State of the State: Georgians are Suffering from Brian Kemp’s Extreme Agenda

Today, Brian Kemp delivers his State of the State address that will outline his extreme agenda that threatens Georgians’ healthcare protections for pre-existing conditions, slashes funding for vulnerable Georgians across the state, and pushes extreme policies that threaten Georgians’ jobs.  

 During his first year in office and campaign for governor, Kemp has consistently put his extreme, partisan agenda before the needs of Georgians, threatening Georgians’ health care, jobs, and way of life. 

“With today’s address, Georgians are reminded just how devastating a decade of Republican leadership has been, and under Brian Kemp’s failed leadership, it’s gone from bad to worse,” said Maggie Chambers, spokeswoman for the Democratic Party of Georgia. “In just one year, Brian Kemp has waged a war against protections for pre-existing conditions, funding for our public schools, and quality affordable healthcare. Thanks to Kemp’s extreme agenda, our rural hospitals will continue to close, over a million Georgians could lose health care, and our top employers could pick up and leave the state. Today, it is clear that Brian Kemp and Republicans are making a last ditch effort to push through their extreme and radical agenda – because they know as well as we do that this session will be their last. 

Here are some of the ways Georgians have suffered thanks to Brian Kemp’s extreme agenda : 

• Brian Kemp refuses to fully expand Medicaid which would create 50,000 jobs, save rural hospitals, and cover over 500,000 Georgians who are currently uninsured. Worse, Kemp’s sham healthcare plan falls far short of full expansion by covering fewer people for a higher cost. 
• Foster children, domestic violence and sexual assault victims, and new mothers all are at risk of losing essential services thanks to Kemp’s extreme budget cuts, which have been called “a measure of austerity not seen since the Great Recession.” 
• Last session, Kemp pushed through one of the strictest anti-choice bills in the country that banned abortions before most women even think to take a pregnancy test.  
• Right now, Kemp’s own Attorney General is part of a toxic lawsuit that would repeal the Affordable Care Act, strip over one million Georgians of their health care coverage and gut protections for pre-existing conditions, throwing our insurance market into chaos.  
• Countless Georgians could lose their jobs thanks to Kemp’s devotion to extreme policies like the forced pregnancy bill and RFRA, which would legalize discrimination against LGBTQ Georgians and cause some of our top employers to flee the state and take thousands of jobs with them. 

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