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Gordon Helps Pass 3 Bills To Boost Small Business

Wednesday, November 18th, 2009

bartgordon WASHINGTON – Congressman Bart Gordon supported three bipartisan bills today aimed at helping small businesses in Tennessee and around the country. Each bill was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives.

The House approved the Small Business Health Information Technology Financing Act (H.R. 3014), which would create a loan program in the U.S. Small Business Administration to help medical professionals purchase health information technology.

“Numerous studies have shown that if doctors and hospitals started using secure health information technology systems, like electronic medical records, billions of dollars could be saved each year nationwide,” said Gordon who has been a longtime advocate for reducing the costs of practicing medicine.

Earlier this year, the President implemented a tort reform initiative that Gordon developed to reduce the number of frivolous medical malpractice lawsuits that doctors face.

The House also passed the Small Business Early-Stage Investment Act (H.R. 3738) and the Expand Entrepreneurship Act (H.R. 1842). Both measures aim to support new, promising small businesses.

“Early-stage businesses have been found to be some of the best job creators, but starting a new business is no easy task,” said Gordon. “These bills create important SBA programs that will assist small businesses in getting up and running. Helping small businesses grow is especially important for Tennessee’s economy, where more than 95% of our state’s private workforce is employed by small businesses.”

The Small Business Early-Stage Investment Act creates an SBA investment program tasked with providing grants to small businesses involved in health information technology, digital technology, defense technology, and agriculture research and development. The Expand Entrepreneurship Act directs the SBA to develop a comprehensive plan that identifies a strategy for each SBA region to create jobs through its programs.

Having passed the House, the three bills will now move to the Senate for consideration.

Posted in Business, Economy, Education, Energy, Environment, Health care, Jobs, Legislation, Rep. Bart Gordon (D-6) | No Comments »

Making Veterans Part of the Recovery

Wednesday, November 11th, 2009

bartgordon BY CONGRESSMAN BART GORDON

On this Veterans Day, more than 190,000 of our brave men and women are currently fighting for our country in Afghanistan and Iraq. Going to war takes incredible courage, and each and every service member currently deployed is in our thoughts and prayers. All Americans appreciate their commitment to defending our freedoms.

We owe them more than just our gratitude though; we have an obligation to serve those who have volunteered to serve our country. The unfortunate reality is that here at home, there are about 185,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who are unemployed and looking for work. These veterans bravely served our country, and the skills they developed during their military service – from their strong work ethic and unwavering loyalty to their commitment toward achieving goals bigger than themselves – would be of great value to any business.

Many, however, have been caught in the turmoil of the current economic climate. As the United States climbs out of this recession, my goal has been to support efforts aimed at helping them obtain the additional skills needed to compete for today’s jobs.

Last year, Congress passed the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill, legislation that expanded educational benefits for military veterans who have served since September 11, 2001. In August, military veterans throughout Middle Tennessee and across the United States started receiving benefits from the new G.I. Bill, which includes covering 100% of a four-year public undergraduate education.

I strongly supported this bill because it will allow an estimated 2 million veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to return to the classroom and get the education they need and deserve without having to worry about costs. Not only does the new G.I. Bill cover tuition, but it also helps with books and housing expenses.

In addition to the new G.I. Bill, the U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the Veterans Retraining Act, which will further help veterans obtain the skills needed to get a new job. This legislation would authorize the U.S. Labor Department to pay monthly living and housing stipends to veterans enrolled in employment-training programs that teach skills in particular demand.

In Smyrna, the Department of Veterans Affairs recently announced its plans to open a new patient service call center to help serve veterans and 19 VA hospitals. This center is expected to create as many as 450 new jobs. Hiring will begin later this year, and the federal government will offer veterans special preference for these jobs, which will provide much needed job opportunities for veterans in our area.

As the current economic climate improves, I remain committed to ensuring that veterans are part of the recovery.

