Campaign to Counter Statements of Jeremiah Wright

Prominent Black Minister Launches Campaign to Counter the Statements of Jeremiah Wright and Express Concern that Media are Smearing Black Preachers and Churches with the Implication that Wright's Distorted Views Represent Black Christianity

CHESAPEAKE, Virg., March 20 /Standard Newswire/ -- Black minister and graduate of Harvard Law School, Bishop E.W. Jackson Sr., has begun a campaign to make clear that Jeremiah Wright does not represent black preachers or what is being taught in black churches across America.

Says Bishop Jackson, "This kind of virulent Anti-American bigotry is anathema to the black church experience where we focus on love, forgiveness, personal responsibility and a healthy dose of patriotism and prayer for our country."

Bishop Jackson also objects to the Anti-Israel bias which Jeremiah Wright expresses. "We include prayer and support for the nation of Israel in our mission statement," says Bishop Jackson. "It is a Biblical mandate for any Bible believing Christian."

Jackson spoke to his congregation and indicated that Obama cannot credibly claim that he did not know or agree with Wright's remarks or separate himself from a mentor or spiritual guide who admires and honors Louis Farrakhan. "I believe we are finally learning about the real Barak Obama, and it is sad. We cannot help but wonder if this is the influence which caused Obama to decline to wear the American flag on his lapel," said the Bishop.

According to Bishop Jackson, a pastor and spiritual leader of several congregations for the last 25 years who also studied at Harvard Divinity School, Rev. Wright represents a radical liberation theology which in many ways is heretical.

"That is not classic, Biblical Christianity", says Bishop Jackson. "It is quite something else, and easier to understand when seen as an aberration from Christian teaching. I am speaking everywhere I can to get that message out."

Bishop Jackson was formerly a high level official in the Christian Coalition and was instrumental in raising funds for churches victimized by arson in the late 1990's. He left the Coalition to start a church in Chesapeake, Virginia and continue his work independently. His Church does not endorse candidates or parties.

"My job", says Bishop Jackson, "is to help Christians view life - which includes politics and public policy - from a Biblical worldview and to discern the truth. They can draw their own conclusions about how to vote."

Where Does the Money Go?

RNS Note: Haven't read this, but did pop over to the website and look at the Publican Agenda info. Looks interesting, we thought you might want to take a look. The following is a release regarding a book by the editors of the site:

The New York Times:
“If you are going to buy just one book in this presidential election year, you might want to consider “WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO?”

The new book from PublicAgenda.org editors Jean Johnson and Scott Bittle has been on the top of the Amazon.com public policy book lists, and is already on its fourth printing in less than a month since its release. Here’s why reviewers are saying this book is so important:

The New York Times
A Proposed Diet for the U.S. Budget
By Harry Hurt III

If you are going to buy just one book in this presidential election year, you might want to consider “Where Does the Money Go? Your Guided Tour to the Federal Budget Crisis” by Scott Bittle and Jean Johnson (Collins, $16.95 in paperback). This is a book that manages to be entertaining and irreverent while serving as an informative primer on a subject that is crucial to the future of all Americans.

Here is the very pressing issue the book addresses: “The United States is seemingly addicted to spending more than it takes in,” the authors assert. With a staggering national debt, and expenses that will only grow as more baby boomers retire, they warn, “today’s problems will seem like a fender bender compared to the economic train wreck the country will face if we don’t get the nation’s finances under control.”

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THESE WORDS ARE NEITHER POLITICALLY PARTISAN NOR ALARMIST. BITTLE AND JOHNSON FAULT BOTH DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS.

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These words are neither politically partisan nor alarmist. Mr. Bittle, the executive editor of the Web site Public Agenda Online, and Ms. Johnson, executive vice president and a founder of the site, fault both Democrats and Republicans as racking up huge annual deficits and even more substantial long-term national debt. They provide easily understandable charts and statistics to support their overall case.

And they enliven their narrative with references to the Rolling Stones, the Barenaked Ladies, “Seinfeld” and “It’s a Wonderful Life,” placing them alongside more expected quotations from the likes of Ben S. Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, and Robert E. Rubin, the former Treasury secretary.

Here are some of the most pertinent facts, as set out by Mr. Bittle and Ms. Johnson: In 31 of the last 35 years, the federal government has spent more money than it has taken in. (The exceptions were the budget surplus years 1998 to 2001.) Along the way, the government has amassed a debt that now exceeds $9 trillion. Over $2 trillion of that is owed to foreign banks and other international investors, with China holding $420 billion and the oil-exporting countries $113 billion, using figures from the 2006 budget.

