releases: https://www.isakson.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-center?ContentRecord_id=bce4dd41-e356-4dc7-b458-f015baf05b32
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://www.isakson.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-center?ContentRecord_id=bce4dd41-e356-4dc7-b458-f015baf05b32 | e-Newsletter for the week ending November 15, 2013 | 2013-11-15 | 2013 | 2013-11 | Republican | House | GA | Johnny Isakson | I000055 | www.isakson.senate.gov | legacy | Dear Friends, On Monday, I traveled to New Hampshire to join Sen. Shaheen, D-N.H., for a discussion of our efforts to implement biennial budgeting to fix our nation’s broken system. In observance of Veterans Day, we stopped to pay tribute to veterans at the bronze statue of Gen. Stark, who served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. This week, the Senate worked on H.R.3204, the Drug Quality and Security Act, aimed at creating a safer compound drug supply. Obamacare This week I continued to voice my dismay over Obamacare and the negative consequences it is having on Georgians across the state. The Senate Republicans have launched an effort in which we ask Americans across the country to share their stories about their experiences with Obamacare. I have been overwhelmed with hundreds of stories submitted by Georgians who are hurting because of this terrible law. Yesterday on the Senate floor, I shared a story from Jessica and Rob, who live in Woodstock, Ga., and started a small business a few years ago a result of recession. Jessica and Rob recently received a letter from their insurance company informing them that their premiums will rise 244 percent in 2014 because of Obamacare. To watch my speech and to hear their full story, click here. Unfortunately, Jessica and Rob’s story is just one of many. A staggering 400,000 plus Georgians are losing their current health care coverage because of Obamacare, compared to the reported 1,390 Georgians who have selected a plan on the Obamacare exchange. Clearly, Obamacare is not working for most Georgians. I invite you to share your story by visiting Republican.Senate.Gov/YourStory. This week, I also joined 19 of my Republican colleagues in criticizing the Obama administration’s plan to exempt unions from an Obamacare fee that other employers, charities, and faith-based organizations will be forced to pay. This proposed carve-out for unions is cronyism at its worst. Click here to read the letter. On this subject, I have co-sponsored of the Union Bailout Prevention Act, which would prevent the Obama administration from granting unions’ request for special Obamacare premium tax subsidies for union members’ health care plans. I have voted to defund or repeal Obamacare almost 60 times, and I continue to support its full repeal. I have also co-sponsored dozens of legislative proposals that would repeal the law in full or provisions in the law, including both the Obamacare Repeal Act, S.177, and, more recently, the Defund Obamacare Act, S.1292. Biennial Budgeting As I mentioned, I traveled to Concord, N.H., on Monday to join Sen. Shaheen, D-N.H., to promote our plan to reform the broken federal budget process. Our proposal, the Biennial Budgeting and Appropriations Act, would help prevent the need for constant last-minute negotiations on spending bills in the future by reforming the current budget and appropriations system by converting it from a chaotic annual process to a two-year cycle. Our bill would force Congress to become better stewards of the taxpayers’ money by placing Congress on a two-year budget cycle with one year devoted to appropriating federal dollars and the other year devoted to oversight of federal programs. Biennial budgeting has been endorsed by each successive administration since Ronald Reagan was president, as well as by numerous federal budget experts. I have sponsored biennial budgeting proposals every year I’ve been in the Senate, while Sen. Shaheen has firsthand experience with the efficacy of biennial budgeting from her tenure as governor of New Hampshire. Currently, more than 20 states, including New Hampshire, operate on a two-year budget cycle. Connecting with Georgia’s Students This week I spoke with students at Bryan County High School in Pembroke, Ga. and Cambridge High School in Milton, Ga. via Skype. I enjoyed fielding questions on issues ranging from Obamacare to education to immigration and the budget. What’s on Tap? Early next week, as part of my ongoing work to deepen the Port of Savannah, I will visit the Panama Canal with Vice President Biden, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and others. It is imperative that we expand the Savannah Harbor in order to accommodate an increase in the number of super-sized container vessels transiting the Panama Canal after its 2015 deepening. The Savannah Harbor Expansion Project is critically important to the state of Georgia, Southeast region and nation, and it will support hundreds of thousands of jobs each year while generating billions in revenue. Next week, the Senate is expected to finish work on the prescription drug compounding bill and begin work on a defense authorization bill. Sincerely, Johnny Isakson | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |