A Weekly e-Newsletter from
Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA)

February 17, 2006

Dear Friends,

This week, we came to a compromise regarding representation on the Tennessee Valley Authority governing board.  Last week, I raised concerns when six new qualified members were nominated to the TVA board and none was from Georgia. I exercised my right to place a “hold” on the six nominees because the stakes for Georgia are so high: Georgia has 500,000 residents, 300 miles of lake shoreline and five electric cooperatives that are directly affected by the TVA.  I agreed this week to lift my ‘hold’ on the six nominations after all six nominees promised in writing to allow Georgia to have a voice in the board’s decision making.  I am pleased that each of the nominees to the TVA board has given me assurances in writing that the interests of Georgia will be represented in some form by the board.  At the same time, I also will continue pursuing my legislation to require that all seven states served by the TVA are represented on its board. My legislation is co-sponsored by Senators Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.), and a companion bill has been introduced in the House by Rep. Nathan Deal (R-Ga.).

On Wednesday, I hosted a roundtable discussion on the latest technologies that could make miners safer on the job, including oxygen supplies and underground-to-surface communications.  After meeting with the families of the Sago Mine accident in January and touring the mines, and as the chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety, I know we have to do all we can to make mines safer.  Wednesday’s roundtable was a positive first step in the process and we learned a great deal about the economics of mine safety, a lot about new technologies for oxygen availability and a tremendous amount about the promise of communications that can penetrate the earth. As legislators responding to a crisis, we want to do whatever we can do to make mining safer, but we want to do it in an informed way and not a reactionary way. The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, on which I serve, plans to hold an oversight hearing in March into mine safety procedures and enforcement measures related to the Sago Mine tragedy.

On Thursday, I spoke on the floor of the Senate in support of extending the Patriot Act.  Te rrorists use the civil liberties that we cherish to attempt to do harm and try to destroy us.  The Patriot Act does not threaten our civil liberties; it is our insurance policy to preserve them. We should leave this chamber today sending a message to those that would do us harm that we stand here to preserve and protect, that we will not let any encumbrance stop our pursuit of those that would destroy or injure us, our children or our grandchildren. The Senate this week voted to bring this debate to the floor, and I look forward to continuing it after our weeklong President’s Day recess.

What’s on Tap for Next Week?

Next week, the Senate will recess for the observance of President’s Day.  I will lead a Congressional delegation to Arizona and California to see the border with Mexico and assess the situation there firsthand. I have worked hard on illegal immigration since joining the Senate last year, including helping to pass REAL ID, urging Mexico to commit to helping the United States with the illegal immigration problem and signing on as a cosponsor of the CLEAR Act to help local law enforcement.  I will continue to push for tighter border security and reforms of our immigration system.

Sincerely,
Johnny Isakson