Reps. Davis, Schofield and Scott Meet with Senator Warnock’s Office, Highlight State and Federal Legislation Addressing Government Shutdown

ATLANTA - State Representatives Viola Davis (D-Stone Mountain), Kim Schofield (D-Atlanta) and Sandra Scott (D-Rex) recently met with Senator Raphael Warnock's (D-GA) office, highlighting federal legislation introduced to address concerns raised by the lawmakers during and after the 2025 federal government shutdown. The representatives said it was a productive meeting as part of their ongoing engagement with his office.

"We appreciate the engagement, responsiveness and concrete legislative work that Senator Warnock and our democratic congressional delegation have brought to this issue," said Reps. Davis, Schofield and Scott. "Our goal has always been action - not just letters or resolutions - but enforceable protections that prevent families, workers and children from being harmed again."

The meeting follows formal correspondence from Senator Warnock to the representatives detailing his actions during the shutdown, including sponsorship and support of multiple bills to ensure pay for essential workers, protecting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Women, Infants and Children (WIC) benefits, keeping air travel and safety operations running and funding Head Start programs and other human service programs without interruption.

Reps. Davis, Schofield and Scott seek to highlight the federal measures as outlined by Senator Warnock:

• Pay all excepted and furloughed federal employees and service members during shutdowns (Shutdown Fairness Act and the True Shutdown Fairness Act);
• Ensure uninterrupted SNAP and WIC benefits through the end of the fiscal year (Keep SNAP Funded Act and the Keep SNAP and WIC Funded Act);
• Protect air traffic controllers, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) personnel with ongoing pay and back pay (Keep America Flying Act);
• Fund Head Start programs impacted by shutdowns and prevent future disruptions (Keep Head Start Funded Act).

"These bills directly address the pain points we raised - essential workers forced to work without pay, families left without food assistance and children losing access to services that protect their health and stability," added the lawmakers.

Reps. Davis, Schofield and Scott emphasized that their legislative work has paralleled tracks with Sen. Warnock, including:

• A state-level Urging Essential Worker and Essential Services Resolution, calling on Georgia leadership to prepare continuity plans so children, seniors, people with disabilities and foster families are not harmed by federal disruption; and
• Federal engagement, urging Congress to codify protections so shutdowns can never again be used to jeopardize paychecks, food security or child welfare systems.

"Our urging resolutions reflect the same constitutional principle that underlies this federal legislation," said Reps. Davis, Schofield and Scott. "Government has a duty to promote the general welfare, not to create hunger, instability or unpaid labor."

"The 2025 shutdown revealed systemic weaknesses with real human costs: delayed SNAP benefits, unpaid essential workers, disrupted foster care and human services and families left in uncertainty," concluded the representatives. "No one should take pride in making the American public starve, grounding air travel or destabilizing child welfare systems as a political tactic. We are encouraged that our democratic congressional delegation has not only listened, but acted."

These lawmakers reiterate their commitment to working with Senator Warnock and other members of Georgia's delegation with the goal to advance, strengthen and ultimately pass legislation that permanently protects essential workers and essential services.

To view these representatives' correspondence with Sen. Warnock and other Georgia elected officials, please click here.

*Editor's note: these representatives include a photo.

Representative Viola Davis represents the citizens of District 87, which includes a portion of DeKalb County. She was elected to the House of Representatives in 2018 and currently serves on the Defense & Veterans Affairs, Health, Insurance, Natural Resources & Environment and Urban Affairs committees.

Representative Kim Schofield represents the citizens of District 63, which includes a portion of Fulton County. She was elected to the House of Representatives in 2017 and currently serves as the Secretary of the Urban Affairs Committee. She also serves on the Creative Arts & Entertainment, Health, Industry and Labor and Small Business Development committees.

Representative Sandra Scott represents the citizens of District 76, which includes a portion of Clayton County. She was elected to the House of Representatives in 2010 and currently serves on the Banks & Banking, Defense & Veterans Affairs, Human Relations & Aging, Insurance and Reapportionment and Redistricting committees.

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