Posted in Economy, Education, Heroes, Jobs, Legislation, Military, Rep. Bart Gordon (D-6), Soldiers, Veterans | No Comments »

Gordon Votes Against Health Care Bill

Sunday, November 8th, 2009

bartgordon1 HR 3962, the health care proposal in U.S. House, narrowly passed last night 220-215 with 1 republican, Rep. Cao of Louisiana, voting in favor of the bill. 39 Democrats joined 176 Republicans in voting against the first health care reform bill to make it to the House floor since 1965. From a press release:

WASHINGTON – Congressman Bart Gordon voted against the House health care bill (H.R. 3962) today, citing concerns about its ability to reduce health care costs.

“I firmly believe that any responsible health care bill must do two things: improve access to health care for small businesses and the uninsured, and reduce health care spending. This bill does one but not the other, it falls short of sufficiently cutting health care spending.”

The Congressional Budget Office recently evaluated H.R. 3962 and indicated that the bill would not reduce, but instead would increase, the federal government’s spending on health care over the long-term.

“Currently, one out of every six dollars is spent on health care in the United States,” stated Gordon. “It’s unsustainable to keep health care spending where it is now. We must decrease the amount of money our country spends on health care.”

Gordon made his decision after studying the bill’s provisions and listening to the concerns of Middle Tennesseans during numerous public forums, telephone town halls, face-to-face meetings, as well as thousands of phone calls and emails since debate on the issue started earlier this year.

“This process of drafting health care proposals has been both lengthy and healthy. I’ve received valuable comments and suggestions from the Middle Tennesseans I represent. However, we still have a long way to go,” said Gordon. “Any health care bill that is ultimately signed into law must not increase the federal deficit or our long-term spending on health care. I am hopeful that the Senate and House can work through the amendment process and conference committee and get to a point where we have a better bill that incorporates bipartisan ideas that I can support.”

Posted in Health care, Legislation, Rep. Bart Gordon (D-6), Tea Parties | 8 Comments »

Gordon Encourages Stop Loss Soldiers To Apply For New Funds

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009

bartgordon WASHINGTON – Congressman Bart Gordon announced today that the U.S. Department of Defense is making special payments available for service members who have had their enlistments involuntarily extended since September 11, 2001.

“It takes a tremendous amount of courage for service members to continue standing in harm’s way when they’ve been apart from their families for so long,” said Gordon who voted for the 2009 War Supplemental Appropriations Act, which established this new initiative. “While no amount of money can make up for the burden of extended deployments, I hope these payments will help our soldiers know how much we appreciate their commitment and honor their service.”

The U.S. Department of Defense is providing service members with $500 for every month they were held under stop loss orders between September 11, 2001 and September 30, 2009. Since 2001, more than 185,000 service members have been held under stop loss orders.

Service members from all branches of the military, including members of Reserve units, can submit claims for retroactive stop loss pay until October 21, 2010. Each service member will be required to submit documented proof that they were stop lossed. Family members of deceased service members may also apply for payments.

For specific information about how service members from each branch of the military can apply for payments, please visit the following websites:

Army: https://www.stoplosspay.army.mil
Navy: send an email to – NXAG_N132C@navy.mil
Marine Corps: https://www.manpower.usmc.mil/stoploss
Air Force: http://www.afpc.randolph.af.mil/stoploss

“While each branch of the military would like eligible service members to apply online, if you don’t have access to the Internet, you can call my office for assistance,” added Gordon.

Those who have questions or need assistance with the application process should call Congressman Gordon’s Murfreesboro office at (615) 896-1986.

Posted in Heroes, Legislation, Military, Rep. Bart Gordon (D-6), Service, Soldiers, Veterans | No Comments »

Gordon Gaining Traction with Nuclear Waste Ban

Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

bartgordon The following editorial has gone national, being printed in the Jackson Sun, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, and even Columbus’ Coshocton Tribune …

DON’T LET U.S. BE GLOBAL NUCLEAR WASTE DUMP

Published: Tuesday, October 27, 2009 at 1:00 a.m.

If a friend asked to dump his garbage in your yard because he knew you would know what to do with it, what would you say? Probably, no thanks. That’s what the U.S. should say to countries that want to send their nuclear waste here for processing and storage.

Thankfully, Sen. Lamar Alexander and U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon are sponsoring legislation in Congress to keep other countries’ nuclear waste out of the U.S. …

The controversy arose when a private Utah company, EnergySolutions, asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for permission to bring in 20,000 tons of low-level radioactive waste from Italy. The company would process the waste in Tennessee and store the resulting 1,600 tons at a private facility 80 miles west of Salt Lake City. The NRC said it has applications from Mexico and Brazil to do the same thing.

The U.S. handles its own nuclear waste based on a regional system established by Congress in the 1980s. Current laws don’t address importing nuclear waste from other countries. …

The problem with allowing the waste to come to the U.S. is that America will become the world’s dumping ground for nuclear waste. That’s because no other country will accept the stuff. This is not a “world leader” designation America needs.

– The Jackson, Tenn., Sun

Posted in Energy, Environment, Legislation, Public Safety, Rep. Bart Gordon (D-6), Watchdog Alert | 1 Comment »

Gordon Votes for Solar Tech Bill to Boost Tennessee Jobs

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009

bartgordon WASHINGTON – To build upon the new solar technology jobs being created in Tennessee, Congressman Bart Gordon used his chairmanship of the House Science and Technology Committee to advance the Solar Technology Roadmap Act. The bipartisan bill overwhelmingly passed the full U.S. House of Representatives in a vote of 310 to 106 today.

“If solar power isn’t the first thing you think of when I talk about Tennessee, I’ll forgive you,” Congressman Gordon said during his opening remarks about the Solar Roadmap bill on the House Floor today. “But over the last few years we’ve really seen first-hand the major potential that solar energy has to create new jobs and reduce our dependence on foreign oil in the process.”

The Solar Roadmap bill, H.R. 3585, would establish a comprehensive process to facilitate the research, development and demonstration of American solar technology in partnership with the private sector. The bill would also direct the Department of Energy to award grants to entrepreneurs, research agencies and academic laboratories that are leading the field in solar technology development and solar manufacturing.

“Solar technology is creating jobs throughout Tennessee and the rest of the country,” explained Gordon. “The short- and long-term roadmap that will be written as a result of this bill is modeled on the successful National Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors, which has been instrumental in creating thousands of jobs and helping the semiconductor technology industry advance rapidly over the past two decades.”

The Solar Roadmap bill would require the U.S. Secretary of Energy to appoint an 11-member Solar Technology Roadmap Committee to write, review and update a Solar Technology Roadmap. Moving forward, the roadmap will provide a path to make solar technology more dependable and widely available to American consumers.

“The solar technology plants in Clarksville and Cleveland, as well as Nissan’s electric car and battery plant in Smyrna, are going to be instrumental in making Tennessee a leader in the new clean energy industries that will help our country become more energy independent,” added Gordon. “This bill will help additional solar projects get off the ground and boost job growth in the process.”

The Solar Technology Roadmap Act has been endorsed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. In a letter of support, the Chamber wrote, “Increased research, development, and demonstration of solar technology is crucial to America’s energy security needs, and H.R. 3585 would help move one step closer to that goal.”

The bill has also been endorsed by the National Association of Manufacturers, the Solar Energy Industries Association, BP, IBM, Intel and National Semiconductor. Having passed the House, the bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.

Posted in Business, Economy, Education, Energy, Environment, Jobs, Legislation, Rep. Bart Gordon (D-6) | No Comments »

Action by Congress Needed to Stop Nuclear Waste Imports

Friday, October 16th, 2009

bartgordon WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon’s bill to ban imports of nuclear waste got a boost today when an official from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission confirmed the agency currently lacks the power and authority to stop imports and disposal of foreign-generated radioactive waste in the United States.

“The NRC, the very agency that regulates low-level radioactive waste, made clear unless my bill is passed, nothing will stop countries like Mexico, Italy and Brazil from dumping their radioactive waste in our country,” said Gordon. “The fact is we have limited space for this kind of waste and it should be reserved for domestic industries that generate it – the medical facilities, university research labs and utility companies. These industries, in 36 states, have only one available disposal site to use located in Clive, Utah.”

Today’s legislative hearing on Gordon’s bill, the Radioactive Import Deterrence (RID) Act, H.R. 515, was held before the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment.

