Rep. Doug Collins

“FISA’s original intent was to protect Americans from surveillance abuses, but this critical tool was abused for political gains ahead of the 2016 election. Those at the pinnacle of our national security community lost the objectivity they are required to exercise. I’m deeply concerned the report’s conclusion indicates there isn’t bias when that is so clearly not the case.”

WASHINGTON — Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, issued the following statement upon the release of the Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s report on possible abuses of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

“The inspector general’s report confirms what we’ve known to be true: Bad actors at the top levels of the Department of Justice and FBI abused their power to attempt to take down then-candidate Trump.

“FISA’s original intent was to protect Americans from surveillance abuses, but this critical tool was abused for political gains ahead of the 2016 election. Those at the pinnacle of our national security community lost the objectivity they are required to exercise.

“I’m deeply concerned the report’s conclusion indicate there isn’t bias when that is so clearly not the case: The FBI chose not to brief then-candidate Donald Trump, failed to corroborate information in the government surveillance of a U.S. citizen and failed to disclose exculpatory evidence in that FISA application.

“It’s now obvious that Democrats tried to sweep the surveillance abuse under the rug since it pertained to President Trump rather than a Democratic candidate.”

Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. FYN attracts 300,000+ page views per month, 3.5 million impressions per month and approximately viewers per week on FYNTV.com and up to 60,000 Facebook page reach. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com

Rep. Doug Collins

WASHINGTON—Prison Fellowship, the nation’s largest outreach to prisoners, former prisoners, and their families, and a leading advocate for criminal justice reform, presented the 2019 Charles Colson Advocate of Hope Award to Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) for their work on the FIRST STEP Act and its eventual passage in December of 2018. The awards were presented during a ceremony at the Renaissance Washington, D.C. Downtown Hotel on Monday night.

The FIRST STEP Act is the first step in transforming federal prisons into safe and effective facilities that will reduce recidivism and strengthen our communities and economy. The legislation expands rehabilitative programming and earned-time credit opportunities. It also reduces and clarifies mandatory minimums and better provides for the needs of federal prisoners.

“The First Step Act invests in what Americans value most fiercely—people,” said Rep. Doug Collins. “Since this bill was signed into law, we’ve seen communities restored, hope renewed, and families reunited. I’m proud to have partnered with my friend, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, to promote human dignity in our criminal justice system, and I’m incredibly honored to stand next to him today as we receive this award.”

“In addition to cosponsoring the FIRST STEP Act from its inception, Representatives Doug Collins and Hakeem Jeffries have worked tirelessly in a bipartisan manner to pass this critical legislation that paves the way to rehabilitate federal prisoners, protect public safety, and provide opportunities for prisoners to be released sooner for good behavior,” said James Ackerman, President and CEO of Prison Fellowship. “Representatives Collins and Jeffries are receiving the Charles Colson Advocate of Hope Award due to the simple fact that they crafted this bipartisan bill that reflects their shared belief in human dignity and potential.”

“We are honoring these two dedicated public servants because they came together to lift up the voice of the voiceless, regardless of the political fallout,” said Craig DeRoche, Senior Vice President of Advocacy and Public Policy. “They used their considerable political capital for those people in our country that have none. Both men went to battle to overcome partisan objections within their own parties, not just across the aisle. But they stood together because of their shared values and faith that they could make a difference for thousands of men and women across the country.”

The Charles Colson Advocate of Hope Award is bestowed annually on a person(s) with a record of faithful, unswerving, and winsome advocacy for restorative criminal justice reform—a person whose leadership blazes a trail toward a future of proportional punishment, constructive prison culture, second chances, and safer communities.

The Charles Colson Hope Awards, sponsored by Prison Fellowship, recognize people who have faithfully and courageously worked to restore those affected by crime and incarceration. Charles Colson, who founded Prison Fellowship more than 40 years ago, was at ease with presidents, prisoners, wardens, pastors, laypeople, and legislators.

Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. FYN attracts 300,000+ page views per month, 3.5 million impressions per month and approximately 15,000 viewers per week on FYNTV.com and up to 60,000 Facebook page reach. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com

WASHINGTON — Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, released the following statement in response to Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) filing a complaint to compel the testimony of former White House Counsel Don McGahn.