“Right now, these foreign investors consider U.S. government bonds one of the safest places in the world to put their money, but they could decide at some point that Europe or China or some other place is a better bet,” the authors observe. “This would be the global equivalent of a store clerk seizing your credit card and cutting it up.”

Alas, the asset side of the federal balance sheet is rather paltry, compared with the liability side. On paper, the government’s total assets, including facilities and inventory, are valued by the authors at about $1.4 trillion. If the government had to submit a standard financial statement of the type required of the average home buyer, it would show a negative net worth of $7.6 trillion.

Mr. Bittle and Ms. Johnson predict that even with continued foreign investment and financial forbearance, the nation may soon find it impossible to fulfill its existing and future commitments to its own citizens in the form of Social Security and Medicare payments. In 2006, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid consumed 39.7 percent of the federal budget of $2.6 trillion, compared with 19.7 percent for defense.

In the future, the cost of entitlement programs will balloon as 78 million baby boomers age. In 2006, there were fewer than 50 million Social Security recipients; 12 years from now, there will be nearly 70 million. With health care costs rising faster than inflation, the part of Medicare that covers hospital costs for the elderly is already paying out more than it takes in from payroll taxes.

“Unless something changes, we could see a time (around 2040, if nothing is done) when nearly every tax dollar collected will be needed to pay for retirement and health care for the elderly and interest on the debt,” the authors warn. “There will be almost no money for anything else, except maybe a basic national defense.”

Mr. Bittle and Ms. Johnson give the lie to notions that the budget can be balanced merely by cutting out “pork barrel” spending and scientific, cultural and social extravagances. In 2006, projects that Congressional watchdogs broadly define as “pork” accounted for only $29 billion out of a total deficit of $248 billion. Expenditures on science, space and technology; arts and the humanities; foreign aid and international relations; and the programs formerly known as welfare — all favorite targets of so-called budget hawks — accounted for only about 4 percent of total government expenditures.

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THIS IS A BOOK THAT MANAGES TO BE ENTERTAINING AND IRREVERENT WHILE SERVING AS AN INFORMATIVE PRIMER ON A SUBJECT THAT IS CRUCIAL TO THE FUTURE OF ALL AMERICANS.

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The leading presidential contenders take traditional Republican and Democratic positions on important budget issues. Senator John McCain opposes universal health care and supports partial privatization of Social Security. Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama support universal health care and oppose the privatization of Social Security. But none of the candidates have offered a detailed plan for balancing the budget or reducing the debt.

Mr. Bittle and Ms. Johnson do not offer a coherent plan for resolving the fiscal problems of the United States, but they propose several initiatives that they say would steer us in the right direction. These include raising to 70 the age at which people receive retirement benefits; making people pay more in Social Security taxes, as well as privatizing Social Security (“but very slowly”); rethinking the prescription drug program, is expected to add $518 billion in costs by 2013; redesigning Medicare so that people can shop around for the most effective coverage; and passing a national value-added tax to help pay for Social Security and Medicare.

For the time being, the globally respected “faith and credit” of our federal government are keeping the United States afloat financially. But if we are unwilling to swallow the kind of bitter medicine that Mr. Bittle and Ms. Johnson prescribe, our country may one day be unable to make even the interest payments on our $9 trillion debt, payments that are now $226.6 billion a year — and we would be forced to declare ourselves a bankrupt nation.

To find out more about the book, including where to purchase it, please visit: http://www.publicagenda.org/wheredoesthemoneygo/
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CONNECTED to Public Policy

Note: The following is from CONNECTED to Public Policy. They send a regular update that we thought you might be interested in. We've included links at the end of the update.

Legislators have completed 31 of 40 legislative days. Last Tuesday was Crossover day, the 30th and last day to pass legislation in the originating chamber. Bills that did not pass their originating chamber are dead unless they find new life by being attached to bills that were passed.

The most notable event of Crossover day was the passage of a revised version of Speaker Glenn Richardson’s tax plan. The House overwhelming voted to pass HR 1246 and HB 1158 that will allow Georgians to vote on a plan to eliminate car tag taxes and freeze property tax assessments. Gov. Sonny Perdue had just announced that revenue estimates for FY08 will be reduced by $65 million and by $245 million for FY09. If passed by the Senate and agreed to by Georgia voters, the tax cuts in HR 1246 will remove $423.7 million from the FY09 budget and $772.8 million when fully implemented in FY10.

