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Dear Friends,

Early this morning, Congress passed a bipartisan agreement reached by Congressional leaders to fund the government through March 23, 2018.

I fought for a number of key provisions in the agreement that focus on health care, our military and expiring tax credits, including one to ensure Georgia’s Plant Vogtle project stays on track for completion to strengthen America’s energy security and to preserve the more than 6,000 Georgia jobs created by this project.

Also included in the two-year budget agreement are critical investments in our veterans, disaster relief, infrastructure and combating opioid abuse and drug addiction.

A number of healthcare issues critical to Georgia and that I have worked on for a long time were also included in the agreement. These provisions will help address Americans’ healthcare needs for years to come while saving taxpayer money. You can read more about them here.

I’m also grateful that this bill will benefit our veterans by helping break down the maintenance backlog at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. And I’m relieved that we have reached a longer-term agreement to rebuild our military and provide the necessary funding for the National Defense Authorization Act of 2018.

Georgia Benefits From Tax Cuts

There are a growing number of Georgia businesses and workers who are seeing a positive impact from the historic tax cuts signed into law only seven weeks ago.

More than 100 U.S. companies, including many based in Georgia, have announced bonuses, 401k matches and increases for employees, as well as increases in their charitable donations following these long-awaited tax cuts. To date, at least 3 million Americans have received special bonuses and 401k matches thanks to the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Just as Georgia is the number one state in our country to do business, I’m confident that the results of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will make the United States the number one country in the world to do business.

In Other News:

I sent a letter this week to President Trump applauding the administration on their recent sanctions against Iran and advocating for additional sanctions against the county in response due to Tehran’s continued pursuit of ballistic missile capabilities. The threat posed by Tehran may soon extend well beyond the region - even to our homeland. In the letter, which was signed by a number of my Senate colleagues, we offered our full support to address this threat.

There are 135 federally qualified community health centers in the state of Georgia that rely on some financing from the Community Health Center Fund. Community health centers serve a vital function, providing affordable health care to our nation’s most vulnerable citizens. I am pleased that the bipartisan budget agreement passed today includes this important funding to help so many citizens who currently depend upon the services provided by community health centers. I remain committed to ensuring they receive the resources they need to take care of our medically underserved communities.

This week, I introduced a bipartisan Senate resolution with U.S. Senators Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., to establish a select committee to investigate the U.S. Olympic Committee and USA Gymnastics and their role in aiding or ignoring criminal or negligent behavior of their employee, Dr. Larry Nassar. I’m proud to be a part of this resolution and am proud of our Olympians who have begun to compete in Pyeongchang, South Korea this week. I hope they know that we are looking out for them and working to see to it that what happened in this particular instance never ever happens again.

U.S. Representative Austin Scott, R-Ga.-08, and I introduced the Veterans Cemetery Benefit Correction Act, a bill that would require the U.S. Department of the Interior to provide outer burial receptacles for veterans buried in cemeteries under the control of the National Park Service. This would adjust the National Park Service’s standard practice to match the same requirement at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs-controlled cemeteries. In Georgia, this would include Andersonville National Cemetery. With this bill, we are seeing to it that all veterans and their families are receiving the burial benefits they have earned.

The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations passed the Nick Castle Peace Corps Reform Act of 2018, legislation I introduced to further reform the U.S. Peace Corps by improving access to medical care for volunteers, strengthening accountability and oversight, and enhancing procedures to reduce the risk of crime where volunteers serve. I have long been a supporter of the work carried out by Peace Corps volunteers in communities worldwide, and this legislation would provide them greater protections.

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions held a hearing on the upcoming reauthorization of the Higher Education Act that focused on college affordability. At the hearing, I brought up Georgia State University’s use of predictive analytics to help ensure completion by university students and help keep them on a path to long-term success.

The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations held a hearing on the administration’s strategy on Afghanistan. At the hearing, I questioned leaders from the State Department and the Department of Defense on our strategy and also highlighted the many contributions from Georgia-based military operations, including those at Fort Benning and Moody Air Force Base.

Baby Lucas from Dalton, Ga., is the new Gerber spokesbaby! He is the first from Georgia, and the first baby with special needs, to win the contest. Congratulations to this precious young tot and his family.