Oak Ridge Today

Fleischmann and Luján to lead House Nuclear Cleanup Caucus

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Chuck Fleischmann, Mark Whitney, and Ben Ray Lujan

From left to right are Chairman Chuck Fleischmann, Acting Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management Mark Whitney, and Co-Chairman Ben Ray Luján. (Submitted photo)

Chairman Chuck Fleischmann, a Tennessee Republican, and Co-Chairman Ben Ray Luján, a New Mexico Democrat, announced on Thursday that they will serve as co-chairs of the House Nuclear Cleanup Caucus, which held its first meeting of the 114th Congress to discuss the importance of raising awareness of environmental management issues.

Fifty years of government nuclear weapons development stemming from the Manhattan Project during World War II has affected communities across the nation and resulted in the need for environmental cleanup at numerous sites, a press release said.

“Our nation has a tremendous nuclear history, and with that has come an important nuclear cleanup mission,” said Fleischmann, who represents the city of Oak Ridge. “I am excited today to host the first meeting of the 114th Congress’ Nuclear Cleanup Caucus with co-chair Lujan and members from across the country who have districts that are impacted.  I also want to thank Acting Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management Mark Whitney for taking part in this meeting. This Caucus will serve to promote the awareness of our nuclear legacy and build a stronger coalition to fight for the needs of our cleanup missions, and I am eager to get to work.” [Read more…]

Fleischmann to host first House Nuclear Cleanup Caucus meeting

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U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann

Chuck Fleischmann

The House Nuclear Cleanup Caucus, chaired by representatives Chuck Fleischmann and Ben Lujan, will host its first meeting of the 114th Congress on Thursday, February 12.

The Cleanup Caucus is a bipartisan group supporting the largest environmental cleanup program in the world, a press release said. The legacy of the Manhattan Project and the 50 years of government nuclear weapons development affects communities throughout our nation. The caucus’ primary mission is to raise awareness of these issues throughout the halls of Congress and around the nation. [Read more…]

Alexander to chair Energy, Water Subcommittee, which oversees Oak Ridge funding

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U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander

Lamar Alexander

U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander has been elected chair of a Senate subcommittee that oversees funding for federal sites in Oak Ridge, including Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Y-12 National Nuclear Security Complex.

Alexander, who is a Tennessee Republican, was elected chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development by Senate Republicans on Tuesday, his office said in a press release.

“If we’re going to power our 21st-century economy, we need to pursue policies that don’t pick winners and losers in the marketplace, and that instead enable innovation in our free enterprise system,” Alexander said. “That means unleashing nuclear power and other sources of the cheap, clean, reliable energy we need. It also means using our taxpayer dollars wisely: by supporting government-sponsored research that leads to innovation and jobs, and by controlling the costs of big construction projects in Tennessee and across the country.” [Read more…]

ORAU wins contract worth up to $89 million from EPA

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Oak Ridge Associated Universities Building MC-100

The Oak Ridge Associated Universities Building MC-100 is pictured above.

Oak Ridge Associated Universities recently won a five-year contract worth up to $89 million from the Environmental Protection Agency to manage the EPA Environmental Research and Business Support Program, which provides opportunities for exceptional undergraduate and recent bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral graduates to participate in the EPA-sanctioned research and administrative projects.

Through this work, ORAU will recruit and place employees at 13 EPA Office of Research and Development laboratories and research centers across the U.S.  These participants in both business and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields will receive hands-on training in real-world settings at these laboratories and research centers while contributing to EPA’s mission, a press release said. [Read more…]

Video from Friday’s presidential visit by 134th Air Refueling Wing

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President Obama Visits McGhee Tyson

This is a still image from a video of President Obama arriving at McGhee Tyson Airport in Alcoa during a 5.5-hour visit to East Tennessee on Friday afternoon, January 9, 2015. (Video by 134th Air Refueling Wing)

 

The 134th Air Refueling Wing gave assistance to Air Force One during landing and takeoff at McGhee Tyson Airport in Alcoa when President Barack Obama visited East Tennessee on Friday afternoon, January 9.

Air Force Two, carrying Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden, also landed and departed from McGhee Tyson on Friday.

A third plane, a C-17, was also at McGhee Tyson to carry the presidential motorcade.

