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National Right to Life PAC Announces Endorsement of Saxby Chambliss for Re-election to the U.S. Senate

The political-action arm of the nation's largest right-to-life organization today announced its strong endorsement of the re-election of Saxby Chambliss to the U.S. Senate.

In a letter to Chambliss, the National Right to Life PAC (NRL-PAC) commended Senator Chambliss for his "exemplary 100 percent pro-life voting record throughout your entire six-year term in the U.S. Senate."

NRL-PAC Political Director Karen Cross said, "Senator Chambliss has a perfect, 100 percent pro-life voting record for his entire six-year term, but Democrat Jim Martin favors continuation of the current policy of allowing abortion for any reason."

The entire text of the NRL-PAC letter to Chambliss appears below. For further information, contact National Right to Life PAC at 202-626-8825, or by e-mail to Legfederal@aol.com.

October 28, 2008

Senator Saxby Chambliss
Chambliss for Senate
Atlanta, Georgia 30355

Dear Senator Chambliss:

The National Right to Life Political Action Committee (NRL-PAC) is pleased to endorse you for re-election to the United States Senate.

NRL-PAC is the political arm of the nation’s major right-to-life organization, representing right-to-life affiliates throughout the nation.

We commend you for your exemplary 100 percent pro-life voting record throughout your entire six-year term in the U.S. Senate. This record includes support for the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act (enacted in 2003) and the Unborn Victims of Violence Act (enacted in 2004). It also includes your consistent votes against federal funding of abortion and of organizations that promote abortion.

We are also grateful for your cosponsorship of other important pro-life bills that have not yet been enacted, including parental notification legislation and a bill to ban the practice of human cloning.

In addition, we applaud your consistent support for the confirmation of federal judicial nominees who believe that the proper judicial role is to interpret and apply the written law, not to engage in legislating from the bench.

Your extraordinary pro-life record should earn you the support of every voter who is committed to preservation of the fundamental right to life and to the protection of the most vulnerable members of the human family.

Sincerely,

David N. O'Steen, Ph.D.
Executive Director

Karen Cross
Political Director

Douglas Johnson
Legislative Director

The National Right to Life Committee is the nation's largest pro-life group with affiliates in all 50 states and over 3,000 local chapters nationwide.
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Isakson, Chambliss Urge Treasury to Address Needs of Community Banks

U.S. Senators Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., today sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson urging him to give community banks access to the Troubled Asset Relief Program authorized by the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act... Click to read:
Isakson, Chambliss Urge Treasury to Address Needs of Community Banks

Senate Discusses Budgets and Programs of Criminal Justice

The joint Senate Appropriations subcommittee continued its meeting series today with the Criminal Justice subcommittee and the Best Value in Government Task Force joint workshop at the Capitol. The subcommittee discussed agency reports, efficiencies, and cost savings for the Department of Pardons and Paroles and the Department of Corrections (DOC). Senators Johnny Grant (R- Milledgeville) and Mitch Seabaugh (R-Sharpsburg) co-chaired the meeting.

“As we go through these budgets to eliminate non-essential spending, we must keep in mind the well-being of our state,” said Seabaugh. “We cannot cut budgets at the risk of citizen protection from violent offenders.”

Each agency presented an overview of programs, efficiencies, and cost savings that have been implemented. The current budgets were submitted and several agencies were asked to provide further detailed information on particular programs or services. Members of the committee focused on uncovering duplicated services and redundancies between agencies.

Several issues discussed today were the DOC’s ongoing facility upgrades intended to reduce their operating budget and the Department of Pardons and Paroles converting to an electronic filing system to manage their caseload more efficiently. During the meeting, the committee encouraged agencies to consider the cost benefit of outsourcing several of their essential functions, prisons becoming more self-sufficient through inmate labor, and combining resources with other state agencies to streamline expenditures.

