Taxpayer dollars at work: Expanding Okefenokee, emergency weather planning, medical debt

Caption

Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock appeared at a Senate Banking Committee hearing on Wednesday, December 11, 2024, to stress the importance of clearing medical debt from credit reports.

Credit: Screenshot

Note: In this recurring digital news series, GPB follows your federal tax dollars back to the state of Georgia each week. 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.

For the week ending Dec. 13, the senators worked on sending their support to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in their proposal to expand the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge boundaries, introducing legislation to improve local government's extreme weather planning, pushing to clear medical debt from credit reports, and delivering public safety resources.

Extreme weather

On Dec. 11, Warnock and Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) introduced legislation directing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to create a program to communicate safety information and changing weather patterns to local governments, helping with emergency planning.

According to a press release, the program's mission "would focus on providing communities and local governments with cutting-edge services to assist with crucial decisions about resource allocation and emergency preparedness before a disaster occurs."

The Natural Disaster Education and Outreach Act will help communities "understand and identify risks" associated with extreme weather and "provide state and local officials, small business owners, farmers, and homeowners" with important information to respond to natural disasters.

"Georgia communities have been devastated by hurricanes and other extreme weather events in recent years, and these storms are only expected to become stronger and more frequent, making it critical we use every tool at our disposal to be better prepared and informed to save lives and protect communities," Warnock said in a statement. "The Natural Disaster Education and Outreach Act would provide local governments with the services needed to strengthen emergency preparedness and better educate the public about shifting weather patterns. I'll continue working with Senator Welch to get this done and keep Georgians safe."

Broadband internet

On Dec. 11, Ossoff announced applications for the first round of federal funding through the bipartisan infrastructure law's Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) are open under the Georgia Technology Authority to local governments, internet service providers, nonprofit organization, etc.

The program will help continue to expand high-speed internet throughout the state of Georgia.

“Last year, we first announced this $1.3 billion in federal funding to surge broadband connectivity across our state, and this is another major next step toward ensuring every Georgia family and business has high-speed Internet,” Ossoff said in a statement. “I encourage Georgia communities to contact me and my office with any questions about this grant opportunity.”

For more information on the grant program, read here. Applications can be submitted here.

The deadline for the first round of application is Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 5 p.m. ET.

Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge

On Dec. 11, Ossoff shared his support during the public comment period with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to consider a proposal to expand the boundary of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in Folkston, Ga. 

The Okefenokee Swamp is the largest blackwater swamp in North America, containing a National Wildlife Refuge. The area is also significant to Native American tribes, including the Muskogee (Creek) Nation, and contains at least 74 Native American mounds.

The expansion would add approximately 22,000 acres next to the existing refuge.

“It is vitally important that we continue to protect the Okefenokee Swamp and its irreplaceable ecosystem that is an economic driver for our state and a cherished treasure for millions of Georgians,” Ossoff wrote to FWS Southeast Regional Director Mike Oetker. “Importantly, this proposed expansion would preserve private property rights by enabling FWS to ‘work with willing landowners to explore voluntary conservation, including potential acquisition, that would further protect the refuge’s globally significant freshwater wetland system and wildlife habitat.’ Given the importance of protecting the Okefenokee to my State, our Nation, and future generations, I strongly support the FWS proposed boundary expansion.”

Public input on the Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge expansion proposal ended Friday, Dec. 13, 2024.

Medical debt

On Dec. 12, Warnock and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), via letter, pushed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Direction Rohit Chopra to finish the rule-making that would clear medical debt from credit reports and stop consumer report agencies from sharing medical debt information with creditors.

Warnock is a member of the Senate Banking Committee and chair of the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection, which has jurisdiction over the CFPB.

Per a press release, in Georgia, "where 640,000 people don't have access to affordable health care because state leaders have refused to expand Medicaid, 27% of rural citizens have medical collections on their credit report — 10 percentage points higher than the national average."

In the letter, the senators write that finishing the rule would help keep families from being unjustly penalized for getting health care.

"This rule would provide vital protections: It would bar lenders from broadly using information about medical debt to make credit eligibility determinations, prohibit the inclusion of medical debt on credit reports, prohibit creditors from repossessing medical devices, and recognize the unique nature of medical debt and not penalize people for seeking treatment and care," they wrote. "This issue is far too important to remain unsettled any longer. The rule would protect millions of people across the nation, and we respectfully urge you to swiftly finalize this rule."

Additionally, on Dec. 11, Warnock continued to stress the importance of getting rid of medical debt from credit cards at a Senate Banking Committee hearing.

Public safety

On Dec. 12, Ossoff announced that he was delivering federal resources under the Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs to improve public safety in Georgia.

"I am pleased to help deliver these public safety upgrades and resources for our Georgia law enforcement agencies. I remain committed to public safety for every community in Georgia," Ossoff said in a statement.

Ossoff is delivering resources to the following projects:

Fentanyl tracking

On Dec. 13, the Senate passed bipartisan legislation from Sens. Ossoff, John Cornyn (R-Texas), James Lankford (R-Okla.), and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.): the DETECT Fentanyl and Xylazine Act, which would improve fentanyl trafficking at the southern border.

Per a press release, the legislation would require the DHS Science and Technology Directorate to create technology to better detect drug trafficking throughout the border.

“Illegal fentanyl trafficking is devastating Georgia families and putting our kids at risk,” Ossoff said in a statement. “We brought Republicans and Democrats together to pass this bill that will strengthen detection and prevention of fentanyl trafficking.”

The legislation goes to the House of Representatives for a chance at a final vote to become law.