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I am using a new format as I have heard that the red and yellow are sometimes harder to read. Any suggestions you have to make the newsletter a better publication would be greatly appreciated. Please send your comments to Bobbie Frantz at the following e-mail address: [email protected]. Thank you.
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News from Sen. Johnny Isakson
This week, President Obama proposed the closing of Guantanamo Bay prison and bringing hardened terrorists to the United States. Not only is this plan irresponsible and dangerous, it's against the law. At the end of 2015, the president signed a bill into law that specifically prohibits the action his administration has announced.
I will fight against this decision because our military leaders have deemed many of these prisoners too dangerous to send to other countries, and we certainly don't need them on American soil. The interests and safety of Americans should come ahead of any political move that seeks to do otherwise.
Call for Action to Restore Army Funding
With the president's proposal to close Guantanamo Bay prison it is essential that our nation's military is provided the resources needed to keep its strength at levels necessary to meet increasing threats around the world. The president's final budget request to Congress includes a $1.4 billion reduction to the Army, and these cuts would affect military bases in our state.
Earlier this month, I met with Lt. Gen. Anderson, the Army's deputy chief of staff, to discuss the troop cuts announced in July 2015 that included cuts of 4,350 soldiers from military installations in Georgia, including a net loss of approximately 950 soldiers at Fort Stewart in Hinesville, Ga., and a net loss of 3,400 soldiers at Fort Benning in Columbus, Ga.
To continue to shrink our military is a dangerous and compromising position to be in at a time threats are growing worldwide. Instead, we should be strengthening our military to send a clear signal to the rest of the world that America has no intention of standing down in the fight against terrorism.
That's why I am urging action from Congressional appropriators to reverse cuts in the Army's budget
proposal and restore funding to keep Army end strength at levels necessary to meet increasing threats around the world.
To learn more about budget cuts to our nation's military, click here.
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New from Sen. David Perdue
Senator David Perdue: No Hearings On Supreme Court Nomination
WASHINGTON, D.C. -
U.S. Senator David Perdue (R-GA), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today sent a letter
to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell indicating that he will exercise his constitutional authority to withhold consent of any nominee submitted by President Barack Obama and the Senate Judiciary Committee will not hold hearings on a Supreme Court nominee until the next President is sworn in.
The letter, signed by all Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans, says, "The American people are presented with an exceedingly rare opportunity to decide, in a very real and concrete way, the direction the Court will take over the next generation. We believe The People should have this opportunity."
The Senators added, "Accordingly, given the particular circumstances under which this vacancy arises, we wish to inform you of our intention to exercise our constitutional authority to withhold consent on any nominee to the Supreme Court submitted by this President to fill Justice Scalia's vacancy. Because our decision is based on constitutional principle and born of a necessity to protect the will of the American people, this Committee will not hold hearings on any Supreme Court nominee until after our next President is sworn in on January 20, 2017."
The full text of the letter can be found here.
Georgia Sen. Perdue predicts Savannah port will get necessary money
By Walter C. Jones/Online Athens
ATLANTA | Funding for the continued deepening of the Savannah River's ship channel is likely, U.S. Sen. David Perdue said Monday.
He also said he believes the Senate shouldn't consider a nominee to fill the vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court until after the election.
Georgia's junior senator made his remarks in response to questions from reporters who caught up with him during his visit to the state Capitol. He was there to greet legislators and offer should they need assistance from Washington.
State officials say that deepening the river by 7 feet is critical to keep Savannah competitive with surrounding ports that can already accommodate the bigger freighters that will use a widened Panama Canal. The state has put aside Georgia's whole share of the $700-million project, but the federal government is appropriating its portion a year at a time.
Senator David Perdue: Americans Will Not Stand The Thought Of Placing Terrorists On U.S. Soil
WASHINGTON, D.C. -
U.S. Senator David Perdue (R-GA) released the following statement regarding President Obama's plan to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay:
"President Obama continues to put campaign promises ahead of national security. First, against the advice of military leaders, President Obama abruptly ended the war in Iraq which created a vacuum for ISIS, and now he wants to close Guantanamo Bay, the very prison used to detain terrorists. Americans will not stand the thought of placing terrorists on U.S. soil, and the transfer of detainees to other countries does not erase the threat of their continued extremist actions. This plan from the Pentagon places our citizens at unacceptable-and completely avoidable-levels of risk."
Earlier this month, military leaders told Congress they will not transfer any detainees to the U.S. because it is currently against the law. Meanwhile, President Obama continued to quietly empty out Guantanamo Bay, transferring as many as 17 detainees last month. The remaining 91 detainees at Guantanamo include high-level terrorists who military officials have determined to be too dangerous to transfer to other countries. Additionally, a recent intelligence report shows 30 percent of released detainees are known or suspected to have re-joined the fight against Americans and will seek to reengage in terrorist activity.