During the hearing, Gordon asked the NRC official, Margaret Doane, if it was fair to summarize her testimony by saying unless Congress makes a policy decision, the NRC currently doesn’t have the authority to stop foreign radioactive waste from entering the U.S. for disposal.

“That’s right,” Doane responded.

The U.S. is the only country in the world that imports radioactive waste of other countries for disposal. Currently, a permit is pending with NRC to import 20,000 tons of Italian low-level radioactive waste for disposal in the U.S., which would be the largest importation ever of foreign-generated radioactive waste. Permits to import and dispose of radioactive waste from Mexico and Brazil are also pending. If these permits are approved, the nuclear waste shipments would be transported to Tennessee for processing and later disposed of in Utah.

Gordon’s legislation, the RID Act, would ban the Nuclear Regulatory Commission from authorizing the importation of foreign-generated radioactive waste for disposal in the U.S. unless the President deems the importation would meet critical national or international policy goals.

“By banning the importation of radioactive waste for disposal, we’ll also send the world the right message: if you are going to produce low-level radioactive waste, you’ve got to build the necessary disposal facilities,” stated Gordon during the hearing.

Posted in Energy, Environment, Legislation, Rep. Bart Gordon (D-6) | No Comments »

Veterans’ Health Care Is Bart Gordon’s First Budget Priority

Friday, October 9th, 2009

bartgordon WASHINGTON – For more than two decades, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ health care system has been plagued by consistently late and, at times, inadequate budgets. On Wednesday (October 7), the U.S. House of Representatives passed bipartisan legislation to ensure timely funding for veterans’ health care.

“Our veterans deserve the best available care – red tape and bureaucratic budgetary issues shouldn’t get in the way of their health care,” said Congressman Bart Gordon, who strongly supported the bill’s passage. “Over the years, the VA has had to make do with insufficient budgets resulting in restricted access for many veterans. This bill will change that.”

In 19 of the past 22 years, the VA has not received its budgetary funding prior to the start of the fiscal year. The legislation, the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act (H.R. 1016), would require the VA to provide detailed budgetary estimates sooner so that Congress can allocate funds for the VA’s medical care programs one year in advance of the start of each fiscal year.

“My father and uncle served during World War II and they taught me the importance of taking care of those who volunteer to defend our country,” added Gordon. “Delays in VA funding do a disservice to those who have served. By streamlining the budgetary process, the VA will have up to a year to plan how to deliver the most efficient and effective care to our veterans.”

The bill would require the VA to submit a report each July on the resources it needs for the upcoming fiscal year in order for Congress to address any funding imbalances. This will help to safeguard against the budget shortfalls that the VA has faced in recent years.

The bipartisan bill is supported by a coalition of veteran service organizations, including the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, AMVETS, and Disabled American Veterans, who have endorsed the bill as “an historic legislative victory on behalf of all veterans.”

The bill now moves to the Senate where it is expected to pass and then be signed into law by the President.

Posted in Budget, Health care, Legislation, Rep. Bart Gordon (D-6), Veterans | 1 Comment »

Republican County Mayor Ernest Burgess breaks the law, again

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009

red-faced and red-handed County Mayor Ernest Burgess

Red-faced and caught red-handed AGAIN!

Republican County Mayor Ernest Burgess has broken the law and cost tax payers hundreds of thousands of dollars, but don’t worry. Mayor Burgess tells the Daily News Journal he has a plan to do away with the law in the upcoming state legislative session.

A 52-year-old state law stipulates that the Rutherford County Commission, not the mayor, should have chosen defense attorneys to handle a lawsuit filed by the family whose rezoning request for Bible Park USA was rejected.

According to the “Private Acts of 1957 Chapter 67″ charter between the state and the county, “no official, agent, department, branch or board of said County shall employ other attorneys to be paid out of the public revenues of said County without the approval of the Quarterly County Court (now called the county commission) of said County in advance of such employment.”

Mayor Ernest Burgess, however, made the decision after consulting with County Attorney Jim Cope behind closed doors.

“That’s an out-of-date statute, and we’re going to update it in the next legislative session starting in January,” Burgess said during an interview from his office at the County Courthouse.

