(Georgia Recorder) — For the third consecutive year, efforts to limit lawsuits were on the agenda at the Georgia Chamber of Commerce’s annual congressional luncheon.
The event, which was held this year at the Convention and Trade Center in Columbus, drew roughly a thousand attendees from hundreds of companies in Georgia’s business community. Headlining speakers included Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff and Republican Congressmen Buddy Carter and Mike Collins, both of whom are vying for Ossoff’s Senate seat in 2026.
Former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley, the Gov. Brian Kemp-backed candidate for Senate, was also in attendance, though he declined to take questions from the press.
Georgia’s lawsuit reform package could go national
For the past few years, Kemp has used the annual luncheon to highlight the need for what he has termed “tort reform,” or policies overhauling the civil litigation system to make it harder for plaintiffs to file and successfully win lawsuits. The issue was Kemp’s top priority during the 2025 Legislative session, and he signed major lawsuit overhaul legislation into law this past April.
This year, it was Collins who called for the proposal to be adopted on the federal level during a fireside chat with U.S. Rep. Austin Scott and former Congressman Drew Ferguson, both Georgia Republicans.
“Insurance has gone sky high, and until we get true tort reform on the federal level, you’re not going to fix this problem out there,” Collins said.
Collins, who the day before held the official kickoff event for his Senate campaign, sought to cast himself as a candidate who could work with both conservative and moderate wings of the Republican Party.
“They know I’m MAGA, everybody knows,” he said. “But they also know that I can talk to the more moderate Republicans that we have out there.”
Carter calls for loosened pollution regs, mail-in ballot ban
During a separate fireside chat with Public Service Commissioner Fitz Johnson, Carter also touted proposals that would loosen air pollution regulations and increase Georgia’s energy independence, which he claims will help boost businesses in the state.
“I love the environment,” he said. “Georgia is my home, of course I love it. But at the same time, we’ve got to be realistic about the impact we’re having on businesses.”
Carter, who has branded himself a “MAGA warrior” in his Senate campaign, also told reporters he supports Trump’s push to ban the use of mail-in ballots as a method of voting in the U.S., despite the fact that the U.S. Constitution gives states explicit control over voting procedures.
“I quit questioning the realistic views of Donald Trump long ago,” he said. “He has exceeded anything I ever thought could happen.”
Ossoff talks China, foreign aid
Ossoff, Georgia’s lone Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, headlined a fireside chat with Georgia Chamber of Commerce Chair Ed Elkins, discussing workforce development and national security issues, particularly when it comes to China.
“It is very much a jump ball between the U.S. and China right now, and frankly, we are engaged in tremendous self-harm right now in this competition,” Ossoff, who sits on the Senate intelligence committee, told Elkins.
Though he never mentioned Trump by name, Ossoff criticized the Trump administration’s stance on foreign policy, which he said has caused a “brain drain” of workers from the U.S. and frayed relationships with global allies.
“It matters when the United States supports global response to natural disasters,” he said. “It enhances our credibility, our power, our prestige.”
Trump’s move to withdraw most foreign aid has not been taken lightly, Ossoff added.
“Now our allies across the Indo-Pacific take note of that. When you have private conversations with them, they are now questioning our staying power and the credibility of our assurances in the region.”