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Obama pushes to 'change course' and bring Gitmo detainees to US
By: Jordan Fabian/The Hill
President Obama on Tuesday rolled out his plan to close the military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, calling on Congress to put aside partisan divisions over the controversial facility.
"I am absolutely committed to closing the detention facility at Guantánamo," said Obama, who was flanked by Vice President Biden and Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. "I am going to continue to make the case for doing so as long as I hold this office."
"When it becomes clear that something is not working as intended when it does not advance our security, we have to change course," Obama said.
"The detention facility at Guantánamo Bay does not advance our national security. It undermines it. It's counterproductive to our fight against terrorists."
It's a last-ditch effort to shutter the facility, a goal he announced on his first day in office but thus far has failed to accomplish.
Closing the prison - which is housed on a U.S. naval base - has long been a centerpiece of Obama's effort to turn the page in the war on terror started by his predecessor, George W. Bush.
The president has long argued the facility serves as a powerful recruiting tool for extremist groups such as the Islamic State and Iraq and Syria (ISIS), is too costly for the government to maintain and hurts the United States's relationship with its allies.
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Senate Resolution Honors Foundation for 25 Years of Service to Georgia
VOICES Publications would like to congratulate the Georgia Public Policy Foundation on its 25th anniversary.
The resolution was sponsored by Sen. Hunter Hill. [To read the State Senate Resolution, click here]
Atlanta
- The State Senate passed a resolution today honoring the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, Georgia's only state-focused free-market think tank, which celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2016.
The resolution (
SR 919
) "recognizing and commending the Georgia Public Policy Foundation for its 25th year of continued service and work in researching and analyzing state public policy issues to educate citizens and enhance economic opportunity," was sponsored by Sen. Hunter Hill.
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Nightmare builds for Senate GOP
By: Alexander Bolton/The Hill
It's a bad time to be a Senate Republican.
Justice Antonin Scalia's death has put Supreme Court politics at the top of the Senate agenda - to the detriment of vulnerable Republican senators running for reelection in blue states.
Donald Trump
has coasted to big victories in the New Hampshire and South Carolina primaries, strengthening his position as the pole-setter in the Republican presidential race.
It's a nightmare scenario for GOP senators clinging to their majority.
"I think they're very concerned if they're up for reelection," said former New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg (R).
"I imagine [Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)] is more than concerned because clearly Trump at this time is not going to carry swing states," Gregg added.
"I'm thinking of New Hampshire, for example."
New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte is one of five endangered Senate Republican incumbents running for reelection in states won in 2008 and 2012 by President Obama.
Republicans are also trying to hold on to a seat in Florida being vacated by Sen. Marco Rubio the GOP presidential candidate who is seeking to catch Trump in the White House race.
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Obama carefully timing Supreme Court decision
 By Jordan Fabian/The Hill
Move quickly - but not too quickly.
That's the strategy President Obama and his top aides appear to be adopting as they work through the process of nominating a successor to the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
The deliberate approach is meant to draw a contrast with the snap judgment the White House says Republicans made just hours after Scalia's death, when they pledged to reject any nominee Obama put forward.
The White House staged a photo opportunity last Friday evening of the president carrying a thick binder about potential nominees from the Oval Office to his residence, where he reviewed the materials over the weekend.
And press secretary Josh Earnest was eager to share Monday that Obama has been working the phones with prominent Republican and Democratic senators as he considers his list of Scalia replacements.
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Conservatives: Court nominee must be stopped at all costs
By: Alexander Bolton/The Hill
Conservative leaders are sending a blunt message to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The Supreme Court is more important than your majority.
McConnell's (R-Ky.) top priority since becoming majority leader last year has been to put his colleagues in a strong position to win reelection, in part by showing that Republicans can govern.
But bottling up President Obama's nominee to replace the late conservative Justice Antonin Scalia could bring the work of the chamber to a screeching halt if Democrats choose to retaliate.
Conservatives say that's the risk McConnell has to take.
Taking action on a Supreme Court nominee - even through the Judiciary Committee - when Obama has less than a year left in his term would be a cardinal sin, conservative activists say.
They argue the ideological balance of the court is so important that it's not worth playing political games to take the pressure off vulnerable Republican incumbents.
"I would rank having a conservative justice as more important than having the majority in the Senate," said David Bozell, president of For America, a conservative advocacy group. "God knows this Republican majority in the Senate hasn't done much anyway for conservatism, period."
....read more....
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