How many more embarrassing and expensive mistakes is Mayor Burgess going to dump on the tax payers of Rutherford County? The law the Mayor claims is “out-of-date” is the law, and even the former chair of the Rutherford County Republican Party says what every law-abiding citizen knows.

Commissioner D.C. “Jim” Daniel wishes the 21-member commission had made the call on hiring the attorneys to defend the county.

“I believe we ought to follow the law,” said Daniel, a retired attorney. “The law is the law. Otherwise, you have chaos if you run around contrary to law.”

Chaos is exactly what the tax payers are paying for under Republican County Mayor Ernest Burgess, and we’re all paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in higher taxes for it thanks to Mayor Burgess. Rutherford County deserves a County Mayor and a County Attorney with the moral compass to uphold the rule of law. It is up to the voters to decide whether the criminal behavior of Republican County Mayor Ernest Burgess and bad advice of our county attorney represents the best interests of our community or the selfish interests of a men who think the law doesn’t apply to them.

Read more about Mayor Burgess’s costly lapses of character and judgment:

Posted in Crime, Ethics, Legislation, Rutherford County Republican Party, Tax and Spend Republicans | 4 Comments »

Gordon’s Tort Reform Amendment Supported By President

Friday, September 11th, 2009

bartgordon WASHINGTON – On Wednesday, September 9, President Barack Obama delivered a nationwide address on health care. After outlining a number of priorities, the President stated that he would be instructing the U.S. Department Health and Human Services to move forward immediately on a medical malpractice reform initiative authored by Congressman Bart Gordon.

The day after the speech, Sept. 10, the White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs explained the Administration plans for medical malpractice: “The president and his team will look at very closely what Congressman Bart Gordon put in the Energy and Commerce legislation…to cut down on unnecessary costs and…defensive medicine.”

“The Administration is going to move forward with my proposals immediately,” Gordon added, “test them out in a number of states, and, as I understand it, develop a national policy to effectively reduce frivolous lawsuits.”

Gordon’s amendment to the House Energy and Commerce bill was modeled around a program the State of Tennessee implemented in 2008, which has proven thus far to be effective. The primary goals of Gordon’s amendment were to reduce frivolous malpractice lawsuits and encourage doctors to abandon the practice of defensive medicine.

“Defensive medicine is when doctors order tests and procedures to avoid being legally vulnerable and sued for medical malpractice,” explained Gordon. “This practice has been estimated to cost more than $200 billion each year – it’s one of the largest sources of wasteful spending in the U.S. health care system and we need to do something about it.”

Gordon’s malpractice reform provision will provide incentives to states that implement a “Certificate of Merit” or “Early Offer” program as alternatives to going to court. These programs have been shown to be effective in multiple states at reducing the number of medical malpractice lawsuits filed. Gordon’s measure is the only medical malpractice provision that has been adopted in any of the health care reform proposals before Congress.

Posted in Health care, Legislation, Rep. Bart Gordon (D-6) | No Comments »

Local Pastor answers ‘What Would Jesus Do’ on health care reform

Thursday, September 10th, 2009

Pastor Michael Smith, Belmont University & Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Graduate

Pastor Michael Smith of Murfreesboro’s First Baptist Church offers one Christian’s thoughts on the health care debate we thought deserved your attention.

When I attempt to allow my Jesus-Center to influence my take on health care reform in the United States, I find myself drawn to a few core conclusions.

First, I am to pray and act for the well-being of all others. Among other things, this suggests I am not to seek to protect only myself or those like me but instead to be willing to run some risk, make some sacrifices, for the sake of other women and men. To put it another way, I am my brother and sister’s keeper, and if I understand Jesus rightly, all persons are my brothers and sisters. When I translate the sentiment into policy, I become more comfortable with the idea that some challenges require the wisdom and resources of the entire nation. While I may not yet discern the particulars, I accept that any solution must work for all of us.

Second, I am to seek and speak the truth. We Americans have become far too tolerant of lies told to advance an agenda. I’m afraid we’ve also become far too willing to accept and use lies ourselves, especially if we think a lie will help us “win.” I cannot imagine Jesus condoning the use of a lie for any purpose. Can you? If Christians are to play their proper role in the current debate, we must once again become people who seek and speak truth.