“Democrats’ decision to unilaterally end the accommodations process and file a lawsuit serves only to shut off this committee’s access to White House and DOJ documents. Their insistence on having Don McGahn testify publicly before the cameras further proves they are only interested in the fight and public spectacle of an investigation, but not actually in obtaining any real information.”

Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. FYN attracts 300,000+ page views per month, 3.5 million impressions per month and approximately 15,000 viewers per week on FYNTV.com and up to 60,000 Facebook page reach. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com

WASHINGTON – Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, made the following statement at the beginning of today’s House Judiciary Committee markup.

Below are the remarks as prepared:

Ranking Member Doug Collins:  Mr. Chairman, before we begin today, I must point out the humanitarian and security crisis at the southern border rages on, and this committee – which has jurisdiction over immigration – has done nothing to address the problem. So many family units are crossing the border that border patrol is being forced simply to release them into America’s interior. House Democrats have denied there’s a humanitarian or security crisis while blaming President Trump for outrageous conditions at the border, but they’ve taken no steps to address this crisis.

Instead, Democrats have moved to issue subpoenas that, for several reasons, I cannot support.

First, the subpoena for the Mueller report and its underlying evidence commands the attorney general to do the unthinkable — break the law. The attorney general’s entire mandate is to enforce the law, and he’s expressly forbidden from providing grand jury material outside of the department, with very limited and narrow exceptions. Congress is not one of those exceptions, and the chairman knows it. In 1998, in the wake of the Starr report, the chairman described grand jury material as “material that by law . . . must be kept secret. It’s grand jury material. It represents statements which may or may not be true by various witnesses, salacious material, all kinds of material that it would be unfair to release.”

But now a different political landscape compels the chairman to adopt new standards of fairness, ignore existing law and demand the material he once considered “unfair to release.” As much as the chairman or I may want to view this material, it is a fundamental underpinning of our justice system and law that we cannot. In the face of laws and rules he finds inconvenient, the chairman demands our nation’s top law enforcement official break the law instead of supporting him in enforcing it. This is reckless. It’s irresponsible. It’s disingenuous.

It is also confusing since the attorney general is doing exactly what he said he would be doing – making as much of the report public as possible under federal law and department policy. The regulations written by Janet Reno and other Democrats don’t require him to do this – but in the name of transparency, he is. He may even furnish us the report as early as next week. Yet the chairman plows ahead.

Second, the subpoenas aimed at five individuals are completely misguided. Quite simply, they are to the wrong people. Two of these individuals are cooperating with this ill-advised investigation and have provided nearly 3,000 pages of documents. The chairman is rewarding this cooperation by announcing their subpoenas before even notifying their lawyers.

The other three individuals responded to Chairman Nadler’s initial inquiry and have also indicated a willingness to cooperate. Democrats never followed up with their lawyers either. These three individuals could not have any documents responsive to the original request, because those responsive documents all came during their time in the White House, making them presidential records. None of these three have custody of responsive documents, and the chairman knows this, too.

Why would he ignore such obvious facts? Because Judiciary Democrats conduct oversight via press release. Their investigation into 81 Trump associates has yielded no dividends. After one month, the only revelation is something we knew already — Democrats have embarrassed themselves with pre-judged conclusions that the president has obstructed justice.

Now, some Democrats have acknowledged it’s time to stop grinding political axes and govern. Yet my friends across the dais are eager for headlines, so they’re issuing subpoenas to five individuals associated with the president – despite the fact the special counsel spent nearly two years examining exactly what House Democrats are fishing for here and despite the fact nearly 30 others who received Chairman Nadler’s letters haven’t responded at all.

So, the message is clear: if you cooperate with this committee, you will get a subpoena. If you ignore it, Democrats will return the favor. This seems like a counterintuitive way to conduct oversight.

