Jerry Moran

This is not a time to waver on America's commitment to NIH and to the health of all Americans.

I believe we must prioritize our Federal commitment to NIH.

In the absence of this, the absence of the small rural telephone companies' ability to provide these services, your goal and my goal of seeing a more prosperous rural America is significantly diminished.

I hope to be helpful to you and be helpful in the cause of the livestock disaster programs inside the farm bill.

I hope we do it sooner rather than later.

Crop insurance is particularly important to farmers on the high plains.

I am absolutely convinced, based upon the conversations I had with bankers, but also their potential borrowers, that the regulatory environment is handicapping the ability to make good solid loans to people within a community because of…

I'm very interested in making certain that every American, whatever their political views are, they can know that their tax return is nothing that's going to become public.

I would love to continue that discussion.

How do you explain to two hospitals who would now no longer be eligible to be critical access hospitals that neither one of them are going to be designated as a critical access hospital, presumably losing the status and closing both…

Could you explain why you made such a significant reduction to critical public health programs in order to fund your other priorities?

I can see that being prospective, how do you take away the critical access hospital designation for both hospitals, which in my view means that neither succeed.

I just would indicate to you that it seems to me, and Senator Boozman pointed this out, it's a Washington Post article this morning in which the State of Washington is looking for ways to have more part-time employees and get their…

I am concerned, as I am sure many on this subcommittee are, that we still do not know the true costs or effects of the Affordable Care Act.

I am pleased to see that the administration's budget request increases the funding for NIH.

It's critical that we don't continue the haphazard 'rob Peter to pay Paul' strategy.

So the number is what, 20-something?

So the President's budget request does not take money from the prevention fund to create the exchange, only to provide money necessary to educate people about the exchange.

I think it is critically important that Washington recognize that healthcare access is essential to the survival and success of rural communities across the country.

I am concerned that the Department of Health and Human Services' discretionary budget request is 10.5 percent, or $6.9 billion, above current spending levels.

I have a significant emphasis on rural. And I'm concerned with the proposals within the Department's budget that would disproportionately affect Kansas and other rural States.

This decision takes public health dollars and workforce development funding supported by the prevention fund and diverts it toward what I believe to be the administration's political priority, implementing the exchanges.

I have been concerned that the Administration creates budgets that rely on these Prevention Fund dollars to backfill critical public health programs.

Would the programs under the Department of Education be administered by the local school district?

I would point out to you, and you would know this as a Kansan, that the 317 immunization program is more than just vaccines.