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

May 11, 2007

Dear Friends,                              

This week the Senate overwhelmingly passed legislation to overhaul the Food and Drug Administration’s procedures for ensuring drug safety. This bill will help ensure that the medications Americans take are safe and effective. I supported an amendment to allow the re-importation of prescription drugs from Canada and other countries only if the federal government certifies that the drugs are safe.

Congressional Budget
This week I voted with the majority of my Senate colleagues to instruct the committee that will craft a compromise on the Budget Resolution to ensure the conference report provides for the permanent extension of death tax relief and other family tax relief.                       

A full repeal of the estate tax will let our hard-working taxpayers pass along their savings to their children and grandchildren tax-free. That’s good for families and small businesses, and it’s good for our economy. I will continue to do everything I can to see that we take action and repeal the death tax permanently.

However, I was disappointed in the Senate’s refusal to instruct the committee to reject the House amendment calling for a $916 billion tax increase and to extend the tax cuts passed by Congress in 2001 and 2003. These existing tax policies include the $1,000 child tax credit, marriage penalty relief, the 10 percent income tax bracket, lower marginal rates for American families and small businesses, Earned Income Tax Credit relief for military families, deduction for student loan interest, the 15 percent rate on capital gains and dividends, and death tax repeal.

The tax cuts in 2001 and 2003 lowered tax rates for individuals, businesses, dividends and capital gains, eliminated the marriage penalty and scaled back the alternative minimum tax and the death tax. Critics said we were giving a handout to the rich, but the facts are these tax cuts created jobs, allowed businesses to expand and left more money in the pockets of our families. We must continue our nation's unprecedented economic prosperity by making these tax cuts permanent.

Georgia Port Security
Yesterday, Senator Chambliss and I were pleased to announce funding for port security in the Savannah and Brunswick areas as part of the Fiscal Year 2007 Port Security Grant Program.  Specifically, the Savannah area will receive $3,914,120, with $1,944,088 provided for the Georgia Ports Authority.  The Brunswick area will receive $286,388, with $261,450 provided for the Georgia Ports Authority.

I’m extremely pleased that the Department of Homeland Security has recognized the strategic importance of the Savannah and Brunswick ports. This funding will greatly benefit the national security and economic infrastructure issues at both ports.

Last year, we asked Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to explain why Georgia had been excluded from the previous two port security funding rounds. We have had ongoing dialogue with the Department of Homeland Security, Georgia Ports Authority, U.S. Coast Guard and Customs officials to ensure that the department was aware of the security risks at both ports.

Mine Safety Improvements
This week the Mine Safety and Health Administration completed another significant step by releasing the results of its investigation into the tragedy at Sago Mine in West Virginia. The team investigating the explosion was comprised of experts in mine safety from around the country, and it determined that a pump cable found inside a sealed area of the Sago Mine served as a conduit for the lightning strike that ignited the explosion.  I hope this week’s report gives the families of those who perished in the Sago disaster further understanding about the accident that took the lives of their loved ones.  We have made great progress over the last year, and we will continue to work to make mines across the country safer. I firmly believe the legacy of the Sago tragedy is following the lessons we have learned so that future generations of miners do not suffer the same fate. 

Last year as a result of the Sago Mine tragedy, the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006, also known as the MINER Act, received overwhelming support in both Houses and was signed into law by President Bush on June 15, 2006.  The new law established timelines for new and better mine safety technology, required mines maintain and continuously update emergency response plans, and raised the criminal penalty cap as well as the maximum civil penalty for flagrant violations of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act. 

Since the passage of the MINER Act, more than 10,000 self-contained self-rescue units have been placed in underground mines, and more are expected to be added as soon as they can be manufactured. In addition, miners are being trained and re-trained in the use of the self-contained self-rescue units, which provide respiratory protection for persons escaping or evacuating mines.  Government and private sector research on these and a host of other safety technologies continue at an unprecedented pace.

Mines have also installed new “lifelines” in their escape ways so miners can find their way out of the mine even in darkness. Dozens of coal mines have implemented new state-of-the-art systems to track miners while underground and to provide better communication in the wake of an accident. New mine rescue teams have been added in more than thirty of the nation’s underground mines with more on the way.

Student Loan Accountability and Disclosure Reform Act
Last Friday, I co-sponsored very important legislation to hold colleges, lenders and loan guaranty agencies that provide student loans accountable to a lender’s code of conduct.  The Student Loan Accountability and Disclosure Reform Act will establish a Code of Conduct for institutions of higher education that prohibits colleges and their employees from receiving anything of value from any lender in exchange for advantages sought by the lender. 

The prohibition applies to gifts and trips as well as compensation for service on advisory boards and consulting contracts. The legislation would prohibit institutes of higher education from designating “preferred lenders” and sending unsolicited electronic mailings to potential borrowers. It would also require colleges to provide students and parents with a guide that enables them to do their own evaluation of the loan products, benefits and services offered by the lenders. 

Student loans help keep the dream of a college education within reach of many Americans.  We must ensure that students who invest in this worthy endeavor have straightforward, honest and comprehensive information on which to base their decisions.

Strengthening Security at Wastewater Treatment Plants
I also co-sponsored legislation last week to enhance and strengthen security at wastewater treatment facilities by providing local governments with the tools they need to make security decisions. The Wastewater Treatment Works Security Act, S.1303, authorizes grants to conduct vulnerability assessments for entities that treat municipal wastewater as well as grants to address security needs identified in those assessments.  The legislation also authorizes funds for the development, expansion or upgrading of an emergency response plan and voluntary participation in a mutual aid and emergency network preparedness agreement. In addition, it provides technical assistance to small treatment plants to conduct vulnerability assessments and meet needs identified in the assessments.  Protecting our nation’s water supply and the infrastructure that ensures its quality is vital to our nation’s security and our citizens’ health.  This legislation provides much needed resources, particularly for small, rural communities, to assess the vulnerability of wastewater treatment facilities and address security needs.

Federal Assistance to Respond to Wildfires

This week, the Federal Emergency Management Agency approved two requests for Fire Management Assistance declarations for the Bugaboo Scrub Fire in Charlton County and the Roundabout Fire in Atkinson County.  I commend the swift action by the Governor’s office and by FEMA.  I am grateful to all of the firefighters for their heroic work in continuing to battle these fires.  The two requests were based on the fire’s threat to the communities, including approximately 850 residences, an LP gas storage and refueling facility, a manufacturing plant, schools, a library and other facilities, as well as other critical concerns. 

What’s on Tap for Next Week?

Next week, the Senate will continue its debate on the reauthorization of the Water Resources Development Act and is expected to begin debate on immigration reform.

Sincerely,
Johnny Isakson