Congressman Sanford Bishop, representing Georgia's 2nd Congressional District, visited the Bainbridge Rotary Club this week as one of the stops he is making on his district work period.

He said that although the media likes to refer to Congress as "do nothing," Congress has been busy.

As proof, he cited overriding the Presidential veto to ensure that physicians treating Medicare patients not have to take a 10 percent cut in pay; passing legislation to help homeowners in the mortgage foreclosure crisis; restoring and expanding Veterans' benefits through a new GI Bill; and passing a new farm bill he described as "a good bill" that gives American farmers what they need to supply the food, fiber-and now fuel-to the people of this country, as well as for export.

Bishop conceded that appropriations remained unfinished when Congress recessed, but said they will be addressed again in September. Many appropriations bills have stalled, including one with a request from the City of Bainbridge for federal funding for the Riverwalk project. Bishop said he was aware of how important it was to the city as an enhancement to the local economy, and that while federal funds for these types of projects are scarce, he will do all he can to move it forward. He said results won't be known until the end of December.

So far, he said $855,000 has been approved to help fight hydrilla on Lake Seminole.

Bishop referred to gas prices as "the elephant in the room," and said he is one of the Democrats in Congress who is pro-drilling on the outer-continental shelf and at Anwar, utilizing all of the domestic exploration available.

Solving the energy crisis will take a commitment from the right people, the right source of funding and the right cooperation, according to Bishop, who is a co-sponsor of the American Made Energy Pact of 2008. Part of that proposal is that $80 billion from sale of oil and gas from new drilling be invested in alternate energy sources. The increased energy supply would bring down fuel costs and help finance research that would, over the long term, wean ourselves from foreign oil dependency.

The farm bill was a long, tough and frustrating journey, according to Bishop, who praised all of the agricultural community for working well together. Even though his colleagues on the other side of the aisle chose to vote with the President, thinking it provided too much of a safety net to the farmers, he is happy with the resulting passage.

Bishop said commodity relief is being sought for tomato farmers who saw a prime crop go to waste due to the FDA Salmonella investigations which falsely implicated tomatoes. According to Bishop, tomato farmers lost $13.9 million from tomatoes left in the fields, plus another $1.6 million for those grown, picked, packed and unsold. He said prospects for that bill are unknown, but he is hopeful for a solution, not only for farmers, but also for the FDA, with some assurance that something like that cannot happen again.

Lastly, Bishop said he was fed up with the stalemates on the water wars, and the deals that fall apart. He said the friends in Florida are acting less than friendly in claiming the farmers are the bad guys. He called that "hog wash."

He said he believed the new farm bill, with programs of agricultural water enhancement and water conservation will assert South Georgia interests.

Bishop said by spending his "vacation" updating his constituents on Washington action and listening to the needs of the people back home he will return to Washington better informed.

CAROLYN IAMON

Carolyn Iamon can be reached by e-mail at carolyn.iamon@thepostsearchlight.com or telephone at (229) 246-2827, Ext. 134.

©The Post-Searchlight 2008