Johnny Isakson

Sen. Isakson (R-GA) was elected to a third term in 2016, but before the end of his term due to health issues. This means Georgia will have two Senate elections in 2020: the regular election for the seat held by Sen. David Purdue, and now a special election to choose who will serve out the remainder of Sen. Isakson's term. In accordance with Georgia law, Gov. Brian Kemp (R) will fill the vacancy with an appointee, who will serve until the election next November.

• Who do you think Kemp will appoint? Will it be a temporary placeholder or someone who's likely to run for re-election?

• Do Democrats have a shot at the seat?

To add some context to the questions above, let's remember that up until 2016, Georgia was considered a Solid Republican state, but President Trump did worse there in 2016 compared to Mitt Romney in 2012. On top of that, Democrats flipped a Republican-held House seat in 2018, and are targetting others in 2020. Also, Kemp defeated Democratic gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams by less than two points.

Lastly, two people have already ruled out a run for Isakson's seat: , who is focusing on voter protection efforts; and Republican , the former chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, who says he is stepping away from politics to spend more time with his family.

Here is the text of his reply to me:

Dear Mr. Mark8992;

Thank you for contacting me regarding the issue of net neutrality. I appreciate your thoughts on this subject and I am grateful for the opportunity to respond to you.

I have consistently been opposed to attempts by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to regulate the Internet, because I believe that the competition created by the free market will better ensure that the Internet remains open and free. I also believe that unnecessary regulations have the potential to stifle innovation and be harmful to consumers. In the past, I have supported several legislative measures in this regard, including an amendment to prohibit the FCC from using any appropriated funds "to adopt, implement, or otherwise litigate any network neutrality based rules, protocols, or standards."

Earlier this year, the Washington, DC Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the FCC's Open Internet Order which barred Internet Service Providers (ISP's) from blocking websites or from any unreasonable discrimination against Internet traffic. This ruling has caused many to call for the FCC to classify broadband Internet services as telecommunications services subject to Title II of the Communications Act of 1934. This classification would give the FCC regulatory authority over the Internet and access to its content. I do not support this reclassification of the Internet.

On May 15, 2014, the FCC decided in a three to two vote to allow ISP's to charge websites for premium service or Internet "fast lanes." The Chairman of the FCC, Tom Wheeler, has said that the ban on blocking websites will remain, but that an ISP could offer varying speeds for websites as long as the arrangements are "commercially reasonable." The public will have a chance to comment on this ruling before the final ruling is enacted at the end of the year.

As we move forward this Congress I will keep a close eye on these issues and work with my colleagues to determine if any Congressional action is necessary. I will keep your thoughts and concerns in mind should any related legislation come before me on the Senate floor.

Thank you again for contacting me. Please visit my webpage at for more information on the issues important to you and to sign up for my newsletter.

Sincerely, Johnny Isakson United States Senator

H.R.7105 - Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020 is a comprehensive bill that recently passed the house and the senate. It is headed to the desk of the president.

The bill addresses multiple wide ranging issues of importance to veterans. In fact, it is essentially the combination of multiple bills the House Committee of Veterans Affairs has been working through 2020.

There is a portion of the legislation that calls for the retrofitting of VHA facilities to better accommodate women.

There is a section of the bill that addresses Military Sexual Trauma. There is a section that addresses Disability Benefits Questionnaires.

This is a link to the official congressional record of the bill; it includes itemized url's to the individual sections on specific topics that the bill covers: