A Weekly e-Newsletter from
Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA)

June 13, 2008

Dear Friends,

I continue to advocate that Republicans and Democrats put their biases aside to join together in declaring war on spiraling gas prices and high energy costs.  Whether during my visits across the state, from my field representatives, or from your phone calls and e-mails, I continue to hear of the effects high gas prices are putting on all segments of American society.  Towns dependent on tourism aren’t seeing the usual summer busy season due to the costs of travel, school systems struggle to fill the gas tanks on their buses and local police departments keep patrol cars parked at night until they receive direct calls because they can’t afford to both pay their officers’ often-meager salaries and patrol the streets. 

Republicans must be willing to embrace conservation initiatives as well as alternatives such as solar and wind energy. Democrats must be willing to embrace nuclear energy for electricity and responsible exploration of our oil and gas resources in Alaska, Colorado, Montana and North Dakota, as well as in the Gulf of Mexico and off the Atlantic coast. Congress must pass and the President must sign legislation that removes current restrictions on these resources and their rapid development.

In the 1960s, when America was losing its dominance in science and technology to the Soviet Union, President John Kennedy challenged America to send a man to the moon and bring him safely back to earth by the end of the decade. At the time, we did not have the knowledge to accomplish that goal, but we had the will and we found the way.

Today, our challenge on energy supply and cost is no less daunting than the space race of the 1960s, but unlike the challenge of the space race, we do know how to reduce the cost and expand the supply of energy today. It is time for the President and the Congress to put aside their differences. We must act now and we must act boldly to expand and encourage the exploration and development of all our resources at home.

Medicare Physician Payment Cuts
Last week, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus introduced a bill to prevent a scheduled 10.1 percent cut in Medicare reimbursement rates from taking effect on June 30, when a six-month extension of current physician payment rates under Medicare set in December, is set to expire.   I am well aware of and understand the concerns regarding cuts to physician payments. These annual cuts are the result of a flawed formula – the Sustainable Growth Rate – that regulates physician payment levels under Medicare.  However, Senator Baucus’ bill also contained an unnecessary expansion of certain programs, while simultaneously making inappropriate cuts to programs to pay for the physician update. On Thursday, I voted against the motion to proceed to S.3101, the Baucus bill.

Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Charles Grassley has introduced an alternative bill that also delays the 10.1 percent cut to physician payments for 18 months but without making the cuts to programs to pay for the physician update. I support Senator Grassley’s alternative bill.

I am very concerned about the prospect of a 10.1 percent cut in physician reimbursement, but I believe Congress must find a fair and responsible solution in the short-term as well as a long-term solution to prevent future cuts from occurring. Physicians deserve this fix, and they also deserve a bill that will be enacted into law. Because I believe these cuts are bad for all Americans, I voted against Senator Baucus’ bill and will lend my full support to Senator Grassley’s alternative.

Ethanol
I understand the frustrations of consumers and animal agriculture producers about the consequences of food-to-fuel mandates that EPA is currently implementing.  The increase in corn ethanol production is one factor that is putting stress on the food market. Food inflation is rising by 4.9 percent and other studies predict that food inflation could increase by 7 to 8 percent in the next few years. I am concerned that inflationary pressure on food will only escalate in the coming months and could be further complicated by severe weather. 

For this reason, I have signed a letter to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson about the status of regulations for states applying for an ethanol mandate waiver and urged that EPA take into consideration food inflation concerns. However, I am not in favor of a repeal or roll back of ethanol mandates.

America should be a leader in the development of new sources of energy and in the development of renewable resources, and corn ethanol is a good interim solution. A better long-term solution is the investment we are making in the production of cellulosic ethanol and biofuels. Georgia has 24 million acres of commercial forest, and these forests contain a large amount of cellulosic biomass in the form of wood debris, paper pulp and grass. Our state also produces almost a billion pounds of chicken fat and grease from the poultry processing industry, a key biodiesel feedstock, and at least one power plant produces electricity from chicken litter.

These resources are why Georgia will play a leading role in the research and production of cellulosic ethanol and biofuels in the 21st century, and since Georgia has such an abundance of biomass and a long growing season, we will be able to keep supply constant and prices down. To that end, I have co-sponsored S.386, the Cellulosic Ethanol Incentive Act of 2007, which promotes the production of crops that also yield cellulosic ethanol.

Feedback
To effectively represent the needs of my constituents, I depend upon hearing from you regularly. In order to keep in touch while I am in Washington, D.C., my field staff in Georgia regularly conducts ‘Open Office Days’ at locations around the state. I encourage you to talk with these liaisons about any issues concerning the federal government, federal legislation or federal agencies, such as Veterans Affairs, the IRS, Medicare, or the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services.  To find out when a representative will be near you, click here.

In addition, any time you have comments for me in response to this newsletter or any federal issue, please contact my office at (202) 224-3643 in Washington, D.C., in Atlanta at (770) 661-0999 or through my website at: www.isakson.senate.gov/contact.cfm.  These avenues of communication allow us to assist you as quickly and thoroughly as possible.

What’s on Tap for Next Week?

The Senate is expected to debate tax legislation.

Sincerely,
Johnny Isakson