{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.isakson.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-center?ContentRecord_id=50a07f71-f2e0-4398-9d04-fe92115010f7", "e-Newsletter for the week ending December 18, 2015", "2015-12-18", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "GA", "Johnny Isakson", "I000055", "www.isakson.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Dear Friend,\r\nOver the past year, Republicans have been working hard to fulfill our campaign promises. By returning educational decisions back to local hands, voting to repeal Obamacare, producing the first balanced budget in 14 years, and passing meaningful legislation to help our nations aging transportation networks, Congress is working again for American families.\r\nHere is a list of how Congress has been working for you:\r\n \r\nPassed legislation to repeal the presidents disastrous health care law known as Obamacare;\r\nPassed the Every Child Succeeds Act, returning the decisions affecting our childrens education to parents and local school boards;\r\nPassed legislation to approve the KeystoneXL Pipeline. The president unfortunately vetoed the legislation;\r\nDelivered a balanced budget from the Senate for the first time in over a decade; \r\nPassed legislation to fund the interstate highway system for five years; \r\nPassed the National Defense Authorization Act and the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriation Act to help ensure that our veterans, troops and critical military needs are funded in the coming fiscal year; \r\nPassed the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act, that ensures our veterans receive access to adequate care and services, especially in mental health;\r\nThe Senate returned to regular order, by passing 12 individual appropriations bills out of committee to fund the federal government through fiscal year 2016;\r\nThe Senate passed reforms to Medicare and finally fixed the reimbursement rate for physicians, known as the Sustainable Growth Rate, that had plagued physicians for years; \r\nThe Senate passed multiple measures to overturn Obamas overreaches through the EPA; and\r\nPassed a trade bill that will support the creation of more American jobs.\r\n \r\n\r\nTo learn more about how Congress is working for you, click here, and to hear a word from your U.S. Senators, click here. \r\nLandmark Tax Relief Bill Passed\r\nOn Friday, the Senate passed the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015, legislation that provides certainty for American families and job creators, suspends several of Obamacares most harmful taxes, provides permanent, fiscally-responsible tax relief to promote economic growth, and paves the way for a comprehensive reform of the broken U.S. tax code.\r\nThese tax relief measures will help create jobs and give businesses the certainty they need to plan for the future, while also ending the annual practice of temporary tax policy extensions that has distracted Congress from the critical need for fundamental tax reform. As a member of the Senate Finance Committee, I am especially pleased that this legislation represents the most substantial rollback of Obamacare in six years.\r\nTo learn more about this tax relief, click here.\r\nIn Case You Missed It\r\n\r\nWhats on Tap?\r\nThe Senate is not in session next week in observance of Christmas or the following week in observance of New Years Day. The Senate will reconvene on January 11, 2016.\r\nAs we enjoy this holiday season, Dianne and I would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Also, I recorded a holiday greeting to send to our men and women serving in the military oversees. If you wish to view this message, click here.\r\nSincerely,  Johnny Isakson", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.isakson.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-center?ContentRecord_id=50a07f71-f2e0-4398-9d04-fe92115010f7"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9668050333857536, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}