The amended FY08 budget remains in conference committee but negotiations began again after Perdue announced the reduced revenue estimate. The major source of debate between the House and Senate negotiators had been education funding, and it now appears that there will no money for technology upgrades or new school buses, so the point is moot. As for the FY09 budget, House and Senate budget writers have had to begin again with new numbers. Perdue recommended cuts to his original budget for FY09, but House leaders quickly disagreed with some of these proposed cuts:

Department of Education
§ Reduce funding recommended for three new Performance Learning Centers for Communities in Schools ($750,000)
§ Reduce funding recommended for training and experience for graduation coaches ($4.2 million)
§ Reduce funding recommended for Very Important Parent Recruiter for at-risk schools ($5.5 million)
Department of Human Resources
§ Reduce additional funding recommended for general Grant-In-Aid in Public Health ($7.16 million)
Department of Juvenile Justice
§ Reduce funding recommended for System of Care pilot to coordinate delivery of community-based services for children with severe emotional disorders ($2 million)
Note: All these cuts are to funding for new or expanded services recommended for FY09.

LEGISLATION
Healthy Children
HB 279 (Rep. Doug Collins, 27th) would define medically necessary services under Medicaid’s Early Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment Program (EPSDT) to mean services that are deemed necessary by a physician or other health-care provider, whether or not such services are covered under the state plan. This definition tracks the federal definition and also would require the Department of Community Health (DCH) to provide notice to Medicaid recipients when services are denied. Status: Passed the House in 2007 and was passed by the Senate Appropriations Committee, but did not reach the Senate floor for a vote. Reassigned to and passed Senate Health & Human Services on March 5, 2008 and is in Senate Rules.

HB 924 (Rep. Melvin Everson, 106th), the Billy Foulke Teenage Seatbelt Safety Act, passed House Judiciary Non-Civil, however, it did not pass the House on Crossover day.

SB 507 (Sen. Dan Moody, 56th) requires DCH and Managed Care Organizations (CMOs) to simplify procedures for prior approvals of children’s therapy services. This is a revised version of legislation passed in 2007 that by Perdue vetoed. Status: Passed the Senate and assigned to House Health and Human Services.

HB 1234 (Rep. Mickey Channell, 116th), the Medicaid Care Management Organizations Act, places new requirements on CMOs. Status: Passed the House and assigned to Senate Committee on Government Oversight.

In the past weeks we have kept you updated on a number of bills that were introduced that would have an impact on health insurance coverage for individuals and families. Attempts by advocates to work with bill sponsors to include language that protects health-care services such as mammograms, pap smears, after-childbirth hospital stays, newborn coverage, immunizations, and other preventive health care have been short-circuited by House and Senate leaders.

HB 1087 (Rep. Mickey Channell, 116th), dealing with high deductible health plans, was added to HB 977 (Rep. Tom Knox, 24th), another bill giving tax preferences to such health insurance policies. Status: Passed the House and assigned to Senate Finance Committee.

SB 404 (Sen. Tommie Williams, 19th) permits the sale of high-deductible health plans that do not cover a 48-hour hospitalization after newborn delivery, well- child visits, or contraceptives (among other things). It authorizes taxpayer money to promote such plans alongside more comprehensive, high-value traditional coverage and PeachCare for Kids on a state-run Web site. Status: Passed the Senate and assigned to House Insurance.

School Success
SB 461 (Sen. Chip Rogers, 21st) requires local boards of education to adopt a bullying policy that defines age appropriate consequences. Status: Passed Senate and assigned to House Education.

HB 905 (Rep. Fran Millar, 79th), the BRIDGE (Building Resourceful Individuals to Develop Georgia’s Economy) Act, was passed by House and is assigned to Senate Education & Youth.

Stable, Self-Sufficient Families
SR 1020 (Sen. Renee Unterman, 45th) to create a Senate Study Committee on the Sexual Exploitation of Minors was passed by Senate Health and Human Services and assigned to Senate Rules. SR 445 (also by Unterman) to create a Joint House-Senate Study Committee on the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Minors was introduced and passed the Senate in 2007. SR 445 will be heard in House Judiciary Non-Civil on March 19, 2008.

SB 54 (Sen. Preston Smith, 52nd) would modify the incest statute to make it gender neutral and to include sodomy in the definition of incest. This bill was introduced and passed the Senate in 2007 and is scheduled to be heard in House Judiciary Non-Civil on March 19.

