Jack Kingston

CONGRESSMAN KINGSTON ANNOUNCES MEDICARE PART D TRAINING & OPEN ENROLLMENT WORKSHOP SCHEDULE
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Washington, Nov 26 -

Congressman Jack Kingston (R-GA/01) announced today that he will sponsor a series of workshops during the open enrollment season for the Medicare Part D prescription drug program.  Those who are enrolled or wish to enroll in the program must sign
up or make changes during the open enrollment period which began November 15 and ends December 31.  The following workshops are scheduled:

Date              Time                            Location

12/08              9 am – 12 pm             Armstrong Atlantic State University
                                                         RM 107, 11935 Abercorn St, Savannah

12/08              2 pm – 5 pm              Savannah Technical College
                                                         RM 107, Airport Rd. and Technology Dr,  Hinesville

12/09              9 am – 12 pm             Altamaha Technical College
                                                         RM 132, 1334 Golden Isle West, Baxley

12/09              2 pm – 5 pm              Altamaha Technical College
                                                         RM 435, 1777 W. Cherry St, Jesup

12/10              9 am – 12 pm            College of Coastal Georgia
                                                        Computer Lab, 8001 Lakes Ave, Kingsland

12/10              2 pm – 5 pm              College of Coastal Georgia
                                                         Jericho Computer Lab @ Continuing Ed�
                                                         3700 Altama Ave, Brunswick

12/11              9 am – 12 pm             South Georgia College
                                                         Ball Room, 100 College Park Dr, Douglas

12/11              2 pm – 5 pm              Okefenokee Technical College
                                                         RM 804, 1701 Carswell Ave, Waycross

12/15              9 am – 12 pm             Valdosta State University
                                                         University Center, 1215 N. Patterson St, Valdosta

Anyone eligible for this plan is encouraged to attend.  Staff from Georgia Cares, a program of the Georgia Department of Human Resources and Division of Aging Services and Area Agencies on Aging, will also be on hand to answer questions.

“Each year there are many changes to the prescription drug plan, namely the cost and coverage,” said Congressman Kingston.  “Now is the time for people with Medicare to review those changes to make sure they still have the plan that best fits their needs or the needs of their loved one.  Prescription drug coverage is crucial to many older Americans and we want to make sure that all of their questions are answered.”

To find out more about Medicare Part D, those interested may contact the Medicare offices at 1-800-MEDICARE or visit http://www.MEDICARE.gov or contact Georgia Cares at 1-800-669-8387 to find a plan that best suits their needs.  For those who have questions about the training workshop schedule, please call 912-367-7403.

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Just ten months after tragedy struck at Imperial, the plant is back to business and resumed refining sugar and will roll out its first truckloads today.  From the AP:

Imperial Sugar resumes refining sugar after blast

Imperial Sugar has resumed refining sugar in Georgia for the first time since a February explosion killed 14 people and workers celebrated Wednesday at the groundbreaking of a new 75,000-square-foot packaging plant to replace the one destroyed.

The refinery near Savannah, the second-largest in the U.S., had to sit idle for months as federal investigators worked to determine the cause of the explosion and workers removed debris and cleaned machinery clogged with hardened sugar.

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Even as they’re closing plants, laying off workers, and begging for a government bailout, the CEOs of the “Big 3″ automakers can’t lower themselves to flying like the rest of us - even first class wasn’t good enough for them…

From ABC News:

Big Three CEOs Flew Private Jets to Plead for Public Funds Auto Industry Close to Bankruptcy But They Get Pricey Perk

The CEOs of the big three automakers flew to the nation’s capital yesterday in private luxurious jets to make their case to Washington that the auto industry is running out of cash and needs $25 billion in taxpayer money to avoid bankruptcy.

The CEOs of GM, Ford and Chrysler may have told Congress that they will likely go out of business without a bailout yet that has not stopped them from traveling in style, not even First Class is good enough.

All three CEOs - Rick Wagoner of GM, Alan Mulally of Ford, and Robert Nardelli of Chrysler - exercised their perks Tuesday by flying in corporate jets to DC. Wagoner flew in GM’s $36 million luxury aircraft to tell members of Congress that the company is burning through cash, asking for $10-12 billion for GM alone.

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After a successful experiment last year, President Bush announced today that he would again open “Thanksgiving Express Lanes” and that the program would be expanded.  From a White House fact sheet:

Today, President Bush visited the Department of Transportation (DOT) and discussed measures to improve air travel, both during the upcoming holiday season and in the future, and highlighted his Administration’s transportation safety record.  Over the holidays, millions of Americans will take to the roads, railways, and skies to visit loved ones.  For too many travelers, though, it means long delays, cancellations, and lost bags.  Today the President announced new measures that bolster the Administration’s those problems. 

