandoned by OPTN and Health Resources--or HRSA--that public comments would be considered. That policy that took years to develop and involved the valuation of experts and a give-and-take in a process was overturned so easily. We were promised we would have the opportunity for those who have concerns about this policy to have input, and the reality of that fact is that was a lie. It was not true. Many concerns made by patients, by transplant centers, by surgeons were never considered in OPTN's rushed process to finalize the policy. The reasons they were not considered was because of the overwhelming negative response that caused the entire comment system to completely shut down. People across the country commented on it with such frequency that the ability for the telephone system to log the input crashed. Of course, did OPTN wait until they could get those comments and consider them? No, they made the decision without that input. In fact, the president of OPTN has informed many commenters in the transplant community that their concerns over the new policy were not even read by the board that approved the policy. So the many transplant hospitals, surgeons, and medical professionals who had deep concerns and took time out of their busy days to express them were never heard. They were ignored. These are the people who are tasked with saving lives through the transplants they perform each and every day. Yet their opinions were essentially deemed invalid. It appears that HRSA's and OPTN's making policy in such a reckless fashion has become the normal state of affairs. Despite the continual efforts by Senator Blunt and me to get Secretary Azar to review, to modify, to consider, to reconsider, or to put on hold this policy, we have had no success. Additional oversight is desperately needed to restore some semblance of common sense in the actions and policies that are being taken and deployed. I am deeply disappointed in the actions by Secretary Azar, HRSA, OPTN, and UNOS. This process has been flawed from start to finish, guided by not what is best for the country but how best to sidestep a specific, single lawsuit. Organ procurement and allocation policy is too important to be decided in this fashion. Secretary Azar, the University of Kansas Health System typically performs 8 to 10 liver transplants per month. Since this policy has been implemented under your administration, it has performed zero transplants. This is as a direct result of the policy. At KU Hospital, current estimates are that it may take up to 6 months before it is able to provide another one of these lifesaving donation organ operations. Meanwhile, those on the transplant list in Kansas watch their wait times grow, and their hope begins to dwindle. This is really a lot about hope, and it is about saving lives, but if you are on a list that continually grows longer while you are waiting for that organ, what a depressing, discouraging circumstance for you and your family. Secretary Azar's policy is causing direct harm to the people of my State. It is time that he steps up and takes responsibility for the actions of his Department, which are causing real harm to patients. These transplant hospitals from across Missouri and Kansas and elsewhere have written the President and Secretary Azar within the last 2 weeks and have asked for a halt in the policy until we have had time to let a judge decide the issues in the court case and also to make sure that we ultimately get it right. I call on Secretary Azar to halt the implementation of this disastrous policy and save lives from being unnecessarily lost. Again, I thank my colleague from just across the State line, from the home of the Kansas City Chiefs, for his support in this effort. He has a voice that has to be heard and that will be heard, and I am pleased to be allied with him in his concern for the patients in my State and for the patients in his own. I yield to the Senator from Missouri.

Mr. MORAN

Mr. MORAN. Mr. Chief Justice, I have a message to be sent to the desk, a question. It is on my behalf and on behalf of Senator Rubio, Senator Crapo, and Senator Risch.

Mr. MORAN

Mr. MORAN. Thank you, Mr. Chief Justice. I submit to the desk a question on my behalf and on behalf of Senator Cornyn.

Mr. MORAN

Mr. MORAN. I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. MORAN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs be discharged from the further consideration of S. 3084 and that the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. MORAN

Mr. MORAN. I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. MORAN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 3201, introduced earlier today.

Mr. MORAN

Mr. MORAN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 474, submitted earlier today.

Mr. MORAN. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. MORAN

Mr. MORAN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 886 and that the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. MORAN. I ask unanimous consent that the McSally amendment at the desk be agreed to; that the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed; and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. MORAN

Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. MORAN

Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. MORAN

Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to submit the following letter from U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Robert L. Wilkie, for the Record. So Ordered. Hon. Mitch McConnell, Majority Leader, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC 20510. Dear Senator McConnell: In accordance with the requirements of section 1703E(f)(2) of title 38, United States Code, enclosed is the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) report on a request for a waiver to allow VA to pilot community partnered collaborations to expand dental care for Veterans. We request that copies of this waiver be provided to the Chair and Ranking Member of applicable standing committees with jurisdiction to report a bill to amend the provision or provisions of law that would be waived by VA, consistent with section 1703E(f)(3). As required by section 1703E(f)(2), the enclosed report describes in detail the specific authorities to be waived under the pilot program; the standard or standards to be used in the pilot program in lieu of the waived authorities; the reasons for such waiver or waivers; a description of the metric or metrics VA will use to determine the effect of the waiver or waivers upon the access to and quality, timeliness, or patient satisfaction of care and services furnished through the pilot program; the anticipated cost savings, if any, of the pilot program; the schedule for interim reports on the pilot program describing the results of the pilot program so far and the feasibility and advisability of continuing the pilot program; the schedule for the termination of the pilot program and the submission of a final report on the pilot program describing the result of the pilot program and the feasibility and advisability of making the pilot program permanent; and the estimated budget of the pilot program. Consistent with section 17.450 of title 38, Code of Federal Regulations, this report also includes the geographic locations for each pilot program, the rationale for those selections, and how VA believes the selected locations will address deficits in care for a defined population; any applicable provision of existing regulations implementing any laws to be waived; and any more specific definitions of terms included in section 17.450(b), as necessitated by the specific provisions of the proposed pilot program. The Office of Management and Budget advises that there is no objection to the submission of this waiver proposal to Congress and that its enactment would be in accord with the program of the President. Thank you for your continuing support of our mission. A similar letter has been sent to other leaders of the Congress and the House and Senate Committees on Veterans' Affairs. Sincerely, Robert L. Wilkie.

Mr. MORAN

Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to submit the following letter from U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Robert L. Wilkie, for the Record. So Ordered. Hon. Mitch McConnell, Majority Leader, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC 20510. Dear Senator McConnell: In accordance with the requirements of section 1703E(f)(2) of title 38, United States Code, enclosed is the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) report on a request for a waiver to allow VA to pilot community partnered collaborations to expand dental care for Veterans. We request that copies of this waiver be provided to the Chair and Ranking Member of applicable standing committees with jurisdiction to report a bill to amend the provision or provisions of law that would be waived by VA, consistent with section 1703E(f)(3). As required by section 1703E(f)(2), the enclosed report describes in detail the specific authorities to be waived under the pilot program; the standard or standards to be used in the pilot program in lieu of the waived authorities; the reasons for such waiver or waivers; a description of the metric or metrics VA will use to determine the effect of the waiver or waivers upon the access to and quality, timeliness, or patient satisfaction of care and services furnished through the pilot program; the anticipated cost savings, if any, of the pilot program; the schedule for interim reports on the pilot program describing the results of the pilot program so far and the feasibility and advisability of continuing the pilot program; the schedule for the termination of the pilot program and the submission of a final report on the pilot program describing the result of the pilot program and the feasibility and advisability of making the pilot program permanent; and the estimated budget of the pilot program. Consistent with section 17.450 of title 38, Code of Federal Regulations, this report also includes the geographic locations for each pilot program, the rationale for those selections, and how VA believes the selected locations will address deficits in care for a defined population; any applicable provision of existing regulations implementing any laws to be waived; and any more specific definitions of terms included in section 17.450(b), as necessitated by the specific provisions of the proposed pilot program. The Office of Management and Budget advises that there is no objection to the submission of this waiver proposal to Congress and that its enactment would be in accord with the program of the President. Thank you for your continuing support of our mission. A similar letter has been sent to other leaders of the Congress and the House and Senate Committees on Veterans' Affairs. Sincerely, Robert L. Wilkie.

