Taxpayer dollars at work: What your U.S. Senators from Georgia are doing for the week ending June 9

This summer, GPB News Democracy Intern, Ambria Burton, is following the activities of U.S. Senators Jon Ossoff and Reverend Raphael Warnock. 

Each week on Fridays, we'll run down a list of activities that follow your dollars back to communities in Georgia.

Danville Fire and Rescue

The city of Danville, Ga. has used the same fire truck for 35 years, serving the small town 30 miles southeast of Macon.

This week, Sen. Ossoff's office announced $59,000 in funding for a new fire truck for the station.

The new vehicle will save Danville’s Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department from closure, help the station follow fire safety best practices, and improve first responders’ response times for people in need, a statement said.

“The fire truck for the City of Danville will help not only in ensuring the firefighters have the proper equipment to protect property and lives, but also, it will add in helping lower their ISO rating. This will save money for the homeowners on their home insurance,” Twiggs County EMA Director and Fire Chief Jack Wood said. “Thank you to Senator Ossoff for helping fund this project.” 

An ISO rating is the Insurance Services Organization (ISO) estimate of how prepared a community is for a fire emergency. The ratings are from 1 to 10 with 1 being the best. Currently, Twiggs County's overall (ISO) was listed as 9 in 2018.
   

Chattahoochee Brick Company

Sens. Ossoff and Warnock and Rep. Nikema Williams (D) (GA-5) announced resources to clean up the abandoned Chattahoochee Brick Company site at Parrott Ave NW and Brick Plant Road NW in Atlanta. The City of Atlanta will eventually transform the site into a public park.

This aid is being allocated to areas across the country confirmed by the Environmental Protection Agency to be contaminated.

According to EPA's website, contaminated areas are known as brownfield sites because they expose those nearby “to hazardous substances by drinking groundwater impacted by the site, by wind carrying contamination off the site, or by walking on the site itself.” It exposes people to “pollutants that may cause health risks.”

The resources are to help “remove hazardous substances from the property and clean up a large amount of contaminated fill that was dumped in the Proctor Creek floodplain near the back of the site,” according to a May 30th press release from Senator Ossoff. 

Sen. Warnock said the $2 million under the brownfields grant program will help the city of Atlanta rid the community of contaminants. 

"We know that historically disadvantaged communities bear the brunt of the public health and economic downfalls posed by contaminant exposure," he said in a statement. "This $2-million dollar grant is an important next step in alleviating these risks and creating a safer, healthier Atlanta for all.”

Adrian, Ga.

Also, under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Sens. Ossoff and Warnock delivered resources to clean up brownfield areas throughout Downtown Adrian, such as an abandoned grocery store and sawmill. 

According to a June 1 press release, "the new resources will be used to assess and take inventory of contaminated sites across the area, develop new cleanup plans to remove the pollutants, and revitalize existing infrastructure to boost job growth in the community."

Adrian is one of four cities to receive a $500,000 grant for the cleaning of the brownfield site.

Claw Back Legislation

Warnock and other bipartisan senators advocated for legislation "to claw back big, failed bank executive pay" on Tuesday. The Failed Bank Executives Clawback Act would require that big banks who received compensation for failures and resolutions pay back federal regulators for up to three years' worth of compensation.

As stated in a press release, Warnock, who serves as Chair of the Banking Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection, has been adamant about forcing banks and companies to face their actions headfirst.

Sen. Warnock recently questioned former Silicon Valley Bank CEO Gregory Becker about the difficulties surrounding the bank's failures.

Albany Marine Corps Logistics Base

After Sen. Ossoff successfully gained bipartisan support, he announced on Wednesday he would deliver resources, including $6.4 million, to advance a new communication facility project for the Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany. 

The resources will be upgrades for the base that will "strengthen national security," according to a June 7 press release.

The new communications facility will benefit the "Marine Corps' logistics mission," the release said. Without the new facility, "MCLB Albany would face limitations to its critical logistics capabilities, damaging national security and military readiness."

New Caucus

Sen. Ossoff was amongst a group of bipartisan Senators to launch the U.S. Senate Korea Caucus Wednesday to "advance and strengthen the relationship and alliance between the United States and the Republic of Korea" in honor of the 70th anniversary of the U.S.-Korea alliance, per a June 7 press release.

The caucus, which includes Senators Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Brian Schatz (D-HI), and Todd Young (R-IN), aims to allow the U.S. and Korea to "advance policies deepening economic, security, cultural, and scientific ties between the two nations."