Americans may be one step closer to ending the twice-a-year clock change.
The U.S. House of Representatives has approved the Sunshine Protection Act, legislation that would make Daylight Saving Time permanent nationwide. The bipartisan measure passed by a 308-117 vote and now heads to the U.S. Senate for consideration. If approved there and signed by President Donald Trump, Americans in most states would no longer “spring forward” in March and “fall back” in November.
U.S. Senators Jon Ossoff and Reverend Raphael Warnock are again urging the Defense Health Agency to abandon plans to significantly reduce services at Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center at Fort Gordon, warning the proposal could negatively affect thousands of active-duty servicemembers, veterans, military families and civilian employees.
In a letter to Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Keith Bass, the senators expressed concern over the agency’s plan to eliminate all inpatient services and transition the hospital into an ambulatory care center. The proposal would also convert the facility’s emergency department into an urgent care center. The lawmakers said the Defense Health Agency has not provided a clear plan explaining how patients would continue receiving care or how the changes would affect the surrounding healthcare system.
Ossoff and Warnock wrote that reducing services without a comprehensive transition plan could create confusion and make it more difficult for servicemembers, their families and veterans to access the care they need. They urged the agency to halt implementation of the plan, withdraw its congressional notification and provide additional information before moving forward.
The senators noted that Eisenhower Army Medical Center serves an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 active-duty servicemembers, retirees, military families and Department of Defense civilians in the Central Savannah River Area. Senator Ossoff first began pressing the Defense Health Agency for answers about the proposed reductions last year and has continued to oppose the changes
U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff says a bipartisan housing bill approved by Congress includes provisions designed to crack down on large corporations buying up single-family homes and driving up housing costs for families in Georgia.
Georgia’s newest Congressman, Clay Fuller, is beginning to find his footing in Washington after winning the special election to represent the 14th Congressional District.
Residents in Chattooga County and across Northwest Georgia are without representation in the U.S. House for now following the resignation of former Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene. But the Fourteenth Congressional District of Georgia District Office says some constituent services will continue during the vacancy.
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has announced she is resigning from Congress, ending her tenure representing Chattooga County and Northwest Georgia in the U.S. House.