Ahead of his visit to Marine Corps Logistics Base (MCLB) Albany, Senator Reverend Warnock spoke with WALB’s Jim Wallace on new investments for Georgia’s military communities in the annual defense funding bill, which await a final vote in Congress before being signed into law

The National Defense Authorization Act of 2024 (NDAA) authorizes over $100 million in infrastructure upgrades at MCLB Albany–a top priority for Senator Warnock 

Senator Warnock also discussed the moral urgency of Congress passing common-sense gun safety legislation; earlier this week the Senator spoke on the floor on this issue as another mass shooting unfolded in Las Vegas

The Senator was in South Georgia to visit a pecan farm damaged by storms this year, as well as visit MCLB Albany to hear from servicemembers about the challenges and opportunities facing our armed forces

Senator Reverend Warnock: “I have been fighting for Georgia priorities in the defense authorization bill; I am trying to make sure we support our servicemembers. The people who fight for us should not have to fight with us to get what is basic”

Above: Senator Reverend Warnock joins Jim Wallace in studio at WALB News in south Georgia

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) joined WALB’s Jim Wallace for an in-studio interview in Albany to discuss new investments for Georgia’s servicemembers and military installations in the annual defense funding bill, which awaits a final vote in Congress. The final defense bill includes over $100 million in infrastructure upgrades for MCLB Albany–a top priority for Senator Warnock that supports our nation’s military readiness. The Senator traveled to South Georgia to visit a pecan farm damaged by storms this year and hear from local farmers about the support they need to bring costs down as Congress continues its work on the Farm Bill. The Senator also previewed his visit to MCLB Albany to hear from servicemembers about the challenges and opportunities facing our armed forces and reaffirmed his commitment to passing emergency funding legislation to provide support to our allies Israel and Ukraine, and provide humanitarian relief to people in Gaza.

The full interview is available HERE. 

“I have been fighting for Georgia priorities in the defense authorization bill; I am trying to make sure we support our servicemembers. The people who fight for us should not have to fight with us to get what is basic.” said Senator Warnock on WALB. “I am proud I have been pushing to get over $100 million in infrastructure upgrades for the Marine base right here in the area [Albany]. […] I’ll keep fighting until we get it done.” 

The final version of the NDAA, which resolved differences between competing versions passed by the House and Senate, was released on December 7. The bill contains several priorities championed by Senator Warnock that will directly benefit Georgia servicemembers, military families, and military installation across the state. The legislation authorizes over $100 million in infrastructure upgrades for MCLB Albany, including $40 million for construction of an Army Reserve facility and $64 million for construction of a consolidated communication facility. The final defense bill text also expands the benefits of surviving spouses of fallen servicemembers who may have lost them due to remarriage despite remaining critical members to our military communities, a provision based on legislation authored by Senator Warnock. The bill also includes a 5.2 percent pay raise for servicemembers, investments to combat the historic recruiting crisis, and reforms to improve housing affordability for servicemembers. The priorities Senator Warnock secured in the annual defense bill ensure Georgia will continue playing a critical role in America’s national security for years to come.

Read below a key excerpt from the Senator’s interview. Full interview available HERE.

Jim Wallace (JW): “Now, one of the very important things that is going on in Albany and across the nation, unfortunately, we’ve had a lot of fatal shootings. In Albany, we’ve had three people killed in the last week with two separate shootings and you have taken a stand about gun violence and had some recent talk about that.”

Senator Warnock (SW): “Well gun violence, as we all know, is a real problem in our country, and we’ve had over 40,000 gun deaths just this year alone. When you talk about mass shootings, we’ve had almost twice as many mass shootings as we’ve had days this year. Not to mention the slow rolling crisis, the kind of one on one violence that you see.”

And so, the question that we ought to be asking ourselves as Americans is why is it that this doesn’t happen anywhere else? No other country that’s not engaged in warfare do we see this level of gun violence. We are awash in guns. The glimmer of hope is that ordinary people on the left and the right, I’m talking about people not politicians, both Democrats and Republicans would like to see action on this.

For example, a recent poll indicated that 87% of Americans, all Americans, would like to see common-sense background checks for the ownership of a firearm and yet we can’t get movement on this in Congress. It suggests to me that, increasingly, the people’s voices have been squeezed out of their democracy. And so, I’m focused on getting reasonable gun safety measures passed, like background checks, and closing the loopholes around gun shows and online purchases, which again, nearly 90% of Americans support.

But what we got to do is somehow lose the stranglehold of the dark money and the special interests that are stopping us from getting the progress that Americans deserve. If we can’t do what’s basic to government: protect our families and protect our children. What are we doing? Certainly, we can do better than telling our children in the wake of one mass shooting after another that the best we can do is to teach you how to hide, really? Politicians need to stop hiding and pass common sense gun safety legislation.”

JW: “Now, another important issue to people right now is the military… You’re going to tour MCLB Albany today, while you’re visiting here, and you’ve toured all the other military bases around Georgia, you said you’re preparing for the Senate military funding bills. So, what’s the future of military in Georgia? What do you want to see done, especially involving MCLB Albany?”

SW: Well, we got to make sure that we maintain readiness and Georgia is a military state. One out of 10 Georgians is connected in some way to the military. And so, I spend a lot of time on our bases and a little bit later, I’m going to visit the Marine Corps Logistics Base. I’ve been fighting for Georgia priorities in the authorization of the defense bill and trying to make sure that we support our service members; that people who fight for us shouldn’t have to fight with us to get what is basic. And so, I’m proud of the fact that I’ve been pushing to get about $100 million of infrastructure funding for the Marine base right here in the area. 

Another thing I’ve been very focused on is making sure that our service members have the basic kind of housing that they need. What’s called the base allowance for housing has been woefully inadequate, So I’ve been pushing to get that increase so service members, whether they’re on the base or off the base, can actually afford housing. Also, in this defense reauthorization package, there’s about a 5% pay raise for our service members, on top of the 2% Raise that we did last year. I think it’s only right and fair, and I’ll keep fighting and I won’t crest until we get it over the finish line.”

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