Dear Friends,
This week, with a very serious debt crisis looming, Senate Democrats again failed to bring the issue to the Senate floor so that we can debate a resolution before the August 2 deadline that is fast approaching. Instead of just talking about it, I have introduced and/or cosponsored several pieces of legislation to try to rein in federal spending, reduce the debt and change the way Washington does business: Biennial Budgeting, the Balanced Budget Amendment, The CAP Act, the Congressional Budget Accountability Act and the REINS Act.
This week, I joined with Senator Chambliss and 45 of my Republican colleagues in the Senate in repeating our call for Congress and the President to pass a constitutional amendment requiring Congress to balance the federal budget, a measure aimed at reducing the nation’s debt and reining in federal spending. Currently, 48 states have some form of a balanced budget requirement, including the state of Georgia.
With our national debt skyrocketing past an unprecedented $14 trillion, it is urgent that Washington get its fiscal house in order. These spending habits are unsustainable and jeopardize our credit rating and the financial future of our country. That is why I am joining all of my Republican colleagues in again calling on Congress to pass a constitutional amendment to balance the federal budget. In Georgia, the Legislature is required by law to balance the budget every year—it is not always easy but it forces Georgia’s elected officials to make tough choices and it ensures that Georgia won’t face the problem of massive debt and deficits. With our federal budget in such disarray, the only way we can restore fiscal responsibility and sanity is to prohibit Congress from spending money it doesn’t have. A constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget would force Congress and the President to finally just say ‘no.’
Federal Labor Boards Killing Job Growth
I learned from my father that we should all be judged by our actions, not just our words. I am very disappointed in what this administration is doing now. On the one hand, they are talking about jobs being the most important thing America needs. Yet, they continue to implement job-killing policies such as the ones being pushed through the National Labor Relations Board and the National Mediation Board.
The National Mediation Board recently decided to investigate what it claims are unfair labor practices at Delta Air Lines. The board took this step after the unions lost another election among Delta employees, despite the Board changing the rules last year to make it easier for unions to win a majority vote.
In addition, the National Labor Relations Board recently filed suit against The Boeing Company, claiming that Boeing was seeking to punish unions for previous labor strikes at the original 787 plant in Washington state by opening a second 787 plant in South Carolina, which is a right-to-work state.
Now, the National Labor Relations Board has proposed a rule change to remove some of the procedures necessary to hold a union election so that union elections can be held faster. Currently, it typically takes 38 to 42 days between the day an election petition is filed and the day the election is held. Under the proposed rule change, that time period could be shortened to as little as 10 to 12 days, making it more difficult for management to fairly educate and inform their employees about issues related to unionization.
In response to this action, as the ranking Republican on the Senate Employment and Workplace Safety Subcommittee that has jurisdiction over labor issues, I joined with Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and Senator Orin Hatch, R-Utah, to call on the National Labor Relations Board to delay the public hearing on the agency’s proposed rules to allow “quickie elections” for unions and allow for an extension of time to prepare testimony and file comments. These proposals involve highly complex issues that require stakeholders to spend time analyzing the effect these proposals have. Limiting the time in which stakeholders can submit comments for such a complicated and irregular rulemaking and then providing stakeholders with less than five days to decide whether to participate in the public hearing is simply inappropriate.
If you say you want to create jobs, don’t stop job creation. If you say you want the economy to recover, do those things necessary to empower business.
Disaster Declaration for Drought-Stricken Counties
This week, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack granted a disaster declaration to 22 drought-stricken counties in Georgia. Since December, many parts of Georgia have experienced extreme weather conditions and suffered numerous crop losses. With the USDA Secretarial Disaster Designation, Georgia farmers will be able to apply for emergency loans and other benefits to ease losses.
The counties that will become eligible to apply for emergency loans and other benefits provided by the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 are Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Ben Hill, Brantley, Brooks, Bryan, Chatham, Coffee, Colquitt, Cook, Dodge, Effingham, Irwin, Jeff Davis, Lanier, Lowndes, Pierce, Telfair, Thomas, Wayne and Wheeler.
Vilsack also wrote that he is naming the following areas as contiguous disaster counties: Berrien, Bleckley, Bulloch, Camden, Charlton, Clinch, Echols, Evans, Glynn, Grady, Laurens, Liberty, Long, McIntosh, Mitchell, Montgomery, Pulaski, Screven, Tattnall, Tift, Toombs, Treutlen, Turner, Ware, Wilcox and Worth.
Like those in primary disaster counties, farmers in contiguous disaster counties may be considered for assistance under the Farm Service Agency (FSA). This includes FSA emergency loans and the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments program. Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the secretarial disaster declaration to apply for emergency loan assistance.
What’s on Tap?
While Senate members agreed to forego the scheduled recess to remain in session next week in order to debate the debt limit and deficit reduction, Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has announced that we will instead resume consideration of the motion to proceed to a joint resolution authorizing certain U.S. actions in Libya.
We should also remember that it is the celebration of our nation’s independence on Monday, and reflect upon the principles on which our great nation was built. As we think about what independence and freedom really means, we are reminded of the serious challenges facing our country and threatening our freedom, including the out-of-control federal spending that has put us into debt at unsustainable levels. It is a shame that we will not be using this week in Washington to address this crisis.
Sincerely,
Johnny Isakson