Strong Communities
HB 901 (Rep. Roger Bruce, 64th), the Parent Protection Act, was discussed in Subcommittee but no vote was ever taken. The bill is dead.

HR 413 (Rep. Tim Bearden, 68th), the proposed “English only” constitutional amendment that passed the House, failed to pass the Senate on Crossover Day. It was on the calendar but the Senate adjourned without discussing or voting on the legislation.

Advocates had been concerned about the impact of the bill, which sought to prohibit forms, notices, or tests such as the Georgia driver’s license exam from being offered in any language other than English. Georgia law already states that English is the official language of Georgia’s government.

Connected toPublic Policy Hot Line
Georgia Family Connection Partnership invites you to join its weekly conference call Tuesdays, 11-11:30 a.m., to discuss key policy and legislative issues with Mary Frances Williams, legislative and policy consultant.
To join the discussion on ReadyTalk, call 866-740-1260.
Access code: 4207411#

Highlights:
· Legislators are off today, but return tomorrow for Day 32 and will be in session Wednesday and Thursday of this week.

· Last week Gov. Sonny Perdue announced that state revenues for February were less than anticipated. As a result, the amounts to be spent in the amended FY08 and FY09 budgets have been reduced and cuts have been recommended.

· Legislators have revised their calendar and now expect to be in session at least through the first week of April. The new calendar has not been set beyond Thursday, March 27.

Legislative Policy Resources

To tune in to live broadcasts or watch highlights of the legislative session, or for research on bills, visit:
Georgia General Assembly
Georgia Public Broadcasting Lawmakers
Georgia Public Broadcasting Blogspot

For an in-depth analysis of HR 1246 and HB 1158 visit: Georgia Budget and Policy Institute

For more information on legislative priorities from our partner organizations, visit:
Association of County Commissioners
Barton Law Clinic
Georgia Parent Teacher Association

Voices for Georgia’s Children:
Children’s Policy Watch

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News Roundup

Rolling Stone Changes Headline From Obama's 'Radical Roots' to 'Destiny's Child'
Back on Feb. 22nd, Rolling Stone published their in depth story (6-pages on the net) about Barack Obama's "charisma" under the title, "The Radical Roots of Barack Obama." However, the story has lately been retitled "Destiny's Child." One might wonder why Rolling Stone made the sudden change avoiding the word "radical"... unless, that is, one were living under a rock and isn't aware of the trouble Barack is lately having with the anti-American and racist ranting of his "spiritual mentor," the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Jr. Many hard questions arise over Rolling Stone's self-censorship
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/warner-todd-huston/2008/03/15/rolling-stone-changes-headline-obamas-radical-roots-destinys-chi

N.Y. gov's journey toward resignation
NEW YORK - Eliot Spitzer finally had to tell someone his secret. It was last Sunday morning, and he had just spent five hours driving through a fierce storm to his family and his Fifth Avenue apartment. Until then, the law-and-order New York governor had not dropped a hint of the bombshell that was about to force him from office, not a strained word during public appearances Friday in Manhattan or glad-handing the media at a Saturday dinner in Washington.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080315/ap_on_re_us/spitzer_s_demise

Polarities persist in Democratic race
WASHINGTON - Something happened to the feel-good, way-cool Democratic presidential contest in the months since a woman and a black man began their path-breaking race for the White House. By the millions, black voters voted for the black candidate and women voted for the woman. White men seemed torn, by the millions.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080315/ap_on_el_pr/polarized_politics

Deconstructing Obama's lawyerly evasions on Wright
Barack Obama desperately needs to distance himself from his spiritual mentor and pastor of two decades, Jeremiah Wright, Jr. But the man who wants America to believe his promise of unspecified change adopts the carefully-parsed language of a Harvard-trained lawyer. There is a fundamental discordance in spirit between a canny, evasive lawyer inserting loopholes, and the smiling vision of unity and change you can believe in.
http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/03/deconstructing_obamas_lawyerly.html

Is Media Biased to the Right With McCain/Hagee vs. Obama/Wright Stories?
As you should know by now, Democratic Presidential hopeful Barack Obama has a Wright problem. That would be a Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. problem. It turns out that Barack Obama's "spiritual mentor" has a long, long history of hatred against whites and the history of the U.S.A. But, late last week, news began to surface that one of John McCain's religious supporters, John Hagee, has made many harsh anti-Catholic statements in the past.
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/warner-todd-huston/2008/03/15/media-biased-right-mccain-hagee-vs-obama-wright-stories