Third, today’s markup constitutes the biggest abuse of congressional subpoena power since the Oversight Committee launched a bevy of unfounded subpoenas at the Clinton Administration. The subpoenas today run counter to any type of accommodations process. Instead, the Chairman is using the most potent tool in his arsenal without even talking to the lawyers representing any of these individuals – individuals who have, up to this point, cooperated.

Let’s pause. Why is the chairman doing this? Because even full compliance from these individuals wouldn’t satisfy him. He wants to sue in federal court for these documents, even if he already has them. He’s picking the fight because fighting makes good headlines, and because his caucus is desperate for dirt on this president.

Without facts on their side, Democrats have put all their hope in optics. There is no legislative purpose to these subpoenas, but there is a lesson. The chief and most fruitful charge of this committee is lawmaking, and no one waiting for immigration, criminal justice, or patent reform thinks it’s fair to see these issues neglected in exchange for subpoenaing Hope Hicks. Why do Democrats?

Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. FYN attracts 300,000+ page views per month, 3.5 million impressions per month and approximately 15,000 viewers per week on FYNTV.com and up to 60,000 Facebook page reach. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com

WASHINGTON — Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, today (April 8)  sent a letter to Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) calling on him to invite Special Counsel Robert Mueller to testify before the committee.

Collins letter stated: “ . . . I write encouraging you to invite Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller, III to testify before our Committee without delay. If you seek both transparency and for the American public to learn the full contours of the Special Counsel’s investigation, public testimony from Special Counsel Mueller himself is undoubtedly the best way to accomplish this goal.

“Last Wednesday, the Committee voted to authorize you to issue a subpoena for the Special Counsel’s report and underlying evidence used in the investigation. Democrats unanimously rejected a Republican amendment exempting material covered under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6(e), “Recording and Disclosing the Proceedings” of the federal grand jury. In rejecting this amendment and supporting the subpoena, you and your fellow Democrats created an untenable but politically convenient situation: Force Attorney General William P. Barr to break the law to comply with your subpoena or label him as part of a cover-up if he does not.

“In your opening statement at Wednesday’s business meeting, you referenced the investigations into President Nixon and President Clinton as situations when Congress received 6(e) material. While grand jury material was released to Congress in those instances, your attempt to draw on this precedent and your repeated analogies between today and those prior instances are thoroughly inaccurate. As you undoubtedly know, Congress received 6(e) information during the Nixon era due to a federal court order hinging on the fact Congress had already begun impeachment proceedings. In 1998, Independent Counsel Kenneth W. Starr was operating under a statute separate and distinct from today’s Special Counsel regulations. Starr was an independent counsel — not part of the Department of Justice — and was required to “advise the House of Representatives of any substantial and credible information which . . . may constitute grounds for impeachment.” Starr went to federal court to fulfill his legal duty to give Congress “any substantial and credible information” pursuant to his mandate. As you also know well, the Independent Counsel Act expired under President Clinton and was replaced with today’s Special Counsel regulations, drafted by then-Attorney General Janet Reno.

“To ignore the law and conflate prior situations with the current Special Counsel’s report is irresponsible and imprudent. This behavior disrespects the law we are supposed to uphold and must stop.

“Perhaps you are loath to begin an impeachment hearing when the facts do not support one, but the precedent for Congress receiving 6(e) material is clear, and such precedent does not support your current demands. In fact, this view was further bolstered by a ruling last Friday in the Circuit Court for the District of Columbia, which noted federal judges do not have inherent authority to disclose protected grand jury materials except in specifically-authorized exceptions. Courts have, however, recognized a formal impeachment inquiry under the “judicial proceeding” exception as grounds for transmitting such 6(e) material to Congress. Instead, you refuse to head down that path for political reasons, and have chosen the path of greatest resistance, and least legality — attacking the Attorney General for refusing to break the law while misleading the American public about what the law requires or allows.

“Your decision to make groundless claims and repeatedly threaten to go to court not only distracts from other Committee business but, based on firm legal precedent, will also end — after months, if not years, of litigation — without the Committee receiving the material you say it requires to complete its work. If you decline to launch an impeachment inquiry, which is your clear legal path to the 6(e) grand jury information, I suggest instead inviting Special Counsel Mueller in to testify before the Committee as soon as possible.

