{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "is_view": false, "human_description_en": "where chamber = \"House\", state = \"TN\" and year = 2015 sorted by date descending", "rows": [["http://cohen.house.gov/press-release/cohen-commends-mayor-wharton-city-memphis-completion-restoration-airways-boulevard", "Cohen Commends Mayor Wharton, City of Memphis on Completion of Restoration of Airways Boulevard Bridge", "2015-12-30", "2015", "2015-12", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "[MEMPHIS, TN] Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) commended Mayor A C Wharton, Jr. and the City of Memphis today on the completion of the restoration of the Airways Boulevard Bridge over Noncannah Creek, bringing to a close the $5.5 million project that will grant Memphians safer and more expedient access to the Memphis International Airport, and that will keep the surrounding area active and accessible. The project to replace the Airways Boulevard Bridge was a collaborative effort between the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the City of Memphis, and the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA).\nThe Airways Boulevard Bridge is an important fixture in our Memphis economy, said Congressman Cohen. The airport is the gateway to Memphis, and the Airways Boulevard Bridge is the pathway many travelers rely on to transport them safely to and from that gateway. I am pleased that the City of Memphis was able to secure such robust federal funding through FEMA in order to restore the bridge to safe, working order, and that the citizens of Memphis will be able to utilize the restored bridge having used only a small portion of city funds.\nThe City of Memphis must continue to work to receive its fair portion of federal dollars. I was pleased on December 18th to have voted in favor of the Fiscal Year 2016 Omnibus federal spending bill, which included the $4 million increase I requested for funding to end the rape kit backlog, made permanent the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Child Tax Credit, the education tax credit for college students and teachers, and included funding to federal agencies such as FEMA so that they can continue to provide much-needed federal dollars to cities like Memphis for vital restoration projects such as the Airways Boulevard Bridge. Completion of the bridge will help Memphians and visitors travel to and from the Memphis International Airport, and I am pleased that the City of Memphis was able to work with state and federal agencies to complete this important restoration project.\nThe $5.5 million project to replace the Airways Boulevard Bridge over Noncannah Creek began in late 2013. The City of Memphis was awarded a grant covering 75% of the construction costs of a replacement bridge through the FEMAs Hazard Mitigation Grant Program in 2011. TEMA awarded a grant covering a further 12.5% of construction costs, leaving the City of Memphis responsible for the remaining 12.5% of construction costs.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://cohen.house.gov/press-release/cohen-cleveland-chicago-police-shootings-are-more-evidence-we-need-independent", "Cohen: Cleveland, Chicago Police Shootings Are More Evidence That We Need Independent Prosecutors", "2015-12-29", "2015", "2015-12", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "[WASHINGTON, DC]  Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN), the Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitution and Civil Justice, today said that recent police shootings in Cleveland and Chicago are further evidence that Congress needs to push states to require independent prosecutors by passing H.R. 2302, the Police Training and Independent Review Act  a bill recently endorsed by the Chicago Tribune, following investigative coverage on ABC 7 Chicago (WLS-TV).\nPeople arent marching in the streets because they think the system is fair, said Congressman Cohen. We need reform. Asking local prosecutors to investigate the same local police with whom they work so closely is a conflict of interest. Even if they handle such investigations appropriately, there will continue to be a perception of bias. These kind of cases need independent prosecutors, and thats why we are seeing growing support for our bill.\nEarlier this year, Congressman Cohen along with Congressman Lacy Clay (D-MO)(whose district includes Ferguson, MO) introduced H.R. 2302, the Police Training and Independent Review Act. The bill would withhold full federal funding for law enforcement if independent prosecutors are not used for cases in which police use of deadly force results in death or injury. The bill would also withhold full federal funding if police are not trained on a variety of issues including mental health.\nThe bill currently had 53 cosponsors in the U.S. House of Representatives. \nEarlier this year, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo began requiring the use of an independent prosecutor for police killings. See NY Times: Cuomo to Appoint Special Prosecutor for Killings by Police\nH.R. 2302 addresses a key recommendation included in President Obamas Taskforce on 21st Century Policings final report: (See Action Item 2.2.3in https://www.cops.usdoj.gov/pdf/taskforce/TaskForce_FinalReport.pdf -- on p. 21 of the final report): \n2.2.3 Action Item:\nThe task force encourages policies that mandate the use of external and independent prosecutors in cases of police use of force resulting in death, officer-involved shootings resulting in injury or death, or in-custody deaths.\nStrong systems and policies that encourage use of an independent prosecutor for reviewing police uses of force and for prosecution in cases of inappropriate deadly force and in-custody death will demonstrate the transparency to the public that can lead to mutual trust between community and law enforcement.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://duncan.house.gov/wivks-gunner-honored-work-vets", "WIVK's Gunner Honored for Work with Vets", "2015-12-29", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "John Duncan", "D000533", "duncan.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Mr. Speaker: I wish today to honor a man that many in my District know by only one name. Ted Ousleyor simply Gunner as he is known to his many fansis one of the most popular people in my District and a longtime personality with WIVK radio in Knoxville, Tennessee. Each weekday from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Your Cowboy Pal Gunner entertains listeners with his unique brand of East Tennessee charm, humor, and grace. He loves his job, and you can tell when listening to his show. He once said that he was living his dream by being on the air with WIVK. In 2003 and 2004, Gunner was voted the Best DJ by Metro Pulse readers and was a finalist for the Marconi Air Personality of the Year.  \n\t  \n\tBut Gunner is not just known for his entertainment. He is also a tireless champion of Veterans. Following the September 11th terror attacks in 2001, Gunner started a segment on his show called Voices from the Front, where he would  \n\tconnect families over the phone with their loved ones serving in the wars. It was hugely popular and emotional for him and his listeners.  In 2004, he traveled to Iraq, and upon his return led an effort to bring to the United States for treatment an 8-year-old suffering from a severe form of Spina Bifida. In 2009, Gunner received the first annual Civilian Warrior Award for his work with the 844th Engineer Battalion. East Tennessee is one of the most patriotic places in this Country. Each year, Gunner helps lead the Veterans Day parade in Knoxville, which is attended by many thousands of people.  In addition to his service to Veterans, Gunner finds the time to run two East Tennessee farms and serve on the Board of Directors of the East Tennessee Alzheimers Association. Mister Speaker, Ted Gunner Ousley embodies the Volunteer spirit of East Tennessee.  His humility and dedication to those who serve will forever hold a place in our hearts, and I thank him for his dedication to this Country and wish him success as he continues to entertain us each day.  I also call his work with Veterans to the attention of my Colleagues and other readers of the Record in hopes that he will be an inspiration to many more.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=30280212-e586-4270-9ad8-4d426b98e83c", "Alexander Highlights Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Accomplishments for 2015", "2015-12-22", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "With Republicans in charge, 4 Senate HELP Committee bills signed into lawincluding legislation fixing No Child Left Behind and reversing the trend toward a National School Board\r\nWASHINGTON, December 22 Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today highlighted the committees accomplishments during his first year as Chairman, calling it one of the most productive committees in the entire Senate.\r\nAlexander continued: Its hard to get to the Senate, its even harder to stay here, and while youre here, you might as well amount to something. Republicans promised Americans that if they gave us a Senate majority, that they would see results. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee has kept that promise, producing some of the most significant legislation of any Senate committee this year. From reversing the trend toward a National School Board and fixing No Child Left Behind for 50 million children and 3.4 million teachers, to helping Americans lead healthier lives, we are committed to getting results for the American people.\r\nThe full list of accomplishments is below:\r\nPublic Laws\r\nEvery Student Succeeds Act (S. 1177)  A bill to fix No Child Left Behind  ends the Common Core mandate, reverses the trend towards a National School Board and keeps in place important measures of academic progress of students, but restores to states, school districts, classroom teachers, and parents the responsibility for deciding what to do about improving student achievement.\r\nProtecting Our Infants Act of 2015 (S. 799)  Helps improve the prevention and treatment of opioid use disorders among pregnant women and care for newborns exposed during pregnancy.\r\nImproving Regulatory Transparency for New Medical Therapies Act (S. 481)  Streamlines Drug Enforcement Administration regulation of new drugs, so patients can access safe and effective drugs that contain controlled substances more quickly.\r\nFederal Perkins Loan Program Extension Act of 2015 (H.R. 3594)  Extends the Perkins Loan Program two years for eligible undergraduate students and one year for graduate students who already received a Perkins Loan.\r\nStem Cell Therapeutic and Research Reauthorization Act of 2015 (H.R. 2820)  Reauthorizes the National Cord Blood Inventory Program and the C.W. Bill Young Cell Transplantation Program. These programs help match patients in need of a transplant with unrelated bone marrow and cord blood donors.\r\nWIOA Technical Amendments Act (S. 1124)  Provides bipartisan updates to the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act passed last Congress.\r\nPassed by the Senate\r\nMental Health Awareness and Improvement Act of 2015 (S. 1893)  Extends programs to help prevent suicide among youths, ensure the nations health care system is better prepared to provide support to children and families in the wake of traumatic events, and equip teachers and others to recognize and understand mental illness\r\nOlder Americans Act Reauthorization Act of 2015 (S. 192)  Supports social and nutrition servicesfrom home-delivered meals to senior centersfor nearly 12 million U.S. seniors.\r\nRecognize, Assist, Include, Support, and Engage Family Caregivers Act of 2015 (S. 1719)  Directs the Department of Health and Human Services to develop, maintain, and periodically update a National Family Caregiving Strategy.\r\nStrengthening Education through Research Act (S. 227)  Supports education research activities at the Department of Education while increasing privacy protections and increasing independence for the National Assessment Governing Board overseeing the National Assessment of Educational Progress.\r\nJoint resolution providing for congressional disapproval of the rule submitted by the National Labor Relations Board relating to representation case procedures (S. J. Res. 8)  Would stop the NLRB from implementing its ambush election rule, which shortens union elections to as little as 11 days, and prevents the NLRB from issuing substantially similar rulemaking in the future. The resolution was vetoed by the president (March 31, 2015).\r\n###\r\nFor access to this release and the senators other statements, click here.\r\nTo stay up-to-date on the senators latest actions, follow him on Twitter and YouTube.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=77a46221-41b8-4239-90fe-e2a8eddbf6d1", "Alexander: Most Americans Have Not Finally Made Their Minds Up, Election Will Move from Reality Show to Who Is Going to Deal with Putin  Make a Sensible Decision about ISIS?", "2015-12-20", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "NASHVILLE, Dec. 20U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander said this morning on C-SPAN's \"Newsmakers\"Sunday showthatmostvoters in New Hampshire and Iowahave not yet finally made their minds up. Alexander reminded viewers that his own experience twenty years ago showedthatearly presidential primaries can quickly reshape poll figures.\r\nAlexander told the shows cohosts, reporters Niels Lesniewski ofRoll Call and Alyson Klein ofEducation Week,that he was at 1 percent in national polls eight weeks before the New  Hampshire 1996 primary  but after a strong showing in the Iowa caucuses was leading in Sen. Bob Dole's New Hampshire polls the weekend before that state's primary.