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Dear Friends,
 I want to thank everyone who participated in the job fair and readiness workshop Congressman Lewis and I hosted at Atlanta Technical College on Thursday, Aug. 18. We worked hard to bring as many employers to the table as possible. Preliminary numbers are still coming in, but there are encouraging signs that positions are being filled as a result of the fair. The final tour stop was this week in Los Angeles. The CBC will publish reports on attendance at each event and the number of people hired from each job fair. For more, click HERE.
I’m also looking forward to hearing what President Obama has to say about creating jobs when we return to Washington next week. I hope we can put aside partisan bickering on Capitol Hill and focus on rebuilding America’s roads, bridges, rail lines, and airports, and establish an infrastructure bank to finance these projects.
We can start by passing clean extensions of the FAA and highway bills, protecting more than one million jobs. And I will stand with the President in urging federal agencies to expedite infrastructure projects already funded by Congress.
CONYERS’ SENIORS: Thank you to the Rockdale County seniors who met with me for a Town Hall Meet & Greet at the Olivia Haydel Senior Center in Conyers on Monday, Aug. 29. I brought experts from the  Internal Revenue Service, Social Security Administration, Medicare and Medicaid and Veterans Affairs to help seniors understand their benefits. It was the second meeting in an ongoing series of visits we're making to senior centers throughout the district to cut through the clutter and confusion created by budget proposals that are trying to cut the social safety net. I enjoyed the two-hour Town Hall style meeting and not only did seniors ask me and the expert panelists questions about veterans' benefits, Medicare and Social Security, but we discussed the national budget and debt ceiling issues as well. Please stay tuned here for our next meeting. For more, click HERE.
PROTECTING OUR KIDS: In July, I voted against House leadership efforts to cut funding for our Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program.
So I take great pleasure in announcing that DeKalb will receive a $500,000 grant this year from the Department of Justice’s COPS Office to protect kids from the worst of the worst – child sexual predators. There isn’t much we do in Congress more important than supporting local law enforcement and giving them the tools needed to keep our communities safe. Since 1995, the COPS program has invested more than $177 million in Georgia law enforcement agencies, which was used to hire more than 2,400 officers and provide more than $24 million in technology upgrades. For more information, click HERE.
JAG GRANTS: Another Justice Department program I’ve championed throughout my three terms is the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant or JAG grants that provide federal criminal justice funding to state and local jurisdictions. I’m pleased to report that DeKalb County will receive a $436,000 grant, Rockdale County a $31,000 grant and Chamblee a $10,800 grant for FY 2011. For more information, click HERE.
MENTOR WALK: If Georgia’s low high school graduation rate concerns you, then please join me at the inaugural Mentor Walk on Saturday, Sept. 10 at Agnes Scott College. Starting at 7:30 a.m. for registration and 9 a.m. for the walk – students, parents, guardians, college students and the rest of the community will be on campus to inspire the kids to finish school and attend university. After-walk festivities include lunch, speakers, T-shirts, entertainment, and a health fair. The event will wrap up at 1 p.m.
There’s no special training required, just come walk and engage a student in conversation and tell them why you think staying in school is important. The walk is named after Mrs. Carolyn Young, Ambassador Young’s wife, who taught in Atlanta Public Schools and has been highly decorated for her outstanding teaching career.
Notable attendees include: Mrs. Carolyn Young, Ambassador Andrew Young, Sen. Johnny Isakson, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams, Rep. Jason Carter, Rep. Dar'shun Kendrick, DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis and Agnes Scott President Dr. Elizabeth Kiss, among many others! To register or for more information, click HERE.
KEEPING HEALTH RATE HIKES IN CHECK: Starting Sept. 1, the health care reform law – the Affordable Care Act – will make it more difficult for insurance companies to unreasonably raise your rates. If an insurer seeks a rate hike of more than 10 percent or more for an individual or small-employer group coverage, it must now justify that rate increase for further state of federal review. I voted for the law to provide consumer protections like this. For more, go the HealthCare.gov by clicking HERE.
CLEAN CITIES, ALERNATIVE FUELS: On Thursday, Sept. 8, Clean Cities Atlanta, a Department of Energy initiative,  will hold a seminar on alternative fuels at the Georgia World Congress Center, Building C in Rooms C202 and 203 from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Alternative transportation fuels can reduce American dependence on foreign oil, cut energy costs and pollution. For more seminar information, click HERE. To join Clean Cities Atlanta’s Facebook page, click HERE. To read about the $15 million Recovery Act grant to DeKalb County in partnership with the Clean Cities Atlanta Coalition to construct a Landfill Gas-to-Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) conversion facility at a DeKalb County landfill, click HERE.
