Archive for the ‘Legislation’ Category

Gordon Gaining Traction with Nuclear Waste Ban

Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

bartgordonThe 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

Gordon Votes for Solar Tech Bill to Boost Tennessee Jobs

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009

bartgordonWASHINGTON – 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.

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.

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

Friday, October 9th, 2009

bartgordonWASHINGTON – 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.

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:

Gordon’s Tort Reform Amendment Supported By President

Friday, September 11th, 2009

bartgordonWASHINGTON – 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.

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, 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.

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.

joebustedIn 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.

Bill Seeks End to Radioactive Dumping in Rutherford County

Monday, August 10th, 2009

clean-logo1NASHVILLE, 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

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

Saturday, August 1st, 2009

bartgordonWASHINGTON – 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.

Update From Congressman Bart Gordon

Friday, July 31st, 2009

bartgordonReducing 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

Health Care Reform? Bart Gordon says, “We must get it right”

Saturday, July 25th, 2009

bartgordonWASHINGTON – Congress is currently considering three pieces of legislation aimed at reforming America’s health care insurance system. The bills take different approaches to reducing health care costs for those with insurance and extending health care coverage to millions of Americans currently without insurance. U.S. Representative Bart Gordon is working closely with his colleagues to ensure that the reform bill passed by Congress meets the intended goals and provides necessary fixes to the country’s health insurance system without raising our federal budget deficit.

“People in Tennessee and around the country are spending more on health care than on food or housing. More than 45 million uninsured Americans are getting their health care in emergency rooms, which drives costs up for those with insurance,” explained Gordon. “If we don’t reform health care, insurance premiums will continue to rise and push our country further into debt. However, we must slow down and get it done right. It is too important of an issue.”

Health care costs have doubled between 1996 and 2006. Currently, one out of every six dollars is spent on health care in the United States. In Tennessee alone, average family insurance premiums have increased by 77% since 2000.

“Health care insurance reform should focus on finding every penny of savings within our current system, as well as eliminate the waste and inefficiencies that have been shown to amount to hundreds of billions of dollars each year,” said Gordon. “Our goal should be to reduce health care costs and ensure affordable coverage is available to individuals, families and small businesses.”

Gordon, accompanied by seven other conservative Democrats, recently laid out concerns with the current legislation to the President. During the meeting, Gordon emphasized the importance of passing a bill that does not increase the deficit, hurt families or small businesses, or create a single-payer, government-run health insurance system.

“Health insurance reform is needed, but we must take time to get it right,” reiterated Gordon. “I am working to see that the bill we ultimately pass is a bipartisan bill that can get through both the House and Senate.”

Tennessee Republicans vote against fiscal responsibility

Thursday, July 23rd, 2009

Throughout the 1990s the success of pay-go rules in the United States Congress helped reign in deficit spending that flourished under President George H. Bush. Pay-go rules put in place under Democrats turned those deficits into record surpluses under President Bill Clinton.

Pay-go rules were later abandoned by Republicans under President George W. Bush and the resulting borrowing and deficit spending produced the nation’s largest deficit in United States history, plunging the nation into a deep, long-lasting recession.

Pay-go rules require any new spending by the United States Congress to be paid for by a reduction in spending or tax increases. Under pay-go rules, the Republican policy of borrowing and deficit spending give way to the kind of fiscal responsibility working families are used to. If you don’t have the money in the bank, you don’t spend it or go looking for the credit card.

Yesterday, Democrats, including Rep. Bart Gordon, put these pay-go rules back into effect, but not a single Republican from our state voted for it. The person who has now come to represent opposition to this proven fiscally policy is none other than Tennessee Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn.

Watch this video and listen as Rep. Blackburn makes the Republican case for saving more money by letting Americans die in future national emergencies like “Katrina” and “tsunamis.” Rep. Blackburn’s proposal was met with such national outrage that her spokesperson had to issue a pathetic apology that said Rep. Blackburn’s mouth gets ahead of her brain sometimes.

We totally agree, but an apology for her vote against fiscal responsible pay-go rules would have sufficed.

Thousands of jobs coming to Rutherford County

Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009

Over the past few months several job creation announcements for working families of Rutherford County have given us a glimmer of hope in a recovering economic recession that began in the first part of 2008.

