[Last] week, the Partial-Birth

Abortion Ban Act of 2003 was introduced for consideration in the House

of Representatives. I was proud to offer my support as an original cosponsor

of this important legislation which would ban the gruesome practice of

partial-birth abortion.

Partial-birth abortion is the

brutal termination of the life of a living baby before it takes its first

breath outside the womb. The bill would prohibit the performance of a

partial-birth abortion with the only exception being if this abortion

method is necessary to save the life of a mother; a situation which, according

to the Surgeon General, is never the reason this procedure is performed.

Throughout my years in Congress,

I have opposed partial birth abortion, and I have voted in four separate

Congresses to ban this procedure. President Clinton vetoed these bills

in the 104th and 105th Congresses. While the House voted to override these

vetoes, the Senate did not have the necessary votes to do likewise. Unlike

his predecessor, President Bush is a strong opponent of partial birth

abortion.

With President Bush's leadership

and a Republican-led Senate, it is my hope that we will finally outlaw

the gruesome practice this year.

On Thursday, with my strong

support, the House of Representatives passed legislation which included

a provision to increase reimbursement for physicians who serve our seniors

under the Medicare program (H.J. Res. 2). This legislation also included

an important provision to address the reimbursement needs of hospitals

in rural and small urban areas under Medicare.

Over the past year, I have

heard from many doctors throughout Georgia, regarding the challenges they

face under the Medicare program. Because of an error in the formula used

to calculate physician payments, Medicare payments to physicians fell

This measure will provide the

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services with the ability to fix this

error, which if left uncorrected has the real potential to adversely affect

the quality of health care available to our seniors. Over the past year,

I have consistently supported efforts to correct the error in calculating

physician payments. In fact, earlier this year, I also cosponsored legislation

(H.J. Res. 3) which would have protected physicians from further payment

cuts.

In addition to meeting the

reimbursement needs of our physicians, this legislation also includes

a provision to ensure our hospitals in rural and small urban areas will

have the funds needed to treat the Medicare patients coming through their

doors.

In addition to these important

Medicare funding issues, I look forward to working with my colleagues

on the Ways and Means Committee to fashion a modern Medicare program which

is better able to meet the needs of our seniors.

On Thursday, with my strong

support, the House of Representatives passed the Personal Responsibility,

Work, and Family Promotion Act of 2003 (H.R. 4).

This important legislation

would reflect the President's and Congress' proposals to move more Americans

off government dependence toward individual financial freedom. Specifically,

H.R. 4 reauthorizes the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)

program and builds on the success of the 1996 welfare law. Prior to passage

of that landmark law, many mistakenly forecasted that welfare reform would

place more people in poverty.

Instead, welfare rolls were

cut by more than half and more than 9 million recipients left the welfare

rolls and began collecting paychecks. Today, more Americans are on the

road to self-sufficiency. This legislation would build on this success

On Wednesday, with my strong

support, the House of Representatives passed the Do-Not-Call Implementation

Act (H.R.395) by a vote of 418-7. This legislation seeks to curtail telemarketing

calls by allowing consumers to register on a national "do not call"

list. H.R. 395 would authorize the creation national "do not call"

database.

This legislation will allow

consumers to register, free of charge, either online or through a toll-free

number in a database of restricted phone numbers which telemarketers would

be required to purchase from the FTC. Telemarketers would be prohibited

from calling these registered consumers and would be required to update

their lists every three months. Consumer registration would be good for

five years or until the consumer changed phone numbers or moved.

Telemarketers who called numbers

included in the database would be subject to civil penalties of up to

$11,000 per call. H.R.395 has been referred to the Senate Commerce, Science

and Transportation Committee for further consideration.