Here is a short video Friday’s visit at McGhee Tyson by the 134th Air Refueling Wing and Airman 1st Class Darby Arnold and Senior Airman Jackie Keeney. The video is posted online at DVIDS, the Defense Video and Imagery Distribution System. It includes a short excerpt of Air Force One taking off from McGhee Tyson.

U.S., Tennessee, community college officials react to president’s education proposal

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Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, U.S. senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker, and U.S. representatives Chuck Fleischmann and John J. Duncan Jr., all Republicans, released statements or commented on the East Tennessee visit by President Barack Obama, a Democrat, on Friday and his proposal to make the first two years of community college free to responsible students. Pellissippi State Community College President Anthony Wise and Roane State Community College President Chris Whaley also released statements or commented on the visit and education proposal.

The president’s proposal, America’s College Promise, will be proposed in his State of the Union on January 20, and it is modeled after the Tennessee Promise.

Here’s what the officials from Tennessee said:

Bill Haslam during Presidential Visit at Pellissippi State

Governor Bill Haslam was among the Tennessee leaders who received praise from the president during Obama’s 5.5-hour visit to East Tennessee on Friday. (Photo by Rob Welton)

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam

The president recognizes that good things are happening in Tennessee. We are proud of the Tennessee Promise. It is changing the culture of expectations in Tennessee by encouraging more students to pursue a certificate or degree beyond high school. The Tennessee Promise is focused not just on access but success in terms of making certain that students actually attain their degree. We think having a mentor available for the students is an important part of achieving that success.

Regarding the specifics of the president’s plan, we look forward to seeing more details in the coming days about the cost of the program and how it will be covered. [Read more…]

Library has limited tax forms this year

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Submitted

The Oak Ridge Public Library has supplied the community with federal and state tax forms for the past several years. This year, the United States Internal Revenue Service is severely limiting the amount and types of forms the library and other institutions can order for the public.

For tax year 2014, only the 1040, 1040A, and 1040EZ forms will be available at the Library. No instruction booklets or other forms or schedules will be received for the public. No employer tax forms will be available at the Library, including W-2, W-3, W-4, and instructions for these forms. Form 1096, Annual Summary, and Transmittal of U. S. Information Returns, and Form 1099, Miscellaneous Income, will not be available at the Library.

Most tax forms not available at the Library can be printed for the cost of 10 cents a page from the IRS website at www.irs.gov. [Read more…]

Obama’s visit: Education, manufacturing, a chance to see the president

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President Barack Obama at Pellissippi State Community College

President Barack Obama announces a proposal to offer two years of free community college to responsible students during a half-hour speech at Pellissippi State Community College in Hardin Valley on Friday. (Photo by Rob Welton)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 9:30 a.m. Jan. 15.

HARDIN VALLEY—It was a once-in-a lifetime opportunity for some, a chance to shake hands with the president of the United States of America or wave at his heavily guarded motorcade as it passed by on a local roadway.

For others, it was a chance to hear about a presidential proposal modeled after a Tennessee program that would make the first two years of community college free to students who maintain at least a 2.5 grade point average. That proposal, officially announced at Pellissippi State Community College in Hardin Valley on Friday, expands on the 20th century idea that all children in the United States are entitled to a public education. In the 21st century economy, the White House said, 12 years of school is no longer enough.

For a much-smaller group, Friday’s visit by President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and his wife Jill Biden offered an opportunity to hear an in-person announcement of a new advanced manufacturing hub, the country’s fifth, that will be led by the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and have Oak Ridge National Laboratory as a founding partner. That announcement at Techmer PM in Clinton was highlighted by a 3-D printed carbon fiber replica of a Shelby Cobra that the president joked about receiving for his birthday. [Read more…]

Now Senate education chair, Alexander announces plan to ‘fix’ No Child Left Behind

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U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander

Lamar Alexander

“During the last six years, this committee has held 24 hearings and reported two bills to the Senate floor to fix the law’s problems. We should be able to finish our work within the first few weeks of 2015 so the full Senate can act.” —Lamar Alexander

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senate education committee Chairman Lamar Alexander has announced a plan to fix the No Child Left Behind law, wrapping up six years of committee work and sending a bill to the Senate floor within the first few weeks of 2015, the senator’s office said Tuesday.

