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A Weekly e-Newsletter from
Senator Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.)
November 20, 2009
Dear Friends,
As you may have heard, the Senate is set to take a key vote Saturday night (Nov. 21) on health care reform. Democratic Leader Harry Reid has set an 8 p.m. vote on Saturday on whether to move forward on his 2,074-page bill. He will need 60 votes to move forward with this debate.
I will vote “no” on moving forward with this bill because, among other things, it will raise taxes, cut Medicare services to seniors and force billions of dollars in massive unfunded mandates on states.
The unintended consequences of this legislation are disastrous to small businesses, and will drive people to a public option where there is no option at all. This is not a public option; this is a public ultimatum.
After several weeks of drafting the bill behind closed doors, Reid unveiled a 2,074-page bill on Nov. 18 that will push millions of Americans into government-run health care. Once fully implemented in 2014, the proposal would cost an estimated $2.5 trillion over 10 years. You can read the entire Senate bill by visiting my website here: http://www.isakson.senate.gov/healthcare.html and clicking the link directly below the “Heath Care Reform” heading.
The legislation also includes $493.6 billion in tax increases and $464.6 billion in Medicare cuts for seniors. In addition, the bill would impose $28 billion in new taxes on employers who do not provide government-approved health plans. I believe these new taxes would ultimately result in reduced wages and lost jobs.
Despite the $2.5 trillion cost, an estimated 24 million Americans would still be left without health insurance and 5 million people would lose their employer coverage under the Democrats’ proposal. So we’re going to throw out the 85 percent that works to fix the 15 percent that doesn’t. That doesn’t make any sense.
At a time when most states are already under tremendous budgetary stress due to the economy, I am alarmed at the billions of dollars in massive unfunded mandates that states would have to pay to cover the cost of the proposed expansion of Medicaid, which would allow individuals who earn up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level to be eligible for full Medicaid benefits. Currently, Medicaid is available only to those who earn up to 100 percent of the poverty level, meaning that the Democrats’ plan represents a 33 percent increase in Medicaid.
On July 15, I voted against a separate health care reform bill that passed in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on a 13 to 10 vote. Reid’s bill contains some elements of the Senate HELP bill as well as elements of a separate bill passed by the Senate Finance Committee and some new elements that were not in either committee’s bill.
I am a co-sponsor of S.1099, Patients' Choice Act of 2009, which seeks to strengthen the relationship between the patient and the doctor by using choice and competition, rather than rationing and restrictions, to contain costs and ensure affordable health care for all Americans. The key to health care reform is stimulating competition in a market-based system that will encourage private health insurers and managed care providers to compete for business and make health insurance more affordable for consumers. Congress should look carefully into proposals that will increase coverage of preventative and wellness care, which will help control the cost of managing chronic disease and drive down the cost of treating largely preventable conditions.
Food Safety Modernization Act
On Wednesday, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions unanimously approved a bipartisan measure that I co-sponsored to enhance current Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to better protect our nation’s food supply.
The Food Safety Modernization Act calls for an increase in the frequency of FDA inspections at all food facilities, grants the FDA expanded access to records and testing results, and allows the FDA the authority to order mandatory recalls should a private entity fail to do so voluntarily upon the FDA’s request.
In this global economy, food ingredients originate from a number of possible sources, and this legislation will help ensure the safety of our nation’s food supply by improving the FDA’s capabilities to oversee food inspection. This bill strikes the right balance between the critical need to protect our nation’s food sources from wide-spread contamination and outbreaks without compromising our nation’s farmer and food processors. For more information about the legislation, click here.
2010 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act
On Tuesday, the Senate passed the 2010 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, an annual bill that funds critical military construction projects at Georgia bases.
For the first time, the bill includes advance appropriations to fund three key medical programs for the Department of Veterans Affairs – medical services, medical support and compliance, and medical facilities – totaling $48.2 billion. This advance funding will become available on Oct. 1, 2010, for fiscal year 2011, and will ensure a stable and uninterrupted source of funding for medical care for veterans.
