News From the Honorable Sanford D. Bishop Jr.

NOW MORE THAN EVER, WE NEED A BIPARTISAN PATH FORWARD!

Throughout my time in Congress, I have found ways to work across the aisle to deliver for Georgians and the American people.

Working Across the Aisle within the Georgia Delegation

For over a decade, I worked with Rep. Austin Scott (R) in the neighboring 8th Congressional District to protect Georgia's pecan growers from unfair tariffs, and last year I teamed up with Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA-01) to ensure our national defense by protecting funding for the Savannah Combat Readiness Training Center.

Standing Strong for Agriculture and Rural Communities

Earlier this year, I led a bipartisan effort to demand a better Fiscal Year 2024 Ag, Rural Development, and FDA funding bill so that Americans have affordable access to the best food, fiber, and medicine.

Congress has passed two bipartisan, temporary funding bills as we craft a full-year federal funding bill. I will be working across the aisle to follow a path forward that Democrats, Republicans, and the President can get behind. In the meantime, the government remains open and working for the people.

This provides stability for our departments and agencies that ensure safe road, rail, and air travel as well as continues federal programs that support our local law enforcement. It also means that our active duty and civilian military personnel get paid. For families, the elderly, veterans, and those working hard to make ends meet, crucial programs remain open and at their service to ensure access to affordable food, housing, and care through departments and agencies like the Veterans Administration, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.

At the end of September, the 2018 Farm Bill lapsed, ending authorization of and funding for nutrition programs as well as programs on which our agriculture producers rely. This would leave families facing hunger and farmers facing uncertainty. But, Congress came together before the Thanksgiving holiday to pass a one-year extension of the Farm Bill while the House and Senate work out a full, five-year agreement.

Caring for Our Military Families

I co-chair the Congressional Military Family Caucus with Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA-05). This August, I hosted the 2023 Military Family Summit at the National Infantry Museum at Fort Moore.

As the Biden Administration continues to implement the bipartisan Honoring Our PACT Act that I supported and Congress passed last year, the VA has screened 4,599,009 Veterans for toxic exposures, which is crucial to catching and treating potentially life-threatening health conditions as early as possible.

Bringing Manufacturing Jobs to Middle & Southwest Georgia

Middle and Southwest Georgia continue to benefit from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) as well as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which I supported in Congress last year. The IIJA provided funds to Anovion which it is using to build a new manufacturing facility in Bainbridge that will produce electric vehicle battery components.

Because of the Clean School Bus Program created by the IIJA, dozens of school districts across the country have already purchased over 120 clean school buses from Blue Bird Corporation in Fort Valley.

The IIJA and IRA energy and technology incentives are helping create hundreds of good-paying, manufacturing jobs and supporting hundreds more in Middle and Southwest Georgia. These laws also can help diversify America's energy resources and how the U.S. uses energy, reducing the likelihood of a bottleneck in our country's supply chain that can inflate energy costs for families and businesses because of an overreliance on any one type of energy.

I remain committed to fighting for Georgians and hope that Democrats and Republicans can find common ground to keep the federal government open and serving all Americans.

-Sanford D. Bishop, Jr.
Member of Congress
Georgia's 2nd Congressional District

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