• This year, the military is expanding “Thanksgiving Express Lanes” to areas of the Midwest, Southwest, and West Coast, including the skies over Phoenix and Los Angeles.  As they did last Thanksgiving, the Federal Aviation Administration and Department of Defense will make military airspace available for use by civilian airliners over the holiday season – but this year even more airspace will be open, and it will be available for a longer period of time. 
• The Administration has also launched an unprecedented effort to reduce air congestion by boosting flight capacity at some of America’s busiest airports.  DOT has completed 13 major airport improvement projects, including 11 new runways.  This week, three more runways (for a total of 14 during this Administration) will open at Seattle-Tacoma, Washington-Dulles, and Chicago-O’Hare. 
• The Administration is working with the Federal Aviation Administration and Transportation Security Administration to make more staff available to speed up check-in and boarding and to help passengers affected by cancellations and delays.  
• DOT has completed new regulations that provide increased protections for consumers.  Recent actions include requiring airlines to provide greater compensation for lost bags and imposing tougher penalties when airlines fail to notify travelers of hidden fees.  We expect these new rules to take effect in December, in time for Christmas and the New Year.

The Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau released today its estimate of the economic impact of the SEC Championship and the Chikfila Bowl.

Here’s how the numbers breakdown:

This month, we try to bring increased awareness and attention to the seriousness of diabetes, its deadly complications, and the importance of proper diabetes control.

 Each year, Diabetes costs the First District $382,700,000 in medical and indirect costs.  It costs the State of Georgia more than $5 billion.

To learn more about what you can do, click here to visit the American Diabetes Association.

For those of you who’ve seen the signs on Highway 80 on your way out to the islands but didn’t understand, there’s a planned power outage this weekend for Wilmingston, Talahi, and Tybee Islands.  According to Georgia power, this outage is necessary to conduct maintenance on six spans of overhead ground wire on the transmission structures across Tuner Creek, adjacent to the Islands Expressway.

Power will be out on Saturday, November 15 from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.  Should inclement weather prohibit the work, it will be postponed until Saturday, November 22.  This will affect nearly 12,000 households.  If you’ve got any questions, feel free to call Georgia Power’s customer service line at 1-888-660-5890.

Savannah’s own Dave Puckett has been selected as one of CNN Hero’s competition’s Top Ten.  Puckett started Positive Image Prosthetics and Orthotics Missions — PIPO — to provide artificial limbs and braces and care to people in southeastern Mexico. Since November 2000 his mission has helped more than 420 people, free of charge.

To vote for David, click here.  If you’d like to read about his work or watch videos of what he does, click here.

Today we remember all those who served and all those who continue to serve our Nation.  Thank you for your service. 

Global Atlanta reports today that delegations from Brunswick, Hinesville, and Savannah are visiting the Jiangxi province of China to seal sister city agreements and to work on increasing trade between the province and Georgia.

Mayors Otis Johnson of Savannah, Jim Thomas of Hinesville, and Bryan Thompson of Brunswick are leading the delegation of eighteen leaders from our region.

Savannah’s delegation has started a group blog about the trip which can be found here.

The Brunswick News reports today that right whale calving season is about to get underway.  Calving season lasts from mid-November through mid-April.  Currently there are an estimated 300-400 of the species in the wild, half of which come to the warmer waters off Georgia and Florida’s coasts in the winter.

Some important things to remember:

• Boaters are required by law to remain at least 500 yards away from the whales
• Boaters should slow to 10 knots in calving grounds and slow to a minimum when a whale has been spotted
• Boaters should take caution in foggy conditions and at night as spotting whales is harder during this time

Last year, no dead whales were found on Georgia’s coasts.  By following these simple tips, we can achieve that same distinction this year.

Congressman Jack Kingston (R/GA-1) has been named as the recipient of the “Friend of Farm Bureau” award, given during every Congress by the American Farm Bureau Federation.  Eligibility for the award is determined by the voting records of legislators who support the Farm Bureau‘s positions on specific votes.  Nominated by Georgia Farm Bureau, Kingston received the award based on his loyal support of Georgia farmers and his work on the Farm, Nutrition and Bioenergy Act of 2007, commonly known as the “farm bill.”

Farm Bureau is an independent, non-governmental, voluntary organization governed by and representing farm and ranch families united for the purpose of analyzing their problems and formulating action to achieve educational improvement and economic opportunity.  Farm Bureau is local, county, state, national and international in its scope and influence and is non-partisan in character.  The bureau strives to lend a voice to agricultural producers at all levels.