Mr. MORAN

Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, today, I want to take a moment to recognize the contributions of Kelly McManus. She is a member of my staff. She is U.S. Army MAJ Kelly McManus, who has spent the last year working in my personal office as part of the U.S. Army Congressional Fellowship Program. Before Kelly departs my office here at the end of the year to return to the Big Army, I rise to express my appreciation to Major McManus for all of her hard work and dedication and service to our Nation. Kelly's 10 years of service in the U.S. Army have developed her leadership abilities and shaped her perspective on major defense issues of national significance. These assets and attributes have made her an invaluable asset to our team as we work to serve Kansans, servicemembers, and veterans. Before joining our office, Kelly's assignments had taken her around the world in service of our country. She deployed to both Iraq and Kuwait to support operations New Dawn and Spartan Shield, from 2011 to 2012, served as the medical planner for the Allied Land Command in NATO headquarters in Izmir, Turkey, and reported to Wiesbaden, Germany, to serve on the personal staff of the U.S. Army Europe headquarters commanding general, LTG Ben Hodges. Kelly has also served stateside, leading her detachment through deployment in Fort Dix, NJ, in support of Hurricane Sandy relief efforts and commanded a medical company in the 2nd Infantry Division at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington State. Kelly joined our team in January 2018. From day one, she embraced Kansas, its people, and the challenges they face day in and day out. On her first official trip to Kansas, she visited our military installations and talked with soldiers and airmen to learn about their life experiences. She made it a priority to spend time in Kansas and to learn from the Kansas people so that she could bring their thoughts and ideas back to the Nation's Capital. These personal conversations with Kansans and Kelly's experience in the Army have helped to drive meaningful policy. She led our efforts to secure maternity leave for those serving in the National Guard and Reserve after talking with an expectant mother in the Kansas National Guard. She has also sought to increase access to suicide prevention programs and destigmatize the notions surrounding mental illness. In addition, her experiences in serving in uniform have been instrumental to my efforts to support our veterans. Over the past year, I have continually been impressed by Kelly's leadership and professionalism. At every opportunity, she has proven herself to be an important and fully integrated member of my team, carrying the equal weight and responsibility of my personal staff. Her seamless communications and her skill in tackling issues big and small have been a great benefit to our office and the people that we serve. Kelly has exceeded all of my expectations and has demonstrated a commitment to excellence that has been nothing short of outstanding. A testament to her leadership over the past year was her promotion to major in July. It was my honor to be part of her promotion ceremony and to have the privilege to pin her new and deserving rank on her uniform. It will be sad when she leaves our office at the end of the month, but I know she will serve the Army well next year in the Army's Budget Liaison Office, where I am confident she will be a highly effective ambassador to Congress for the Army. Kelly is one of the most impressive military officers I have had the honor of knowing, and I hold her in the highest regard, personally and professionally. She is a significant asset to our country and to the U.S. Army. Kelly represents the best that the Army has to offer, and I know that she will continue to be a benefit to the future of our Nation. There is no group of people I hold in higher regard than those who serve our Nation, and I want to reiterate my gratitude to Kelly for her dedication and service to our country. Once again, thank you, Kelly, for all you have done for Kansans this year and what you will continue to do for our Nation. You have been a model of selfless service and leadership. I know you will continue to do great things throughout your Army career and your life in service, wherever that path my lead you. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. MORAN

Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Kelly McManus, a military fellow in my office, be granted floor privileges through the end of Congress.

Mr. MORAN

Mr. MORAN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. MORAN

Mr. MORAN. Madam President, I appreciate the opportunity to be on the floor today to speak about something of significance, certainly to Kansas but to the country. We await House action on USMCA--the trade agreement between Canada, the United States and Mexico. It is a trade agreement that is attempting to replace NAFTA and an agreement that is of significance, as I say, to the folks back home in my State. For the last 2 years, I have engaged in a campaign to try to elevate the importance and to make sure my colleagues, the administration, and people here in Congress understand how important exports and trade are to the United States' economy. In Kansas, we are an export State. What we produce, what we manufacture, and what we grow in the fields of our State in many, many instances end up someplace else outside the United States. I have spoken on the Senate floor before. I have met with the President. I have talked to his Cabinet officials. I wrote an open letter to U.S. agricultural groups, encouraging them to fully engage in support for USMCA approval. I have had speaking engagements in places across the country, trying to rally farmers and ranchers and manufacturers and others to fight to preserve our trading relationship with Canada and Mexico. On Saturday, at home in Kansas, I was with the Kansas Farm Bureau at a townhall. It kicked off their 101st annual meeting to discuss issues facing Kansas agriculture. The topic of trade and its importance to the products that we grow was the most important and most discussed topic at that townhall meeting. USMCA was signed over a year ago. It is time for the House to pass this important agreement, and, in order for the House to pass it, the Speaker needs to bring it up for a vote. Canada and Mexico are Kansas's No. 1 and No. 2 export markets. They account for over one-third of exports from our State. Since 2013, unfortunately, farm income at home has fallen by 50 percent. So net farm income in Kansas is down half in the last 6 years. Many producers are struggling. They have struggled to hang on to their operations, and when farmers aren't doing well, it means that the communities they live in and support aren't doing well. The question is often this: What business will we lose when farmers are not having financial success? What young men and women who grew up on a farm or grew up in that small town will, perhaps, even reluctantly, find a job someplace else because the economy is not helpful to them as they start their careers? USMCA will continue to provide duty-free market access to farm commodities, while also expanding trade opportunities for dairy producers and leveling the playing field for the wheat we export to Canada. USMCA is important to manufacturers as well. USMCA will protect the integrated North American supply chain that is critical to manufacturers in our State. Wichita is known as the air capital of the world due to aerospace and aviation manufacturing. Kansas is also home to automobile, farm equipment, and other manufacturers. Twenty-five percent of Kansas manufacturers--mostly, small to medium- size businesses--export to Canada and Mexico. Nearly 25 years after its enactment, NAFTA was due to be modernized and to reflect changes in today's economy. USMCA will strengthen the rules on intellectual property rights and address digital trade issues. This modernized agreement will serve as a template for future trade negotiations, putting the United States in the driver's seat for setting global trade rules and norms. Kansas, as I said, is an export State. If we are not exporting, the ability to earn a living, to save a family farm, and to keep our small manufacturers across the communities that dot our State disappears. The ability to earn a living in Kansas depends upon selling food and manufactured goods around the world. We must continue the fight for more trade, not less. Again, I ask the House of Representatives to quickly consider and please do not let this calendar year come to an end without the NAFTA replacement in place.

