Georgia Senator David Perdue (R-GA) has spent the last few weeks connecting with local community leaders, small business owners, farmers, individuals and groups across the state that have been directly impacted by the COVID-19 crisis in an effort to provide direct feedback. As a member of President Trump’s Congressional Economic Task Force — which will provide direct counsel to the President on the reopening of America in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis — Sen. Perdue is also giving Georgians a voice.
“My top priority is helping all Georgians get through this crisis,” said Perdue. “Georgia has shown great leadership from crisis preparedness to overall response. My role has been to facilitate candid conversations between senior officials and Georgia leaders on a daily basis. We have been fortunate to receive constructive feedback, which is critical as we continue to improve our response efforts and prepare for the way forward.”
Perdue is hosting regular conference calls with hundreds of thousands of constituents across the state to answer questions, share staff contacts, and provide our resource guides to help people in need during this time. This month alone, the Senator has reached nearly half a million Georgians through constituent.
The discussions focus on a number of major issues impacting Georgians, including healthcare, agriculture and small business,
Recently, Perdue joined Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and President of Georgia Farm Bureau Gerald Long in speaking with hundreds of farmers about their labor needs and food supply challenges during the coronavirus. And Wednesday Perdue announced that the Administration has since announced that H-2A employers can rehire H-2A workers already in the U.S. who could not return home and H-2A workers can temporarily stay beyond the 3-year allowable period.
“I appreciate the relationship USDA has with our home folks in Georgia,” said Secretary Perdue. “We just announced our Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, which will provide $19 billion in assistance to our farmers. President Trump and our Administration stand behind our farmers and consumers during this time of national crisis. USDA is working hard to get relief dispersed quickly to all sectors of our agriculture community.”
“Georgia Farm Bureau appreciates the work that Senator David Perdue and Secretary Sonny Perdue are doing to assist our farmers during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Long. “As we navigate through these uncertain and unprecedented times, their leadership and steadfast support of Georgia agriculture is invaluable. I’d like to thank them for taking the time to update us on the work they are doing to assist farmers in these difficult times.”
In the area of business, Perdue joined with National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow and Georgia Director for National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Nathan Humphrey to answer questions from thousands of small business owners across Georgia.
“To all the people in Georgia, keep your head up and we’ll get through this,” said Director Kudlow. “We had a powerful economic growth spurt for three years before this virus. If we can help individuals, families, and businesses with cash and liquidity to get through the next couple of months, then when the virus flattens out and starts to go down, we can get America back to work.”
Humphrey added: “We were happy to have Senator Perdue speak with us and answer our members’ questions. Due to the coronavirus public health emergency, NFIB is taking all the steps that we can to provide businesses with the most up-to-date information.”
Perdue has a call planned with the Georgia Hospital Association and Dr. Tammy Beckham, Director of Infectious Disease at HHS, to discuss challenges hospitals are currently facing and what is being done to support health care providers and workers.
In the past few weeks, Perdue has joined dozens of other calls with groups and associations across the state, including:
○ GA Chamber with President Chris Clarke and SBA Ashley Bell
○ GA Hispanic Chamber
○ GA Greater Black Chamber
○ Savannah Chamber / Metro Atlanta Chamber / Macon Chamber / Other local chambers
○ GA Bankers Association with President Joe Brennan
○ Georgia Broadcasters Association