“For nearly two years, Special Counsel Mueller oversaw an investigation that issued more than 2,800 subpoenas, executed nearly 500 search warrants, and interviewed approximately 500 witnesses. Attorney General Barr was never a part of this investigation, and instead simply reviewed the Special Counsel’s final report and has provided Congress, so far, with the Special Counsel’s principal conclusions. While he can testify surrounding his decision to provide the Committee with principal conclusions, it is Special Counsel Mueller who is best-positioned to testify regarding the underlying facts and material in which you are so interested.

“To that end, Special Counsel Mueller should be invited to testify before the Committee during the week of April 22. Although the House is expected to be in recess that week, I think we can agree this business is too important to wait, and Members of the Committee will surely return to Washington at such a critical moment in our country’s history. I urge you to do the right thing, follow the law, and invite the Special Counsel to testify before the Committee immediately. Doing so ensures we will all hear the unfiltered truth from a man who conducted his investigation with integrity and professionalism.”

Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. FYN attracts 300,000+ page views per month, 3.5 million impressions per month and approximately 15,000 viewers per week on FYNTV.com and up to 60,000 Facebook page reach. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com

Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.)

GAINESVILLE, Ga. — Reps. Doug Collins (R-Ga.), Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), Jody Hice (R-Ga.), Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), Rick Allen (R-Ga.) and Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.) sent a second letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) demanding a more thorough explanation on the anticipated cost increase for dock and facility permits.

On June 6, 2019, the Corps announced the implementation of a revised real estate administrative fee schedule for dock and land-based facility permits along the shorelines of Federal reservoirs and waterways in the South Atlantic Division. Under the revised fee schedule, new dock or facility permits will increase from $400 to $835 and re-issue permits will increase from $175 to $835.

On June 28, 2019, the Corps responded to Members’ original letter dated June 14, 2019, but failed to provide adequate justification for the fee increases.

We are in receipt of your letter dated June 28, 2019, however we believe that a number of our questions were not sufficiently answered. Furthermore, we have additional questions regarding the information your office provided.

As you know, on June 6, 2019, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) announced the implementation of a revised real estate administrative fee schedule (administrative fees) for dock and land-based facility permits along the shorelines of Federal reservoirs and waterways in the South Atlantic Division. The revised administrative fee schedule, effective on January 1, 2020, includes an increase in fees for new and re-issued dock and land-based facility permits. Under the revised fee schedule, the cost to individuals for a new dock or facility permit will increase from $400 to $835 and the cost for a re-issued permit will increase from $175 to $835.

Please provide detailed and direct responses addressing the following areas:

1) Explain why an assessment by the staffs at the Corps reservoirs within SAD of administrative fees to cover administrative expenses was initiated in 2006 but no decision on a revised fee schedule was made for thirteen years;
2) The Corps left the fee schedule unchanged for more than a decade and then decided to increase the amount exponentially. Explain why a more gradual phase-in to increase fees was not implemented;
3) Explain why the Corps did not follow required notice and comment procedures under 5 U.S.C. 553;
4) Explain how your office implemented a public information campaign to explain the revised real estate administrative fee schedule and why it is necessary; and
5) Provide evidence to justify the fee amount of $835 for all of these services. Please be specific showing the study that the USACE did to arrive at this number, including evidence that the administrative burden for new permits, modifying permits, and renewing permits is the exact same.

The full text of the second letter is as follows:

We respectfully request that you respond no later than September 9, 2019. Please do not hesitate to contact our offices should you have any questions. We look forward to your prompt attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Doug Collins
Member of Congress

Jeff Duncan
Member of Congress

Barry Loudermilk
Member of Congress

Virginia Foxx
Member of Congress

Jody Hice
Member of Congress

Rick Allen
Member of Congress

Sanford Bishop
Member of Congress

Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. FYN attracts 300,000+ page views per month, 3.5 million impressions per month and approximately 15,000 viewers per week on FYNTV.com and up to 60,000 Facebook page reach. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com

ALPHARETTA, Ga.  — Yesterday, Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) visited Digital Ignition, Georgia’s newest business launching pad and official Blockchain, AI, IoT, and innovation incubator of the Forward Forsyth Partnership. During his visit, Collins participated in a roundtable with area tech leaders to discuss issues ranging from intellectual property and workforce development to procurement and finance policies.