\r\nThey hadn't [finally decided yet at this time] 20 years agoAnd I think [voters are] going to go from looking at a reality showwhich is what this has been this yearto saying,Who is going to deal with Putin? Who is going to help me get a better job? Who really can make a sensible decision about ISIS and the fear we have from attacks we have had in our own country?\r\nAlexander, who is chairman of the Senates educationcommittee, also said passage of legislation to fix the No Child Left Behind law was made possible by strong bipartisan cooperation. He praised his colleague, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), who helped him draft the bill as the Democratic leader on the committee.\r\nHe said Murray knows what all senators should know: If all you want to do is make a speech, or announce your position, you can go get your own radio show and do that. But if you want to come to the Senate, you should try to get a result, he said.\r\nAlexander dismissed ideas that progress in Congress would be diminished by the 2016 presidential election.\r\nAs far as the presidential year stuff, you know, they still pay our salaries next year, so I dont know of any reason we should take the year off, he said.\r\nTo that end, Alexander gave two key initiatives he plans to work on on his committee (Health, Education, Labor and Pensions) during 2016:\r\n \r\nInnovation legislation  a bill Alexander said was designed to get treatments through the FDA  faster, cheaper and into medicine cabinets. This bill could work with the Houses 21st Century Cures bill and President Obamas precision medicine initiative.\r\nHigher education  highlighting differences between the current Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) application form and his own postcard-sized form, Alexander said Congress need[s] to simplify the jungle of red tape that governs our [institutions of higher] education, and we need to make it easier and simpler for students to go to college.\r\n \r\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=0518c75f-ca09-4f02-befe-80c92ca5d234", "Alexander, Murray Commend Senate Passage of Bill to Provide Teachers & School Leaders with Better Education Research and Information", "2015-12-19", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "The Strengthening Education Through Research Act makes research easier to access and more relevant at state and local levels\r\nWASHINGTON, December 19 The chairman and ranking member of the Senate education committee commended Senate passage of legislation to improve the quality of education research and make research more relevant and usable for teachers, principals, school districts and states.\r\nThis bill makes research on education more relevant, accessible and useful for the people who need it most  teachers, principals and administrators, Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said. This bill also goes a long way to strengthen the National Assessment Governing Board, which oversees The Nations Report Card,the best tool for governors to see how students in their state are doing compared to every other stateensuring they are not fooling themselves on their states standards.\r\nEducation research gives teachers, school leaders, local policymakers, and us here in Congress valuable information on what works in the classroom, Murray said. This bill is the result of strong bipartisan work to make sure we have high-quality research to help states and schools raise achievement levels, and I hope we will continue working together to ensure more students have access to a high quality education.\r\nMore details on what the bill does:\r\n The Strengthening Education through Research Act reauthorizes the Education Sciences Reform Act (ESRA), which authorizes funding for the research activities of the U.S. Department of Education, including the Institute for Education Sciences, and will help to improve the quality of education research in the United States and make research more relevant and usable for teachers, principals, school districts and states.\r\n S. 227, the Strengthening Education through Research Act (SETRA) amends and reauthorizes the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 through fiscal year 2021. This legislation makes a number of positive changes to the Institute for Education Sciences, a semi-independent agency within the Department of Education that conducts and oversees education research, as well as changes to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The legislation:\r\n Requires IES to identify research topics focused on ensuring that all students have the ability to obtain a high-quality education, improving access to and the quality of early childhood education, strengthening elementary and secondary schools, and increasing access to and completion of postsecondary education.\r\n Strengthens privacy provisions to ensure personally identifiable information collected by IES is secure and protected.\r\n Directs the Department of Educations comprehensive centers, which provide technical assistance to states, to prioritize serving the needs of school districts and schools with higher numbers of low-income students and schools identified for improvement.\r\n Streamlines and reduces duplication within the federal education research system, by authorizing the consolidation or elimination of federal research laboratories and centers that are not effective, reducing the number of Comprehensive Centers from 22 to 17, and increasing coordination between laboratories and centers.\r\n Makes education research more relevant at the state and local levels.\r\n Improves accountability and protects the taxpayers investment by requiring regular evaluations of research and education programs by independent entities.\r\n Maintains prohibitions on federal funding being used to establish a nationwide database of individually identifiable information, as well as to mandate, direct, or control educational standards, curricula, or assessments.\r\n Requires collaboration between entities responsible for providing research analysis and technical assistance to states and school districts to ensure these efforts are more aligned and responsive to the needs of school districts and states.\r\n Strengthens the independence of the National Assessment Governing Board and its responsibility for the National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as the Nations Report Card, which provides important information to state and local educational leaders on the academic achievement and progress of elementary and secondary school students. \r\n Enhances the relevancy of education research at the state and local levels by requiring federally-funded research to be relevant, utilized, and widely disseminated to teachers, students, parents, and policymakers.