Taxpayer dollars at work: Ossoff on protecting children online, Warnock on aviation industry

Neither Sen. Jon Ossoff nor Sen. Raphael Warnock is up for reelection this year — the former will run again in 2026 and the latter in 2028. But 2024 is off to a busy start for both senators. In this recurring digital news series, GPB follows your federal tax dollars back to the state of Georgia each week.

For the week ending May 10, 2024, Sens. Warnock and Ossoff focused on legislation protecting children from online sexual exploitation, securing funding for humanitarian aid to fight world hunger, securing funding to build more affordable housing in Clayton County and throughout Georgia.

Affordable housing

During a visit to a Clayton County neighborhood developed by Habitat for Humanity May 6, Sen. Ossoff announced $500,000 in federal funding to build more affordable housing in Clayton County and across Georgia.

During his visit, Ossoff toured the neighborhood and held a press conference to discuss the need for affordable housing in Atlanta, as there is not enough, he said.

"This federal investment is going to support the overall effort," Ossoff said of the project in Clayton County, per WSB-TV.

It was also reported that Ossoff plans to deliver the same funding efforts to Fulton and Athens-Clarke Counties. 

Humanitarian aid

Also on May 6, Sen. Warnock announced millions secured from the federal government funding legislation for the MANA Nutrition Factory in Fitzgerald, Georgia.

The funding will support "Georgia jobs manufacturing Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food, which will be distributed by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in some of the most famine-stricken parts of the world," per a press release. 

RUTF is mainly made of peanuts, giving South Georgia peanut farmers more opportunities. Warnock advocated that U.S. Agriculture Secretary Vilsack immediately use RUTF "to address global hunger" and worked alongside Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) to request that USAID use RUTF "to fight hunger in Gaza."

"Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food supports south Georgia peanut producers, creates good-paying Peach State jobs, and saves lives around the world," Warnock said in a statement.

Disabilities

Sens. Ossoff and Eric Schmitt (R-MO) introduced bipartisan legislation on May 6 that would direct the Department of Health and Human Services to build a website providing information and resources to Georgians with disabilities.

According to a press release, the Think Differently Database Act would provide Georgians with disabilities and their families "more easily access information about the Federal and state resources available to them within state Medicaid programs — searchable by zip code — all in one database."

Federal housing investments

On May 7, Sens. Warnock and Ossoff announced that they secured about $80 million in federal housing investments for Georgia under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's FY 2024 Public Housing Capital Fund Formula Grant Awards.

The funding will go to 149 locations across Georgia, providing affordable housing options to Georgians regardless of income level.

According to a press release, the Public Housing Repair Fund "will allow public housing authorities to modernize or develop public housing for individuals, families, and seniors" by using the funding for the "development, financing, modernization, and management improvements of public housing developments."

On housing, both senators said in statements:

“Housing means dignity, safety, and security, and as a Senator who grew up in public housing, I know that increasing the availability and improving the conditions of affordable housing are critical to helping Georgians across the state establish a solid foundation to build a healthy future.”

“These new federal investments secured in the government funding legislation will help working families, support local governments strained by the housing crisis, and lower costs. Senator Ossoff and I won’t stop fighting to strengthen access to affordable housing across Georgia.”

-Senator Warnock

“Georgia families urgently need more affordable housing. That’s why Senator Warnock and I brought Republicans and Democrats together to help increase affordable housing supply for families across Georgia.” 

- Senator Ossoff

Online exploitation

On May 7, President Biden signed Sens. Ossoff and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)'s bipartisan legislation, protecting children from online sexual abuse and exploitation, into law.

The REPORT Act will require websites and social media platforms to "report crimes involving Federal trafficking and enticement of children to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children," per a press release.

The legislation will also increase fines for companies knowingly failing to report child sex abuse material on their sites and "require evidence to be preserved for a longer period," allowing law enforcement "more time to investigate and prosecute crimes."

Emergency health care

Sen. Ossoff announced on May 9 that he is delivering $543,000 in federal resources to the Atlanta Regional Commission for an Emergency Health Care Transportation Access Study to improve emergency health across Metro Atlanta.

According to a press release, the study will analyze "disparities in emergency health care access in metro Atlanta to identify the biggest needs and help more families get the care they need."  

The study comes after several hospitals in Metro Atlanta have closed in the past few years.

"Too many metro Atlanta families fear that they can't quickly access emergency health care in a crisis," Ossoff said in a statement. "That's why I brought Republicans and Democrats together to accelerate progress to ensure all Metro Atlanta families can access emergency health care when they need it most."

Aviation investments

On May 8, Sen. Warnock, a member of the Senate Commerce Committee overseeing transportation and aviation policies, joined Bloomberg TV, to discuss the importance of passing the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization legislation.

The legislation includes major investments that would improve the aviation workforce, push to add five daily trips to DCA, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, and "provisions to protect fliers' safety and increase consumer protection provisions," per a press release.

"We have a shortage of pilots, aviation mechanics, and other people who work in the industry, and we are barely pulling from all of our human talent," Warnock said to Bloomberg about the aviation workforce. "I have provisions in the bill that addresses that along with other things."