DOJ GRANTS TO GEORGIA: I also want to recognize that the governor’s office, the GBI and local law enforcement agencies are receiving more than $3.4 million this year from the Department of Justice to reduce DNA testing and other forensic science backlogs, and prevent at-risk kids from entering the juvenile justice system. For more, click HERE.
PILLARS OF THE COMMUNITY: On Aug. 24 at the A.R.T. Station in Stone Mountain, I was pleased to present Stone Mountain residents – Command Sergeant Major Jonathan Smalls and Jack Sartain with the Civilian Marksmanship Program’s Patriot Award and Community Service Award, respectively. The Patriot and Community Service awards recognize outstanding veterans and citizens for their contributions to our community and country. For more, click HERE.
LET’S MOVE AT MCNAIR: It’s good to see the Georgia School Nutrition Association join forces with First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” initiative to fight childhood obesity. Thank you to McNair for hosting the kick-off event on Sept. 2. Together – parents, caregivers, schools, health care professionals, students, churches, elected officials and businesses – we can defeat childhood obesity.
WOMEN’S EQUALITY DAY: Thursday, Aug. 25, was the 40th Anniversary of Women’s Equality Day. Since the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, granting women the right to vote, we’ve come a long way. We have taken some positive steps recently by passing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, but make no mistake we still have miles to go before we achieve true equality. Thanks to the efforts of Rep. Bella Abzug, Congress marked August 26th as “Women’s Equality Day,” in 1971. For more, click HERE.
REEVE FOUNDATION: Congratulations to Touch the Future in Tucker for being awarded a $3,000 Quality of Life grant from the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation. The grant will be used to help fund athletic scholarships for up to 10 athletes with spinal cord injuries or disorders to participate in the Tour de LaFrance Hand-cycling event. For more, click HERE.
9-11 ANNIVERSARY: As the 10-year anniversary of 9-11 approaches, I hope everyone takes some time to remember our fallen heroes from September 11, 2001, and take stock in the fact that as Americans we are one people united in our common humanity and shared sorrow. I will commemorate the day at the 9-11 Commemorative Ceremony in Stone Mountain, and I hope to capture the spirit of what brought us together as Americans on that tragic day 10 years ago.
PASSPORT DAY: If you or your family has plans to take your next vacation outside the country or if you’re planning on traveling abroad for business and don’t yet have your passport, Passport Day in the USA 2011 is here. On Saturday, Sept. 17, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., representatives at the Atlanta Passport Agency, 230 Peachtree St. on the 10th floor will help you with your passport. For more, click HERE.
 FACE TIME ON FACEBOOK: Please stop by my Facebook page. Friending me on Facebook is also a great way to keep track of upcoming events and news from D.C. and the District.
As always, I appreciate your time and feedback. Please have a safe and enjoyable Labor Day weekend. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to represent you in Congress.
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Sept. 2, 2011
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My Staff
Arthur D. Sidney, Chief of Staff
Kathy Register, District Director
District
Shy Armstrong
Peter Butts
Katie Dailey
Betty Dixon
Eric C. Hubbard
Ray Khalfani
Andy Phelan
Carole Mumford
Dori Scales
Paulette Suggs
Washington, D.C.
Scott Goldstein
Jocelyn Griffin
Glenn Miles
Jonathan Ossoff
Mark Perkins
Ebony Simpson
Oliver Spurgeon, III
Sascha Thompson
Marybeth Williams
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I want to thank everyone who participated in the job fair and readiness workshop Congressman Lewis and I hosted at Atlanta Technical College on Thursday, Aug. 18. We worked hard to bring as many employers to the table as possible. Preliminary numbers are still coming in, but there are encouraging signs that positions are being filled as a result of the fair. The final tour stop was this week in Los Angeles. The CBC will publish reports on attendance at each event and the number of people hired from each job fair. For more, click 
Internal Revenue Service, Social Security Administration, Medicare and Medicaid and Veterans Affairs to help seniors understand their benefits. It was the second meeting in an ongoing series of visits we're making to senior centers throughout the district to cut through the clutter and confusion created by budget proposals that are trying to cut the social safety net. I enjoyed the two-hour Town Hall style meeting and not only did seniors ask me and the expert panelists questions about veterans' benefits, Medicare and Social Security, but we discussed the national budget and debt ceiling issues as well. Please stay tuned here for our next meeting. For more, click 
will hold a seminar on alternative fuels at the Georgia World Congress Center, Building C in Rooms C202 and 203 from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Alternative transportation fuels can reduce American dependence on foreign oil, cut energy costs and pollution. For more seminar information, click 
FACE TIME ON FACEBOOK: Please stop by 