\r\n Authorizes increases the federal investment in research and technical assistance, including a substantial increase in funding for special education research.\r\n Allows States and school districts to access useful, relevant information more quickly to help raise student achievement levels in the classroom.\r\n A similar bill (H.R. 4366) passed the House of Representatives by voice vote on May 8, 2014. The Senate HELP Committee passed S. 227, a bill virtually identical to H.R. 4366 that was developed as a bipartisan agreement between the House and Senate, on February 4, 2015.\r\n###\r\nFor access to this release and the senators other statements, click here.\r\nTo stay up-to-date on the senators latest actions, follow him on Twitter and YouTube.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=667d046a-75d1-462f-afd6-72a0e1003f0f", "Senate Passes Legislation to Help Prevent Suicide, Help Children Recover from Traumatic Events, Provide Mental Health Awareness for Teachers", "2015-12-19", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Senators Alexander and Murray urge House passage of bipartisan Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act\r\nWASHINGTON, December 19  The chairman and ranking member of the Senate health committee urged House passage of their legislation to help state and local communities prevent suicide, help children recover from traumatic events, and help improve mental health awareness for teachers and others. Thebipartisan Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act passed the Senate by voice vote.\r\nI urge the House to pass this legislation without delay so that we can offer crucial support to the nearly one in five American adults suffering from mental illness. said Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.). This legislation will help states like Tennessee give parents, doctors and teachers the tools they need recognize and treat mental illness earlier.\r\nA persons mental health is every bit as important as their physical health, and we need to make sure that families and communities, especially our young people, have the support they need to address mental health challenges,  said Senator Murray. I was proud to work with Chairman Alexander on this bipartisan legislation to strengthen mental health awareness, prevention, and resources in Washington state and across the country, and I am pleased the Senate passed it today. While this legislation was an important step forward, we must do more to strengthen our nations mental health system, and I look forward to continued work with my colleagues to improve mental health care for the families and communities we serve.\r\nTheMental Health Awareness and Improvement Act will continue and improve programs that help states and local communities prevent suicide, help children recover from traumatic events, provide mental health awareness for teachers and others, and assess barriers to integrating behavioral health and primary care.\r\nDetails on what the bill does:\r\n Supports suicide prevention and intervention programs.\r\n Helps train teachers and school personnel to recognize and understand mental illness.\r\n Helps children recover from traumatic events, including support for national network of child trauma centers.\r\n Requires a study of federal requirements that may get in the way ofintegrating mental health and substance use disorder treatment with primary care, as well as other barriers to care.\r\n Directs the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to improve education and awareness among providers and patients of treatments for addiction to opioid painkillers.\r\n Requires a Government Accountability Office study on mental health services for children, looking at both access and availability.\r\n Encourages sharing of information on best practices for mental health and substance use disorders in older adults.\r\n Encourages the improvement of the National Violent Death Reporting System, which currently collects data from 32 states.\r\n Requires a government study on the status of recommendations to Department of Health and Human Services in 2007 report following Virginia Tech tragedy.\r\nCosponsors of the legislation include Senators Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Christopher Coons (D-Del.), Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.). Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.).\r\n###\r\nFor access to this release and the senators other statements, click here.\r\nTo stay up-to-date on the senators latest actions, follow him on Twitter and YouTube.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://blackburn.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=397854", "Blackburn Opposes Omnibus Bill", "2015-12-18", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Marsha Blackburn", "B001243", "blackburn.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Blackburn Opposes Omnibus Bill\r\n  \r\n    \r\n      \r\n      \r\n  \r\n    \r\n      f \r\n      t \r\n      #\r\n      e\r\n      \r\n      \r\n    \r\n    \r\n      \r\n        Washington,\r\n        December 18, 2015 | \r\n      Mike Reynard\r\n      (202-225-1112) \r\n    \r\n  \r\n  \r\n  \r\n  \r\n  \r\n  \r\n  \r\n    \r\n      \r\n      \r\n      Congressman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) today released the following statement regarding the 2016 omnibus spending bill: \r\n\r\nWhile we did achieve some conservative wins in the bill, it is disappointing that we have no language which freezes the Syrian refugee program, the Presidents lawless amnesty, Planned Parenthood funding, Net Neutrality or contributions to the Green Climate Fund. The omnibus also breaks the budget caps from the 2011 Budget Control Act. \r\n\r\nI am very concerned about the security of this country and the American people. Recently, DHS Secretary Johnson admitted that ISIS could exploit our refugee program to conduct attacks here at home, something I and my colleagues have been saying for weeks. We must do everything in our power to eliminate terrorist threats  which is why I will not give President Obama a blank check for his resettlement agenda. \r\n\r\nDue to these issues, I could not vote for the omnibus. I do thank Speaker Ryan for the manner in which he addressed the issues and worked to include the conservative policy riders, Blackburn said.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://cohen.house.gov/press-release/congressman-cohen-commends-president-obama-commuting-95-sentences-individuals-serving", "Congressman Cohen Commends President Obama for Commuting 95 Sentences of Individuals Serving Unjustly Long Sentences", "2015-12-18", "2015", "2015-12", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "[WASHINGTON, DC]  Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice, today commended President Obamas commutation of the sentences of 95 individuals serving lengthy federal prison sentences for non-violent crimes. Under current federal law, many of these prisoners would have already completed their sentences and been freed. Their continued incarceration costs taxpayers an estimated $30,000 per year, per prisoner.