This month’s Vini Vidi Vici (V3) magazine profiles Phil and his work in the U.S. Congress.  If you live in Floyd County, be sure to pick up your copy and read Phil’s take on immigration, foreign policy and working with the Democrat leadership.

If you’re a veteran in Northwest Georgia, you’ll want to click HERE to read Phil’s latest update on the Rome VA clinic –scheduled to open this fall.  The link will also take you to breaking news about the state-wide, annual VA Supermarket event that will be coming to Rome in December 2007. 

The Rome News Tribune today reports on this exciting news:

The veterans outpatient clinic in Rome will be in place and operating four- days-a-week this fall, Congressman Phil Gingrey pledged Monday.

..Making a stop at Rome’s American Legion Post 5, Gingrey said the clinic would eventually employ two doctors, a physician’s assistant and several auxiliary staff members…

The clinic will have X-ray facilities, and Gingrey said he is confident the center will eventually include mental health services.  “This is real, comprehensive care that will cover most of the medical needs of our veterans,” he said.

The Rome News Tribune also posted a video of Phil discussing the pressing need for a clinic in Northwest Georgia. Click HERE to watch that video.

We are rapidly approaching opening day!

Last night, I hosted a very successful telephone townhall meeting with citizens in Cobb County.  Tele-townhalls are a new way I’m working to communicate with residents of Georgia’s 11th District and hear their thoughts on today’s pressing issues. Here’s how it works: each month, I choose a county and place phone calls to the residents who live there.  I invite them to join in a live, toll-free tele-townhall meeting, and then conduct the meeting over the telephone.  Those who are listening can ask me questions or share their thoughts on a particular issue.

So far this year, we’ve called Floyd, Chattooga, Bartow, Paulding, Cobb, Polk, Haralson and Carroll Counties.  We’ll continue hosting a tele-townhall meeting each month, so if you missed me the last time I called your county, you can be sure I’ll be calling again in the upcoming months. For those of you who weren’t on the call last night, here are the topics we discussed:

Immigration reform and ending chain migration
Tax relief and the Fair Tax
Gas prices
The War on Terror and our efforts in Iraq
Healthcare reform
Combating drug abuse, especially methamphetamine abuse

I really enjoy these opportunities to hear your thoughts and concerns. But you don’t have to wait for a tele-townhall to let me know what’s on your mind. Feel free to email me by clicking HERE, or click HERE to get contact information for my offices in Washington, Marietta and Rome.

Last night was one of my favorite nights of the year in Washington: the annual charity Congressional Baseball Game.  Every year, Republican and Democrat Members of Congress face off for the coveted Roll Call Trophy.  I’m proud to say the GOP continued our seven year wining streak, beating the Democrats 5-2. 

While last year I drove a double into the left field corner off Democratic pitcher Joe Baca (D-CA), this year I was stranded on third base twice – 90 feet away from scoring a run.  Regardless, it was still a fun night.

I’ve included some photographs from the game below.  This year, I wore the Berry College Vikings uniform.  In the past, I’ve worn uniforms from Kennesaw State University, Georgia Tech and the Rome Braves. 

#11 (our district) is #1 in my book

Republicans and Democrats line up to pledge allegiance

Leading off second base

 Joking with my friends in the crowd

I am proud to announce that Marcus Holloway of Silver Creek, Georgia has accepted an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy.  Marcus is the son of Tim and Lynn Holloway, and is a senior at Pepperell High School. I nominated Marcus to the academy.

Marcus’s commitment to academics and his community are sure to help him excel at the academy.  His eagerness to serve our nation is inspiring, and we owe a debt of gratitude to the brave men and women who join our military service

Marcus ranks in the top 5 percent of his senior class, and is a graduate of the Honors College/Advanced Placement Preparatory Program.  He is a member of the National Honor Society, National Honor Roll, and National Society of High School Scholars. Marcus plays varsity baseball and was named the 2006 Mr. Pepperell High School.

Today, I got to spend some time with members of the Rome Chamber of Commerce, who were in Washington for their annual fly-in event. We discussed many issues important to Floyd county, including transportation (especially the 411 Connector project), the new Rome VA clinic, immigration and legislation to support small businesses. It was great catching up with my friends from Rome. I’ve posted some photographs below, and you can view additional photos HERE.

We all posed for a photo on the steps of the U.S. Capitol.

We shared some laughs

Martha Bryant

Al Hodge discusses details with my District Director, Janet Byington

If you picked up this month’s Forbes magazine, you might be pleasantly surprised to read an article highlighting Rome’s efforts to bring industry to Floyd County:

This ability to customize its workforce has kept Rome, a small but growing city of 35,600, economically thriving even as Georgia loses textile jobs to countries with cheap labor…. Rome aims to improve its workforce, for example, by getting some of the 45% of Rome high school students who won’t attend four-year colleges to pursue hands-on experience at a new Charter Career Academy set to open next fall. Public schools Superintendent Kelly Henson is letting employers mold the curriculum and is enlisting Coosa Valley Technical College to provide career counselors and, perhaps, dual degrees. Sounds a lot like the apprenticeships that are fairly common in Europe and Japan but still rare in the U.S.

How does it work?

Part of Rome’s pitch [to Suzuki Manufacturing of America] was that instructors from Rome’s Coosa Valley Technical College would fly to Tokyo, video cameras in hand, to film Suzuki’s assembly lines, paint shops and welding departments. Using that footage, the instructors would then create a 160-hour-long “certified manufacturing specialist” program tailored to Suzuki’s specifications.

… Today a third of Suzuki’s 360 workers in Georgia have completed work in courses from robotics to accounting at one of Rome’s four colleges. Suzuki is helping design an electronics curriculum for juniors and seniors at the public high school. With this training, it is hoped, an 18-year-old can skip college and graduate right into a $40,000-a-year job as an advanced electronics specialist.

Rome is helping lead the nation in this kind of educational outreach – and it’s benefiting the entire community.  To read the complete article, click HERE. And

On Friday, Phil got a sneak-preview of the site chosen as the new VA clinic location – and it looks great.  Watch this space tomorrow for Phil’s take on the new facility in Rome.  And click HERE to learn about the VA clinic for Northwest Georgia veterans.

The Rome News Tribune this morning reports on the new VA clinic being established in Rome (including the photograph above). The paper quoted Hartwell Nolan, one of the veteran leaders who worked tirelessly to make this clinic a reality, on the importance of the new facility:

“This is one of the greatest blessings God has ever given to me,” he said. “Everybody took this as a personal challenge to get the veterans of this area the medical care they need so badly. I think that is what got it through.”

Nolan began pushing for a local VA clinic in 2005. He organized area veteran groups and gathered more than 1,500 signatures in support of the clinic.

The 73-year-old Navy vet estimates about 73,000 veterans in Georgia and Alabama are in need of a local clinic for health-care services. He is one of them, having to drive more than an hour to the Atlanta VA Medical Center as many as seven times a month.

To read the complete article, click HERE. See below for previous blog posts on the clinic location and details.

Two more maps to help you visualize where the new Northwest Georgia VA clinic will be located. This map should help those familiar with Rome:

And this map should help those traveling from Bartow, Polk, Gordon and Chattooga counties:

Today, the VA announced it has selected a site location for our new Rome VA clinic. The site, 30 Chateau Drive, is a perfect location. First of all, the facility is a former medical clinic, so it can be quickly transformed to meet VA specifications. In fact, the clinic should be open this fall. Second, the location has plenty of parking, and its proximity to Hwy. 411 means veterans from Bartow, Polk, Gordon and Chattooga counties can easily access the facility. Below is a map of the new location:

I am truly inspired by our community’s effort to bring a VA clinic to Northwest Georgia. A big thank you goes out to every veteran and veteran supporter who wrote a letter, helped raise money, drove someone to a clinic, and supported this important cause.

I also want to thank architect Mike Page and engineer David Culp Jr. of P & C Design Build. These two men have generously donated their services to design the new VA clinic. This will help the clinic get up and running as soon as possible. Both of these men understand what this clinic means to our veterans, because both are the sons of veterans. I know their fathers, Franklin Page and David Culp Sr., must be very proud.

I plan to tour the VA site later this week, and I’ll report back with an update. This is an exciting day for our community, and I eagerly await opening day.

Two more photos from Phil’s meeting with the students this week:

It was warm enough in D.C. to almost feel like Georgia.

Phil introduces himself to the students outside the Capitol.

Click here to visit Phil’s photo album.

