Dahlonega-Lumpkin County Chamber of Commerce

Dear Friends:

This week, the Senate continued debate on H.R. 4213, the extenders bill.

During a time of economic hardship, I don’t believe we should allow provisions such as the extension of emergency unemployment benefits to expire. But I do believe that Congress should find a way to pay for those extensions.

Gen. McChrystal Resignation

Gen. McChrystal has served this nation honorably throughout his long and distinguished career in the United States Army and the Special Operations community. I am personally grateful for his efforts to keep our nation and our allies safe, especially since the tragic events of 9/11. I believe he has done a tremendous job in Afghanistan under difficult circumstances.  While I am grateful for Gen McChrystal's service, I understand it falls to the Commander in Chief to make final decisions with respect to our ongoing efforts in Afghanistan.

I support Gen. Petraeus and look forward to working with him to ensure our troops in Afghanistan have the resources necessary to carry out their mission and to ensure our objectives in Afghanistan are fully met.

Nomination Hearing on Lt. Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III of Thomasville

On Thursday, the Senate Armed Services Committee held a hearing on the nominations of Army Gen. Raymond Odierno to be reappointed as U.S. Joint Forces Command General and Commander, and Army Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin of Thomasville to serve as General and Commander of United States Forces-Iraq.

Gen. Austin and my wife are from the same hometown, and his high school football coach was also my son's coach. Needless to say, those of us from that part of Georgia are very proud of him.

During the hearing, I questioned both of them about the effort and mission in Iraq. Click the image below to watch my exchange with Gen. Odierno and Lt. Gen. Austin.

Financial Regulatory Reform Conference Committee

I continued to meet with a group of senators and members of the House several days this week in a conference committee to reconcile the differences between the Senate and House financial regulatory reform bills.

On early Friday morning, the conference committee concluded and the legislation that was produced is disappointing. While the issues our economy has faced over the past two years have made it obvious that Congress needs to apply more regulation to large Wall Street firms, the bill that came out of the conference adds further government intrusion into the day-to-day operations of businesses on Main Street and their consumers.

And worse, there is nothing in these 2,000 plus pages dealing with a primary catalyst of the market instability in our economy – Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Coming Up…

Next week, the Senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to H.R. 5297, the Small Business Jobs Bill.

Should you need assistance with a federal agency, you may contact my office toll free at 800-234-4208, or send an email by clicking the icon at the top of this page that says “e-mail me.” You can also send a letter to one of my office addresses listed at the very bottom of this newsletter.

Please let me know if I can be of assistance.

Very truly yours,