Speaking with WAOK’s Juandolyn Stokes, Senator Reverend Warnock discussed investments he secured for Georgians in the recently-passed Fiscal Year 2024 government funding bills

Senator Reverend Warnock highlighted specific funding wins for Georgia communities, including investments to construct The Stitch in Atlanta, investments in affordable housing

 Senator Reverend Warnock also highlighted the need for state leaders to expand Medicaid in Georgia to help provide affordable health care access to more than 600,000 Georgians

Additionally, Senator Reverend Warnock shared his moral vision for a path to peace in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict

 Senator Reverend Warnock to On Point: “I am grateful that we were able, a couple of weeks ago, to avert a government shutdown […] It’s important to me because I’ve secured some great wins for the state of Georgia and for the American people”

Washington D.C. — Recently, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) joined WAOK’s On Point with Juandolyn Stokes in a wide-ranging interviewto discuss his role in passing recent government funding legislation and its investments in Georgia, as well as his work to expand Medicaid in Georgia and his concerns about the growing humanitarian crisis spurred by the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.

During the conversation, Senator Warnock highlighted some of the wins and investments he secured for Georgians across metro Atlanta in the first government funding minibus, as well as what Georgians stand to gain from the second and final government funding minibus; the bill was ultimately passed by the full Congress on March 23, 2024, and signed into law, fully funding the federal government for Fiscal Year 2024 and averting a partial government shutdown.

Listen to the interview HERE.  

[See a list of key projects across the state receiving funding due to Senator Warnock’s leadership HERE and HERE.]

“We cannot continue to govern through the politics of brinkmanship and hostage taking, and sadly that has become the practice in Washington,” said Senator Reverend Warnock.“We’ve been here several times since last spring alone, and sometimes when these deals are cut, and compromises are made that means each side has something they are unhappy about. The ridiculous thing is that sometimes when the deal is cut there were folks on the other side of the aisle […] who tried to go back and redo work that had already been done, and rob the people of Georgia of resources that they had already secured in pervious funding bills.”

Senator Reverend Warnock also discussed his efforts to close Georgia’s health care gap by expanding Medicaid during the interview. The Senator has long championed efforts to expand affordable health care access and close the coverage gap, and recently visited Georgia’s state capitol to remind state legislators that he and Sen. Ossoff had secured roughly $1.2 billion in federal incentives for Georgia to expand its Medicaid program for the approximately 640,000 Georgians who would qualify. 

“When we say expansion, let me be really clear, we are not talking about a new program, we’re not talking about additional funds — we ought to call it Medicaid adoption. What we’re saying to the state of Georgia is, the people of Georgia who already supporting the Affordable Care Act, through their tax dollars, ought not be robbed of the benefit of the dollars that are already being taken out of their paychecks every month,” Senator Warnock continued.

Additionally, Senator Warnock shared his hope of peace in the on-going Israel-Hamas conflict “Israel is our closest ally in the Middle East, they are important for our own national security. We believe in the dignity of the people of Israel, we also believe in the dignity and humanity of Palestinian citizens as well […] I have to say, as a pastor, my prayer, not just with my lips, but with the legislation I put forward, we will find our way to peace.”

Listen to Senator Reverend Warnock’s full interview HERE.