Jerry Moran
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| Jerry Moran | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 7, 1997 |
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| Preceded by | Pat Roberts |
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| Succeeded by | Incumbent |
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| Born | May 29 1954 Great Bend, Kansas |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Robba Moran |
| Religion | Methodist |
Jerry Moran (born May 29, 1954, in Great Bend, Kansas) has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1997, representing Kansas's 1st District. The district, popularly known as "the Big First," takes up 69 counties — nearly two-thirds of the state — due to its largely rural character.
Biography
Moran was born in Great Bend, Kansas, but grew up in Susank. Where he was notably best friends with Dennis Trapp.
Moran attended Fort Hays State University and later the University of Kansas where he completed degrees in economics and law. After an early career as a small town banker, Moran established a law practice in Hays and returned to FHSU as an adjunct professor of political science.
Before his election to Congress, Moran served for eight years (1989–1996) in the Kansas Senate, the last two as majority leader. He was elected to Congress in 1996, and has been reelected five times in the strongly Republican district. In 2006, his opponent for the 2006 midterm election was John Doll whom he defeated, receiving almost 79 percent of the vote - one of the highest totals for an incumbent Congressional Republican in that election.[1]
Congressional service
Since first coming to Congress in 1997, Moran has made it a priority to stay connected to the people he represents. Despite the distance between Washington, D.C., and Kansas, Moran returns home each weekend. The "Big First" Congressional District includes 69 counties and covers 57,575 square miles. Keeping in touch with Kansans across the district means a lot of driving. Moran's last three cars have racked up more than 450,000 miles. Each year, he conducts 69 town-hall meetings, one in each county of the First District.
In Congress, Moran has a strongly independent voting record, bucking party leadership on such legislation as the No Child Left Behind Act, the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and the Medicare Modernization Act. Moran has often cited his opposition to growth in government as the reasons for these controversial yet independent votes.
As a senior member of the House Agriculture Committee and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management, Moran has been recognized for his agriculture efforts by many organizations, including the top legislative award from three of the nation's largest agriculture groups: the American Farm Bureau, the National Farmer's Union and the National Association of Wheat Growers.
In addition to serving on the Agriculture Committee, Moran is also an active member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, where he was the previous Chairman of the Subcommittee on Health. He also helps lead a number of Congressional caucuses and coalitions, including the Rural Health Care Coalition (RHCC), the Congressional Caucus to Fight and Control Methamphetamine and the National Guard Reserve Components Caucus. Through his work with the RHCC, Moran has led the fight to save rural hospitals and has sponsored legislation to bring more physicians to underserved areas. His efforts to restore Medicare funding for small hospitals has earned him the top legislative award from the National Rural Health Association and the Distinguished Health Care Advocate Award from the Kansas Hospital Association.
Environmental record
Environmental groups have criticized Moran for what they see as a consistently anti-environment voting record. The nonpartisan League of Conservation Voters gave him a score of eight out of 100 on environmental issues, citing among other things his support for oil drilling both offshore and in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and his opposition to low-income energy assistance and public right-to-know legislation regarding the Toxics Release Inventory.[2] Republicans for Environmental Protection gave Moran a score of 13 for the 109th Congress, noting that he voted anti-environment on 3 out of 4 issues deemed critical by the group. REP criticized Moran for supporting salvage logging, the expenditure of taxpayer dollars to build logging roads in the Tongass National Forest, and expanded drilling, as well as for voting to weaken the Toxics Release Inventory system and to undermine provisions of the Clean Water Act.[3]
Agriculture Committee
From 2003 through 2005, $14.7 billion in crop subsidies went to the congressional districts of members on the House Committee on Agriculture, an analysis by the non-partisan Environmental Working Group found. That was 42.4% of the total subsidies. Moran is reported to have brought $1.32 billion to his district. [4]
Personal Life
At home, Moran volunteers his time with several community organizations. He is a trustee of the Eisenhower Foundation, serves on the Board of Trustees of the Fort Hays State University Endowment Association, and serves on the Executive Committee of the Coronado Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America. He is also the 2007 Honorary Chair of the Law Enforcement Torch Run of the Kansas Special Olympics.
References
- ^ CNN 2006 Election Totals
- ^ League of Conservation Voters
- ^ Republicans for Environmental Protection 2006 Scorecard
- ^ Dilanian, Ken, " Billions go to House panel members' districts", USA Today. July 26, 2007.
External links
- Congressional District of Kansas map
- U.S. Congressman Jerry Moran official House site
- Jerry Moran at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Federal Election Commission — Jerry Moran campaign finance reports and data
- On the Issues — Jerry Moran issue positions and quotes
- OpenSecrets.org — Jerry Moran campaign contributions
- Project Vote Smart — Representative Jerry Moran (KS) profile
- SourceWatch Congresspedia — Jerry Moran profile
- Washington Post — Congress Votes Database: Jerry Moran voting record
| Kansas's current delegation to the United States Congress | |
|---|---|
| Senators | Sam Brownback (R), Pat Roberts (R) |
| Representative(s) | Jerry Moran (R), Nancy Boyda (D), Dennis Moore (D), Todd Tiahrt (R) |
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