On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney speaks with U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) about a variety of situations facing Kansas and the nation.
Transcript
James Bell
With the US Senate on break this week Senator Jerry Moran is back in the area. He stops by to speak with his Post reporter Cristina Janney to share some updates on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney
What is brought you back home to the northwest part of the state.
U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.)
This week well, it is great to be back home. Senate is out of session this week, we worked through Martin Luther King, what was traditionally a recess a time away from Washington DC because of the holiday. And instead because of work that took place last week, we're away from Washington, DC this week, gives me the opportunity to be out and about among Kansans. In western Kansas, certainly paying attention to what's going on here. And one of the ways I do that is today, yesterday was a visit with the with the Ness City Rotary Club, getting their perspective on what's going on in NES County, a visit to lacrosse High School to visit with a young student who's been chosen to be the Senate youth program opportunity to go to Washington D.C. Oh, I think he has the misfortune of it being a zoom program this year, and see what's going on in lacrosse and rush county as well. And mostly just trying to make certain that Kansans have the opportunity to tell me what's on their mind.
Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney
I know you also mentioned you're trying to put out a plea for blood donation that that was a personal request from your own doctor there in Plainville to, to put in people's minds that the Red Cross really needs blood right now.
U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.)
Earlier this week, I had a conversation with Dr. Sanchez, one of the physicians in my hometown of Plainville. And the request was, could I do anything to help encourage people to donate blood and I'm intending to do so myself today. And just the the point he was making is that surgeries are being denied because of lack of blood, and just again, encourage Kansans to be the kind of people that we always are, and rise to the occasion when there's a need in our community. I know that there's opportunities to do the blood drives are taking place on certain days across western Kansas. But in Hayes, I think it's an arc and it occurs most weekdays here in this community. So on behalf of Dr. Sanchez, and, and his patients, and really all all of us here encouraged people to donate blood.
Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney
Yes, that's so important. I'm planning on doing that myself. I won't be eligible here for another week. But I do plan on doing that myself. Let's turn a little bit to the job back in Washington. There's a lot of interest going around on what is happening in the Ukraine right now. What is your perspective on that?
U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.)
You know, we have no choice me as a senator and all of us really, as citizens of this country wish we could just deal with the local issues to deal with the things that affect Kansans directly. But we have no choice but to deal with the huge national international issues. And we are in a significant circumstance with, with Putin and his desire to retake at least portions of the Ukraine, which was part of the Soviet Union, but became an independent state when the Soviet Union fell apart. And this is a test of American resolve. And I certainly not interested to be discouraged if we had to put American troops into another battle. But how we handle this is important. And this really is a mission for NATO. And the challenges that it seems that particularly Germany is not aligned with other NATO countries in the response. And over time, I think European countries have become dependent upon Russian energy, oil and natural gas, and it changes the way that they are willing to take on Putin and Russia. My view is that we've got to make certain particularly in light, I'm still angry about the way we came out of Afghanistan. We were we were poorly prepared, we left people behind, we send a message to the world that we're not reliable. And it's important for us to work with our NATO allies to demonstrate to the world not only to protect the freedoms and liberties as as they are, as we hope they become in Ukraine. But to make certain that the rest of the world knows that the United States is a reliable partner.
Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney
Also, you said that you were concerned about some legislation that was being considered in terms of fossil fuel funding?
U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.)
Absolutely. This is a this is not a piece of legislation. It's the Biden administration and their policies. And here in oil producing country. I'm not sure this has become a topic but it is an important one, because there are not the votes in Congress to to outlaw energy companies to do away with fossil fuels. This administration, the Biden administration is looking for every opportunity to undermine the ability of an energy company to exist. And one of the ways they're doing that is appointing people to the regulatory organizations, the Federal Reserve Board the Office of Comptroller of currency, the FDIC, the entities that regulate our banks and credit unions and financial institutions. And the goal was to put people in place that will insist that no, no loans would be against their regulations for loans to be made to energy companies. It's a roundabout way of trying to diminish or eliminate the role of that kind of energy in our country's economy. And while we ought to do everything we can to make sure we have the cleanest environment possible, how we do that, how practical we are, when we do it, and what the economic consequences are. Look we're facing I would say that Americans, perhaps greatest domestic concern, is inflation. And here we have an administration that is doing things to reduce the availability of oil and natural gas, increasing the price, as we've seen, at the pump, and natural gas, ask a farmer about the cost of fertilizer, which is components of making fertilizer or natural gas, these expensive increases are going to be very damaging to the economy. And it's also so so hypocritical, so odd for President Biden to call on Russia to increase its oil production, while he and his administration do everything they can to reduce hours.
Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney
Yes, that could be very devastating to our local economy, if oil companies were not able to take out loans. Do you have any comments about the election legislation that has been considered in Congress?
U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.)
Absolutely. That was why the Senate was in session last week is because of that issue that legislation. First of all, I would say that the there were not sufficient votes, it takes 60 votes to pass a piece of legislation, including this election, this voting bill that was crafted solely by Democrats. And in my view, the rules of the Senate which require 60 votes, protect us protect, particularly as rural people, but protect the minority, not necessarily Republicans or Democrats, but people who have different points of view. And generally, that's those of us who come from rural places like Kansas. And so the Democrats because they couldn't get 60 votes attempted to change the rules. Unfortunately, two Democratic senators, Senator Manchin and Senator cinema refused to go along. And so the Senate rules stay in place. And that is a good thing for protecting us from a heavy handed urban and suburban Congress. And really just protecting people who have ideas that are different than perhaps the majority. So that was part of the debate last week. But the underlying bill wants to nationalize the process by which people the rules about how you vote become a national thing. The Constitution says the manner of voting will be determined for congressional elections will be determined by states. So constitutionally, this is a Kansas issue, not a Washington issue. And when people can't get their way in Washington, DC, because states may be doing something different. They want to change the law, change the rules, ignore the Constitution and take over this this role. Every almost in every circumstance, when Washington DC tries to solve a problem. It does so in a heavy handed, broad based way that is often damaging to Kansas, we know how to run our elections in Kansas, and we don't need some election board and in the nation's capital determining how we do that.
Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney
Do you think that there's any concern nationwide about voter suppression, though, coming from it and from individual states here,
U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.)
Here's what I would say, is that I would never want to support would never support the very much more straightforward would would never support or would not encourage, in fact, would discourage any state from trying to figure out ways to keep people from voting. If they're legally entitled to vote, whatever their views are, whatever their political party is, we want people to vote. And so we need to make certain that mean, people need to make certain that in their own states, there's nothing going on that's designed to discourage discriminate against people who may have a different idea may belong to a different political party. We ought to be encouraging people to vote as long as they're legally entitled to vote.
Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney
Okay. We've seen searches in COVID. Do you think that the federal government is doing enough to address the latest surges in COVID, in terms of testing and vaccination?
U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.)
I am certainly encouraged people to be vaccinated and to and I guess maybe I say this is talk to their physician, talk to the person who took out their appendix deliver their baby and find out if vaccination is good for them. Make that decision. I'm opposed to the mandate that comes from Washington DC telling us we have to be vaccinated, but people ought to take responsibility. If it's an appropriate opportunity for them then then personally, the federal government has been provided Congress's provided millions and billions of dollars to respond to COVID. And my view is that we are still woefully short of meeting the things that need to happen in this country. Particular The manufacturing and supply of pharmaceuticals and gas, gas masks gowns and gloves, the things back at the beginning of the COVID of COVID, in which we said, we're going to bring this stuff home, we're not going to wait on China, their suppliers, and they're not dependable and they're our adversary. So my view is that there's a lot of money that's out there to be spent. And we still don't have the necessary domestic supply to fight COVID or any other pandemic and is certainly there's a shortage and a long waiting line for people to be tested which there many people are now interested in doing.
Hays Post reporter Cristina Janney
Do you think that the rollout of the new home tests that you think that's going to be?
U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.)
Christina I'm anxious to see what we’re gonna wait to have to wait and see. I mean, it. It sounds good that you go to your computer and you can get a test, but we've not seen it work yet.