{"id":14472,"date":"2022-07-27T11:47:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-27T15:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/?post_type=press-releases&p=14472"},"modified":"2022-07-29T12:37:49","modified_gmt":"2022-07-29T16:37:49","slug":"watch-u-s-senate-passes-sen-ossoffs-bipartisan-bill-to-rename-va-atlanta-regional-office-for-late-georgia-senator-johnny-isakson","status":"publish","type":"press-releases","link":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/press-releases\/watch-u-s-senate-passes-sen-ossoffs-bipartisan-bill-to-rename-va-atlanta-regional-office-for-late-georgia-senator-johnny-isakson\/","title":{"rendered":"WATCH: U.S. Senate Passes Sen. Ossoff\u2019s Bipartisan Bill to Rename VA Atlanta Regional Office for Late Georgia Senator Johnny Isakson"},"content":{"rendered":"

Johnny Isakson served Georgia in the U.S. Senate from 2005 to 2019 & served as Chair of the Senate Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee from 2015 to 2019<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington, D.C. \u2014 <\/strong>The U.S. Senate tonight passed U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff\u2019s bipartisan bill to rename the Department of Veterans Affairs\u2019 (VA) Atlanta Regional Office in honor of the late Georgia U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Senate passed Sens. Ossoff and Roy Blunt (R-MO)’s bipartisan Senator Johnny Isakson VA Regional Office Act of 2022<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>which will designate the VA facility in Decatur, Georgia, as the \u201cSenator Johnny Isakson Department of Veterans Affairs Atlanta Regional Office\u201d to honor the late Senator for his work to relentlessly advocate for our nation\u2019s veterans and servicemembers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Ossoff took to the Senate floor<\/a> to urge his colleagues to pass the legislation and honor the late Sen. Isakson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSenator Isakson had a saying, Mr. President, that there are just two kinds of people in this world, \u2018friends and future friends.\u2019 I hope we can all be inspired by that aspiration and that outlook, by his resilient desire to see the good in everyone, to see the opportunity to work with anyone to try to find where our interests align, where we can meet eye to eye where we can get things done together,\u201d Sen. Ossoff said on the Senate floor.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSenator Isakson\u2019s courtesy, collegiality and integrity will forever serve as an example to all of us who serve in this body today and in the future. And that is why in recognition of Senator Isakson\u2019s tremendous contributions to American veterans, to the state of Georgia, and to the United States, it has been my privilege to introduce alongside my distinguished Republican colleague from Missouri Senator Blunt, and the presiding officer Senator Warnock, the Senator Johnny Isakson VA Regional Office Act<\/em> to rename the VA\u2019s Atlanta Regional Office after Senator Isakson, as part of our nation\u2019s ongoing recognition of his service, and as an example, to those who follow in his footsteps of the virtues that his representation embodied,\u201d Sen. Ossoff continued.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johnny Isakson served Georgia in the U.S. Senate from 2005 to 2019. He serves as Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans\u2019 Affairs from 2015 to 2019, where he continuously worked to improve benefits and services for veterans and their families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sens. Ossoff and Blunt\u2019s bipartisan bill is co-sponsored by Senators Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), VA Committee Chair Jon Tester (D-MT), VA Committee Ranking Member Jerry Moran (R-KS), and Rob Portman (R-OH).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Georgia\u2019s Congressional Delegation in the House, led by Reps. Sanford Bishop (GA-02) and Rick Allen (GA-12) introduced the companion legislation in the U.S. House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click here to watch Sen. Ossoff\u2019s floor remarks<\/strong><\/a>.<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Please find a transcript of Sen. Ossoff\u2019s floor remarks below:<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN. OSSOFF<\/strong>: \u201cMr. President, I rise today to recognize a giant of the great state of Georgia, which the presiding officer and I both have the distinct honor of serving, to recognize a true legend of the U.S. Senate. An extraordinary father, husband, and representative of our state, the late Senator Johnny Isakson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMr. President, Senator Isakson served Georgia all his life. Born in Atlanta, Senator Isakson attended the University of Georgia, then enlisted in the Georgia Air National Guard. He was a successful private businessman, growing his real estate enterprise to one of the largest in the state. He served in both the Georgia House of Representatives and the State Senate, and Governor Zell Miller, a Democrat, appointed him, a Republican, to chair of a State Board of Education. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn 1999, Senator Isakson was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives where he worked to improve American K-12 education. And in 2004, he was elected to this body where he would serve for almost 15 years with courtesy, dignity and kindness, supporting and championing bipartisan efforts to better serve our nation\u2019s veterans. And his service culminated in his chairmanship of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, and of the Senate Ethics Committee. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd, Mr. President, as we will hear from our distinguished colleagues, who served alongside Senator Isakson, like Senator Blunt, Senator Isakson through his uncommon decency, his generosity of spirit, his commitment to integrity and service of others over service of self, won universal respect in this body, won respect in the state of Georgia that crossed party lines and earned a reputation not just nationally, but around the world for statesmanship, effectiveness and hard work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut, Mr. President, even more important than his work as a statesman, Senator Isakson was a father and a husband. And I want to recognize Senator Isakson\u2019s extraordinary family, including his wife of more than 50 years, Diane, his sons, John and Kevin, his daughter, Julie, all of whom I’ve had the pleasure of speaking are corresponding with in recent months, and all of whom in their lives carry on the Senator\u2019s legacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSenator Isakson had a saying, Mr. President, that there are just two kinds of people in this world, \u2018friends and future friends.\u2019 I hope we can all be inspired by that aspiration and that outlook, by his resilient desire to see the good in everyone, to see the opportunity to work with anyone to try to find where our interests align, where we can meet eye to eye where we can get things done together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSenator Isakson\u2019s courtesy, collegiality and integrity will forever serve as an example to all of us who serve in this body today and in the future. And that is why in recognition of Senator Isakson\u2019s tremendous contributions to American veterans, to the state of Georgia, and to the United States, it has been my privilege to introduce alongside my distinguished Republican colleague from Missouri Senator Blunt, and the presiding officer Senator Warnock, the Senator Johnny Isakson VA Regional Office Act<\/em> to rename the VA\u2019s Atlanta Regional Office after Senator Isakson, as part of our nation\u2019s ongoing recognition of his service, and as an example, to those who follow in his footsteps of the virtues that his representation embodied. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their support of this legislation. We will hear from Senator Blunt, Senator Warnock, to share their experiences working alongside and knowing Senator Isakson in just a moment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut now, Mr. President, let’s get this done and take this action to demonstrate our enduring respect and admiration for this extraordinary American statesman Johnny Isakson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee be discharged from further consideration ofS.4359<\/em>, and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN. REV. WARNOCK (presiding officer)<\/strong>: \u201cThe Clerk will report.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SENATE CLERK<\/strong>: \u201cS. 4359<\/em>, a bill to designate the regional office of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Metropolitan Atlanta as the \u2018Senator Johnny Isakson Department of Veterans Affairs Atlanta Regional Office\u2019 and for the purposes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN. REV. WARNOCK (presiding officer)<\/strong>: \u201cWithout objection, the committee is discharged, and the Senate will proceed with the measure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN. OSSOFF<\/strong>: \u201cMr. President, I further asked that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN. REV. WARNOCK (presiding officer)<\/strong>: \u201c<\/strong>Without objection.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEN. OSSOFF<\/strong>: \u201cThank you, Mr. President.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

# # #<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Johnny Isakson served Georgia in the U.S. Senate from 2005 to 2019 & served as Chair of the Senate Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee from 2015 to 2019 Washington, D.C. \u2014 The U.S. Senate tonight passed U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff\u2019s bipartisan bill to rename the Department of Veterans Affairs\u2019 (VA) Atlanta Regional Office in honor of the late […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14472","press-releases","type-press-releases","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/14472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/press-releases"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/14472\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14476,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/14472\/revisions\/14476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}