One of my favorite times in Washington is spring - and not just because the weather finally turns warm.  I enjoy spring because so many school trips and families come to visit our nation’s capital over spring break.  In fact, yesterday I visited with University of West Georgia students and Rome’s student safety patrollers.

 Safety Patrol students from Rome

 University of West Georgia students

Later this morning, I’ll be speaking with Marietta Middle School’s civics class and students from Jones Elementary in Bremen. I’ll post photos from those meetings later today. A visit to Washington makes for a fun and educational vacation, and I’m certainly enjoying having these young minds around the office.

For those readers in Floyd County, pick up today’s edition of the Rome News Tribune and read Phil’s take on the situation at Walter Reed - and the need for electronic health records in the Army’s inpatient care.

Phil’s announcement that a Veteran healthcare clinic is coming to Rome has sent waves of excitement throughout the community. One of the most exciting details is that the clinic will be constructed this fiscal year, bringing immediate relief to our area veterans.

The Rome News Tribune reports that Tom Cappello, acting network director for VA hospitals, believes the clinic will be operational in a matter of months:

“An optimistic time frame would be to have something up and running in 4 to 6 months, depending on whatever obstacles we may run into,” Cappello said.

The paper also provides some details about the clinic:

While the planning is barely beyond the concept stage, some details have been released.

The clinic should have three or four primary care providers. In addition, Cappello said outreach programs commonly have mental health services, though those in need of specialized care will be referred to Smyrna or Atlanta.

Rome being a healthcare hub can only have benefits to the rapid establishment of the clinic, Cappello believes, because support services are already established and personnel should be more readily available.

To read more about the VA Clinic, click HERE.

Yesterday, I hosted the first 11th District Listening Session in Cartersville.  It was a great event, with nearly 40 people coming out to discuss today’s pressing issues with me.  I appreciated hearing so many opinions from around the Bartow community.

If you don’t live in Cartersville, don’t worry – there’s a Listening Session coming soon to a town near you.  Click HERE for a complete list.  Next week: Carroll and Paulding counties. I look forward to seeing you there!

Last week, I had the honor of meeting with cancer survivors from Georgia who were visiting Washington to advocate for increased research funding for this disease. Cancer survivors and their supporters included Linda Picklesimer of Carrollton, Ann Hook of Rome, Keri Perez of Cartersville and Trish Hussey of Columbus. Click HERE to read a Rome News Tribune article on the visit.  It was very encouraging to see so many people working together to eradicate this disease.

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Ben Durrett of Rome, who braved traffic, tourists, and the D.C. transit system to intern with Phil in the Washington, D.C. office. 

My name is Ben Durrett.  I grew up in Silver Creek, Georgia, which is just a few minutes south of Rome.  I graduated from Pepperell High School in 2004 as an honor graduate.  In high school I was a Georgia Merit Scholar, member of the National Honor Society, voted to Who Who’s among American high school students, and participated on numerous athletic teams.  I will be a rising junior this fall at the University of Georgia, majoring in Biology.  At UGA, I am a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and the Young Republicans.
I first became interested in interning with Congressman Gingrey when I came to Washington about two years ago to go on a capitol tour with one of his interns.  I thought it would be a great opportunity to get an up close look at how the greatest government in the World operates.  The most enjoyable part of the internship has been giving tours of the capitol building to constituents.  I enjoy being able to meet and talk with constituents from throughout the district.  In the future I hope to attend graduate school in pursuit of some profession in healthcare and then hopefully get involved in politics on a local level.

More Intern profiles to come….

This morning, both the Marietta Daily Journal and the Rome News-Tribune ran op-eds from Phil on modernizing the Voting Rights Act.

Phil noted:

The Voting Rights Act is an important piece of legislation, one that ensures American citizens have access to their fundamental right of electing a representative government. However, the VRA is grossly out-of-date and in dire need of modernization. Currently, the formulas that determine which states need the VRA’s protection are based on election data from 1964. That’s right - Georgia is being judged on how our citizens voted when Barry Goldwater ran against Lyndon Johnson.

Never mind that today, a higher percentage of blacks vote in our state than do whites. To the VRA, it’s always Jim Crow in Georgia.

We don’t base any other laws on population data from the 1960s, and this shouldn’t be the case for the VRA, either.