by Dave Williams | Jan 2, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Georgia’s two U.S. senators have landed plum committee assignments as the 119th Congress prepares to convene on Friday.
Democrat Jon Ossoff will serve on the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, which has jurisdiction over the federal budget.
“I look forward to serving on the Senate Appropriations Committee in the new Congress, where I will continue working across the aisle to deliver for Georgia,” Ossoff said Thursday.
Meanwhile, fellow Democrat Raphael Warnock has been appointed to the Senate Finance Committee, which handles federal tax and trade policies.
“I will be a guardian on the committee against any efforts to gut critical safety net programs like Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare … against expensive tariffs that will hurt Georgians’ pockets and bottom lines, and against any attempts to give massive tax cuts to the top 1% at the expense of working families and communities,” Warnock said.
Republican President-elect Donald Trump has said he will push to extend the tax cuts he steered through Congress in 2017 during his first term in office and impose heavy tariffs on imports from China, Mexico, and Canada. Trump will take the oath of office on Jan. 20.
Ossoff will continue serving on the Senate Intelligence and Rules committees, while Warnock will return to the Senate Agriculture and Banking committees.
by Dave Williams | Jan 2, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – The filing deadline for federal Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) for victims of Hurricane Helene has been extended to Feb. 7, the Georgia Department of Labor announced Thursday.
DUA is a federal program established to help workers whose primary income is lost or interrupted by a disaster declared by the president. It differs from regular state unemployment insurance in that it provides benefits to Georgians who aren’t eligible under the state’s program. That includes the self-employed, farmers, loggers, and workers who are paid by commission.
Hurricane Helene rampaged through South Georgia and north through the Augusta area in late September, killing 34 Georgians and causing heavy rainfall and widespread flooding as well as extensive power outages.
Gov. Brian Kemp said last month that he will propose a state disaster relief package early in this year’s legislative session for those who suffered losses due to Helene. Lawmakers will convene under the Gold Dome Jan. 13 to begin the 2025 General Assembly session.
Georgia counties affected by Helene include Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Ben Hill, Berrien, Brantley, Brooks, Bryan, Bulloch, Burke, Butts, Camden, Candler, Charlton, Chatham, Clinch, Coffee, Colquitt, Columbia, Cook, Dodge, Echols, Effingham, Elbert, Emanuel, Evans, Fulton, Glascock, Glynn, Hancock, Irwin, Jeff Davis, Jefferson, Jenkins, Johnson, Lanier, Laurens, Liberty, Lincoln, Long, Lowndes, McDuffie, McIntosh, Montgomery, Newton, Pierce, Rabun, Richmond, Screven, Stephens, Taliaferro, Tattnall, Telfair, Thomas, Tift, Toombs, Treutlen, Ware, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Wheeler, and Wilkes.
Applicants may be eligible for a weekly benefit of up to $365 retroactive to the week of Sept. 29. Eligible individuals must first apply for regular unemployment insurance on the state Department of Labor website at dol.georgia.gov or in person at one of the agency’s career centers.
Income verification may be required when applying for DUA benefits. Acceptable proof of earnings includes copies of the most recently completed tax returns, quarterly estimated income tax payment records, or similar documents.
by Dave Williams | Dec 30, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Flags flew at half-staff across the nation Monday, a day after former President Jimmy Carter died at age 100 at his home in Plains.
Gov. Brian Kemp issued two executive orders following the passing of the longest living ex-president, one ordering all U.S. and Georgia flags to fly at half-staff at all state buildings and grounds for 30 days and the other declaring a state of emergency in Carter’s home county of Sumter through Jan. 12 to bring all state resources to bear for the influx of visitors expected to attend funeral services.
President Joe Biden ordered an official state funeral for fellow Democrat Carter to be held at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 9, a national day of mourning, while Congress extended an invitation to the Carter family to have the former president lie in state inside the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.
“Over six decades, we had the honor of calling Jimmy Carter a dear friend,” Biden and First Lady Jill Biden said in a statement late Sunday. “But what’s extraordinary about Jimmy Carter, though, is that millions of people throughout America and the world who never met him thought of him as a dear friend as well.
“With his compassion and moral clarity, he worked to eradicate disease, forge peace, advance civil rights and human rights, promote free and fair elections, house the homeless, and always advocate for the least among us. He saved, lifted, and changed the lives of people all across the globe.”
Carter was born in Plains in 1924 to James and Bessie Carter, owners of a local peanut farm and warehouse. He attended the U.S. Naval Academy in Maryland and went on to serve seven years as a naval officer, rising to the rank of lieutenant.
After his father’s death, Carter resigned from the Navy and came home to manage the family business. From there, he ran for the state Senate, serving two terms before being elected Georgia’s 76th governor in 1970.
He won the presidency in 1976, running as a Washington outsider in a post-Watergate era that found voters tired of the scandal and corruption that had led to the resignation of then-President Richard Nixon in 1974.
After a single term marked by inflation at home and the Iranian hostage crisis overseas, voters turned to Ronald Reagan in 1980, sending Carter back to Georgia.
But the nation’s only president from the Peach State thus far was nowhere near done with his career. He founded the nonprofit Carter Center in Atlanta in 1982, which continues to promote international human rights and global health initiatives.
Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his efforts as a humanitarian and philanthropist.
Carter entered home-hospice care last February, several months after traveling to Atlanta to attend former First Lady Rosalynn Carter’s funeral.
Georgia Republicans and Democrats alike praised Carter Sunday for his contributions to the nation both during and after his presidency.
“President Carter was an exemplary statesman who was respected by many and served our nation with skill and experience,” GOP Lt. Gov. Burt Jones said. “President Carter’s legacy will live on in the numerous nonprofits, charities, and organizations Rosalynn, his family and he started.”
U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., called Carter one of his heroes.
“His leadership was driven by love, his life’s project grounded in compassion and a commitment to human dignity,” Warnock said. “For those of us who have the privilege of representing our communities in elected office, Jimmy Carter is a shining example of what it means to make your faith come alive through the noble work of public service.”
U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Atlanta, who also chairs the Georgia Democratic Party, named her son, Carter, after the former president.
“Throughout his extraordinary life, President Jimmy Carter was a force for peace, human rights, and a voice for marginalized communities,” Williams said. “The once peanut farmer from Plains, Ga., became a Nobel Peace Prize winner, reminding us that everyday people have the power to change the world.”
by Dave Williams | Dec 29, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, died Sunday afternoon at the age of 100 at his home in Plains.
Carter, a Democrat and the only Georgian to serve as the nation’s chief executive, served a single term in the White House from 1977 until 1981, losing to Republican Ronald Reagan in 1980 after a presidency marred by high inflation, an oil crisis, and the kidnapping of 53 U.S. diplomats and other American citizens held hostage by Iranian militants for 444 days.
“He showed the world the impact our state and its people have on the country,” Gov. Brian Kemp said Sunday. “And as a son of Plains, he always valued Georgians and the virtues of our state, choosing to return to his rural home after his time in public office.”
Carter, the only former U.S. president to live to 100, made important contributions for decades after leaving the White House. The Carter Center in Atlanta continues to address global health issues, while Carter worked to support various charities including Habitat for Humanity.
“President Carter’s lifetime of work and dedication to public service changed the lives of many across our state, our country, and around the world,” said U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga. “Among his lifetime of service and countless accomplishments, President Carter will be remembered for his commitment to democracy and human rights, his enduring faith, his philanthropic leadership, and his deep love of family.”
Carter’s most significant accomplishment as president was bringing together the leaders of Israel and Egypt in 1978 to hammer out the Camp David Accords, a pair of peace agreements between the two countries that have held up for nearly half a century.
Before running for president, Carter served as a state senator and as Georgia’s 76th governor.
Carter entered home hospice care in February 2023. His wife of 77 years, Rosalynn Carter, died in November of last year at the age of 96.
Carter is survived by sons Jack, Chip, and Jeff, as well as daughter Amy. Grandson Jason Carter ran for governor in 2014.
by Dave Williams | Dec 27, 2024 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – A judge has ruled that the state Senate can subpoena Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in its investigation of her role in the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump, the Associated Press reported Friday.
Fulton Superior Court Judge Shukura Ingram filed the order on Monday, giving Willis until Jan. 13 to submit arguments over whether subpoenas issued by a Senate special committee to investigate allegations of misconduct against Willis are overly broad. Willis’ office has indicated she will ask the Georgia Supreme Court to review the ruling.
Ingram heard arguments in the case early this month, when former Gov. Roy Barnes appearing as her lawyer argued Senate Republicans were conducting a vendetta to punish Willis for prosecuting the Republican former president. A Fulton grand jury indicted Trump in August of last year on charges of participating in a conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia that saw Democrat Joe Biden capture Georgia’s 16 electoral votes.
Last week, the state Court of Appeals disqualified Willis from the case, ruling that her sexual relationship with Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor she hired to lead the prosecution, constituted an appearance of impropriety.
However, state Sen. Greg Dolezal, R-Cumming, has announced he will introduce a resolution at the beginning of the 2025 General Assembly session next month to reestablish the Senate Special Committee on Investigations despite the decision removing Willis from the case.
“(The) ruling by the Georgia Court of Appeals … in removing Fani Willis from the election interference case only further validates our body’s justified concerns about the potential need to legislatively address such conduct and decision-making,” Dolezal said the day after the appellate court’s ruling. “These developments confirm the pressing need for continuing legislative action.”
The Senate committee sent subpoenas to Willis in August ordering her to testify at a September meeting and bring documents related to the case. She refused to comply, asserting the subpoenas were unlawful.
Barnes argued the committee lacked the authority to subpoena Willis, a power he said rests only with the full General Assembly. He also contended the subpoenas did not serve any legitimate legislative purpose but were simply to embarrass Willis and discover the details of her case against Trump.
But Josh Belinfante, a lawyer representing the committee, said investigating Willis’ handling of the election interference case might show existing state laws governing the hiring and compensation of district attorneys in Georgia to be inadequate for addressing “legal and fiscal issues” raised by her alleged misconduct.
