P. K. Martin, State Senator from the 9th District, spoke to his home Rotary group at their noon meeting on May 4.  He opened by presenting Marshall Boutwell with a Senate Resolution recognizing Marshall’s multiple contributions to the credit union movement in Georgia and congratulating him on receiving the Moses C. Davis Lifetime Achievement Award.   Senator Martin then talked to the group about his experience as a freshman senator, describing the learning process and his first impressions.  He has been stuck by  the helpfulness of his fellow Senators and their commitment to doing the right thing.  He went over a list of important legislation passed this session, including SB1 improving insurance coverage for children with autism, HB1 approving cannabis oil for medical purposes, bills breaking down bureaucratic barriers for high school students, HB 502 ensuring our students are taught founding principles, and HB170 providing for transportation funding.  He discussed SB 108, his bill requiring additional risk management for large insurers, and the five House bills he sponsored.  He has been selected to participate in a national leadership program as one of 27 new legislators who show leadership potential in the Republican Party.

Dr. Adolfo Santos, Dean of the School of Liberal Arts at Georgia Gwinnett College, spoke to the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville at their April 20 meeting. A professor of Political Science, he discussed the subject of his book Do Members of Congress Reward Their Future Employers? Evaluating the Revolving Door Syndrome. Starting with the Founding Fathers, he traced the relation between D.C. lawmakers and powerful corporations and businesses. In the early days government directly impacted fewer citizens and businesses than today, so most lawmakers went back home after serving. In the years post New Deal and Great Society programs, legislation started to affect more people. Lawmakers served long terms and progressed to chairmanships of committees which held a lot of power. Prior to the 60s and 70s lawmakers tended to return to their home states upon retirement, but changes in committee structure and lessening of the power of committee chairs led to less commitment to serve and more interest in becoming lobbyists. Dr. Santos noted that it is natural for lawmakers to want to use their knowledge of how the system works and their contacts with fellow lawmakers, but he is concerned that some lawmakers use their last couple of years in office to promote an industry which will give them a lucrative lobbyist position when they do retire. He proceeded to offer several examples of lawmakers and corporations which have abused this system.

Speaking to the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville and their guests at Monday’s meeting was Congressman Rob Woodall.  Woodall serves the 7th district of Georgia in the U.S. House of Representatives where he is on the House Committee on Rules, the House Budget Committee, and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.   It was mainly in his capacity as a member of the House Budget Committee and as the Chairman of the Republican Study Committee’s Budget and Spending Task Force that he addressed the group.  He focused on the question of a balanced budget and the huge deficit that looms over all.  He reported on the budgets currently before Congress and made clear he felt a balanced budget was a moral imperative.  He discussed the looming insolvencies in three major programs, Social Security Disabilities Insurance, Medicare, and Social Security, and reported that young people have little faith that Social Security will be there when they reach retirement age.  Other topics were interest rates on treasury securities, the decline in projected real economic growth, and the lowered labor force participation rate. He conceded only hard decisions remain and that Americans have to change their expectations.  He then fielded questions on such issues as the Iran situation, the Keystone pipeline, the President’s executive actions, tax reform, and the impact of presidential politics on foreign affairs.