About me, mag & contact info
I m Lisa Vallone. I have been involved with politics & government since my pre-teen years. The majority of my involvement centered around my role as a consultant to help various Party Chairs learn how to run more effective campaigns based on issues as well as training candidates on how to communicate constructively with those in their district. This led me to running for office myself, winning and proudly becoming the voice of my constituents. All of my experience has led me to this platform as I believe it is time we all more extensively educate ourselves on what bills are being considered for law on the State and Federal level. Afterall, we Americans need more than broad stroke concepts with no real meat of the issue for us to digest. We value the efforts of those elected officials and candidates who reach out with Town meetings and other measures to let us know what they are doing or plan to do in office. And we believe they are in the majority. But, we must seek out every avenue to let our Representatives hear our voice so they can better represent us in government.
Based on my background in government, teaching and communications I believe in 3 pillars as the foundation for any discussion (1) Educate yourself, (2) Communicate with others, and (3) Reciprocate respectfully. If we follow these pillars - if we educate ourselves, let our voices be heard in an environment of mutual respect for those in office, those seeking office or those with differing opinions, then we can make a more perfect union.
A couple of notes . . . In this magazine I intentionally leave off the name/ Party affiliation of the person who introduced the bill as we are more than our Party we are Americans looking for responsible government that represents us. Too often when we hear legislation has been proposed by the opposite Party we close our ears or immediately discount it. I do not want that to happen. Only during my podcast will this information be revealed. Here is to the power of people to have the knowledge to know how hard their representatives work to represent them in government.
Email: KnowTheIssuesWithLisaVallone@gmail.com Podcast on Most Platforms: Know The Issues With Lisa Vallone Website: KnowTheIssues.com
Presidents, VPs & Congressional members
trivia quiz?
1. Which Presidential candidate ran for office while in jail: a. Eugene V Debs b. Richard M Nixon
2. The first Native American Congressman was: a. Charles Brent Curtis b. Thomas Ellicott
3. Which President named the “White House” the “White House”? a. Theodore Roosevelt b. Barack Obama
4. In Presidential elections having a height advantage seems to help a candidate as the taller candidate usually wins a. true b. false
5. This Congressman is the only Congressman to have a #1 hit on the Billboards Hot 100 a. Joe Walsh b. Sono Bono
6. Two archrival Presidents died on the same day. Were they a. Adams and Jefferson b. Adams and Washington
7. Glover Cleveland’s first name was actually “Stephen” before he changed it.
a. true b. false
What does and for other purposes
mean in the bills I read
If you have seen the title of a bill in Congress you may have noticed most say and for other purposes . For example, HR6549 reads To provide debt relief to developing countries with unsustainable levels of debt, and for other purposes. The phrase means all of the title could not fit so they shortened it. It should alert you to the fact that you should always read the entire bill to understand it completely. In this bill for example the and for other purposes includes such elements as standards for equitable burden sharing among all creditors with material claims on each participating debtor; robust debt disclosure; expanded eligibility criteria to include all countries with unsustainable levels of sovereign debt; standards for comprehensive creditor participation consistent with robust application of the policies of the International Monetary Funds relating to lending into arrears; and consistent enforcement and improvement of the policies of multilateral institutions relating to asset-based and revenue-based borrowing by participating debtors, and coordinated standards on restructuring collateralized debt. And that is just a small part of the and for other purposes . So it is important when discussing a bill take the time to read it all.
National Guard renaming?
HB 106 is legislation to replace the term “National Guard “with the term “organized militia law enforcement”. The term includes members of the Georgia National Guard organized militia who have been called into active service by the Government.
(a) The militia of the state shall be divided into the organized militia, the state reserve list, the state retired list, and the unorganized militia.
(b) The organized militia shall be composed of:
(1) An Army National Guard and an Air National Guard which forces, together with an inactive National Guard, when such is authorized by the laws of the United States and regulations issued pursuant thereto, shall comprise the Georgia National Guard;
(2) The Georgia Naval Militia whenever such a state force shall be duly organized; and
(3) The State Defense Force whenever such a state force shall be duly organized.
(c) The state reserve list and the state retired list shall include the persons who are lawfully carried thereon and such persons as may be transferred thereto or placed thereon by the Governor in accordance with this chapter.
(d) Subject to such exemptions from military duty as are created by the laws of the United States, the unorganized militia shall consist of all able-bodied male residents of the state between the ages of 17 and 45 who are not serving in any force of the organized militia or who are not on the state reserve list or the state retired list and who are, or who have declared their intention to become, citizens of the United States.
