WEEKLY REVEREND WRAP: Reverend Warnock Kicks Off Statewide Bus Tour, Celebrates Georgia Veterans in Warner Robins, Dublin, Milledgeville, Eatonton, Conyers, and Stonecrest

Also This Week: Inflation Reduction Act Signed Into Law, Including His Proposals To Lower Prescription Drug Costs

This week, Reverend Warnock kicked off his “Working for Georgia” bus tour, where he was joined by Georgia voters, veterans, and community leaders at campaign stops in Warner Robins, Dublin, Milledgeville, Eatonton, Conyers and Stonecrest. The statewide tour came one week after the Warnock-backed PACT Act – legislation that will provide health care coverage to the nearly 350,000 Georgia veterans exposed to toxic burn pits during their military service – was signed into law.

Also this week, the Inflation Reduction Act was signed into law, including Warnock’s proposals to lower prescription drug costs for seniors on Medicare and cap the cost of insulin at $35 per month for Georgians on Medicare.

WARNOCK KICKS OFF STATEWIDE “WORKING FOR GEORGIA” BUS TOUR 

This week, Reverend Warnock kicked off his “Working for Georgia” bus tour, joined by Georgia voters, veterans, and community leaders at campaign stops in Warner Robins, Dublin, Milledgeville, Eatonton, Conyers and Stonecrest. During the statewide tour, Warnock celebrated Georgia veterans and servicemembers.  Warnock discussed his leadership in the Senate fighting to protect and support military jobs, improve military housing, and reintegrate homeless veterans into the workforce.

Reverend Warnock’s statewide tour came one week after the Warnock-backed PACT Act was signed into law. The new law will provide health care coverage to the nearly 350,000 Georgia veterans exposed to toxic burn pits during their military service. The PACT Act is part of Reverend Warnock’s extensive record of fighting for Georgia’s veterans and military families.

On Wednesday Reverend Warnock traveled to Warner Robins and Dublin:

Reverend Warnock met with Georgia veterans and voters in Warner Robins. 

“Senator Warnock has fought to improve our military housing, health care, and help our homeless veterans,” said Houston County Democrats Chair and USMC veteran Courtney Driver. “That’s why we have to send him back to Washington.”

Atlanta Journal Constitution: ‘Sales job’: Warnock hits the road to pump federal budget bill

• As U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock praised a newly signed tax, health and climate change law under a rain-soaked pavilion, he was interrupted repeatedly by a handful of audience members — not by hecklers, but supporters shouting “thank you.”

• With Congress in recess, Warnock kicked off his campaign bus tour in the shadows of Robins Air Force Base with a focus on his efforts to preserve Georgia’s military installations and support a new law that expands medical benefits for many veterans exposed to toxins.

• But his remarks hinged on the new federal budget bill, which includes subsidies to curb prescription drug prices and a $35 monthly out-of-pocket cap on insulin for Medicare beneficiaries — a provision that Warnock long sought.

• As the crowd cheered, the senator knocked Republicans for blocking a broader effort that would have also limited insulin costs for those with private health insurance.

• “Apparently, they think they work for the pharmaceutical companies. I guess that’s who they work for,” Warnock said. “But I’m going to keep fighting until we cap the cost of insulin on private insurance as well.”

• Echoing Bibbs was military veteran Antuanette Davis.

• “That’s the fighter we need for the fight we are in,” she said of Warnock. “But now we have to be aggressive. We have to emphasize that Democrats are fighting to bring down inflation and costs.”

• For Warnock, that also meant talking about what wasn’t in the bill. Namely, funding to forgive student loan debt, a priority of Warnock’s since he attended Morehouse College on a “full-faith scholarship” — meaning he had no idea how he’d pay for it.

• “I’m continuing to say to the president of the United States that you need to do reasonable and reliable student debt relief and you need to do it right now,” Warnock said to rising applause. “To be clear — I know who I work for. I work for you. So I don’t mind telling the president that.”

Later in the day, Reverend Warnock met with Georgia veterans and community leaders in Dublin.

“How many veterans do we have out here? Veterans, he’s fighting for us! He’s fighting for us to make sure we get treatment,” said Ward 1 Dublin City Council Member Bennie Jones. 

On Thursday, Reverend Warnock Traveled Milledgeville, Eatonton, Conyers and Stonecrest: 

Reverend Warnock held a rally with veterans in Milledgeville. 

“He didn’t just show up today because he’s running for office. We need to be supporting individuals who don’t just show up when it’s election time,” said Army veteran and former Mayor of Milledgeville Floyd Griffin. “I served in Vietnam, where I flew helicopters. My oldest son served in the Army for 30 years and retired as a Colonel like his dad. One of my grandsons serves in the Air Force presently, and I have another grandson who is also in the advanced ROTC program and he’s going to the Army. That’s four generations that we’ve served this country. And that’s why we need to keep a person like Senator Warnock in office.”

41 WMGT Macon: Senator Warnock stops in Baldwin County on statewide bus tour

• Senator Raphael Warnock brought his “Working for Georgia” bus tour to voters in Baldwin County Thursday.

• He spoke to a crowd in downtown Milledgeville about the work he’s done in Washington so far and his plans for the future.