\n\"These commutations for non-violent drug convictions are an encouraging development and a significant step by the President toward a more rational and just clemency system for Americans who are incarceratedsomething I have long encouraged, said Congressman Cohen.But there still remain thousands of Americans languishing in prisons serving sentences that have been repudiated by both Congress and the President. I hope the President continues his efforts to commute unjust sentences during his remaining time in office.\nFor years, Congressman Cohen has repeatedly called on the President to make broader use of his pardon and commutation powers to address these injustices, including repeatedly urging then-Attorney General Holder to address the issue, in a letter sent to the President in June 2013, in an August 2013 speech on Capitol Hill and in an August 2013 column that appeared in The Nation, and a November 2014 column that appeared in The Hill.\nThe Fair Sentencing Act, which was passed by Congress with Congressman Cohens co-sponsorship and signed into law by the President in 2010, marked a turning point in our nations approach to drug policy and was a crucial step toward eliminating the dramatic and unfair disparity between crack and powder cocaine mandatory minimum sentences. But, as the President has noted, it came too late for thousands of people who were sentenced before the law was passed who are still serving sentences imposed under outdated laws. The bipartisan Sentencing Reform Act of 2015, which passed the House Judiciary Committee in November, would in part make the Fair Sentencing Act retroactive. Congressman Cohen is a cosponsor of this bill. \nCongressman Cohen continued:I am encouraged by the recent bipartisan effort to reform our nations criminal justice laws, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to put an end to the practice of racially biased and unjust sentences. In the meantime, I am pleased that President Obama is using his constitutional powers to help bring these inmates the justice they deserve and to save taxpayer money.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://cohen.house.gov/press-release/president-obama-signs-cohen%E2%80%99s-bipartisan-national-guard-reservist-debt-relief", "President Obama Signs Cohens Bipartisan National Guard & Reservist Debt Relief Extension Act into Law", "2015-12-18", "2015", "2015-12", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "[WASHINGTON, DC]  President Obama signed into law today Congressman Steve Cohens (TN-09) bipartisan National Guard and Reservists Debt Relief Extension Act of 2015, H.R. 4246, to ensure that certain members of the National Guard and Reserves who fall on hard economic times after their military service will continue to obtain bankruptcy relief without having to fill out the substantial paperwork required by the so-called \"means test\" under chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code. The law extends the existing means test exception until 2019. The bill, now law, was cosponsored by Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), and Congressman Randy Forbes (R-VA) and was supported by the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys.\nI am pleased Congress and the President moved so swiftly to pass my bill and get it sign it into law, said Congressman Cohen. This law is a way for our nation to recognize the tremendous sacrifice made by National Guard and Reserve members who have served on active duty or homeland defense since September 11 and may be suffering financial hardship. These veterans who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan disrupted their civilian lives to serve our country in war zones and homeland defense activities, and could face a risk of financial distress. It is only fair that we help them during the bankruptcy process.\nIn 2005, President Bush signed the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act into law (Public Law 1098, 119 Stat. 23). Among the many changes it made was the establishment of a means test to determine a debtors ability to repay debts. Under this test, a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case is presumed to be an abuse of the bankruptcy process if it appears that the debtor has income in excess of certain thresholds.\nThe National Guard and Reservists Debt Relief Act of 2008, Public Law No. 110-438, created an exception to the means tests presumption of abuse for members of the National Guard and Reserve who, after September 11, 2001, served on active duty or in a homeland defense activity for at least 90 days. The exception is also available for 540 days after the servicemember leaves the military. This exception, however, was set to expire later this year. The National Guard and Reservist Debt Relief Extension Act of 2015 extends the exemption until December 2019.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://cohen.house.gov/securing-money-end-rape-kits-backlog-and-passing-my-bill-servicemembers", "Securing Money to End the Rape Kits Backlog and Passing My Bill For Servicemembers", "2015-12-18", "2015", "2015-12", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Dear Friend,\nThis week, I voted for the Fiscal Year 2016 Omnibus federal spending bill which included my extra $4 million for ending the rape kit backlog; voted to permanently extend the Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, education tax credit for college students and teachers, and sales tax deduction for Tennessee; Congress passed my bill to provide bankruptcy relief for National Guardsmen and Reservists into law; and commended President Obama for commuting more prison sentences for non-violent drug offenders. Keep reading to learn more or follow me onTwitterandFacebookto see these updates as they happen.\nInvesting in Americas Future  Helping Our Servicemen and Women  Fighting for Justice  Commending Presidential Commutations for Non-Violent Drug Offenders  Meeting with Memphis Students  Recognizing the Memphis Academy of Health Sciences Honor Roll  Honoring Kirk Douglas  Helping Memphians Get Covered  2016 U.S. Capitol Historical Society Calendars Are Available\nInvesting in Americas Future\nThis morning, the Housepassed a $1.1 trillion Omnibus federal spending bill for 2016 to invest in the future of America and help working families. The Omnibus includes, among other things,an extra $4 million I secured to help reduce the backlog of untested rape kits, a $2 billion increase for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), including a 60% increase for Alzheimers research, funding for renewable energy and energy efficiency programs, and investments in Head Start and early childhood development. The House also voted yesterday to protect lower and middle class Americans from potentially painful tax increases, such as permanently extending the Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, a $2,500 per student tax credit for college students, and tax credits for teachers and small businesses. The bill also permanently extends the itemized deductions for state and local sale taxes in lieu of itemized deductions for state and local income taxes. This provision specifically benefits Tennessee since we do not have a state income tax. You can watch my speech on the House floor on funding to reduce the rape kit backloghere. You can watch my speech on the House floor recapping the year in Congresshere.