Third, I must lay aside all hatred. A while ago, a Christian woman said to me, “I don’t want any of my money going to help those people.” Whoever “those people” might have been to her, she dispised them. Take a little self-test. Use her phrase (”I don’t want any of my money going to help those people”) and try inserting a specific term in place of “those.” Try inserting terms like “poor,” “black,” “Hispanic,” “unemployed,” “liberal,” “conservative,” “pregnant out of wedlock,” and the like. Keep doing so until you find a term that makes your blood boil. That’s when you will have identified the group of people Jesus calls you to stop hating. Jesus forbids his followers to hate or to allow hatred to govern their life in the world.

Posted in Faith, Health care, Legislation, Seniors | 3 Comments »

Rep. Joe Carr (R-Lascassas) refuses to return thousands in bogus hotel and meal expenses

Friday, August 21st, 2009

Rep. Joe Carr (R-Lascassas) told Channel 4 today that he is refusing a request by voters to return thousands of dollars he recently told the Tennessean he “inadvertently” took from the tax payers and now claims he’s “entitled” to it.

Rep. Carr also told Channel 4 he took over $18,000 (more than any other lawmaker) in expenses to pay for hotel rooms, but no one seems to understand why he’d need that much money when he lives less than an hour from the state Capitol.

joebusted In the video above, Rep. Carr couldn’t explain how he “inadvertently” drove himself to the bank to “inadvertently” cash 13 weeks worth of bogus meal and hotel expense checks.

Joe had the nerve to challenge his fellow big spending county Republicans to join him in not accepting anymore expense claims for the entire calendar year after we caught him with his hand in the tax payer’s pocket.

At the same time Rep. Carr was writing his own personal stimulus checks he’s now refusing to return, he had the nerve to try to pass a bill to deny extended unemployment benefits to residents in his district.

It’s time the voters of Lascassas introduce Joe Carr to the unemployment line come 2010.

Posted in 2010, Budget, Crime, Economy, Jobs, Legislation, Rep. Joe Carr (R-48), Rutherford County Republican Party, Tax and Spend Republicans, Watchdog Alert | 60 Comments »

Bill Seeks End to Radioactive Dumping in Rutherford County

Monday, August 10th, 2009

clean-logo1 NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Today, Families for a Clean Tennessee announced a statewide campaign aimed at encouraging state legislators to commit to supporting Senate Bill 687, a bill aimed at ending the process of Bulk Survey for Release.

Bulk Survey for Release, or BSFR, is a process that allows nuclear waste from across the United States to be dumped in ordinary Tennessee landfills. SB 687 was introduced by Sen. Marrero (D-30) during this year’s legislative session but did not receive a hearing or a vote in committee. The bill is eligible for consideration in 2010.

The pledge campaign comes just days after InsiderAdvantage and the Southern Political Report announced that while polling for the upcoming Tennessee gubernatorial election, they uncovered that more than 80 percent of respondents were “very concerned” that nuclear waste could be dumped in ordinary landfills in Tennessee. [Access the Southern Political Report Article]

“This issue is potential political dynamite,” said InsiderAdvatnave CEO Matt Towery. “This is not a Democrat or Republican issue as best I can see…what makes this a potential bombshell issue is that most in the state don’t realize nuclear dumping in landfills is allowed, and when they hear it is, they are shocked. When you add to the equation that Tennessee landfills are taking other states’ waste, residents get really hot,” continued Towery.

Families for a Clean Tennessee, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and protecting Tennessee has mailed a copy of Towery’s poll along with a pledge card to every elected legislator in Tennessee. The group hopes that after legislators review the independent poll, they will pledge to support SB 687 by signing and returning the pledge card.

