The controversial Export-Import Bank is back from the dead after a U.S. Senate vote Sunday to attach it to a highway bill. The government-backed bank that helps finance foreign countries to buy American exports has produced a tea party-business wing split in the GOP, but Democrats have firmly lined up behind it as a job creator.
Sunday's vote provoked a Georgia schism: Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., was in favor of bringing back the bank after its charter expired June 30, while Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., was opposed.
Said Isakson, in a statement:
"The Export-Import Bank is important for jobs in Georgia. The Bank allows U.S. businesses to compete on a level playing field against global companies who receive far greater assistance from their governments. In addition, the Export-Import Bank makes money for the United States. In 2013, the Export-Import Bank returned $1.1 billion to the U.S. Treasury. I support extending the Export-Import Bank with some important reforms included in the reauthorization."
Here's what Perdue spokeswoman Megan Whittemore had to say:
"Senator Perdue voted against attaching EX-IM as an amendment to the highway bill because he continues to believe the American people deserve a separate and robust debate about the future of the Export-Import Bank and that opportunity was not provided on the floor of the U.S. Senate."
Now things get tricky: The Senate is running out of time to pass the three-year highway-Ex-Im combo, while the House has already passed a five-month bill. From Politico:
But enough House lawmakers support renewing Ex-Im that they could back an otherwise detestable transportation bill that does just that. And the White House has made clear that whatever transportation bill lands on the president's desk come end-of-July better have an Ex-Im reauthorization attached.
As one of our number wrote over the weekend, Perdue is one of the swing votes in the Senate on moving the whole package.
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State Rep. Allen Peake, R-Macon,
who
in the medical marijuana oil fight, is floating his name for a 2018 run for higher office. From
:
"All I'm concerned about is making sure I win my next re-election (to the state House) in 2016. And then assuming I win in 2016, we'll give a good strong look at what the options may be in 2018" for a lieutenant governor run, Peake said.
This spring, Peake lost an internal race for House majority leader.
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candidate Ted Cruz of Texas will be making at least two pit stops during his visit to Georgia next weekend for the fast-growing Red State convention. The surprise is that his host in Savannah on Friday, Aug. 7, will be former congressman Jack Kingston.
The invite we saw also includes dozens of other local leaders on the "welcoming committee," including state Sens. William Ligon and Ben Watson and state Reps. Jason Spencer and Ron Stephens.
"We are excited to have Sen. Cruz come to coastal Georgia, an area which is easy to overlook in presidential poltitics," said Kingston, ever the would-be kingmaker. "We encourage people to come out and hear what he has to say."
That's not to be confused with an endorsement, though. Kingston also hosted Cruz in the closing days of the 2014 campaign at a Chatham County BBQ picnic -- when Cruz was helping stir up votes for Sen. David Perdue and Gov. Nathan Deal.
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Oh, what a summer is in store for us next year. The state committee of the Georgia GOP this weekend picked Augusta as the site of next year's June 2-4 state convention. And then on to Cleveland!
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In today's premium edition, Malloy and our AJC colleague Aaron Gould Sheinin have a rundown on Georgia donors to presidential candidates. Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush brought in the biggest hauls, while Ted Cruz and Ben Carson had tons of small donors. Cruz was the only one to bring in a statewide elected official, though:
Hudgens, a Georgia co-chairman of Cruz's campaign, has been outspoken in his revulsion for the Affordable Care Act, and Cruz has been the law's most high-profile antagonist in Congress.
"He's shaken up Washington, D.C.," Hudgens said.
"I think Ted Cruz holds a lot of the same values that Donald Trump does," Hudgens added. "But he's a lot more diplomatic in the way he says it than Donald."
Another aspect of the story worth a click: Isaac Sabetai's interactive graphic on donations to each candidate by zip code.
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As the weekend broke, InsiderAdvantage reported the following:
A lunch meeting between GOP state House District 80 candidate J. Max Davis and defeated special election opponent Catherine Bernard did not result in an endorsement of Davis by the libertarian Republican attorney…. Sources say Bernard is "still thinking about" an endorsement.
Davis, the former mayor of Brookhaven, narrowly beat Bernard for a berth in an Aug. 11 runoff against Democrat Taylor Bennett. A split within the DeKalb County GOP, between liberty Republicans and business conservatives, is one of the factors that could result in a rare Democratic pick-up. The seat had been held by Mike Jacobs, a Republican.
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We bet you never thought you'd see this tweet:
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At least five Georgia mayors have signed on to an initiative to call on European leaders to combat a recent rise of anti-Semitism.
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and the leaders of Augusta, Johns Creek, Roswell and Sandy Springs have all backed the Mayors United Against Anti-Semtism program organized by the American Jewish Committee.
According to a study released this year by the Pew Research Center, by 2013, anti-Semitic harassment worldwide had reached a seven-year high. Jews had been harassed in 34 of 45 European countries, the study said. That number didn't include the rash of hate crimes across Europe this year, including the January shooting inside a kosher market in Paris. Emanuel happens to be in Paris this week where he plans to meet with Mayor Anne Hidalgo.
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