Thankful for GA-01

I say this all of the time, but it bears repeating: out of 435 Congressional Districts, I have the distinct honor and privilege of representing the best one.

There’s quite a bit that makes Georgia’s First Congressional District so impressive, from our natural resources, such as the Okefenokee Swamp, beautiful beaches, and pristine coastline, to our statewide policies that promote economic growth and create jobs. While I could brag about these all day, there is one aspect of our district that never ceases to inspire: your dedication towards hard work and community service.

It's why I’m on the House floor as often as I am, delivering speeches about your achievements, careers, community service, military service, and more.

It’s why I had the chance to attend Over the Moon’s ribbon-cutting ceremony earlier this month in Savannah, an organization focused on ending diaper need and period poverty in Coastal Georgia and the Lowcountry by offering diapers, wipes, and period supplies at no charge to neighbors in need. Over the past few years, they have distributed over 750,000 diapers and baby wipe supplies in our area.

This is life-saving work that changes people’s lives for the better, and it’s happening right here in our own community.

But that’s not the only recent example of GA-01 residents using their time, energy, and resources to uplift and support others. As you may know if you’ve read my newsletter over the past few weeks, the House recently passed a bill to rename the Hinesville Veterans’ Affairs (VA) clinic in honor of four Liberty County heroes who, all in their twenties, paid the ultimate sacrifice in the Vietnam War.

This bill had my name on it, but it was the culmination of years of hard work from dozens of community members, including family members of the deceased. I will forever be grateful to those men and women for fighting to honor John Gibson, Dan James, William Sapp, and Frankie Lee Smiley with this renaming.

Learn more about these brave men and the community members who fought to preserve their legacy by watching my remarks on the House floor advocating for this bill’s passage.

Click here to learn more about these four heroes

BUDDY's Briefing

In this week's edition of Buddy's Briefing, I'm at home with my family reflecting on everything we and our district have to be grateful for.

In case you missed it

Opinion: A path ahead for Republicans in U.S. House

By: Rep. Buddy Carter

"The fight to replace U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was one of the most embarrassing, bruising, and frustrating issues that I’ve dealt with as a member of Congress.

For three weeks, the House was paralyzed. Now, that’s not to say there wasn’t good work happening. The House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Budget Committee, which I have the pleasures of serving on, held hearings, markups, and moved the needle on key policy priorities. But during that time, we couldn’t pass bills, which is the number one responsibility of the legislative body.

The seriousness of this situation really came into full view when Hamas launched its Oct. 7th attack on Israel, sending the region into a destabilizing war. While Israel was fighting for its right to exist and our Jewish friends and neighbors mourned the loss of loved ones, the House was unable to act because of a battle over personalities. I’m glad that the very first piece of legislation we passed under Speaker Mike Johnson was a resolution in support of Israel that denounced Hamas, which was quickly followed by the passage of a fully offset aid package, but it was a powerful and disappointing moment to see the United States unable to step in swiftly and help the strongest democracy in the Middle East maintain its sovereignty against terrorists who murder children and civilians.

It’s no secret that I supported Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House. During his tenure, we advanced meaningful bills to unleash American energy dominance, restore law and order, fix the crisis at our southern border, boost our economy and more. The decision to remove him was wrong and vengeful, but it’s time to move forward. The work of the people will not go unfinished and House Republicans are united around Speaker Mike Johnson, who is a man of deep faith and conviction, a constitutional expert and an exceptional choice as Speaker of the House...

When Republicans fight the Democrats on policy, we win, because that is how we deliver results for Americans. Time spent debating personalities is time wasted. The House Republican majority can ill-afford to waste another minute of legislating, especially now when Bidenomics is bleeding hardworking American taxpayers dry.

House Republicans have some rebuilding to do, and we have already done a lot of it, but don’t confuse growing pains with fractures. Like America herself, our party is strengthened when we face challenges."

Read my full AJC op-ed here.

in memory of first lady rosalynn carter

We lost a remarkable Georgian this week, Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter.

Credited with professionalizing the role of First Lady, one of her most admirable missions was her work on mental health. She fought to end the stigma against mental illnesses and to increase access to mental health care. There is no question that Mrs. Carter made Georgians proud with this work. Mrs. Carter will be remembered as a light to all, a champion for mental health, leader in education, and will be deeply missed.

Thank you, Mrs. Carter, for your service to our state and nation. Read more about her incredible life and legacy here.

Before you Go...

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Here's a little something you may have missed from this week: