U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander
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.
Lamar Alexander
Bob Corker
U.S. senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker, both Tennessee Republicans, on Thursday voted against H.R. 325, the House-passed debt limit bill, and urged Congress to focus on reforming Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, a press release said.
“I voted against this bill because it raises the debt ceiling without taking steps to reduce the debt,” Alexander said. “Sen. Corker and I have introduced legislation that would reduce entitlement spending by nearly $1 trillion in exchange for the president’s expected request to increase the debt ceiling.”
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.
Lamar Alexander
Bob Corker
U.S. senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker voted in favor of a “fiscal cliff” deal early Tuesday morning that would allow tax rates to rise only for wealthy Americans while temporarily suspending sweeping federal spending cuts.
The deal was approved 89-8 in the U.S. Senate but still has to be passed by the House. Approval there is not guaranteed.
The agreement would raise tax rates for individuals who earn more than $400,000 and couples with incomes of more than $450,000. It would also extend unemployment insurance for another year and temporarily delay $110 billion in across-the-board spending cuts to military and domestic programs.
Alexander, a Tennessee Republican, released a statement after the 1:39 a.m. vote early Tuesday, New Year’s Day. The vote could help the nation avert the so-called “fiscal cliff,” a package of automatic across-the-board spending cuts and tax increases scheduled to start going into effect this month.
Tennessee senators Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander have introduced a plan to reduce the growth in federal entitlement spending by almost $1 trillion in exchange for increasing the nation’s debt limit by $1 trillion, possibly this spring.
The Dollar for Dollar Act of 2012 would reduce the growth in spending on Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, according to a statement posted on Corker’s website. Most of the spending reductions—$689 billion—would come from Medicare reform.
Corker and Alexander seemed confident that Congress and the White House would reach a deal in the so-called “fiscal cliff” negotiations, a high-stakes debate that has dragged on for weeks over how to avoid automatic spending cuts and tax increases starting Jan. 1.
“When the dust settles, federal income taxes will not increase for almost all Americans next year,” Corker and Alexander said.
The two Republicans said their dollar-for-dollar plan “focused on helping Americans avoid falling off the fiscal cliff no one wants to talk about, the looming bankruptcy of Medicare.”
U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, center, a Tennessee Republican, visited Hoskins Drug Store in Clinton on Tuesday to show support for state Rep. John Ragan, an Oak Ridge Republican seeking re-election.
CLINTON—Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Uranium Processing Facility remain funding priorities even in tough economic times, U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander said Tuesday.
A Tennessee Republican, Alexander said all federal government funding is under pressure and should be until the nation’s debt is under control. But the UPF at the Y-12 National Security Complex is the top priority of the U.S. Department of Energy, the senator said. And ORNL performs crucial missions, the senator said.
“In difficult times, they’ll still continue to receive a good funding stream,” he said.
Alexander said he would also like to see cleanup work continue in Oak Ridge, including mercury cleanup projects.
Alexander said the UPF project, which could cost up to $6.5 billion, is a costly 50-75 year decision that could affect the health and safety of hundreds of workers, and it should proceed as rapidly as possible, although a good design is needed.
Top local, state, and federal Republicans and other residents turned out at Hoskins Drug Store on Tuesday to show support for Tennessee Rep. John Ragan, fourth from left, who is seeking re-election in the Nov. 6 election.
Asked about the July 28 security breach at Y-12, Alexander said it shouldn’t have happened, but he’s not ready to turn over security to another government department, as U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, an Ohio Republican, has proposed.
Alexander said “some heads have rolled,” and investigations have been launched that will help determine the right next steps.
He said roughly $3 billion in federal money is spent in Oak Ridge each year for all DOE facilities. But there have been budget uncertainties caused by Congress’ inability to make decisions, Alexander said.
Alexander was at Hoskins Drug Store in Clinton on Tuesday with other top local, state, and federal Republicans to show support for Rep. John Ragan, an Oak Ridge Republican who is running against former Rep. Jim Hackworth, a Clinton Democrat, in one of the half-dozen key races in the Tennessee House of Representatives.
John Ragan
Perhaps illustrating the importance of the race, top state and national Republicans are showing their support for Rep. John Ragan, an Oak Ridge resident and GOP candidate seeking re-election to the Tennessee House of Representatives.
A first-term legislator, Ragan is opposed in the Nov. 6 election by Democrat Jim Hackworth, a Clinton Democrat who used to hold the seat but lost to Ragan in the 2010 election.
Democrats and Republicans have both said the race in Tennessee’s 33rd District, which includes much of Anderson County, is one of a half-dozen key contests in the state.
On Friday, the Tennessee House Republican Caucus announced that U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander will be in Clinton and Anderson County on Tuesday to support Ragan. Alexander will be joined by U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, a Tennessee Republican whose district includes Oak Ridge; Tennessee Sen. Randy McNally, an Oak Ridge Republican; and Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank.
“They will be meeting with Anderson County citizens and discussing plans for economic growth, the importance of fiscal responsibility, and the need to re-elect conservative state Rep. John Ragan,” a press release said.
They will meet at Hoskins Drug Store in Clinton from 2-3 p.m. Tuesday. Hoskins Drug Store is located at 111N. Main St. in Clinton.
Also this week, Republicans announced that top Tennessee officials had unanimously endorsed Ragan. The endorsements came from three top Republicans, Gov. Bill Haslam, Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, and Tennessee House Speaker Beth Harwell.
“Having strong leaders in the state legislature is incredibly important, and I can always count on John Ragan’s consistent conservative approach to tough issues,” Haslam said. “John has a true servant’s heart, and works hard on behalf of Anderson County every day.”
Ramsey said Ragan has worked closely with senators to create a better environment for business and served as a “voice of reform” on the House Education Committee. Harwell said Ragan’s wide range of military and business experience make him a vital part of the Republican team in Nashville.
The outcome of the contest between Ragan and Hackworth could help decide whether Republicans pick up a supermajority in the Tennessee House. That would allow them to conduct legislative business without Democratic support, and they could pass legislation even if Democrats walk out of session.
In June, a Republican campaign aide said Republicans now have 64 representatives in the 99-member Tennessee House of Representatives. They would have a supermajority if they pick up three seats, giving them 67 total members, said Holt Whitt, a member of the Republican Caucus field staff in Nashville.
Early voting for the Nov. 6 election began Wednesday and ends Nov. 1.