“Tech companies are a critical part of our economy, and they represent America’s spirit of innovation,” said Collins. “I’m thankful for the opportunity to be part of the conversation as we work to promote innovation, safeguard intellectual property, and fuel our economy here in Georgia and beyond.”

Forsyth County leads the state in growth and is home to some of the largest and most innovative companies in Georgia. As a result, the county has one of the highest concentrations of technology and business executives in the state.

Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. FYN attracts 300,000+ page views per month, 3.5 million impressions per month and approximately 15,000 viewers per week on FYNTV.com and up to 60,000 Facebook page reach. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Speaking before a House Judiciary subcommittee, Wednesday, Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) called for changes in H-2A program — a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act that authorizes lawful admission into the United States of temporary non-immigrant workers to perform agricultural labor or services of a temporary or seasonal nature.

“My Congressional district in northeast Georgia is home to a vast agriculture industry and hardworking farmers, ranchers, growers and processors who contribute to America’s economy and our communities every day,” Collins said. “In our corner of the state, more than 10,000 farm operators grow everything from peaches to cattle and from chicken to strawberries.”

Citing Jaemor Farms which is located in northeast Hall County near the Habersham County line, Collins, “Farmers, like Drew Echols of Jaemor Farms, need help harvesting crops. Georgia peaches are fickle, so timing is everything — but the H2A system offers almost no flexibility. This means extra hands may arrive too early or too late to get fruit off the tree and into that homemade pie. Workers who arrive before crops have ripened aren’t allowed to find work on other farms while they wait.”

Collins pointed to the diffuculty of H-2A workers being certified.

“Right now, to secure an H-2A employee, growers must start with the Labor Department’s certification process. By law, the department must certify there are not sufficient ‘able, willing, and qualified’ U.S. workers to fill the job and employing an H-2A worker ‘will not adversely affect the wage or working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers,’” he said.

Another issue, he said, is the cost of the H-2A program.

“Many times, growers must pay over a thousand dollars in fees per worker to the government and to a recruiter,” Collins said. “In many states, agriculture employers are required to pay artificially high wage rates. The Adverse Effect Wage Rate is over $11 per hour at its lowest and over $15 an hour at its highest, depending on the state. On top of these costs, growers must provide transportation and housing to H-2A workers once they arrive in the U.S.”

Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. FYN attracts 300,000+ page views per month, 3.5 million impressions per month and approximately 15,000 viewers per week on FYNTV.com and up to 60,000 Facebook page reach. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com

Rep. Doug Collins

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) said he is encouraged the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers response to his concerns about size able increases in dock and land-based facility permits.

On June 6, the Corps announced it would increase the cost of permits in the South Atlantic Division effective Jan. 1 2019. Under the revised fee schedule, permits would have increased from $400 to $835 and re-issue permits would have increased from $175 to $835.

On Aug. 26, Collins sent a letter to the Corps demanding a thorough explanation of the anticipated cost increases. It was the second time the Hall County Republican had objected so such a large increase.

Now, the Corps has announced it will pause and reassess the increase along the shorelines of Federal reservoirs and waterways in the South Atlantic Division.

Collins issued the following statement Monday: “I’m very encouraged that the Corps took our concerns seriously and made the decision to hold off on increasing permit fees. Residents of the Ninth District living on or near Lake Lanier and Lake Hartwell — and those throughout the southeast living near Corps waterway — will no longer be hit with significant and unexpected fee increases come January.

“I want to thank Major General Holland for meeting with me today to discuss my concerns and explore ways in which the Corps could accomplish their intended goal without placing an undue burden on individuals and families living throughout the southeast. I look forward to continuing to engage with the Corps as they study this issue.”

Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. FYN attracts 300,000+ page views per month, 3.5 million impressions per month and approximately 15,000 viewers per week on FYNTV.com and up to 60,000 Facebook page reach. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com