Mr. MORAN

Mr. MORAN. Madam President, today in the Commerce Committee, following an in-depth 18-month investigation to examine cultural and systemic issues regarding abuse in the Olympic movement, Senator Blumenthal and I introduced bipartisan legislation, the Empowering Olympic and Amateur Athletes Act of 2019. It was accompanied by an investigative report, findings, and, recommendations. I am pleased that the Commerce Committee approved that legislation today. This marks a significant step forward to improving the protections and representations provided to our amateur athletes. The subcommittee that I chair exercises jurisdiction over the U.S. Olympic Committee and amateur sports at large, and I remain fully committed to ensuring the health and safety of all American athletes. Our Empowering Olympic and Amateur Athletes Act would enact reforms to the U.S. Olympic system by strengthening legal liability and accountability mechanisms, restoring a culture of putting athletes first, and fortifying the independence and capacity of the U.S. Center for Safe Sports. Our investigation, which led to the foundation of the provisions in this bill, included four subcommittee hearings, interviews with Olympic athletes and survivors, and the retrieval of 70,000 pages of documents. This was also made possible by the supportive leadership of the committee--the chairman and ranking member, Senator Wicker and Senator Cantwell--and the contributions of the committee staff, including the contributions of my staff and those of former Chairman Thune and Ranking Member Nelson. Also, I want to take this moment to thank Mr. Grassley, the Senator from Iowa and the chairman now of the Finance Committee. For a portion of the time we were dealing with this issue, he was the chairman of the Judiciary Committee. He, too, made contributions to our legislation, and his continued leadership on this issue in general has helped to move this bill forward and out of the committee today. During our investigation, Senator Grassley indicated an interest in working together to protect amateur athletes. After we introduced the legislation, I am pleased we were able to include provisions from his legislation that was just introduced yesterday here in the Senate. Specifically, the substitute amendment included funding accountability language for safe sports, clarification on mandatory reporting parties related to child abuse, and new reporting requirements to improve transparency. Senator Grassley was also successful in working with Senator Peters to include whistleblower protection language in the bill during today's markup. Again, I thank Senator Grassley for his leadership and commitment to the health and safety of our amateur athletes. Additionally, there were thoughtful contributions to our legislation--most recently, in the form of our substitute amendment-- from other members of the Commerce Committee, including Senator Gardner of Colorado. I also thank my colleague Senator Blumenthal, the ranking member of the subcommittee, for his steadfast and ongoing support and leadership that he has shown throughout this long process. This investigation and legislative process started out as a bipartisan effort to provide substantive policy protections to amateur athletes and has remained as such. That bipartisanship has continued and will continue to be prioritized as we push for timely consideration of this legislation on the Senate floor. Finally, I would be remiss not to express my sincere and humble thanks to the survivors for their bravery in guiding our policymaking with their testimonies and ongoing input throughout the process. Their willingness to recount and relive their traumatic experiences played a vital role in informing Congress as it seeks to address key reporting, governance, and resource issues within the Olympic system. This critical legislation would not have happened without their active involvement. I will never forget the question that was asked of me by one of the survivors as we were gathered together in the Russell Senate Office Building. The question was this: Why was there more than one? It is a question we would always hope to answer. There should never be a victim or survivor of sexual abuse. And if there is one, there should never be a second. The sad thing about this circumstance in which we found ourselves and in which the athletes found themselves was that not only was there one, but there were many more. We should be able to take that call--why was there ever more than one?--and make certain that we do everything to keep it from ever happening again. I thank my colleagues in the Commerce Committee for their support on this critical legislation. I look forward to working with the leader and my Senate colleagues as we push to enact these necessary reforms. I yield the floor.

Mr. MORAN. I thank the Senator.

Mr. MORAN

Mr. MORAN. I know of no further debate on the bill.