The AP Style Guide on Defending Barack Obama
The Associated Press editors tasked in-house "writer" Phillip Elliott to write an article that dispels the "rumors and outright lies" concerning Barack Obama and the perception that Mr. Obama's support of Israel is questionable. The product of that task is what you'd expect from any number of left leaning story tellers in the mainstream media who write about Obama as opposed to journalists, reporters and political observers that actually take the time to research, study and honestly discuss that which they have found.
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/terry-trippany/2008/03/15/ap-style-guide-defending-barack-obama

Have the Networks Reported McCain's Anti-Catholic Endorser?
If you have liberal friends who try to rebut you and say that the same networks that had largely ignored Obama’s pastor Jeremiah Wright also ignored John McCain being embraced by harshly anti-Catholic evangelist John Hagee, you can first say that there’s a huge difference between someone’s selected pastor of two decades and a new endorser. A search through network transcripts shows that ABC has not reported on Hagee, although they broke the Wright flap. But CBS has done two stories and NBC, half a one.
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tim-graham/2008/03/15/have-networks-reported-mccains-anti-catholic-endorser

Psst! Mr. Bigamist! Wanna Make a Quick Buck?
(Disclaimer: If you are under the age of 18 or stupid, stop reading right now. This is dark satire, so please don’t write or sue. I don’t have any money anyway.) Hey there, Mr. Middle Eastern bigamist. Feeling bummed? Disrespected by the infidels? Tired of having to work for a living? Well, does the government of Great Britain have a deal for you!
http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/03/psst_mr_bigamist_wanna_make_a.html

Franken Denies Joking About Rove and Libby Being Executed for Plame Affair
On October 22, 2005, my colleague Brent Baker reported Al Franken's disturbing joke to "Late Show" host David Letterman concerning Scooter Libby and Karl Rove being executed for their involvement in the Valerie Plame Wilson affair. Almost two and a half years later, during an interview on CNN's "American Morning" Friday, Kiran Chetry asked the comedian turned Democrat senate candidate about this exchange.
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2008/03/15/al-franken-denies-making-rove-libby-execution-joke-2005

The Belushi Syndrome
Let's analyze this Eliot Spitzer situation without emotion because there are lessons to be learned here. First of all, Spitzer is obviously a smart guy, having graduated from Princeton and Harvard Law School, so his conduct is perplexing in its stupidity.
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/BillOReilly/2008/03/15/the_belushi_syndrome

Check this site out: http://getoverobama.com/

The Importance of Fallon's Fall
The abrupt resignation of Adm. William Fallon as the head of Central Command almost got lost amid the breaking news of Barack Obama's victory in the Mississippi primary and Eliot Spitzer's resignation as governor of New York. But it's a much more consequential development -- in the foreign and military policy of the Bush administration in its final year in office and in the relations between civilian commanders and military officers in the long run of American history.
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MichaelBarone/2008/03/15/the_importance
_of_fallons_fall

Governor Bloomberg?
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The disgraced Eliot Spitzer had hardly resigned as governor of New York when Republican strategists began calculating a return to power in Albany via New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Lt. Gov. David Paterson, Spitzer's successor as governor, is considered a weak prospect for the 2010 election and might not even be the Democratic nominee. Bloomberg, finishing two successful terms as mayor in 2009, might find life as a private citizen boring enough to try for governor. Bloomberg, who changed his affiliation from Republican to independent, could obtain the Independence Party nomination for governor, and then be endorsed by the GOP.
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RobertDNovak/2008/03/15/governor_bloomberg

Obama Attempts Damage Control, Fallout Over Pastor’s Sermons Unclear
The presidential contenders have all had their share of supporters whose insensitive remarks forced the campaigns to issue disavowals. This week, it was Barack Obama’s turn.After a series of recorded sermons by Obama’s longtime pastor the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. sparked controversy over Wright’s fiery views on race, America and the Sept. 11 attacks, Obama responded Friday by firmly repudiating Wrights’ views in lengthy written statement and a round of cable news interviews.
http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/03/15/fallout-from-pastors-sermons-unknown-as-obama-attempts-damage-control/

Lots of Talk, No Resolution on Michigan Revote
Negotiations among Michigan Democrats led to little more than broad principles Friday as all the players worked toward a plan that would allow Michigan to seat its delegation to the Democratic National Convention in August. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) had stripped Michigan of its delegates for violating party rules.
http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=news-000002688702

