Georgia Political Roundup

Perdue applauds reversal of coal regs

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., on Tuesday applauded President Trump for dismantling Obama-era regulations on coal-fired power plants.

“Under his watch, President Obama tried to kill the coal industry and, in doing so, disrupted several key industries integral to our economic growth,” Perdue said. “This is not the case anymore. President Trump has said job one is getting our economy going, and he has made it a priority to champion American workers.

“From approving the Keystone Pipeline to eliminating this regressive energy tax, it’s great to see a president prioritizing our energy independence instead of a political agenda.”

Perdue denounced Obama’s energy tax when it was announced in August 2015 and highlighted the impact it would have on coal-fired power plants. Perdue co-sponsored two resolutions of disapproval that October to stop the EPA from implementing the regulations, but Obama vetoed both resolutions.

Bishop: TrumpCare was dangerous bill

WASHINGTON — While he said he would have preferred to have had a chance to vote against “TrumpCare,” U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, D-Albany, said he was pleased that Republican lawmakers had recognized the “significant problems” with the America Health Care Act and pulled the “dangerous legislation” from House consideration.

“Now that this dangerous legislation has been pulled from House consideration, I am hopeful that we can instead come together to improve on the progress we have made with the Affordable Care Act,” Bishop said. “From the start, the TrumpCare bill has been a raw deal for the people of Georgia’s 2nd Congressional District, the state of Georgia and the entire nation. It would have made health care less affordable and less accessible across the board.”

Bishop said the AHCA would have eliminated the Essential Health benefit standards, allowing insurers to withhold coverage for services such as doctor’s visits, emergency room care, pediatric care and newborn/maternal care. He said the changes would have doubled the number of uninsured to 24 million, including 450,000 in Georgia in 2018.

“TrumpCare would have also slashed Medicare and Medicaid funding for seniors and included cuts that would have negatively impacted rural health care, including already struggling rural hospitals and safety net providers,” he said.

Iskason co-sponsors debt-cutting bill

MARIETTA — U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., has again co-sponsored legislation that would require Congress to make spending cuts on a dollar-for-dollar basis when it votes to raise the debt limit.

Under the Dollar-for-Dollar Deficit Reduction Act, reductions in spending would take place over a 10-year period.

“Our U.S. federal debt is already at an unsustainable level of $19 trillion and has been rising consistently,” Isakson said. “While this Congress is taking steps with our new administration to cut federal spending, this commonsense legislation would help further those efforts.”

The senator said projections are the legislation would reduce spending by $2.5 trillion over the next decade and more than $5 trillion the following decade, while also reducing spending below 23.4 percent to 20.8 percent of the gross domestic product by 2027, cutting the projected deficit in half by 2027.

The bill would create a permanent debt-limit policy to ensure that any increase in the debt limit corresponds with spending cuts.

The legislation was introduced by U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and also was co-sponsored by U.S. Sens. John Barrasso, R-Wyo.; Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.; Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Marco Rubio, R-Fla.

Voting starts in Georgia’s 6th District

ATLANTA — Advance voting started Monday for the special election to fill the 6th Congressional District seat vacated earlier this year by Tom Price, who resigned to become secretary of Health and Human Services for the Trump administration.

Early voting continues through April 14, with polls in the 6th District open for in-person voting on April 18.

There is a crowded field attempting to win the House seat, with 18 candidates vying for the position. Of those running, 11 identify themselves as Republicans, five as Democrats and two as independents.

One of the better known names, Karen Handel, the former Georgia secretary of state who ran unsuccessfully in the Republican primaries for Georgia governor in 2010 for the U.S. Senate seat in 2014, came under attack Tuesday from Club for Growth Action, the political arm of Club for Growth. The PAC, which has thrown its support behind Republican Bob Gray in the special election, is attempting to paint Handel as a “big spender.”