Rick Allen: “I thank Mr. Scott for organizing this time to honor, as said here many times, a legend. Of course, I never thought I…”

“I thank Mr. Scott for organizing this time to honor, as said here many times, a legend. Of course, I never thought I would be standing in front of two Georgia legends as I speak specifically about one. But I do rise today to honor my great mentor and friend, Senator Johnny Isakson, along with greetings to Dianne and your wonderful family. I was there last Saturday to witness your beloved Bulldogs beat my beloved Auburn Tigers. Congratulations on this. I just hope and pray that they will go all the way for you. I think that would be a great tribute. Johnny has been a champion for the State of Georgia for decades, a reflection of his many years of service, as has been mentioned about all of the accomplishments, a life of political service. And, also, a mention about his influence on education. When I was first elected, I had not been in politics before and I didn't really know how to get things done up here. But I, in my service on the Education and Labor Committee, was attracted to a bill called the Every Student Succeeds Act and worked feverishly to get that bill passed in the House by a margin of a mere five votes, 218-213. Well, it just so happened that sometime later, as we got together in Georgia for lunch, Johnny was asking me about that legislation. I told him, I said we are going to return control to the States; we are going to try to get the Federal Government out of the classroom so that our teachers can have more time to teach.…”