Retirement Surprise Turns Alabama House Race Into Tossup
The retirement announcement Thursday by nine-term Democratic Rep. Robert E. “Bud” Cramer caught Alabama’s political establishment by surprise. But both parties are already hustling to prepare for a hotly competitive and unexpected open-seat race in the state’s 5th Congressional District.
http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=news-000002688659

Governor Perdue Signs Bill Into Law

Today Governor Sonny Perdue announced that the following legislation has been signed into law. For more information on this legislation, please visit www.legis.state.ga.us.
HB 297

Senate Approves Chambliss Legislation to Restore Critical Law Enforcement Funding

The Senate on Thursday approved by unanimous consent an amendment offered by U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., to the Fiscal Year 2009 Budget Resolution that would provide $906 million in federal funding for the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program which helps pay for drug task forces, courts and treatment programs, police salaries, innovative technologies and gang prevention strategies. The program, which members of Georgia’s law enforcement and judicial communities have said is critical to their efforts, was severely cut last year in the Fiscal Year 2008 Omnibus Appropriations Act.

“Our sheriffs, prosecutors, drug court professionals, and many of the other public servants in the law enforcement community rely on these grants to fight gangs, crime and drugs in their jurisdictions, and they’re making their communities safer because of these grants,” said Chambliss, who has led the bipartisan effort to restore the funding since arriving in the Senate. “This program has produced tangible results in Georgia and across the nation. Lives are being saved, more drugs are being confiscated, more bad guys who are manufacturing and distributing drugs are being locked up and put away because of this program. I’m pleased my colleagues in the Senate joined me in supporting this critical legislation on behalf of our law enforcement community who put themselves in harm’s way each day to make sure our communities are safe.”

In Georgia, the Byrne/JAG program has been credited with the following successes:

multi-jurisdictional task forces were able to make 5,600 drug arrests and seize almost $50 million in drugs;

2,500 law enforcement officers were trained in more than 100 different classes offered by the Georgia Public Safety Training Center through its Drug Enforcement Training Program;

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s State Drug Task Force led a cooperative investigation resulting with an inter-state drug enforcement effort with Alabama that received national recognition;

The Georgia Information Sharing and Analysis Center is Georgia’s Homeland Security state-level fusion intelligence center. The Center expanded its “Southern Shield” initiative and widened the focus for intelligence integration in the region by coordinating with 12 other states within the southeast on intelligence collection and dissemination.

Nine drug court programs were supported as was a Mental Health Court Diversion Program.
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Isakson, Chambliss Vote Against Budget Resolution

Expressing dismay over the Senate’s plan to increase spending and raise taxes, U.S. Senators Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., last night voted against final passage of the Fiscal Year 2009 Budget Resolution, which passed by a vote of 51 to 41.

This year’s Budget Resolution, which serves as a nonbinding blueprint for Congress when it decides how to appropriate federal dollars later in the year, was drafted by Senate Democrats who packed it with heavy spending and a $1.2 trillion tax increase, which is the largest tax increase in U.S. history.

“We must take large and immediate steps to end the reckless spending that is threatening the future of our nation. Congress must become better stewards of the taxpayers’ money," Isakson said. “We also simply cannot raise taxes on America’s families and businesses. We must alleviate the tax burden placed on our citizens, not increase it.”

“Here we are again for the second year in a row, raising taxes on hard-working Americans,” said Chambliss. “Family budgets are already stretched thin and this tax and spend approach will add further strain in the long run. This is simply wrong. This budget in no way demonstrates any type of fiscal responsibility; it does nothing to reduce the deficit, and does not extend the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts. The people of Georgia and all taxpayers expect their dollars to be used wisely, and they expect Congress to be more efficient and more productive”
The Budget Resolution increases non-defense discretionary spending by almost $211 billion over the next five years and adds $2 trillion to the gross national debt. It also contains no provisions for reducing entitlement spending, instead allowing it to grow by $488 billion over five years.

The Senate also rejected a number of amendments to extend existing tax relief past 2010. Isakson and Chambliss voted in favor of those amendments, including a vote to permanently repeal the estate tax and a vote to extend the tax cuts passed by Congress in 2001 and 2003.

“The tax cuts in 2001 and 2003 lowered tax rates for individuals, businesses, dividends and capital gains, eliminated the marriage penalty and scaled back the alternative minimum tax and the death tax,” Isakson said. “Letting American taxpayers keep more of their hard-earned money pays far better dividends than sending that money to Congress to spend on another government solution.”
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