I was also encouraged by the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs’ inclusion of report language expressing support for ongoing and future growth at Fort Stewart. The committee report notes that Fort Stewart is a key Army installation with unique training and operational assets. Despite cancellation of the 46th Brigade Combat Teams, the Army projects continued growth at Fort Stewart from 20,512 to 24,970. The committee also recognized that the Army has existing facility shortfalls at Fort Stewart and, instead of rescinding fiscal year 2009 funding, directed the Secretary of the Army to prepare alternative spending proposals to address existing military construction requirements there.
The committee also commented on the potential movement of brigade combat teams out of Europe and the impact that could have at the receiving installation. The resolution of that issue will not be determined until the conclusion of the Quadrennial Defense Review process in February 2010.
These funds will greatly benefit our bases, our troops and their families. Georgia’s military facilities play a key role in the security of our nation, and I am very pleased to see such a strong commitment to them from Washington. The promises we have made to our veterans also must be honored, and this VA funding reflects a strong commitment to the men and women who have served so ably. For additional information about funding for Georgia’s bases, click here.
United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement
This week, President Obama met with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak in Seoul. As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I believe that approving the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement will enhance both economies by growing markets for U.S. and Korean goods and services, creating jobs in both countries and strengthening an already strong relationship with one of the United States’ most important allies in the East Asian region.
South Korea is the seventh-largest U.S. trading partner. In 2007, two-way trade in goods and services totaled $101 billion. In Georgia, goods and services exported to South Korea total more than $390 million, making it Georgia’s 12th largest trading partner.
In addition, this week in Georgia the first Kia Sorrento vehicles were completed at the West Point facility, where 1,200 jobs have already been created and an estimated 1,300 additional jobs will be created in the coming years. The impact on the local economy by the West Point facility is estimated to be around $6.5 billion over the next three years, which is already having a transformative effect on a community that was facing very hard economic times before the Kia facility came along.
Free trade is the type of long-standing stimulus that has allowed many of our own companies to survive the economic downturn by the ability to export products to other countries. In addition, Georgia has had great success in recruiting foreign companies to locate various operations facilities in Georgia.
Feed America Day
Yesterday, one week before Thanksgiving, was designated “Feed America Day” in a unanimous resolution passed by the Senate. The resolution, which I co-sponsored, encouraged all Americans to forgo eating two meals and to donate the money they would have spent on food to a charity that feeds the hungry.
This year, I took the amount of the automatic cost-of-living pay increase that Congress received at the beginning of the year, and make a monthly cash donation in that amount to the Atlanta Community Food Bank. During times of economic difficulty such as this, individuals and families from all walks of life may find themselves in need of a helping hand. As a result, supplies at many local charities that feed the hungry are running low. I encourage everyone who has the means to make a donation to help ensure that our fellow Georgians do not go hungry this Thanksgiving or any day.
Drive Safer Sunday
The “Drive Safer Sunday” resolution that Senator Chambliss and I authored to designate Sunday, Nov. 29, 2009 as “Drive Safer Sunday,” passed the Senate on Tuesday. We have introduced this resolution passed in previous years as well, in honor of Cullum Owings, a Georgia college student who died in a traffic accident on his way back to school after Thanksgiving 2002.
Statistics show that the Sunday after Thanksgiving is the busiest highway traffic day of the year. The high volume of vehicles on America’s highways and interstates increases the risk for dangerous or fatal accidents. The “Drive Safer Sunday” resolution encourages motorists, trucking firms and law enforcement agencies to work together to make the roads safer for all travelers during the holidays and throughout the year.
Cullum Owings’ parents, Steve and Susan Owings of Atlanta, founded an organization called Road Safe America in honor of their son to bring awareness of the hazards of highway travel and provide statistics and safety tips to drivers. Its goals include better driver training for all drivers and limiting the top speed for large trucks.
We must do a better job of educating all drivers to be safer on the road, and I am proud to join with Senator Chambliss to designate one of the biggest travel days of the year as “Drive Safer Sunday.” I hope you and your families will remember this resolution and be safe as you travel for the holidays in the weeks ahead.
For more information on driver safety tips and what you can do to improve the safety of America’s roadways please visit: www.roadsafeamerica.org.
What’s on Tap?
Next week, the Senate will recess for Thanksgiving. I wish you a special holiday with your family and friends and hope that you will join with Dianne and me in saying a special prayer for all of our military men and women at home and abroad.
Sincerely,
Johnny Isakson
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Governmental Affairs 