Alexander, a Tennessee Republican, announced his plan on the Senate floor, a press release said.

“No Child Left Behind has become unworkable—and fixing this law, which expired over seven years ago, will be the first item on the agenda for the Senate education committee,” Alexander said. “I look forward to input from all sides on this proposal as we move forward with a bipartisan process that will keep the best portions of the law, while restoring responsibility to states and local communities and ensuring that all 50 million students in our nation’s 100,000 public schools can succeed.” [Read more…]

Pellissippi State transcript: Obama proposes free community college for two years

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President Barack Obama

President Barack Obama

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT ON AMERICA’S COLLEGE PROMISE

This is a transcript of remarks made by President Barack Obama at Pellissippi State Community College in Hardin Valley in west Knox County on Friday, January 9. The president was at Pellissippi State to announce a proposal that would make community college free for two years to responsible students across the country. The proposal is modeled on the relatively new Tennessee Promise.

Friday’s visit was the first by a president to Pellissippi State.

Pellissippi State Community College

Knoxville, Tennessee

2:05 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, everybody!  (Applause.)  Hey!  Thank you!  (Applause.)  Thank you so much.  Thank you.  Thank you, everybody.  Thank you.  Everybody, please have a seat.  Please have a seat.  Well, it is good to be back in Tennessee.  I hope you guys aren’t getting tired of me.  I’ve been coming around a lot lately, because there’s a lot of good stuff happening here.

I want to begin by thanking Joe and Jill Biden.  They’re not just good friends and good partners, but they really believe in the power of education and they really believe in creating those kinds of ladders of opportunity that gave all three of us and Michelle the chances, the incredible opportunities that we’ve had today.  And they understand the promise of America’s community colleges.  Well, Jill really understands it, and Joe — (laughter) — he doesn’t really have a choice.

Before I get into the reason that I’m here today, I want to begin by saying just a few words about the tragic events that we’ve watched unfold in France over the last several hours and days.  And because events have been fast-moving this morning, I wanted to make sure to comment on them. [Read more…]

Guest column: President Obama’s manufacturing announcement—what it means for UT, ORNL, East Tennessee

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Jimmy Cheek and Martin Keller and Shelby Cobra

University of Tennessee Knoxville Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek, right, stands with Martin Keller, associate laboratory director at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, in front of a Shelby Cobra printed as a collaboration between ORNL and UT personnel. The car served as a highlight of President Obama’s visit to the area on Friday. (Photo courtesy UT) 

 

KNOXVILLE—President Obama’s announcement on Friday that the University of Tennessee in Knoxville would be the lead institution in a $259 million advanced composites manufacturing project known as the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation, or IACMI, was met with applause, but also a few questions.

Many wondered what advanced composites manufacturing really means, why the UT-led consortium was selected, and what the impact for the area might be.

Here are some answers.

What is IACMI?

IACMI is the newest federally funded institute for manufacturing innovation. Its focus is on advancing innovation in the manufacturing of composites used in automobiles, wind turbines, and compressed gas storage tanks. [Read more…]

President Obama’s trip to East Tennessee explained

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President Barack Obama, Sen. Bob Corker, Sen. Lamar Alexander, and Rep. John Duncan at Air Force One

President Barack Obama, front; U.S. senators Lamar Alexander, second, and Bob Corker, third; and Representative John J. Duncan Jr. arrive at McGhee Tyson Airport in Alcoa on Air Force One at about noon Friday. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

Before President Obama landed in East Tennessee on Friday, a spokesman explained the purpose of the trip to reporters. The 5.5-hour visit included stops at Pellissippi State Community College in Hardin Valley and manufacturer Techmer PM in Clinton. Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker and Congressman John J. Duncan Jr. were guests, and so was Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam.

Eric Schultz, principal deputy press secretary, told reporters on Air Force One that President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill would unveil the president’s plan to make two years of community college free for all responsible students no matter their age during the East Tennessee trip. It was a preview of a “cornerstone” of the president’s State of the Union to Congress on January 20.

Separately, during a stop in Clinton, the president announced a manufacturing innovation hub that involves the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. [Read more…]