HR to address the misuse of opioids
by students and student athletes
According to the HHS.gov site in 2019, an estimated 10.1 million people aged 12 or older misused opioids in the past year. And according to the JAMA Network “prescription opioids were implicated in 6561 deaths (73.0%), and the mortality rate increased by 131.3%; methadone alone was implicated in 2358 (35.9%) prescription opioid deaths between 1999 and 2006”.
This is a serious and rapidly growing problem in the United States. This bill, if passed, would award grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements for planning, establishing, or administering programs to prevent and address the misuse of opioids, related drugs, and other drugs commonly used in pain management or injury recovery, as well as the co-use of one or more such drugs with other substances, by students and student athletes. Included in this bill would be the ability to carry out school-based programs and community-based programs, concerning the dangers and misuse and addiction of opioids and related drugs that are commonly used in pain management or injury recovery.
It would also allow for a method for engaging youth, high school, or collegiate athletic and recreation programs and associations concerning these dangers and provide for the training and educating of State and local officials, youth athletics organizers, school administrators and staff, teachers, athletic directors, athletic trainers, coaches, collegiate administrators, directors of campus recreation, and campus-based medical providers, on the signs of misuse of opioids and the options for treatment, including holistic and comprehensive pain management solutions, and prevention of such misuse.
Gracie s Law
HB 128, Gracie's Law; is legislation that finds
(1) A mental or physical disability does not diminish a person's right to health care;
(2) The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. Section 12101 et seq., prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities, yet many individuals with disabilities still experience discrimination in accessing critical health care services;
(3) In other states, individuals with physical or mental disabilities have been denied lifesaving organ transplants based on assumptions that their lives are less worthy, that they are incapable of complying with posttransplant medical requirements, or that they lack adequate support systems to ensure compliance with posttransplant medical requirements;
(4) Although organ transplant centers shall consider medical and psychosocial criteria when determining if a patient is suitable to receive an organ transplant, transplant centers that participate in Medicare, Medicaid, or other federally funded programs are required to use patient selection criteria that result in a fair and nondiscriminatory distribution of organs; and (5) Georgia residents in need of organ transplants are entitled to assurances that they will not encounter discrimination on t he basis of a disability.
Answers to trivia quiz
1. Which President . . .:
a. Socialist candidate Eugene V Debs was in federal prison when he ran for office and although he lost he still received 900,000 votes (3.4% of the vote)
2. First Native American Congressman . . . .
a. Charles Brent Curtis starting in 1893. (Native American on his mother’s side) He was also the 1st and only Native American VP, having been on the winning ticket with Hoover. Interestingly enough Native Americans were not given the right to vote until the Snyder Act of 1924.
3. Which President named it the “White House” . . .
a. Theodore Roosevelt officially named it the White House. Prior to him taking office, the White House had different names including the “President’s Palace,” which sounded a bit like a throwback to England’s royalty, the “President’s House” and the “Executive Mansion.”
4. Taller candidate . . .
a. true. In the thirty-one presidential elections between 1900 and 2020, twenty-one of the 31 winning candidates have been taller than their opponents. In the JFK-Nixon televised debate voters are said to have thought JFK won the debate due to not only has tanned and relaxed look but also because of his height advantage.
5. This Congressman is the only Congressman to have a #1 hit on the Billboards Hot 100 b. Sonny Bono holds that title with his hit “I got you Babe” which stayed at #1 for 3 weeks.
6. Two archrival Presidents died on the same day. Were they a. Adams and Jefferson. The feud between these two Presidents is said to have begun over a disagreement regarding the Declaration of Independence. Adams thought the day to celebrate should be July 2nd as that is when the actual vote for
Victims granted temporary Protective orders
HB 236 is legislation that provides for additional monitoring of a victim after granting of a temporary protective order.
Upon obtaining a protective order under Code Section 19-13-3 or 19-13-4, the petitioner may elect to request periodic security checks from any local law enforcement agency with jurisdiction in which the petitioner resides. (2) Such security checks shall occur at intervals and times in the discretion of the local law enforcement agency and shall continue for the duration of the order or until such request is withdrawn by the petitioner or the local law enforcement agency determines that the petitioner's circumstances no longer appear to require such security checks. (3) Security checks may include: (A) Observation of the exterior of the petitioner's residence; and (B) Officer presence in the vicinity of the petitioner's residence. These checks can occur for up to 60 days.