Additional joint workshops are scheduled through mid-December. Topics for those meetings include natural resources and agriculture, health, education and fiscal management. The workshops are being held at the request of Lt. Governor Casey Cagle, who has charged the Senate to proactively identify non-essential government services and maximize efficiency and value in our state government.
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President Bush on Economy, Oct. 10th

Rose Garden

10:25 A.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Over the past few days, we have witnessed a startling drop in the stock market -- much of it driven by uncertainty and fear. This has been a deeply unsettling period for the American people. Many of our citizens have serious concerns about their retirement accounts, their investments, and their economic well-being.

Here's what the American people need to know: that the United States government is acting; we will continue to act to resolve this crisis and restore stability to our markets. We are a prosperous nation with immense resources and a wide range of tools at our disposal. We're using these tools aggressively.

The fundamental problem is this: As the housing market has declined, banks holding assets related to home mortgages have suffered serious losses. As a result of these losses, many banks lack the capital or the confidence in each other to make new loans. In turn, our system of credit has frozen, which is keeping American businesses from financing their daily transactions -- and creating uncertainty throughout our economy.

This uncertainty has led to anxiety among our people. And that is understandable -- that anxiety can feed anxiety, and that can make it hard to see all that is being done to solve the problem. The federal government has a comprehensive strategy and the tools necessary to address the challenges in our economy. Fellow citizens: We can solve this crisis -- and we will.

Here are the problems we face and the steps we are taking:

First, key markets are not functioning because there's a lack of liquidity -- the grease necessary to keep the gears of our financial system turning. So the Federal Reserve has injected hundreds of billions of dollars into the system. The Fed has joined with central banks around the world to coordinate a cut in interest rates. This rate cut will allow banks to borrow money more affordably -- and it should help free up additional credit necessary to create jobs, and finance college educations, and help American families meet their daily needs. The Fed has also announced a new program to provide support for the commercial paper market, which is freezing up. As the new program kicks in over the next week or so, it will help revive a key source of short-term financing for American businesses and financial institutions.

Second, some Americans are concerned about whether their money is safe. So the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the National Credit Union Administration have significantly expanded the amount of money insured in savings accounts, and checking accounts, and certificates of deposit. That means that if you have up to $250,000 in one of these insured accounts, every penny of that money is safe. The Treasury Department has also acted to restore confidence in a key element of America's financial system by offering government insurance for money market mutual funds.

Thirdly, we are concerned that some investors could take advantage of the crisis to illegally manipulate the stock market. So the Securities and Exchange Commission has launched rigorous enforcement actions to detect fraud and manipulation in the market. The SEC is focused on preventing abusive practices, such as putting out false information to drive down particular stocks for personal gain. Anyone caught engaging in illegal financial activities will be prosecuted.

Fourth, the decline in the housing market has left many Americans struggling to meet their mortgages and are concerned about losing their homes. My administration has launched two initiatives to help responsible borrowers keep their homes. One is called HOPE NOW, and it brings together homeowners and lenders and mortgage servicers, and others to find ways to prevent foreclosure. The other initiative is aimed at making it easier for responsible homeowners to refinance into affordable mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration. So far, these programs have helped more than 2 million Americans stay in their home. And the point is this: If you are struggling to meet your mortgage, there are ways that you can get help.

With these actions to help to prevent foreclosures, we're addressing a key problem in the housing market: The supply of homes now exceeds demand. And as a result, home values have declined. Once supply and demand balance out, our housing market will be able to recover -- and that will help our broader economy begin to grow.

Fifth, we've seen that problems in the financial system are not isolated to the United States. They're also affecting other nations around the globe. So we're working closely with partners around the world to ensure that our actions are coordinated and effective. Tomorrow, I'll meet with the finance ministers from our partners in the G7 and the heads of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. Secretary Paulson will also meet with finance ministers from the world's 20 leading economies. Through these efforts, the world is sending an unmistakable signal: We're in this together, and we'll come through this together.

