Hold the rubber chicken – members of of Georgia’s Congressional Delegation gathered to speak Tuesday – virtually – at the Georgia Chamber’s 2020 Congressional Luncheon.
The state’s now-senior Sen. David Perdue was the first to join the livestream, sitting down with Chamber President Chris Clark and Chairman Peter Carter of Delta to discuss the economic ramifications of the coronavirus pandemic, and what the federal government is doing to help local businesses small and large.
Perdue said he was not optimistic that a comprehensive deal on relief was on the horizon – pointing to the still-wide gap between the White House and Democratic Congressional leaders. He also discussed the issues facing the school system as classes start up – preaching the importance of local control over the reopening process. His new proposed bill, which Perdue said he hopes will be part of the next relief package, would provide extra money for schools to give them more tools both prevent and respond to COVID-19 outbreaks.
Also on the docket for Perdue – the importance of Augusta’s Ft. Gordon, cybersecurity and the ongoing trade and information wars with China, as well as protecting the “sanctity and security” of the U.S. border along with “merit based immigration,” which he has pushed via a series of legislation.
The program next moved to a Q&A between Perdue and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, two legislative pals who have worked together since both went to Washington earlier this decade. Scott also has a Georgia tie – his mentor growing up was a Chick-fil-A operator who helped him go from a near-high school drop out to a U.S. Senator.
Scott shared his perspective, as a black man, on the racial divide that erupted this Summer into protests and riots around the country, including of course in Atlanta. His JUSTICE Act focuses on data collection and calls for examining what at-risk communities need most in an attempt at criminal justice reform that has been embraced by the White House, but opposed by Democrats who say it doesn’t go far enough.
Scott, the only black Republican senator, and the first black senator elected from a Southern state since 1881, has emerged as a political shooting star, spearheading the GOP’s approach to criminal justice reform and race relations, two places where the party is looking to make inroads. He also had some harsh words for “Presidential politics” getting in the way of his JUSTICE Act, preventing Democrats from coming to the table to work with him on the bill.
Congressmen Drew Ferguson and Sanford Bishop came on together to discuss economic recovery, and how their districts are holding up in the midst of the pandemic. Ferguson said the PPP has saved an estimated 1.5 million jobs in Georgia, as businesses have received more than $14 billion in loans which have been crucial in weathering the economic storm.
Bishop, who recently came under fire for allegations that he had spent thousands of dollars of campaign funds on personal expenses including lavish golf trips, stayed away from that topic but was happy to take shots at the Republican-controlled Senate for holding up the HEROES Act, the $3 trillion stimulus package that has stalled out in the upper house. “It’s going to get dramatically worse if Congress doesn’t do something to come together and help,” he lamented.
The pair, who represent largely rural portions of the state, also weighed in on some of the issues that have been exacerbated by the pandemic, from healthcare to rural broadband to access to jobs.
The event opened with both men sharing memories of the late John Lewis, the longtime congressman and Civil Rights icon who passed away in July. Bishop, who knew Lewis for more than 50 years, called him an American icon and called for his statue to be placed in the U.S. Capitol, a move that has been endorsed by legislators on both sides of the aisle.