\nHelping Our Servicemen and Women\nToday, President Obama signed into law my bill, H.R. 4246, the National Guard and Reservists Debt Relief Extension Act of 2015, to ensure that certain members of the National Guard and Reserves who fall on hard economic times after their military service will continue to obtain bankruptcy relief without having to fill out the substantial required paperwork. This law is a way for our nation to recognize the tremendous sacrifice made by National Guard and Reserve members who have served on active duty or homeland defense since September 11 and may be suffering from financial hardship. These veterans who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan disrupted their civilian lives to serve our country in war zones and homeland defense activities and could face a risk of financial distress. It is only fair that we help them during the bankruptcy process.\nFighting for Justice\nOn Monday, U.S. Attorney Ed Stanton III announced that the Department of Justice (DOJ) in tandem with its Civil Rights Division, the U.S. Attorneys Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, would conduct a comprehensive review of the Darrius Stewart shooting. Back in July, I asked the Department of Justice to open an independent investigation to determine whether any federal civil rights violations had occurred and have continued to urge them to do so. I also personally asked Attorney General Loretta Lynchduring a House Judiciary hearing last monthto get the Department of Justice involved in this case. It should have the full, fair and public review it deserves and I am pleased that DOJ is investigating this case.\nCommending Presidential Commutations for Non-Violent Drug Offenders\nEarlier today, President Obama commuted the sentences of another 95 individuals serving lengthy federal prison sentences for non-violent crimes that under todays law would have already been completed. In 2010, President Obama signed into law the Fair Sentencing Act, of which I was a cosponsor, to reduce the dramatic and unfair 100:1 disparity between crack and powder cocaine mandatory minimum sentences to 18:1 (It should be the same). While this was a step in the right direction, the Fair Sentencing Act was not retroactive, so there are numerous people in prison who have already completed their sentences under todays law.\nThe commutations for non-violent drug convictions made today are an encouraging development and a significant step by the President toward a more rational and just clemency system for Americans who are incarceratedsomething I have long encouraged. But there still remain thousands of Americans languishing in prisons serving sentences that have been repudiated by both Congress and the President. I am encouraged by the recent bipartisan effort to reform our nations criminal justice laws, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to put an end to the practice of racially biased and unjust sentences. In the meantime, I am pleased that President Obama is using his constitutional powers to help bring these inmates the justice they deserve, and I hope the President continues his efforts to commute unjust sentences during his remaining time in office.\nMeeting with Memphis Students\nOn Monday, I visited with 7thgrade students of Samantha Bufords social justice class at the Soulsville Charter School. The students wrote letters to my office expressing concern about the child soldiers in Syria, so I visited their classroom to discuss this issue and others. Soulsville is a great school where all nearly all graduating seniors graduate, go to college, and receive scholarships. The young students were bright, engaged, and gave me a hopeful feeling about the future of Memphis. \nRecognizing the Memphis Academy of Health Sciences Honor Roll\n\nOn Monday morning, I spoke at the Memphis Academy of Health Sciences (MAHS) Honor Roll recognition event. 93 students made the schools honor roll based on the first grading period, more than double the number of students from last year. The Memphis Academy of Health Sciences High School was recently recognized by Newsweek as one of the best high schools in America 2015. The graduation rate is one of the best in the city and state at 92 percent. MAHS has a great principal in Dr. Reginald Williams, and he and the teaching staff are the guiding force to success.\nHonoring Kirk Douglas\nOn Tuesday, I took to the House floor to honor living legend Kirk Douglas who recently celebrated his 99th birthday. He is an icon on the silver screen, but more importantly, he has used his success to help others. For his birthday, he didnt receive gifts; he gave gifts. Mr. Douglas donated $15 million dollars to help the Motion Picture & Television Fund build an Alzheimers facility support industry members who suffer from the disease. In 1960, Kirk Douglas stood up against blacklisting in Hollywood by having the courage to hire Dalton Trumbo  a blacklisted writer  to write what became one of his most acclaimed films: Spartacus. He also established the Douglas Foundation in 1964 and is one of the entertainment industrys oldest and largest philanthropist. The foundation supports education, medical research, and has built over 400 public playgrounds. As a longtime supporter of equal rights, Mr. Douglas has been an advocate for the apology of slavery by the United States to African-Americans, the legislative expression of which I authored in Congress, and has been a proponent of marriage equality. I am grateful for Mr. Douglass work  both on the screen and off  and I hope he will continue his efforts for many years to come. You can watch my speech on the House floor honoring Kirk Douglashere.