• Warnock is using the tour, which started Wednesday, to rally voters ahead of the November election.

• “Invest in STEM and in regional tech hubs so we can create places of innovation and creativity and economic prosperity,” he said. “I’ve got a feeling that the folks here in Milledgeville could benefit from that.”

• Senator Warnock will face Republican nominee Herschel Walker in the November 8 election.

Watch 41 WMGT’s coverage HERE

Tucker Sargent, 41 WMGT: “Senator Raphael Warnock brings his ‘Working For Georgia’ bus tour to voters in Baldwin county. It started Wednesday. This morning, he spoke with a crowd in downtown Milledgeville. The Senator is using this tour to rally voters ahead of the November election. He spoke today about the work he’s done in Washington so far, as well as his plans for the future.”

Reverend Warnock: “In our children, it invests in STEM and in regional tech hubs so we can create places of innovation and creativity and economic prosperity. I’ve got a feeling that the folks here in Milledgeville could benefit from that.” 

Union Recorder: Sen. Raphael Warnock brings campaign to Milledgeville

• U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock will make a campaign swing through cities in middle Georgia, including Milledgeville and Eatonton on Thursday.

• Quentin T. Howell, chairman of the Baldwin County Democratic Committee, said Warnock will hold a meet and greet session and talk with local residents concerning some of the latest news from the nation’s capitol in Washington, D.C.

• “It shows the importance of rural Georgia, and specifically, it shows the importance of Milledgeville, the former capital of the old Confederate south, and how important we are on a national scale,” Howell said. “This election will have national implications and could shape the difference in whether the Democrats keep control of the U.S. Senate or whether it swings to the other side — the Republicans.”

• The tour comes just as the Warnock-backed PACT Act was signed into law by Pres. Joe Biden.

Reverend Warnock took a pit stop for peaches in Eatonton.

And held a meet and greet with Georgia voters and veterans.

Eatonton Mayor John Reid: “Reverend Warnock is leading the fight for Georgia’s veterans and military families by bringing their concerns to the forefront of his work in the Senate. And now he’s fighting for military housing. He recently introduced legislation that will help servicemembers obtain safe, affordable housing.”

Reverend Warnock traveled to Conyers Wednesday afternoon.

Rockdale County Commissioner Doreen Williams: “As the daughter of a veteran from World War II, as the wife of a veteran from the Vietnam war, I know exactly what health care is needed, I know exactly what it’s like for veterans, and Senator Warnock has made it his mission to focus on our veterans. He’s expanded health care coverage to those that were impacted by toxic burn pits. This takes me back to my brother-in-law who suffers from Agent Orange effects. We’re so glad Senator Warnock was able to get this passed.”

Reverend Warnock ended the day with a rally in Stonecrest.

DeKalb County Sheriff Melody Maddox: “My father passed away from Agent Orange. I know how important it is for these veterans to make sure they see the health care that they so deserve–I’m a witness to it, I understand. This man is going to make it happen, we are all deserving. We can’t do it without your help, he needs all of us. Let us come together for my late father and my mother who is still serving in the community as a retired Air Force veteran.”

WARNOCK-BACKED INFLATION REDUCTION ACT, INCLUDING HIS PROPOSALS TO LOWER PRESCRIPTION DRUG COSTS, SIGNED INTO LAW 

This week, the Inflation Reduction Act was signed into law, including Warnock’s proposals to lower prescription drug costs for seniors on Medicare and cap the cost of insulin at $35 per month for Georgians on Medicare.

The Inflation Reduction Act also includes health care savings for Georgians and finally gives Medicare the ability to negotiate drug prices on behalf of Georgia seniors. The legislation will lower costs, bring good-paying jobs to Georgia, all while reducing the federal deficit.

Watch 11Alive Atlanta’s coverage HERE

Aisha Howard, 11Alive Atlanta: “Developing now in Washington, this is a live look at the U.S. Capitol, where a sweeping bill to fight climate change and extend health care coverage is heading to the president’s desk. So, here is how it impacts you and your family. The Inflation Reduction Act includes a measure led by Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock and Congresswoman Lucy McBath that would cap the price of insulin for many Americans at $35 per month. It also lets Medicare negotiate the cost of prescription drugs, increases taxes on large corporations, and makes massive investments in cutting greenhouse gas emissions. President Biden is expected to sign the bill. He’s calling it the most aggressive action the country has ever taken to confront the climate crisis and strengthen energy security in America.”

Georgia Public Broadcasting: Georgia Democrats score legislative wins in Senate spending bill

• Warnock, up for reelection in November, led extensive lobbying to include multiple prescription drug initiatives aimed at easing the burden on Americans who struggle to afford high prices for necessary medications.

• The first-term senator had two of his proposals included: one that caps prescription drug costs for seniors on Medicare at $2,000 a year and another that caps costs of insulin at $35 per month for individuals on Medicare.

• “Medicare will be able to negotiate the price of prescription drugs, something that the VA has been doing for 30 years, which will help the pocketbooks of our seniors,” he said during an interview. “We will deal with the climate threat, I  think in a significant way. All the while reducing the deficit.”

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