 “I am honored that Georgia Farm Bureau feels that I am a friend to the Georgia farmer,” said Congressman Kingston.  “Agriculture is the economic backbone of our great state, but the impact of the contributions of Georgia farmers reaches the rest of our nation and many countries around the world.  I have worked hard to be an advocate of farmers and ranchers during my time on the agriculture subcommittee and will continue to work with Farm Bureau on these important issues.”

The American Farm Bureau Federation was founded in 1919 by a small group of farmers from 30 states.  Their goal was to create a voice for themselves by forming a national organization.  Farm Bureau soon became the voice of agriculture at the national level.  While the organization has faced many issues and challenges over the past 80 years, the mission and goals of Farm Bureau have remained the same; a concern in speaking out on issues of concern for the nation’s farmers and ranchers.  To learn more about the American Farm Bureau Federation, visit http://www.fb.org.

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Nation’s oldest taxpayer organization honors congressman for fiscally sound record

Congressman Jack Kingston (R/GA01) today earned the nation’s top tax policy award after being named a “Tax Fighter” by the National Tax Limitation Committee (NTLC).  The NTLC, the nation’s oldest taxpayer organization, presented Congressman Kingston with the award for his fiscally sound voting record.

“America owes much of her prosperity to a low tax structure,” Congressman Kingston said.  “In order to get out of this economic crisis, I’ll continue pushing for lower taxes.  Income redistribution schemes will do nothing more than kill jobs and would signal a new era of socialism in America.  I appreciate NCLT’s work and will continue fighting for our shared values of lower taxes and less government interference in our lives.”

The National Tax Limitation Committee scored some 39 House votes, placing special emphasis on tax, budget and spending measures that would have a major impact on long-term taxing and spending programs of the government.  Votes were selected to provide insight to the legislator’s philosophy with respect to government regulation, private property rights, federalism and the size of the federal government.  Each vote was weighed and tallied to present an accurate “fiscal responsibility” score.

“Congressman Kingston has led the battle on behalf of taxpayers on behalf of taxpayers,” said NTLC President Lewis Uhler.  “He has been a major asset to taxpayers across America during his congressional service and has had the courage to challenge the orthodoxy of Washington spending and earmarks.  From making permanent the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, to eliminating the death tax, to killing the Alternative Minimum Tax, and providing incentives for private savings, investment and job creation, Congressman Kingston has earned an ‘A’ grade for taxpayers.”

The National Tax Limitation Committee was organized in 1975 to seek constitutional and other limits on taxes, spending and deficits at the federal, state and local levels of government.   NTLC has led the national movement for constitutional tax and spending limits at the state and local levels.

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For more information on Jack’s efforts to lower taxes, click here.

Less than a week after rejecting a similar bill, the House today passed a bailout intended to shore up the nation’s financial markets.  Congressman Jack Kingston (R/GA-1), who voted against the package both times, expressed concerns that the bill will not accomplish the task at hand.

“Rather than righting the ship, we’ve run for the lifeboats,” Congressman Kingston said.  “While the core bill has been improved since Monday, I’m still unconvinced it will avert an economic downturn.  I hope I’m wrong but suspect we will be back soon for further debate.  The economy will remain my highest priority and I will continue to fight for the alternatives not included in this bill.”

Largely the same as the version the House previously rejected, the bill authorizes the Treasury Department to spend up to $700 billion in a Troubled Asset Relief Program to purchase “toxic” mortgage-backed securities.  It also gives the Treasury Secretary the option to create an insurance program for the securities in which participating companies would be required to pay premiums.  Participating firms would be subjected to executive pay restrictions, limits on “golden parachutes” for departing executives, and would allow the government to take equity stake in their company.

Changes to the bailout, added by the Senate which passed the measure overwhelmingly on Wednesday evening, included a provision allowing banks that held Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to count any losses as ordinary losses against their income.

The Senate also added tax provisions that extended breaks for producers of renewable energy, an Alternative Minimum Tax patch that prevents 22 million taxpayers from paying a tax originally meant for the wealthy and optional deduction for state sales taxes.  The package also included tax earmarks that for such things as rum production in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, wooden arrows for children, and NASCAR racetracks.

Public outcry against the bailout was unprecedented.  Calls from constituents strained the Capitol’s phone systems and caused crashes of several websites as well as email services.  In an effort to better educate his constituents about the issue, Congressman Kingston created a website locate at http://kingston.house.gov/bailout to provide timely information.  Meant to serve as a clearinghouse, the website contains bill text, summaries, and analysis as well as opinion pieces, press coverage, and multimedia.

The President must now sign the bill into law before it is enacted.
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