by Dave Williams | Jul 11, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Prominent African-American faith leaders gathered at the Georgia Capitol Thursday to support President Joe Biden’s re-election bid amid a growing chorus that he should step aside because of his age.
The group’s news conference came two weeks after Democrat Biden’s poor performance in a nationally televised debate with presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump in Atlanta produced a storm of calls for Biden to abandon his quest for a second term.
An increasing number of Democrats in Congress are publicly urging Biden to step aside, likely in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris.
But Democrats in Georgia’s congressional delegation are sticking with the president, as are the state’s African-American faith leaders.
“Instead of talking about how old he is, why don’t you talk about how much he’s accomplished?” said Georgia AME Bishop Reginald Jackson, taking aim at the intense coverage the news media has given since the June 27 debate to doubts over Biden’s fitness to continue as president. “His record speaks louder than his (debate) performance.”
“We cannot judge a man based on one night,” the Rev. Timothy McDonald added.
Jackson went on to praise Biden’s achievements on behalf of Black Americans, including the lowest Black unemployment rate in the nation’s history and the unprecedented level of federal funding pouring into America’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
McDonald said African-American faith leaders expect to play a large role in getting out the vote for Biden in November, as they have done in past campaigns on behalf of Democratic presidential candidates.
“The Black church will once again save America,” he said. “We’re going to organize our people, mobilize our people, and set records for turnout.”
by Dave Williams | Jul 11, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Oglethorpe Power is going all-in on natural gas as a source of electrical generation.
The Tucker-based utility, which serves 38 electric cooperatives, announced plans Thursday to build two new natural gas projects in Monroe and Talbot counties.
The larger of the two, to be located in the city of Forsyth, will produce about 1,200 megawatts of electricity on land Oglethorpe Power already owns. Representing a $2 billion investment, the new facility will be among the highest-performing, lowest-emitting and most efficient natural gas plants in Georgia, the utility wrote in a news release.
The second project will be constructed at an existing plant in Box Springs. The 240-megawatt unit will represent an investment of about $360 million.
The additional generating capacity is necessary to keep pace with Georgia’s rapid growth, said Mike Smith, Oglethorpe Power’s president and CEO.
“The electric cooperatives we serve need more energy capacity to meet their increasing demand,” Smith said. “These two new natural gas projects demonstrate growth in Oglethorpe Power’s generation portfolio and our focus on reliable, affordable and sustainable energy for our members.”
The company will release a timeline for both projects once all necessary permits have been obtained.
by Dave Williams | Jul 11, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Legislation establishing independent oversight of the federal prison system introduced by two members of Georgia’s congressional delegation is on its way to President Joe Biden’s desk.
The U.S. Senate gave final passage to the bipartisan bill on Wednesday. The House of Representatives already had passed the measure in May.
The legislation requires the Justice Department’s Inspector General to conduct comprehensive inspections of the federal Bureau of Prisons’ 122 correctional facilities and provide recommendations to fix whatever problems it uncovers. The bureau will have 60 days to respond to all inspection reports with a corrective action plan.
The bill also establishes an independent ombudsman to investigate the health, safety, welfare, and rights of incarcerated people and staff. The ombudsman’s office will create a secure hotline and online form for family members, friends, and representatives of incarcerated people to submit complaints.
“This is a major milestone,” said Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., who led an investigation into the federal prison system two years ago. Ossoff joined Republican Sen. Mike Braun of Indiana in introducing the bill.
“My bipartisan Senate investigations of corruption, abuse, and misconduct in the federal prison system have revealed an urgent need to overhaul federal prison oversight,” Ossoff added. “I now look forward to President Biden signing our bipartisan bill into law.”
U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Marietta, joined Republican Rep. Kelly Armstrong of North Dakota in introducing a companion bill in the House.
“The passage of my federal prison oversight legislation in the Senate marks a new step forward in ensuring accountability to protect staff and incarcerated individuals in our federal prisons,” McBath said Wednesday. “When Republicans and Democrats come together, we can deliver common-sense solutions for the American people.”
by Dave Williams | Jul 10, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr has won a federal appeal allowing his office to move forward with a civil case against a voting rights group founded by two-time Democratic gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams.
The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals this week overturned a lower court decision that was blocking the state from pursuing a civil enforcement action against the nonprofit New Georgia Project through the Office of State Administrative Hearings.
The case goes back to 2019, when the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission began investigating a complaint that accused the group of failing to report millions of dollars in election spending in 2018 and 2019.
The commission issued an order in 2022 finding reasonable grounds that New Georgia Project had failed to register with the commission.
“This decision is a victory for transparency in campaign finance,” Carr said of Monday’s appellate court ruling. “Rather than simply comply with Georgia law, New Georgia Project chose years of costly litigation and lost. These rules apply to everyone, and we will ensure they are upheld.”
New Georgia Project had challenged two of the state’s campaign-finance laws as unconstitutional violations of the First Amendment.
Monday’s decision did not address the merits of the group’s arguments. Instead, the appellate court ruled that the lower federal court lacked jurisdiction to issue an injunction blocking the attorney general from pursuing the civil case.
by Dave Williams | Jul 10, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Georgia ranked worst in the nation in on-time mail delivery during the second quarter of this year, according to a new report from the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General.
Only 63.7% of first-class mail in Georgia was delivered on time in April, May, and June, the agency reported. On time is defined as within two days.
Georgia’s score was well below the national average of 86.8% for the quarter and even farther below the target goal of 93%.
Still, Georgia’s second-quarter performance was an improvement over earlier in the year. At a U.S. Senate committee hearing in April, Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga. revealed statistics showing that only 36% of first-class mail processed at a regional mail processing and distribution center in Palmetto was being delivered on time.
During the April hearing, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy blamed slow mail delivery on problems encountered during the rollout of a restructuring plan last February aimed at making the postal service economically self-sufficient. The plan was first implemented at mail processing and distribution centers in Palmetto and Richmond, Va.
Responding to those delays, DeJoy announced in May that the postal service would pause the plan at least until next year to give the postal service a chance to determine what went wrong and fix it.
In the meantime, the agency brought in more than 100 additional workers from other mail processing centers to Palmetto and revised transportation schedules between the Palmetto center and other local mail processing facilities.