Thanks to a $1.6 billion federal government loan to Nissan, 1,000 workers will be hired and help position Tennessee as a leader in a green auto revolution. Thanks to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, construction firms are bidding on three shovel-ready road projects, and millions more is being spent to retrain workers for these jobs of the future.

The latest is an announcement from Washington-based NCS Power that 2,000 green energy jobs will soon come to Rutherford County from their factories in China. It’s news worth celebrating, but some people aren’t happy.

Rutherford County’s Tea Party Republicans have taken to the streets 3 times in the last 3 months protesting the tax revenues spent creating these new jobs. They also protested the very incentives being provided companies to relocate manufacturing jobs here in the United States.

What’s worse are Republicans like Sen. Bill Ketron (R-13), Sen. Jim Tracy (R-16) and Rep. Joe Carr (R-48) gleefully taking credit for those jobs.

“We’re going to relight Middle Tennessee,” said Ketron, who was involved with some of the discussions involving the LED business partnerships. “Tennessee is poised to be the alternative energy capital of the world.”

Ketron attended the press conference along with state Sen. Jim Tracy, R-Shelbyville, state Rep. Joe Carr, R-Lascassas, and Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey.

Companies like NCS Power had strong economic incentives to ship jobs to China throughout President Bush’s 8 years in office. Now months into the Obama Administration those incentives are changing, and NCS Power now sees strong incentives to move 2,000 jobs back to Murfreesboro, TN.

The fact is county Republicans have gone out of their way to oppose changes that help working families. Rep. Carr authored a bill this year demanding Gov. Phil Bredesen reject stimulus funds that extended unemployment benefits for our county’s growing unemployed as well as funds to retrain workers for these new jobs of the future.

Senators Ketron, Tracy and other county Republicans wanted four more years of Bush’s failed economic policy and years more of the results from which we’re slowly recovering.

When Nissan begins hiring 1,000 Rutherford County residents due to the massive government backed auto loan they protested, expect Sen. Ketron, Sen. Tracy and Rep. Carr to pray to God that you’ve forgotten their vocal opposition to those jobs as they gleefully take credit for the hard work it took to bring them here.

Democrats call on General Assembly to fire Secretary of State Tre Hargett

Friday, July 10th, 2009

The Tennessee Democratic Party today requested the General Assembly fire Sec. of State Tre Hargett for continuing to obstruct the implementation of the Tennessee Voter Confidence Act. Earlier this week, the Sec. of State issued a press release stating there isn’t enough time to uphold the new law that requires paper ballots in next year’s elections.

“The Secretary of State is using his office to obstruct the voting rights of all Tennesseans,” Forrester said. “Mr. Hargett’s refusal to do the job he was sworn to do appears to be part of a nefarious Republican strategy to stand in the way of secure and verifiable elections in Tennessee.

Instead of working to implement state law that was passed almost unanimously last year by both the House and Senate, Sec. Hargett has spent the time lobbying legislators to support Sen. Bill Ketron’s (R-13) bill to re-write the law so that it doesn’t apply to the 2010 elections. State Election Coordinator Mark Goins has also urged county election commissioners to spend their time lobbying the legislature back Sen. Ketron.

In an effort to distract voters from growing unease with recent Republican run-ins with the law, including a federal lawsuit against 8 Republican election commissioners, Sec. Hargett today awarded Sen. Ketron a medallion for all his legislative effort to delay the Tennessee Voter Confidence Act and to kill the state’s Ethics Comission.

“I am honored to present the NASS Medallion Award to Sen. Ketron for his work in pursuing the highest standards of integrity in the electoral process as well as his work to protect the fiscal stability of local governments,” Hargett said in the news release from Senate Republican Caucus spokeswoman Darlene Schlicher.

It’s no surprise Sec. Hargett would use one of five medallions he’s allowed to give out every year as a tool in his continued campaign to obstruct existing election law. Sec. Hargett and Sen. Ketron are two peas in a Republican pod working together to make sure the Tennessee Voter Confidence Act does not apply to the 2010 elections. Voters of Rutherford County deserve and demand better.