Oak Ridge Today

Possible TVA sale a bad idea, president’s budget fails on entitlements, Republican lawmakers say

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U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander

Lamar Alexander

U.S. Senator Bob Corker

Bob Corker

Republican lawmakers from Tennessee were critical of the budget proposal released by President Barack Obama on Wednesday, saying it was overdue and failed to responsibly address unsustainable spending on entitlement programs.

In a statement, U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander said a proposal to consider selling the Tennessee Valley Authority could cost taxpayers money.

“This is one more bad idea in a budget full of bad ideas,” Alexander said. “There is today no federal taxpayer subsidy for TVA, period. There is by law no federal taxpayer liability for TVA debt. And after deducting its debt, selling TVA would probably cost taxpayers money.” [Read more…]

State will help companies with UPF project, recruit new ones

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Uranium Processing Facility

The proposed Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above. (Submitted image)

Many business leaders and public officials consider it a great opportunity.

The proposed Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex could cost up to $6.5 billion and employ up to 1,500 workers during the peak construction period. It’s been called the largest federal capital project in Tennessee since the Manhattan Project, and construction could last another decade.

On Monday, Tennessee officials announced they will help companies that are already in the state and interested in working on the project, and recruit out-of-state businesses, particularly in the nuclear industry. Those new companies will be encouraged to stay in the state, said Bill Hagerty, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge carbon fiber plant could lower cost of strong, lightweight material

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Carbon Fiber Technology Facility

Gary R. Lownsdale of Plasan Carbon Composites, right, talks to Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, center, near a Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 hood at the Carbon Fiber Technology Facility on Tuesday as federal, University of Tennessee, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory officials listen.

A unique manufacturing plant in west Oak Ridge that started operating about six weeks ago can make 25 tons of carbon fiber each year. It’s material that could be used for prototype parts in products ranging from cars and airplanes to wind turbine blades and natural gas tanks.

The $35 million Carbon Fiber Technology Facility at Horizon Center Business Park is designed to “scale up” laboratory research on low-cost carbon fiber, make enough material to help industrial partners build prototype carbon-fiber composite parts, and develop a skilled manufacturing workforce.

Carbon fiber is strong and lightweight, but it is also expensive and that has limited its use.

Officials hope to use the 42,000-square-foot Carbon Fiber Technology Facility to change that. They want to make producing carbon fiber as cost-efficient as manufacturing steel or aluminum. [Read more…]

DOE, ORNL to celebrate carbon fiber facility, announce manufacturing initiative

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Officials from the U.S. Department of Energy and Oak Ridge National Laboratory will celebrate a unique carbon fiber facility on Tuesday morning.

DOE will also announce a new U.S. manufacturing initiative during the ceremony at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Carbon Fiber Technology Facility at Horizon Center Business Park in west Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Manhattan Project national park bill also reintroduced in U.S. House

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K-25 Building Aerial View

Now mostly demolished, the former mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building is pictured above. The site has previously been identified for possible inclusion in a Manhattan Project National Historical Park. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy)

A bill to set up a Manhattan Project national park that would include Oak Ridge has been reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The bipartisan legislation was reintroduced on Friday in the U.S. House by Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings, a Washington Republican;  Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, a Tennessee Republican; and Rep. Ben Luján, a New Mexico Democrat.

The legislation—H.R. 1208—would establish a Manhattan Project National Historical Park that would include facilities in Oak Ridge; Hanford, Wash.; and Los Alamos, N.M.

[Read more…]

Alexander, Fleischmann release statements on State of the Union

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U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander

U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann

U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann

In his State of the Union speech on Tuesday, President Barack Obama called for raising the minimum wage, doing more to fight global warming, and reducing the deficit through spending cuts and tax increases.

The president also called for voting on new gun laws, reforming Medicare and the tax code, and working with states to make high-quality preschool available to every child.

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Tennessee Valley Summit returns to Oak Ridge; energy, manufacturing on agenda

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U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann

Chuck Fleischmann

Third District Rep. Chuck Fleischmann has announced the Tennessee Valley Corridor National Summit will be held the last week of May and return to the site where it started 18 years ago—Oak Ridge. The exact dates are being determined based on the schedules of several anticipated national speakers, including U.S. House of Representatives Majority Leader Eric Cantor.