“The InsiderAdvantage poll reveals that more than 80 percent of Tennessee voters are concerned about the BSFR process and I believe our elected officials have to pledge to support SB 687 or face potential opposition in 2010,” stated Harvey Fischer, Chairman of Families for a Clean Tennessee. [Access the Pledge Sent to Tennessee Legislators]

Specifically, the InsiderAdvantage poll uncovered:

82.6 percent of likely voters oppose dumping nuclear waste in ordinary commercial landfills in Tennessee, while nearly 90 percent believe nuclear waste should be disposed of in long-term isolation facilities.
More than 75 percent of likely voters-both Democrats and Republicans– are more likely to support a candidate for Governor that is opposed to nuclear dumping and the BSFR program.
Nearly 60 percent are more likely to support a legislative candidate that is opposed to nuclear dumping and the BSFR program.
More than 50 percent have stated they would actively work for the election of any candidate from either party that opposes the dumping of nuclear waste in Tennessee landfills.
More than 50 percent support Senate Bill 687, and more than 60 percent are more likely to vote for candidates that support Senate Bill 687.
63.5 percent believe that under no circumstance should nuclear waste be dumped in Tennessee.

Families for a Clean Tennessee will provide a list of legislators that have pledged to support
SB 687 on their Web site http://www.cleantennessee.org as pledge cards are returned.

###

Families for a Clean Tennessee is a non-partisan, non-profit citizens’ organization dedicated to preserving and protecting Tennessee for families and for future generations. Our mission is to advocate for the environmental prosperity of Tennessee through education and public outreach. At Families for a Clean Tennessee, we equip citizens with the tools they need to increase their influence and to have a strong voice in the development of public policy, both individually
and collectively.

To learn more about FCT, please visit http://www.CleanTennessee.org

Posted in Energy, Environment, Legislation | No Comments »

U.S. House Boosts Cash-4-Clunkers Program

Saturday, August 1st, 2009

bartgordon WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. House passed legislation to extend the recently created “Cash-for-Clunkers” program, which has succeeded in encouraging Americans to purchase new fuel-efficient cars and trucks. The program allows consumers to trade in their old, gas-guzzling cars for vouchers, worth up to $4,500, to help pay for new vehicles that get more miles per gallon (MPG).

“Since we created this program, participating auto dealers throughout Middle Tennessee have reported increased sales,” said Congressman Bart Gordon. “This is not only important for our economy as it recovers, but it also strengthens our national security – as consumers purchase more fuel-efficient cars, we reduce our dependence on foreign oil.”

The Cash-for-Clunkers program is expected to reduce U.S. oil consumption by more than 250 million gallons of gas. Nationwide, more than 200,000 cars have been purchased through the program since July 1, 2009.

“This is a good bill, especially because it provides additional funds without increasing the federal deficit,” said Gordon, who is a strong advocate for ensuring that new federal spending is completely offset. “For every new dollar we spend, we’ve got to find a U.S. dollar to pay for it, and this bill does just that.”

The bill provides the Cash-for-Clunkers program with $2 billion in additional funding, which was diverted from an existing energy loan program in the U.S. Department of Energy. The legislation also extends the program through September 2010. The Senate is expected to pass the House bill before August 7.

To qualify for a voucher, consumers must trade in an older vehicle that gets 18 MPG or less, and purchase or lease a new car or truck that gets at least 22 MPG. If the fuel economy of the new car is at least four MPG higher than the old vehicle, the voucher will be worth $3,500. If the fuel economy of the new car is at least ten MPG higher than the old vehicle, the voucher will be worth $4,500.

For more information about the Cash-for-Clunkers program or to locate a participating dealer in Middle Tennessee, contact the program’s toll-free hotline at (866)-CAR-7891, or visit www.cars.gov.

Posted in Economy, Energy, Legislation, Rep. Bart Gordon (D-6) | No Comments »

Update From Congressman Bart Gordon

Friday, July 31st, 2009

bartgordon Reducing the Deficit

Friends,

Last week, the U.S. House passed the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act (”PAYGO”). I was an original cosponsor of PAYGO because I believe it can bring our budget back to sound footing and help our economy grow.

In case you missed it, Monday’s print-edition of The Tennessean included a column I wrote about the importance of the PAYGO rule. To read the article, click here.

Know that I am committed to reducing the budget deficit and ensuring that any new federal spending is completely offset.

Stay in touch,

Bart Gordon
Member of Congress

Posted in Budget, Legislation, Rep. Bart Gordon (D-6) | 1 Comment »