Georgia Democratic Party: Brian Kemp's No Good, Very Bad Year for Georgians

ATLANTA, Georgia, Jan. 1 -- The Georgia Democratic Party issued the following news release:

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- Kemp's Reckless, Spiteful Agenda Sets Up A Hard 2020 For Many

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As 2019 comes to an end, Georgians are still recovering from Governor* Brian Kemp's reckless and self-serving first year that included gutting essential care for Georgians with pre-existing conditions, rolling back women's right to choose and supporting an an all-out assault to strip healthcare from millions. Here's a look back at the lowlights from 2019 - and what's ahead in the new year.

Kemp refused to fully expand Medicaid and put Georgians with preexisting conditions at risk.

In 2019, Georgia's health insurance gap went from bad to worse thanks to Kemp's refusal to expand fully expand Medicaid to cover half a million Georgians without health insurance. Instead, Kemp put forward a sham healthcare plan that guts essential health benefits for Georgians with pre-existing conditions- falling far short of what Georgians need.

Kemp's extreme agenda threatens Georgians' health care and economy.

This year Brian Kemp rolled back a woman's right to choose and forced through a bill that would limit abortions after just 6 weeks - before most women know they are pregnant. In response to Kemp's devastating bill, some of the biggest companies in the film industry threatened to leave the state, taking thousands of jobs elsewhere.

Kemp's reckless budget cuts slash essential funds for vulnerable Georgians.

For his first budget while in office, Kemp slashed state agencies by over half a billion dollars - in "a picture of austerity not seen since the Great Recession." Kemp's drastic measures hurt programs that primarily impact vulnerable Georgians, including war veterans' nursing homes, domestic violence and sexual assault centers, and key maternal mortality research.

Kemp's administration is part of an all-out assault on American health care.

As Kemp wages his own battle against Georgians' health from the Governor's Mansion, his own Attorney General is part of an effort to destroy American health care as we know it by overturning the Affordable Care Act, which would strip over a million Georgians of their health care coverage and throw our insurance markets into chaos.

Kemp played politics and handed a GOP megadonor a bought-and-paid-for Senate seat.

At every opportunity, Kemp put his own self-interest and allies ahead of Georgians: from giving his staff huge salaries to hiring his lobbyist cronies to run the elections contracting process. And when given the opportunity to fill Senator Johnny Isakson's Senate seat, Kemp picked GOP megadonor Kelly Loeffler, who is already facing a "minefield" of ethical issues and has made it clear that much like Kemp, she'll always put her own self-interest above Georgians.

When the clock strikes midnight, Georgians will leave 2019 behind - but Brian Kemp has already made sure that Georgians only have hard times ahead for 2020.