Georgia Senate hopeful Jon Ossoff got caught peddling another lie about GOP incumbent Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) on Monday. Sen. Perdue introduced legislation last week that creates grant programs for schools to reopen safely by encouraging education systems to work in conjunction with health experts and the CDC guidelines to develop safe reopening strategies. The Georgia Republican’s SCHOOL Act legislates funding for schools to be equipped with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and sanitation supplies, and gives local schools the autonomy to reopen as they see fit.
Ossoff appears to have not read Sen. Perdue’s legislation. He falsely claimed that the SCHOOL Act would hold funding hostage from schools that do not open immediately, which is simply untrue. Sen. Perdue’s legislation lacks a federal mandate for reopening, and instead gives schools the jurisdiction to move forward as they feel is appropriate; the funds that would be legislated by the SCHOOLS Act incentivize schools to hopefully reopen safely, and connects systems with the counsel of health experts, but in no way demands that schools reopen outright. Ossoff said that all schools should receive federal funding to boost reopening efforts, without pressure to fully reopen, but that is exactly what Sen. Perdue’s legislation does:
“Sen. Perdue should go back to the drawing board. And put forward a proposal that equips those school districts that can’t yet reopen or have to defer physical reopening the equipment and technology they need so that kids can still learn from home,” he says.
Sen. Perdue’s campaign slapped the Democratic nominee with a blistering fact-check on his false claims about the SCHOOL Act:
“It’s puzzling that Jon Ossoff would be against a good faith proposal that gives our schools, teachers and parents the tools they need to reopen safely now and in the coming weeks.” said Perdue for Senate Senior Spokeswoman Casey Black. “The SCHOOL ACT uses guidelines recommended by the CDC, pediatric healthcare experts, and local school officials and provides the resources to reopen with confidence. Politics shouldn’t get in the way of protecting our kids and teachers. It’s shocking that we even need to have this debate, but apparently Jon Ossoff doesn’t get it, or even worse, doesn’t care.”
The safe reopening of schools should be a bipartisan agreement. Sen. Perdue’s legislation allows schools to reopen on their own timetable, in consultation with expert advice and with no-strings funding from the government to help with safe reopening. The SCHOOL Act does just what Ossoff says is necessary, but yet again, the Georgia Democrat chooses partisanship over the best interests of those he hopes to represent in the Senate.
