Congressman Sanford Bishop

Representing the 2nd District of Georgia

Our Livelihoods

My top three priorities are (in no particular order): (1) jobs; (2) jobs; and (3) jobs.  In order to grow the economy, maintain our nation’s competitiveness across the globe, and put Americans to work, I have supported investing in rebuilding our nation’s roads, schools, ports, and other infrastructure; raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour to put more money into the hands of working Americans; bolstering education and worker training initiatives at the federal, state, and local levels; providing tax credits to employers to provide affordable health insurance to their employees; and reducing regulatory burdens and paperwork requirements to unleash initiative.

I am a strong supporter of policies that make health care more accessible and affordable to all Americans regardless of their background and income.  These policies include protecting Medicare beneficiaries’ access to physicians; increasing funding for medical research; expanding community health care centers; reducing physician shortages; preventing childhood obesity; lowering the costs of prescription drugs; holding insurance companies accountable to keep premiums down and prevent denials of care and coverage, including for pre-existing conditions; and improving veterans’ health care.

It is vital that individuals and families have access to the American Dream – namely, homeownership.  I support legislation to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, stop predatory and irresponsible mortgage loan practices, increase the supply of affordable housing, expand veteran and rural housing opportunities, promote fair housing education and enforcement activities, and finance community development initiatives.

I am a strong proponent of Second Amendment rights under the United States Constitution.  I believe that law-abiding adults should be free to exercise their right to purchase, own, and carry firearms for the protection of their homes and families.  I received an A+ from the National Rifle Association for the 110th Congress (2007-2008) and the 111th Congress (2009-2010).

Small businesses are the cornerstone of our economy.  I support legislation to establish a lending fund to provide community banks with capital to increase small business lending.  I also support investing in innovative state small business lending programs, providing tax incentives to purchase employee health insurance coverage, reducing regulatory burdens and unnecessary paperwork, and enacting measures to spur small business creation and new jobs.

 

More on Our Livelihoods

Apr 5, 2013 Press Release

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) joined 46 of his colleagues in sending a letter to Administrator Michael P. Huerta of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) protesting the closure of 149 federal contract air traffic control towers due to budget cuts associated with sequestration and requesting consideration of all possible alternatives to maintain some level of service for the air towers.

Mar 28, 2013 Press Release

ALBANY, GA – Today, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) invited high school students from Georgia’s 2nd Congressional District to participate in the 2013 Congressional Art Competition. 

Mar 27, 2013 Press Release

LEESBURG, GA – Today, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop Jr. (GA-02) attended and spoke to students at Lee County Middle School during their GCEE Capital Hill Stock Market Challenge regarding the importance of education and economics.

Mar 15, 2013 Press Release

WASHINGTON D.C. – Today, Congressman Sanford Bishop (GA-02) released a statement regarding his vote on H.R. 803, the Supporting Knowledge and Investing in Lifelong Skills (SKILLS) Act. The SKILLS Act consolidates 35 individual workforce investment programs into one block grant without evidence that it would improve the delivery of job training services.

Mar 1, 2013 Press Release

MACON, GA – Today, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) released the following statement regarding the United States Department of Transportation’s announcement that Silver Airways has been selected to provide Essential Air Service (EAS) at Middle Georgia Regional Airport in Macon.

Feb 28, 2013 Press Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) issued remarks to the Congressional Record regarding the dangers of the impending sequestration, or across-the-board budget cuts, which are due to go into effect on March 1, 2013. Below you will find the text of the statement submitted for the Congressional Record.

Feb 13, 2013 Press Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) issued the following statement regarding President Obama’s State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress.

“The President summarized the nation’s stark challenges in an impressive and measured speech this evening. The President believes, as I do, that the economy grows when the middle class is strengthened—that when small business and our infrastructure are supported, jobs are created—and that the only way to balance our budget is to reach across the aisle and come to an agreement.

Feb 7, 2013 Press Release

COLQUITT, GA—Secretary of Agriculture Thomas J. Vilsack recently announced that 23 counties in Georgia have been named primary or contiguous natural disaster areas due to a recent drought. In accordance with the designation, farm operators in primary counties and contiguous counties are now eligible to be considered for emergency loans from the Farm Service Agency (FSA) for the next eight months.

Bryan, Bulloch, Chatham, Colquitt, Effingham, Jenkins, Miller, Screven, and Seminole counties have been designated as primary affected counties.

Feb 5, 2013 Press Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (D-GA), member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies welcomed notification of an agreement between the United States and Mexico regarding the investigation of tomato ‘dumping’. Congressman Bishop has continued to be supportive of southwest Georgia’s tomato industry and has urged the Administration to find a solution to this issue.

Feb 1, 2013 Press Release

WASHINGTON D.C. – Today, Congressman Sanford Bishop (D-GA) and Congressman Rick Crawford (R-AR) announced members of the bipartisan Congressional Chicken Caucus in the 113th Congress. Bishop and Crawford founded the Chicken Caucus in 2012 and will continue serving as co-chairs of the caucus in the 113th Congress.

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