{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.isakson.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-center?ContentRecord_id=a80669eb-e159-43f7-91cc-1515134a881b", "e-Newsletter for the week ending September 12, 2014", "2014-09-12", "2014", "2014-09", "Republican", "House", "GA", "Johnny Isakson", "I000055", "www.isakson.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Dear Friends,\r\nFollowing a productive work period in Georgia over the last several weeks, I returned this week to Washington, D.C.\r\nThursday was the 13th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and I joined the nation to pause for a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. On Wednesday, we remembered the fallen heroes of that fateful day during a Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony in the U.S. Capitol. Following the tragic events of that day in 2001, I remember gathering that evening at 6:30 p.m., on the steps of the Capitol with my colleagues in Congress in a show of solidarity for our nation. We sang \u201cGod Bless America\u201d and pledged our support to the American people, our president and our military.\r\nWhile we have beaten back al-Qaeda and made countless changes to our nation\u2019s security systems, terrorist groups still exist in locations around the globe and remain threats to our homeland security. Specifically at this moment, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is a very real and growing threat as demonstrated by their bold and evil actions against two American journalists in August. I spoke to the Washington Post on Monday about the scope of what might be needed to fully confront ISIS.\r\nOn Wednesday evening, President Obama spoke to the American people about the threat posed by ISIS and outlined United States\u2019 efforts in dealing with this evil organization.\r\nThe president has finally realized the gravity of the situation and I was glad to see him take a firm stand. I hope his actions follow the strong words of his speech as we begin the tough and difficult job of financing, funding and carrying out the destruction of ISIS. Now is the time for swift and decisive action to send a bold message to all terrorist groups that we will not equivocate when it comes to protecting our homeland.\r\nIn Other News\r\nIn D.C. this week, I met with representatives from the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, along with several groups of people representing chambers of commerce from Carroll, Cobb, and Douglas counties, as well as Macon, Ga.\r\nI also enjoyed a few education-focused meetings this week, including meeting with Georgia High School Principal of the year Debra Murdock from Cherokee High School in Canton and Skyping with an Advanced Placement Government class from Darlington School in Rome.\r\nOn Monday, Georgia lost a great citizen and America lost a great patriot with the passing of S. Truett Cathy, the founder of Chick-fil-A. I spoke about Cathy, his legendary career and Christian life of service on the floor of the Senate this week. The legacy and legend he built represent everything that is right about free enterprise and right with America.\r\nWhat\u2019s on Tap?\r\nNext week, the Senate will likely debate the president\u2019s request for congressional authority to combat ISIS as well as a stopgap spending bill to continue funding the government. Funding is currently set to expire on September 30, 2014.\r\nSincerely,\u00a0\r\nJohnny 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=a80669eb-e159-43f7-91cc-1515134a881b"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8363279048353434, "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"}