FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, December 14, 2006

Isakson Named to Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Will Continue to Serve on Education, Health, Environment and Public Works, Veterans’ Affairs, Small Business Committees

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) today was named to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, which has historically been instrumental in developing and influencing U.S. foreign policy.                         

Senate leadership announced Isakson also will continue to serve on the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (known as HELP), the Committee on Environment and Public Works, the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

“I am deeply honored to be able to serve on the committee that will shape U.S. foreign policy at this critical period in our nation’s history. It is in America’s best interest to remain engaged in world affairs and to forge even stronger relations with our allies. I look forward to being part of the discussion,” Isakson said.  “I am also thrilled that these committee assignments will allow me to continue working on issues that are so important in Georgia: education, transportation, air quality, veterans and small businesses.” 

Isakson has served for the past two years on the HELP Committee, which has jurisdiction over education, labor, health, pensions and public welfare issues.One of Isakson’s top legislative priorities for the new Congress will be the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind. When Isakson served in the U.S. House, he was one of a handful of lawmakers invited by President Bush in 2000 to help write the No Child Left Behind legislation. In 1996, Isakson was tapped by then-Gov. Zell Miller to lead the Georgia Board of Education.

“I am excited to continue to have the opportunity to work on the HELP Committee in a year when No Child Left Behind will be reauthorized. As an original author of this law, I am eager to play a role in making it even better,” Isakson said. “I also want to build on the work we’ve already done to oversee the nation’s pension laws and to protect the hard-earned pensions of millions of Americans, as well as overseeing federal worker safety rules and particularly mine safety. And I look forward to tackling the challenges we face in healthcare in this nation.”

Isakson is the first Georgian in recent history to serve on the Environment and Public Works Committee, which has jurisdiction over the nation's interstate highway system, ports and the environment. During the past two years on the committee, Isakson worked to secure over $211 million for the state of Georgia as part of the conference committee for the national highway funding bill. 

“The EPW Committee has jurisdiction over many areas that are critical to the state of Georgia, and I am very pleased to continue serving on this panel,” Isakson said. “As our state continues to seek a resolution to the decades-old “water wars” with Florida and Alabama, I look forward to working on the Senate committee that oversees the Army Corps of Engineers. In addition, EPW handles many clean air and clean water issues that have a direct impact on Georgia and I am glad to have a seat at the table for these debates.”

The Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee has jurisdiction over legislation relating to the needs of small businesses and the self-employed. The Veterans’ Affairs Committee oversees legislative issues concerning America’s 25 million veterans.

“As a member of the Veterans Affairs committee, I realize the most important responsibility we have is to see to it that the treatment and services we give our veterans are equal to the sacrifice they have made for our country,” Isakson said.

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