Taxpayer dollars at work: Democratic National Convention, building housing, IRS on mail delays

Caption

U.S. Senator of Georgia Raphael Warnock delivered a speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on night 1 of the event on August 19, 2024.

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 Aug. 23, Warnock represented Georgia at the Democratic National Convention, hosted in Chicago. Ossoff focused on helping those facing IRS penalties due to USPS mail delays, helping advance sustainable aviation fuel development, and delivering federal grants to build more housing.

Democratic National Convention

On Aug. 19, Warnock gave a speech on Night 1 of the Democratic National Convention held in Chicago to discuss a variety of topics, including voter suppression, the work he's done with Vice President Kamala Harris, and more.

On voter suppression, Warnock expressed his thoughts on how the "lies" leading to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol have led to several voter suppression laws that have either been introduced or passed.

"The lie and the logic of Jan. 6 is a sickness," he said. "It is a kind of cancer that then metastasized into dozens of voter suppression laws all across our country. And we must be vigilant tonight because these anti-democratic forces are at work right now in Georgia and all across our country."

He also highlighted the work of  Harris, the Democratic Party nominee for the presidential election, who worked with him on initiatives like capping insulin costs.

"She cast the tie-breaking vote for my bill capping the cost of insulin to no more than $35 per month for seniors," he said. "Together we passed an infrastructure bill, boasted American manufacturing, and clean energy, an investment in the house that we all share together."

In his closing remarks, the Baptist pastor also said:

"I need all of my neighbor's children to be OK, poor inner-city children in Atlanta and poor children of Appalachia, I need the poor children of Israel and the poor children of Gaza, I need Israelis and Palestinians, I need those in the Congo, those in Haiti, those in Ukraine, I need American children on both sides of the track to be OK. Because we are all God's children, and so let's stand together. Let's work together. Let's organize together. Let's pray together. Let's stand together. Let's heal the land."

More housing

On Aug. 19, Ossoff announced a new federal grant funding program, Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing (PRO Housing), that would help Georgia communities build more housing.

According to a press release, the PRO Housing program “provides federal grant funding — through a competitive application process — to help build more housing, including developing, evaluating, and implementing housing policy plans; improving housing strategies; and facilitating affordable housing production.”

Applicants eligible for the grants include state and local governments and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs). 

“Georgia families urgently need more affordable housing,” Ossoff said in a statement. “I encourage Georgia communities to contact me and my office with any questions about this grant opportunity.”

The deadline for the grant applications is Oct. 15, 2024, at 11:59 ET here.

Sustainable aviation fuel

On Aug. 20, Ossoff announced that he is delivering two federal grants under the Federal Aviation Administration to help boost Georgia's sustainable aviation fuel development.

According to a press release, the grants will also "strengthen American energy security" and "reduce greenhouse gas emissions. "

Ossoff is delivering about $3 million to sustainable aviation fuel producer LanzaJet for the following:

• Support its new production facility in Soperton, Ga.;
• Install new storage tanks, expected to produce hundreds of thousands of gallons of sustainable aviation fuel a year.

Ossoff is also delivering a $240,000 grant to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport "to strengthen the regional supply chains and infrastructure needed to deploy sustainable aviation fuels at the airport."

"Georgia should lead the nation in clean energy and renewable energy technology, and LanzaJet and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport are a key part of that effort," Ossoff said in a statement.

IRS inquiry

On Aug. 21, Ossoff launched an inquiry to the Internal Revenue Service after Georgia constituents sent reports of them being charged penalties and interest fees for late/missing payments mailed to the IRS due to USPS mail delays.

Per a press release, Ossoff is “urging the IRS to waive penalties and interest fees incurred directly as a result of USPS delays, stemming from the failed roundup of the USPS Palmetto Regional Processing and Distribution Center earlier this year.”

Ossoff also encouraged the IRS to fix taxpayer accounts to prevent interest and penalties from accumulating and to “escalate the processing of tax refunds for paper filers” impacted by USPS delays in Georgia.

“Constituents have notified my office they are being charged penalties and interest fees on late or missing filings and payments that they mailed to the IRS via USPS," Ossoff wrote to IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel. "These tax filings are not arriving by statutory deadlines due to ongoing USPS performance issues and some filings even remain unaccounted for. Additionally, many of my constituents continue to experience financial hardship as a result of tax refund processing delays arising from ongoing problems with USPS management in Georgia.” 

The inquiry comes after the senator first launched an inquiry with USPS Postmaster General Louis DeJoy in March for answers on the USPS mail delays in Georgia.