Senior decision-makers representing academia, government, and industry from Tennessee, Alabama, Virginia, Kentucky, and North Carolina will convene in the New Hope Center at Oak Ridge’s Y-12 National Security Complex for the two-day meeting. Fleischmann will serve as host and be joined by of members of the TVC congressional delegation.

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Fleischmann votes for ‘No Budget, No Pay’; Corker co-sponsors

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U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann

Chuck Fleischmann

U.S. Senator Bob Corker

Bob Corker

U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann voted for a bill that passed the House on Wednesday that temporarily increases the nation’s debt ceiling and requires each house of Congress to pass a budget.

Known as the “No Budget, No Pay” Act, the bill would withhold pay for legislative members if they fail to pass a budget.

“Not having a budget wouldn’t fly for hardworking Americans at home or at work, and it shouldn’t be allowed in Congress,” said Fleischmann, a Tennessee Republican whose district includes Oak Ridge. “We cannot ever truly constrain spending if the Senate will not pass a budget. With the passage of this bill, the Senate Democrats will finally be obligated to produce a path to get our fiscal house in order.”

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House also passes ‘fiscal cliff’ deal, but Tennessee representatives oppose it

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U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann

Chuck Fleischmann

Less than 24 hours after the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly approved it, the U.S. House passed legislation late Tuesday night to avoid the so-called “fiscal cliff,” but seven Tennessee Republicans and one Democrat opposed it.

The bill, which now goes to President Barack Obama for his signature, averts income tax increases for most Americans and temporarily delays large across-the-board spending cuts to defense and domestic programs.

However, the Associated Press reported most Americans will still end up paying more federal taxes in 2013 because the legislation did not renew a temporary 2 percent cut in the payroll tax. That reduction was worth about $1,000 to a worker making $50,000 a year.

U.S. senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker, both Tennessee Republicans, voted for the bill in the Senate, where it passed 89-8 early Tuesday morning. Alexander and Corker said the legislation, reached after weeks of negotiations between the White House and Congress, “rescues” 99 percent of Americans from a tax rate increase.

But all seven Tennessee Republicans in the U.S. House, including Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, voted against it. The vote in the House was 257-167.

[Read more…]

Rep. Fleischmann appointed to House Appropriations Committee

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U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, an East Tennessee Republican, has been appointed to the House Appropriations Committee.

Fleischmann, re-elected to a second term on Nov. 6, is one of six new members appointed to the powerful committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. The appointments were approved by the House Republican Steering Committee on Thursday.

Fleischmann’s district includes Oak Ridge. In a press release, he said the committee does critical work to ensure that tax revenues from hardworking Americans are spent wisely.

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Candidate forum for Tennessee, U.S. House on Thursday

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Eight state and federal legislative candidates have been invited to take part in a Thursday evening forum at Oak Ridge High School.

The candidates could include the three running for the U.S. House of Representatives in Tennessee’s 3rd District: Republican Chuck Fleischmann, who is the incumbent; Democrat Mary M. Headrick, a physician; and Independent Matthew Deniston, a U.S. Army veteran. The district includes Oak Ridge.

They could also include the two candidates for Tennessee House of Representatives in the 33rd District: Republican John D. Ragan, the incumbent, and Democrat Jim Hackworth, who is trying to take back his old seat. The district includes much of Anderson County.

Also invited are candidates for the Tennessee House of Representatives in the 32rd District: Republican Kent Calfee, a former Roane County commissioner; Democrat Jack W. McNew; and Independent Allen R. Cole. The district includes Roane County and part of Loudon County.

[Read more…]

Frank, Iwanski, Hope lead in early election returns

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Terry Frank

Terry Frank

Business owner Terry Frank, a Clinton Republican, has an early voting lead over attorney Warren Gooch, an Oak Ridge Democrat, in the race for Anderson County mayor, according to early results posted Thursday evening on the Anderson County Election Commission website.

Results continue to be tabulated, but Frank has been collecting about 56 or 58 percent of the early, absentee, and election day votes, compared to about 42 to 44 percent for Gooch.

Also taking an early lead was City Council candidate Charles J. “Chuck” Hope Jr., who had about 58 percent of the vote around 8:42 p.m., compared to 42 percent for Trina Baughn.

[Read more…]