And finally, American businesses and consumers are struggling to obtain credit, because banks do not have sufficient capital to make loans. So my administration worked with Congress to quickly pass a $700 billion financial rescue package. This new law authorizes the Treasury Department to use a variety of measures to help bank [sic] rebuild capital -- including buying or insuring troubled assets and purchasing equity of financial institutions. The Department will implement measures that have maximum impact as quickly as possible. Seven hundred billion dollars is a significant amount of money. And as we act, we will do it in a way that is effective.

The plan we are executing is aggressive. It is the right plan. It will take time to have its full impact. It is flexible enough to adapt as the situation changes. And it is big enough to work.

The federal government will continue to take the actions necessary to restore stability to our financial markets and growth to our economy. We have an outstanding economic team carrying out this effort, led by Secretary of the Treasury Hank Paulson, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, SEC Chairman Chris Cox, and FDIC Chair Sheila Bair. I thank them and their dedicated teams for their service during this important moment in our country's history.

This is an anxious time, but the American people can be confident in our economic future. We know what the problems are, we have the tools we need to fix them, and we're working swiftly to do so. Our economy is innovative, industrious and resilient because the American people who make up our economy are innovative, industrious and resilient. We all share a determination to solve this problem -- and that is exactly what we're going to do. May God bless you.

President's Radio Address

THE PRESIDENT:

Good morning. This week, Congress passed a bipartisan rescue package to address the instability in America's financial system. This was a difficult vote for many members of the House and Senate, but voting for it was the right choice for America's economy and for taxpayers like you. I appreciate their efforts to help stop the crisis in our financial markets from spreading to our entire economy. And I appreciate their willingness to work across party lines in the midst of an election season.

The legislation Congress passed provides the necessary tools to address the underlying problem in our financial system. The root of this problem is that, as assets that banks hold have lost value, their ability to provide credit has been restricted, making it more difficult for businesses and consumers to obtain affordable loans.

Without decisive action, this credit crunch threatens to harm our entire economy. With this legislation, the Federal government can help banks and other financial institutions resume lending. This will allow them to continue providing the capital that is essential to creating jobs, financing college educations, and helping American families meet their daily needs.

Though the $700 billion dedicated to this plan is a large amount, the final cost to taxpayers will actually be much lower. Many of the assets that the government will be purchasing still have significant underlying value. As time passes, they will likely go up in price. And this means that the government should eventually be able to recoup much, if not all, of the original expenditure.
This package will also increase the safety of Americans' personal finances. For 75 years, the FDIC has provided insurance for savings accounts, checking accounts, and certificates of deposit. A similar insurance program is in effect for deposits in credit unions. And since these programs were instituted, no one has ever lost a penny on an insured deposit. The rescue package expands this protection by temporarily increasing the amount insured by the Federal government in banks and credit unions from $100,000 to $250,000. These steps should reassure Americans, especially small business owners, that their money is safe -- and it should restore confidence in the health of our banking system.

In addition to addressing the immediate needs of our financial system, this package will also help to spur America's long-term economic growth. This week, we learned that our Nation lost more jobs in September. Under these circumstances, it is essential for the government to reduce the burdens on workers and business owners. And that is why the rescue package includes relief from the Alternative Minimum Tax, which would otherwise increase taxes for 26 million taxpayers by an average of $2,200. And that is why it includes tax relief for businesses, which can use these savings to hire new employees and finance new investment.

By taking all these steps, we can begin to put our economy on the road to recovery. While these efforts will be effective, they will also take time to implement. My Administration will move as quickly as possible, but the benefits of this package will not all be felt immediately. The Federal government will undertake this rescue plan at a careful and deliberate pace to ensure that your tax dollars are spent wisely.

I know many of you listening this morning are anxious about the state of our economy and what it means for your personal finances. I am confident that the implementation of this relief package can begin to address those concerns. I'm confident by getting our markets moving, we will help unleash the key to our continued economic success: the entrepreneurial spirit of the American people.

Thank you for listening.