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MARIETTA Georgias newly elected Congresswoman Karen Handel said there is frustration among her House colleagues over a dearth of media coverage regarding the good work they have accomplished with President Donald Trump.

Its unfortunate in the world of the media right now. Many outlets now, their compensation package is based on clicks to an article, and that puts intense pressure to have the most salacious things that you can cover, Handel said. And I dont necessarily put that in the lap of the individual reporter as much as I do with the management at a particular media outlet.

The Roswell Republican made her remarks during a special meeting of the Marietta-based Georgia Tea Party. The Monday evening event, held at the Cobb GOP headquarters, was by invitation only and saw a turnout of about 70. Yet Handel said she prefers speaking to constituents through such town hall-style formats rather than through the media, anyway.

Because I frankly think you are a much better messenger out in the community than some of the news outlets, she said.

Her comments were spurred by an attendee who said the good things that were being accomplished by Republicans were being overshadowed by the presidents Twitter messages.

What are your colleagues trying to say or do or tell him that hey, you need to let this good news come out and then tweet or something later? the man asked her, noting that just when a large company announces 10,000 new jobs, the news is consumed by the presidents tweet banning transgender people from military service.

What are your colleagues saying? Because it is a real problem, he said.

Handel said shed addressed the issue before.

I think I was pretty clear in the campaign that I was really interested in a new Twitter policy, but I dont know, I dont run the com shop, she said.

THE CAMPAIGN

On issues closer to home, the congresswoman gave a shoutout to Cobb Commissioners JoAnn Birrell and Bob Ott, both of whom were present, not just for their support, but for voting down a proposed county property tax increase last week.

They went to bat for Cobb County, Handel said to applause.

When all the money in the race for the 6th Congressional District seat was tallied, it amounted to about $60 million, an amount Handel called obscene. Of that sum, Democrats spent $40 million, Handel said. Her Democratic opponent in the runoff, Jon Ossoff, raised about $30 million with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee giving him an additional $10 million infusion, she said.

Handel said she raised and spent $6 million with about $10 million from outside groups. The remaining $4 million came from the other Republicans in the race.

In terms of the keys to winning, first, just a little suggestion: you ought to live in your district in which you are asking the people to let you represent. So I think that at the end of the day ended up being a pretty pivotal issue, Handel said, referring to how Ossoff didnt live in the 6th District.

Handel introduced some of the staff shes hired to date, which includes her district director, Ashley Jenkins of east Cobb, a former member of the Sandy Springs City Council; her deputy director, Donovan Head, who is also from Cobb and formerly with U.S. Rep. Austin Scotts office; her Washington, D.C. scheduler, Ashley Dalton; and her chief of staff, Muffy Day.

DIVING IN

One big milestone was hit last week, Handel said. I managed to get everywhere I needed to go the entire week, and I did not get lost once.

Handels committee assignments include the Judiciary Committee and Education and the Workforce.

Handel said something curious shes found in the House is the enormous number of bills shes been asked to cosign.

Call me crazy, but I really like to read the bills that Im going to put my name onto. And its kind of interesting to me. Youre sitting on the floor during votes and randomly people just walk up, and they have a little card about this big (saying), Here, can you cosign this bill? Well, no, not right now.

Handel said she is busy reading the bills first.

One she has cosigned, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner, a Missouri Republican, allows for states and victims to fight the advancement of online sex trafficking. Since January, the U.S. House has been one of the most active House chambers in history, she said, passing over 270 bills, many of them bipartisan.

Handel mentioned the National Defense Authorization Act, which included the largest pay raise in eight years for service members 2.4 percent.

Commissioner Birrells husband, Dave Birrell, commented on this, saying he hoped Handel realized that was not enough for the military, something Handel agreed with.

A SLUGGISH SENATE?

Handel also spoke of the historic regulatory relief that came with the Houses passage of the REINS Act, or Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act. When an agency issues rules, the act allows ample opportunity for those affected by those rules to have input, something that wasnt there before, Handel said.

One audience member asked where the REINS Act was now.

Its in the Senate, Handel said.

Congress has a technical procedure called a Congressional Review Act where it allows Congress to roll back what is considered overreach on the regulatory front. The House has acted on 15 Congressional Review Acts, of which 14 have been signed by Trump, she said.

And while the press was focused on other things, Handel said the Main Street Relief Act was passed to replace Dodd-Frank.

What is the status of that act, another attendee wanted to know, prompting a momentary pause from Handel.

There are a lot of bills awaiting the Senates attention, she said.

Indeed, Senate inaction seemed to be a theme of the evening.

Georgia Tea Party has talked about this for years, said Jim Jess, the groups vice chairman, noting the Senates use of the filibuster grinds business to a halt.

The institutional filibuster that they have in the Senate, basically they can say I filibuster and not even talk and everything stops. Thats wrong. That needs to be fixed, Jess said.

BORDER SECURITY, TAX REFORM

Last week, Handel said, the House passed an appropriations package that included the largest investment in border infrastructure and technology upgrades in a decade.

The president, with the help of the House, is moving forward on the promises he made, she said, noting Kates Law calls for stiffer penalties on deported felons who return and commit crimes while the No Sanctuary for Criminals Act will provide more resources to fight sanctuary policies and punish rogue cities.

Increasing funds for border security technologies and infrastructure improvements is key to reducing illegal immigration and stopping the flow of drugs, she said.

On the health care front, Handel expressed extreme disappointment with the Senate for failing to pass a health care bill.

Im hopeful that the Senate has a couple of procedural options that they can pursue to bring the issue back up, she said. Open enrollment is going to begin either in mid-October or first week in November, and folks, premiums are still going up at an astronomical rate, while doctor choice continues to decline because of the number of insurance companies not participating in the exchanges. This is unacceptable.

The next step in the House is tax reform. A task force composed of members of the House, Senate and White House is meeting, united in a framework of what the reform will look like.

The goal is to get the rates as low as we can possibly get them while still maintaining what we can do on the revenue side, she said. On the rate side, first and foremost its not just going to be corporate tax cuts, there will be individual tax cuts, including tax cuts for the middle class because we have got to have that. Its going to be tax cuts for small businesses so that small businesses can compete with large companies and tax reductions for large companies so they can be competitive on the global front. And permanent repeal of the death tax, she said to applause.

Jess is a fan.

Karens a solid person. She has solid values. And I think shes going to make a great member of Congress to represent the 6th District, he said after the meeting. If you think back, this district has been represented by some stellar individuals, and I would say we have another one.

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