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WASHINGTON DC – Pike County Chairman Briar Johnson and Pike County Commissioners Tim Daniel, Tim Guy, James Jenkins and County Manager John Hanson joined more than 100 Georgia county leaders at the White House for a day of meetings with key administration officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue, and Senator David Perdue. County commissioners heard from federal departments and agencies, including the Small Business Administration, Energy, Transportation, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security and Housing and Urban Development. They discussed how federal policies impact Georgia counties and residents. Topics included the opioid epidemic, workforce housing, infrastructure, natural disaster preparations, health care reform along with the latest developments at Plant Vogtle and the Georgia Ports expansion.
“It was an honor to be invited by the White House to discuss our county’s priorities,” said County Manager John Hanson. “We plan to follow up with the officials we met and continue discussions about how we can work together to help us serve county residents.”
Prior to the White House meeting, county leaders and ACCG (Georgia’s County Association) participated in a federal policy briefing at the National Association of Counties. The group discussed tax reform, the federal budget, infrastructure, economic development and other legislative activity on Capitol Hill. Chairman, Commissioners and County Manager were also invited to Congressman Drew Ferguson’s office and were updated to matters involving Pike County and the district.
Following the White House meeting the group also enjoyed an open house held at the USDA headquarters by Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue.
“This was a great opportunity for us to tell the White House about the challenges and opportunities we face at the local level,” said County Manager Hanson. “Federal policies have real consequences in counties across our state, and we’ll continue to work with the administration to inform those policies.”
Georgia commissioners were the ninth group of county officials to attend such an event. County leaders from Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana, Missouri, Nevada and West Virginia were invited to the White House earlier this year.
County Manager Hanson stated “Pike County was well represented by Chairman Briar Johnson, Commissioners Tim Daniel, Tim Guy and James Jenkins while in Washington”.