\nHelping Memphians Get Covered\nTheHealthCare.govinsurance marketplace is open for 2016 plan shopping and comparisons. While the deadline to enroll in coverage that will take effect on January 1, 2016 has passed, you can still sign up for plans until January 31, 2016. You can visithttps://bit.ly/hcSavingsto see if you qualify for tax credits that will be applied as discounts on your monthly insurance premium. If you already have insurance coverage through theHealthCare.govmarketplace, your plan will be automatically renewed for 2016 but you should still visitHealthCare.govto update your information, ensure you receive the full tax credit to which you are entitled, and review new options as cheaper insurance plans that better fit your needs may now be available. If you are on Medicare or your employer offers qualified health insurance in which you are enrolled, you're already covered and won't need to enter the Marketplace for your health coverage. If you aren't sure whether or not you should use the Marketplace to get insurance, call the Marketplace Hotline at (800) 318-2596, visitHealthCare.gov, or call the healthcare navigator Seedco at (901) 255-2955. You can also call my office at (901) 544-4131 or the Marketplace Hotline to find out if TennCare (Tennessee's Medicaid program) is a coverage option for you.\n2016 U.S. Capitol Historical Society Calendars Are Available\nMy office currently has a limited number of 2016 U.S. Capitol Historical Society calendars available. If you would like to receive a calendar, please completethis formon my website. Due to the rules of the House, I am only able to mail calendars to residents of Tennessees 9thCongressional District. Please feel free to share this email with other residents of the 9thCongressional District who may be interested in receiving one but who do not receive my eNewsletter.\nAs always, I remain.  \n\tMost sincerely,    \n\tSteve Cohen  \n\tMember of Congress", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://duncan.house.gov/press-release/duncan-pans-trillion-dollar-spending-bill", "Duncan Pans Trillion-Dollar Spending Bill", "2015-12-18", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "John Duncan", "D000533", "duncan.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "(WASHINGTON) U.S. Rep. John J. Duncan, Jr. (R-Tenn.) released the following statement Friday in response to his opposition to the $1.1 trillion omnibus bill that funds the government through September 2016:\n\"This bill increases spending when we are already $19 trillion in debt; it increases immigration against the wishes of most of our citizens; and it increases federal ownership of land when government at all levels already owns far too much.\n\"In addition, there are all sorts of sweetheart deals, such as allowing an Alabama company to buy Russian rocket engines and a new $390 million FBI headquarters when its present headquarters is just a few years old. \n\"My staff and I combed through it and came up with this partial list of some of the bad provisions of this bill. This measure:\n Bails out the International Monetary Fund by increasing the U.S. quota. This means the IMF will have access to more U.S. taxpayer dollars to bailout irresponsible countries like Greece;\n\tProvides nearly $400 million to the United Nations for radical environmental projects;\n\tContains a $390 million earmark put in by Nancy Pelosi to build a new federal building in Maryland;\n\tAllows the purchase of Russian engines for U.S. rockets, which Sen. John McCain called 'simply immoral to help subsidize Russia's intervention in Ukraine and line the pockets of Putin's gang of thugs who profit from the sale of Russian rocket engines';\n\tRepeals Country of Origin Labeling for beef, pork, and chicken that tells Americans where these products were raised and processed;\n\tProvides $17.83 million for rehabilitation of a Congressional parking garage, $4.599 million more than asked;\n\tProvides $60 million to conserve sage grouse habitats in the West when we now know the sage grouse is not really endangered. That amount is up from $15 million, a fourfold increase;\n\tFreezes rather than eliminates the Obamacare Cadillac Tax, which is key to funding wasteful, bureaucratic Obamacare;\n\tContains $865 million in extra Medicare payments to serve as a way to bailout Puerto Rico;\n\tProvides funding for sanctuary cities and increased refugee admissions;\n\tDramatically increases the number of visas available for foreign workers; and\n\tContains $2.5 billion in extra funding for West Africa.\"", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://fleischmann.house.gov/press-release/house-passes-end-year-legislation", "House Passes End-Of-Year Legislation", "2015-12-18", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Chuck Fleischmann", "F000459", "fleischmann.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON Congressman Chuck Fleischmann released the following statement after passage of the government funding bill.\nToday we passed a bill that in addition to keeping our government open and functioning will properly fund our military, reign in the IRS and lift the ban on American oil exports. This bill is good for our economy and good for East Tennessee. The Chickamauga Lock will move forward and the vital national security work done in Oak Ridge will continue. As we move into a new year, with new House leadership, I am hopeful that we will continue to advance strong conservative principles.\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://roe.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=397961", "Roe Opposes Omnibus Spending Bill", "2015-12-18", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Phil Roe", "R000582", "roe.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  Today, Rep. Phil Roe, M.D. (R-TN) released the following statement after voting against the omnibus spending package: \r\n\"While I respect the work Speaker Ryan and Chairman Rogers did to try to negotiate the best deal possible with House and Senate Democrats, I strongly believe one of the most serious issues facing our country right now is the security of our homeland. Unfortunately, this bill did not go far enough to ensure the protection of Americans, and I was disappointed no language to strengthen background checks for the Syrian refugee program was included. This package included some things I strongly support like lifting the ban on crude oil exports, funding important Tennessee projects like the Chickamauga Lock and reducing funding for Obamacares Independent Payment Advisory Board, but this bill ultimately included too much wasteful discretionary spending that makes it more difficult to get our fiscal house in order.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://fleischmann.house.gov/media/press-releases/house-passes-end-year-legislation", "House Passes End-Of-Year Legislation", "2015-12-18", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Charles J. \"Chuck\" Fleischmann", "F000459", "fleischmann.house.gov", "fleischmann", "https://fleischmann.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON\u2212 Congressman Chuck Fleischmann released the following statement after passage of the government funding bill.