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

June 16, 2006 

Dear Friends,

This week, I co-sponsored a piece of legislation to reduce the federal deficit and reform the federal budget process.  During my campaign for the United States Senate, I made a pledge to support legislation to curb federal spending and to demand more accountability from programs that receive federal dollars.  The Stop Over-Spending (“S.O.S.”) Act that I am co-sponsoring creates a line-item veto mechanism for the President to use to eliminate wasteful spending; implements procedures to automatically slow the rate of growth for mandatory programs if Congress fails to meet deficit reduction targets; reinstates statutory caps on discretionary spending; and creates a point of order against direct spending that is triggered when the Medicare program becomes insolvent, which is projected to occur in seven years or less. One of the problems we have in Congress with deficit spending is spending money on projects that by anybody's definition are projects that shouldn’t be funded with tax dollars.  This is about changing our budget process and putting in spending priorities.

Also this week, Senator Chambliss and I met with the Secretary of the Army, Francis Harvey, about our concerns for Chattahoochee River reservoirs, which are experiencing increasingly low water levels because of the dry start to the summer and because of releases the Corps had conducted in order to help endangered species in the river in Florida.  We have been fighting this water war for more than 16 years and we cannot let it go on for another 16 years. We secured a commitment from Secretary Harvey that future water releases from our lakes will be based on science. The Secretary also committed to a deadline of January 2, 2007, to begin the update of the water control plan affecting Georgia, Alabama and Florida. The current water control plan is based on data that is about 20 years old and there has been enormous growth and enormous change in those 20 years. Data that is 20 years old is not relevant to today’s water needs and it is critical for Georgia that we update this water control plan. The Secretary also is committed to trying to get the governors of the three states to the table to try to resolve these water issues. We will do all we can at the federal level, but the real solution must come at the state level.

Good news this week came in the form of the Senate’s passage of a smaller emergency supplemental spending bill that will provide $94.5 billion for the War on Terror and hurricane recovery.  In May, when the bill first went through the Senate, I voted against it because the Senate added an estimated $15 billion in unrelated spending to the emergency supplemental. During negotiations between the House and Senate to resolve differences, the $15 billion in unrelated spending was removed from the bill.  This bill includes essential funds for our men and women in uniform as they continue the fight against terrorism, and it also includes funds for the victims of Hurricane Katrina as they continue to rebuild their lives. I am glad the conference committee was able to prevent this bill from becoming a spending spree for special interests. Another positive that stems from this bill is the approximately $1.9 billion included for additional border security measures.  The only way to secure our borders is not with promises of authorizations but with the commitment of appropriations. These funds are, without question, the most significant component to the issue of illegal immigration and gaining control of our borders.

Also this week, President Bush signed into law a landmark reform bill to improve mine safety and regulation and reduce safety risks for miners across the country. Since my trip to West Virginia five months ago, I have been working with a bipartisan group of Senators on the numerous issues surrounding mine safety.  This bill is the product of months of hearings, in-depth research and intense discussions about how to make mines across the country safer. I feel confident this bill will do just that, and I am very pleased this bill is now law.

What’s on Tap for Next Week?

Next week, the Senate will continue debate of the FY 2007 Defense Authorization bill.

Sincerely,
Johnny Isakson