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

November 17, 2006 

Dear Friends,                              

Last week’s national election results put Democrats in the majority in the House and Senate for the upcoming 110^th Congress. I believe at the end of the day both parties must work together because we’re Americans before we’re members of any party. We should get to the business of the American people and find common ground to move this country forward.   

This week, both parties in the U.S. Senate elected their new leaders for the 110^th Congress. On the Democratic side, Harry Reid (D-Nevada) was elected to be majority leader and Senator Richard Durbin (D-Illinois) was elected to be majority whip. On the Republican side, Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) was elected to the position of minority leader and Senator Trent Lott (R-Mississippi) was elected to the position of minority whip. All of the new leaders will begin their tenure at the start of the new Congress in January.

Also this week, U.S. Airways made a bid to merge with Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines.  As the largest employer in Georgia, Delta Air Lines is vital to Georgia’s economy and to the thousands of Georgians it employs. Delta has put in place an aggressive plan to emerge in 2007 as a strong, stand-alone carrier and I am very confident it will succeed. As U.S. Senator, I have worked very hard to help Delta and its employees through hard times and I will work even harder to keep Delta as an outstanding corporate partner headquartered in Atlanta for many, many years to come.

Senator Chambliss and I also urged President Bush to highlight our POW/MIA’s during his visit to Vietnam today to attend the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation Conference and to meet for bilateral talks with Vietnam’s President, General Secretary and Prime Minister.  Accounting for our remaining POW/MIA’s is critical to maintaining faith with the member of our Armed Forces – past, present and future – and their families.  Knowing the fate of their loved ones brings a sense of closure to families that they cannot achieve otherwise.  It is only right that our nation continue to keep POW/MIA accounting in the forefront and encourage other nations to do likewise.

Next Sunday, November 26, 2006, has been designated “Drive Safer Sunday” through the passage this week of a resolution that Senator Chambliss and I introduced to highlight the statistic that the Sunday after Thanksgiving is the busiest highway traffic day of the year.  We introduced a similar resolution last year in honor of Cullum Owings, a Georgia college student who died in a traffic accident on his way back to school after Thanksgiving 2002. Governor Sonny Purdue also issued a statewide proclamation designating the same day as “Drive Safer Sunday” in Georgia. We must do a better job of educating all drivers to be safer on the road, and I am proud to join with Senator Chambliss to designate one of the biggest travel days of the year as “Drive Safer Sunday.”

While I was a little surprised about Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s resignation last Tuesday, I believe President Bush has made a smart move by nominating Robert Gates to the position.  Gates, the current President of Texas A&M University, is a former CIA chief who has served six presidential administrations, spent nearly nine years at the National Security Council and is a member of the Iraq Study Group, a bipartisan panel that is making recommendations to President Bush on how to proceed in Iraq.  Dr. Gates is clearly a qualified individual and I hope he is confirmed quickly by the Senate.

What’s on Tap for Next Week?

The Senate will recess in observance of the Thanksgiving Holiday.  I would like to wish all of you a blessed Thanksgiving with your family and friends.                                                   

Sincerely,
Johnny Isakson