Barrow Least Effective Member Of The Georgia Congressional Delegation

May-19, 2006

Barrow Least Effective Member Of The Georgia Congressional Delegation

(Savannah, Georgia) - Athens Congressman John Barrow was ranked the least effective member of the entire Georgia Congressional delegation and in the bottom five of all members of the U.S. House of Representatives. The power rankings released this week by Knowlegis, a government relations knowledge management company, surveyed all U.S. Senators and Congressman and ranked them in accordance of how effective they are to advancing an agenda.

"We've been very blessed with a number of great Congressmen that have represented this area, whether it's Doug Barnard, Roy Rowland, Charlie Norwood, or Jack Kingston," said Max Burns, former Congressman and candidate for Georgia's new 12th District. "We've always had strong leadership, but now we've got a Congressman who has simply not provided any leadership whatsoever, and southeast Georgians are not accustomed to that."

Burns, who represented the old 12th District in the 108th Congress, proved to be one of the most legislatively prolific freshmen representatives in congressional history. Burns authored and the U.S. House passed several pieces of legislation including:

* The Resolution Honoring the Life and Accomplishments of Ray Charles , H.Con.Res.449
* The Child Medication Safety Act of 2003, H.R.1170
* The Simple Tax for Seniors Act, H.R.4109
* The Historically BlackColleges and UniversityTeacherCenters of Excellence Amendment to H.R. 4409
* The Priorities for Graduate Studies Act of 2004, H.R.4411
* Tax Simplification for Americans Act of 2004, H.R. 4841

Burns successfully maneuvered several pieces of legislation that passed both house of Congress and were signed into law by President Bush including The Tomochichi United State Courthouse Act, Public Law 108-461 and the Sudden Oak Death Research Act, Public Law 108-488. Portions of Burns' Emergency Agriculture Disaster Assistance Act, H.R. 257 and Child Medication Safety Act became law when they were included in the Consolidated Appropriations Resolution in 2003 and the Improving Education Results for Children with Disabilities Act of 2003.

Still pending House action at the end of the 108th Congress were: The NutraSweet Tariff Relief Act, H.R.4552; The Minority Farmers Fairness Act of 2003, H.R.1667; and The Pell Grants Plus Act, H.R.3894; Interstate 14/14th Amendment Interstate Highway Initiation Act , H.R.4925 ; Interstate 3/3rd Infantry Division Highway Initiation Act of 2004, H.R.4926; Military Personnel Financial Services Protection Act, H.R.5011; Federal Hydroelectric and Environmental Enhancement Act of 2004, H.R.5044; Senior Elder Care Relief and Empowerment (SECURE) Act, H.R.5215; VA Community-Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) for veterans at Navy Supply Corps School in Athens , GA, H.R.5303.

On the other hand, Barrow has introduced five bills in the U.S. House of Representatives. Not a single committee has held a hearing on any of his bills nor have any of them been voted on in a committee or on the House floor.

"If the new 12th District is to have a future, we need someone who can effectively reach across party lines to get good things done for our district, and who can partner with the other members of our Georgia delegation to accomplish things for our state. I know I can provide the kind of service this district expects, and have a track record of doing so. What we have now is clearly a lack of leadership in Washington from Mr. Barrow," said Burns.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

http://www.maxburns.com/archive_detail.cfm?news_id=103