releases: https://www.isakson.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-center?ContentRecord_id=AC057AB0-598F-4CD7-892F-BBCAE70628E5
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
This data as json
| url | title | date | year | month | party | chamber | state | member_name | bioguide_id | domain | scraper | source | date_source | text | has_text | collected_at | updated_at |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| https://www.isakson.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-center?ContentRecord_id=AC057AB0-598F-4CD7-892F-BBCAE70628E5 | A Memorable Week | 2019-12-06 | 2019 | 2019-12 | Republican | House | GA | Johnny Isakson | I000055 | www.isakson.senate.gov | legacy | Dear friends, This week, in addition to the Senate's work to approve eight U.S. district court judges and other senior administration nominees, special time was set aside in the Senate for my farewell speech on the Senate floor before my retirement on Dec. 31. On Tuesday, not only did the leaders of both parties bring Republicans, Democrats and Independents together to honor my service at a special barbecue lunch, but Vice President Mike Pence attended both the lunch and presided over my remarks on the Senate floor. You can watch my remarks here or by clicking on the video below. In my speech, I shared with Georgians, my colleagues and Americans the message that I wanted to leave behind as my Senate career comes to a close. Bipartisanship is a state of being and a state of mind. We've been stuck for too long, and it's time that the Senate leads the way by bringing people with differences together to find common ground. It's time we work together to find solutions, rather than point fingers. Also during the luncheon, I was surprised with a video from many of my Senate colleagues wishing me well in retirement. You can watch that video here. I appreciate the leaders in both parties for making this day happen. I appreciate everybody's generous comments, and I appreciate the opportunity I've had to represent the people of Georgia in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate for a long time. It's been the biggest honor and most fun I've had in my life. Thank you all! Georgia's New U.S. Senator On Wednesday, Governor Brian Kemp announced the appointment of Kelly Loeffler to represent Georgia in the U.S. Senate following my retirement on Dec. 31. I congratulate Kelly on her historic appointment to the U.S. Senate. Her business experience and acumen will be an asset to Georgia and the Senate. The same tireless work ethic that has helped Kelly succeed in business will also help her succeed in serving Georgians and our nation. I also pledged that my staff and I will work closely with her to ensure a smooth transition. Kelly Loeffler will be the first Republican woman to serve in the U.S. Senate from Georgia. The first woman to serve in the Senate from Georgia was a Democrat who served for one day in 1922. Georgia Congressman Tom Graves Yesterday, U.S. Representative Tom Graves, R-Ga.-14, announced he would not seek re-election in 2020. Congressman Graves has given so much to Georgia throughout his service in the Georgia General Assembly and in Congress. I have a tremendous amount of respect for him. Tom's rise in the U.S. House reflects his leadership and his commitment to serving others. He is one of a kind a great Georgian, a great American and a great representative of our state. I've been proud to stand with him to fight for Georgians, and I'm proud to call him my friend. While I am sorry Tom will not be seeking re-election in 2020, I am confident that he will have great success in whatever role he may choose to take on next. I'm happy for Tom, his wife Julie, and his wonderful family as they look forward to spending more time with each other, and I wish them the very best. Tom knows he can call on me any time, and I hope we'll have the opportunity to see more of each other in Georgia. In Other News Senator Doug Jones, D-Ala., and I introduced a legislative package that includes two measures to protect vulnerable children by aiding states' efforts to combat child abuse and neglect and by providing adoption support for children most in need. The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Reauthorization Act of 2019 and the Adoption Opportunities Act of 2019 have been carefully crafted to ensure we're able to help protect children, and I hope we can move quickly on this important legislation. This week the House of Representatives passed the companion version of the Citizenship for Children of Military Members and Civil Servants Act. Senator Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., and I have worked together on this commonsense legislation to ensure that the children of service members who are born while stationed overseas are automatically recognized as U.S. citizens. We should be doing all we can to ease the lives of our all-volunteer force, not adding needless hurdles for them and their families. This week, we celebrated a great step in honoring the heroes of World War II Merrill's Marauders unit. This Thursday, the bipartisan Merrill's Marauders Congressional Gold Medal Act, S.743, passed the Senate unanimously. On behalf of these World War II heroes and their families, I'm so pleased the Senate has voted to recognize this elite group of volunteer warriors and award them with the Congressional Gold Medal. I'm proud that the legacy of Merrill's Marauders lives on today at Fort Benning with the 75th Ranger Regiment, and I hope the U.S. House will soon pass its measure to award them with the Congressional Gold Medal. What's On Tap? As we approach the end of the year, I am still hard at work fighting for Georgia's legislative priorities. Next week, the Senate will continue its consideration of nominees to administration positions and judges to serve on our federal courts. We will also continue working on government funding measures. Sincerely, | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |