FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, December 15, 2016
Contact: Amanda Maddox, 202-224-7777
Marie Gordon, 770-661-0999
Isakson Touts Accomplishments on Behalf of Georgians, Veterans
Lauds passage of veterans’ reform legislation as ‘down payment;’ pledges more positive work for veterans in 115th Congress
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., today
lauded the passage of legislation
beneficial to Georgia, including priorities Isakson has championed for
the economy, health care, national security, and veterans in 2016.
“I am extremely gratified by what the Republican-led Congress was able to achieve this year,”
said Isakson. “While I
look forward with eagerness to what the next Congress starting in
January will accomplish for Americans, I applaud the long-term focus
that Congress adopted this
year in enacting legislation. Congress has provided additional
resources for Georgia’s ports and our nation’s infrastructure and
commerce. It has adopted policies that improve our national security
position and incentivize medical research that will benefit
all Americans.”
“As chairman of the Senate Committee
on Veterans’ Affairs, I am particularly pleased that Congress also took
additional steps on behalf of our veterans to improve their access to
health care and
benefits that serve as a down payment on our promise to them,” Isakson continued.
“While we passed some of the reforms included in my Veterans First Act
legislation, I look forward to
continuing this work in the next Congress to strengthen the Veterans’
Choice program, reform the onerous appeals process for benefit claims,
and bring real accountability to the VA.”
Among the final items that passed the 114th Congress was the
Jeff Miller and Richard Blumenthal
Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2016, H.R.6416,
which is a bipartisan, comprehensive package led by Isakson, along
with Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and U.S. Reps. Jeff Miller,
R-Fla.-1, and Mark Takano, D-Calif.-41. The legislation includes
provisions to improve veterans’ access to health care,
education, disability claims, homelessness aid and other benefits. A
section-by-section summary of the H.R.6416 is available here.
Also this year,
Michael J. Missal was confirmed by the Senate as Inspector
General of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Isakson
is working with Missal to root out problems and hold bad actors at the
VA accountable. With veterans still waiting too long
to receive their care and benefits, Isakson has worked for force
stronger oversight and a cultural change at the VA.
In November 2016, the Senate passed the No Veterans Crisis Line Call Should Go Unanswered Act,
H.R. 5392, which requires leadership at the VA to provide more
information to Congress on its efforts
to address the crisis of veteran suicide, including a plan to ensure
that all calls, texts and emails from veterans in need are answered.
This bill became law on Nov. 28, 2016.
The U.S. Senate and the U.S. House also passed the Veterans Mobility Safety Act of 2016, H.R. 3470, to create standards to ensure the quality and safety of automobiles for disabled veterans. This
legislation awaits the president’s signature.
In addition to his work on the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Isakson provided of oversight of the implementation of the
Every Student Succeeds Act,
S.1177, which passed late in 2015 and was signed into law on Dec. 10,
2015. Isakson wrote instrumental language in the education measure,
which updated the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act to restore more control to parents and local school boards.
Isakson included Georgia priorities in three major pieces of legislation passed by Congress this year.
First, the 21st
Century Cures Act,
H.R.34, is a comprehensive medical research and innovation bill
that includes a number of healthcare priorities that Isakson has
championed for Georgia. In addition to investing in medical research
priorities such as the “cancer moonshot,” streamlining
the FDA approval process for new therapies and improving our country’s
mental health system, the
Cures Act incorporated several provisions sponsored by Isakson, including:
·
Extending a program to continue to spur investment in the development of treatments for rare pediatric diseases;
·
Creating a registry at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta to help
advance research on neurological
diseases;
·
Fixing
a Medicare provision that will allow the Shepherd Center in Atlanta to
continue to provide world class care for patients suffering from spinal
cord and traumatic brain injuries.
·
Protecting physicians practicing in ambulatory surgical centers from unfair regulatory penalties;
·
Allowing
patients suffering from End Stage Renal Disease the choice to enroll in
a Medicare Advantage plan if they choose; a provision that Isakson had
previously included in
his chronic care legislation; and
·
Streamlining the FDA’s approval process for so-called
combination products that
combine medical devices with drugs or biologics, which will eliminate
the high level of uncertainty in approval standards that currently
exists for innovative companies, both small and large,
when deciding to invest in a new product.
The National
Defense Authorization Act, S.2943, authorizes
necessary funding for service men
and women, as well as providing for facilities and weapons in support
of our national defense, including several critical priorities for
Georgia to:
·
Prohibit additional rounds of a 2017 Base Realignment and Closure Commission in 2017;
·
Authorize
a recapitalization of the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System
(JSTARS) program, which is based at Robins Air Force Base in Warner
Robins, Ga., and ensure proper funding for the current fleet until its
replacement is fully operational;
·
Prevent
the retirement of the A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft and preserve its
important mission at Moody Air Force Base in Valdosta, Ga., and Robins
Air
Force Base; and
·
Authorize the
End
Modern Slavery Initiative,
which Isakson co-sponsored, at $37.5 million annually through fiscal
year 2020 for the U.S. Department of State to support global efforts to
combat the $150 billion a year criminal industry of human trafficking.
·
The
Water Infrastructure Improvements
for the Nation Act, S.612, which includes the
Water Resources Development Act of 2016. The legislation:
·
Provides additional resources for Georgia’s ports
and our nation’s infrastructure and commerce;
·
Invests in the safety and reliability of our drinking water; and
·
Returns
the water project authorizing process to a two-year cycle, which will
allow for better, more productive long-term planning.
Other important bills passed by the Senate and supported by Isakson in 2016 include the following:
·
The
North Korea Sanctions
and Policy Enhancement Act,
S.757, seeks to disarm North Korea through mandatory sanctions that
would deprive the regime of the means to build its nuclear and ballistic
missile programs, its malicious cyber activities and its egregious
human rights abuses against its people. The legislation was signed into
law on Feb. 18, 2016.
·
The
Justice Against
Sponsors of Terrorism Act,
S.2040, prohibits foreign states that supported
an act of international terrorism perpetrated in the United States from
claiming immunity in U.S. courts, and allows American victims,
particularly the families of those who died in the September 11, 2001,
attacks, to seek damages from these foreign states. The
legislation required an override of the president’s veto and became law
on Sept. 28, 2016.
·
The
Iran Sanctions Extension Act,
H.R.6297, holds Iran accountable for its attempts to threaten the
United States and destabilize the Middle East by extending sanctions on
Tehran for 10 years, through Dec. 31, 2026.
·
The
Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act,
or CARA,
S.524, will
help
Americans combat the epidemic of heroin and prescription painkiller
abuse across the country. The legislation was signed into law on July
22, 2016.
·
Isakson
led a successful effort to add the Zika virus to a key Food and Drug
Administration program for neglected tropical diseases.
Isakson’s legislation, S.2512, was signed into law on April 19, 2016.
The Priority Review Voucher Program encourages the development of
vaccines and treatments for the disease.
·
The Senate also passed
legislation that included critical funding for
research and preventive measures
for the Zika virus. H.R.5325 was signed into law by the president on Sept. 29, 2016.
·
The
Global
Food Security Act, S.1252, which Isakson sponsored, aims to address global hunger and bolster U.S. national security.
The legislation coordinates
U.S. foreign assistance programs, including the Feed the Future
Initiative, so
that there is a comprehensive strategy for development programs that
use American agricultural expertise to more aggressively tackle chronic
hunger and malnutrition abroad. The bill was signed into law on July 20,
2016.
·
The
Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act, H.R.636, which supports U.S. jobs and innovation and puts passenger safety first. The legislation became law on July 15, 2016.
·
The
Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016, S.1890, to update intellectual
property laws and protect trade secrets with a uniform national standard
across all 50 states. Isakson co-sponsored this legislation, which
enables victims of intellectual property theft
to move quickly to federal court with certainty of the rules,
standards, and practices to stop trade secrets from being disseminated
and losing their value. By improving trade secret protection, this bill
will also encourage innovation -- a trademark of the
American economy. The legislation was signed into law on May 11, 2016.
·
The
Trade Facilitation and Enforcement Act, known as the “Customs
Bill,” which modernizes U.S. Customs and Border Protection, strengthens
trade enforcement and permanently bans state and local governments from
taxing Internet access. The president signed
the legislation into law on Feb. 24, 2016.
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AMANDA MADDOX
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Communications Director
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OFFICE OF UNITED STATES SENATOR JOHNNY ISAKSON
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131 Russell Senate Office Building | Washington, DC 20510
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phone: 202.224.3643
| fax: 202.228.0724
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veterans