\n\n\u201cToday we passed a bill that in addition to keeping our government open and functioning will properly fund our military, reign in the IRS and lift the ban on American oil exports. This bill is good for our economy and good for East Tennessee. The Chickamauga Lock will move forward and the vital national security work done in Oak Ridge will continue. As we move into a new year, with new House leadership, I am hopeful that we will continue to advance strong conservative principles.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T20:33:33Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=15ba0573-c48e-42fa-b955-34863a051383", "Alexander: Bill to Extend Perkins Loan Program for 2 Years Heads to Presidents Desk", "2015-12-18", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.,Dec. 17 The chairman of the Senate education committee today made the following statement on his legislation to extend the Perkins Loan Program for two years, which now heads to the presidents desk for signature after passage today in the House:\r\nMy goal in the Senate education committee is to find ways to simplify the complicated maze of federal grant and loan programs that are available to students, making it easier for them to apply for financial aid and afford college, Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said. The agreement headed to the presidents desk today will extend the Perkins Program for two yearswhilegiving Congress timeto reach consensus on the best way to achieve that important goal in the next Higher Education Act reauthorization.\r\nAlexanders legislation, the Federal Perkins Loan Program Extension Act of 2015, with original cosponsors Sens. Ayotte (R-N.H.), Tammy Baldwin (R-Wisc.), John Boozman (R-Miss.), Bob Casey (D-Penn.), Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) and Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.), passed the Senate unanimously yesterday.\r\nPrior to Senate passage, Alexander delivered remarks on the Senate floor, joined by Sens. Ayotte, Baldwin, Casey and Rob Portman (R-Ohio).\r\nVideo of Alexanders remarks are available HERE. \r\n# # #\r\nFor access to this release and the senators other statements, click here.\r\nTo stay up-to-date on the senators latest actions, follow him on Twitter and YouTube.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=b030e8f4-40a2-4815-9448-c71cdfd7ce96", "Alexander Votes to Fund Key National Priorities Within Bipartisan Budget Act Spending Limits", "2015-12-18", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, Dec. 18, 2015  U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today voted for the fiscal year 2016 Omnibus Appropriations bill, saying it funds many important national priorities and complies with spending limits required by the Bipartisan Budget Act.\r\nFor those concerned about the federal debt, which includes me, this is not the part of the budget driving the federal debt. This one-third of the budget is rising at about the rate of inflation. Its the other roughly two-thirdsmandatory entitlement spendingthats sky-rocketing out of control. Sen. Corker and I have proposed legislation that would reduce the growth of mandatory entitlement spending.\r\nThis appropriations bill includes new funding for several national priorities in Tennessee: rebuilding the Chickamauga Lock; $430 million for the $6.5 billion Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex; research and development at Oak Ridge National Laboratory; infrastructure at Ft. Campbell; construction of a new federal courthouse in Nashville which is the federal judiciarys No.1 national courthouse construction priority; as well as increased funding for dredging the Mississippi River in Memphis.\r\nFor the first time in six years, the Republican Senate majority moved all 12 appropriations bills to the Senate floor  all within the spending limits set by the Budget Control Act and the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 after careful consideration by the subcommittees and the full appropriations committee. Unfortunately, the Democratic leaders blocked bringing 10 of those bills to the Senate floor, which effectively left 70 other senators out of the deliberation process. This should never happen again, Alexander said.\r\nThe 2016 Omnibus Appropriations bill includes all 12 appropriations bills, including the Senate Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill, which Alexander drafted.\r\nThe bill includes funding for the following national spending priorities in Tennessee:\r\n \r\nSufficient funding for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to continue construction of Chickamauga Lock in fiscal year 2016. Based on current estimates for the first three Inland Waterways Trust Fund priorities, there should be up to $29 million available to continue construction on Chickamauga Lock, which is the fourth priority in the list of projects Congress agreed upon. This builds on the $3 million used to restart construction on Chickamauga Lock last year.\r\nAn additional $430 million for the $6.5 billion Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex, which will continue to keep this project on time and on budget.\r\n$2.1 million to operate and maintain the Memphis Harbor, McKellar Lake project through the Mississippi River and Tributaries funding. \r\n$2.8 million of construction funding in the Mississippi River and Tributaries construction funding to continue building flood control levees in West Tennessee along the Mississippi River.\r\n$1.24 billion for advanced computing, including both the Office of Science and the National Nuclear Security Administration. The Office of Sciences Advanced Scientific Computing Research Program, which supports the new Summit supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is funded at$621 million. Once again, the worlds fastest supercomputer will be at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Alexander said.\r\nFunding for nuclear infrastructure at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, including hot cells and isotope production facilities. Many of the isotopes produced at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are not available anywhere else,and are necessary to support medical treatments, oil and gas exploration, and deep-space satellites, among other priorities.\r\nFunding for a new mercury treatment facility in Oak Ridge, and for cleanup of nuclear facilities that are no longer in service.\r\n$12.553 million is included in the bill to construct the U.S. Special Operations Forces Company Headquarters and new classrooms at Ft. Campbell.\r\n$188.4 million to fund the construction of the new federal courthouse in Nashville. The Nashville federal courthouse has been on the Administrative Office of the Courts Five-Year Plan for 18 years and ranks No. 1 on the federal judiciarys nationwide priority list.\r\n$70 million to operate and maintain the following navigation projects: Wolf River Harbor, the Tennessee River, and the seven locks and dams located in Tennessee.\r\n \r\nToday, the Senate passed the fiscal year 2016 Omnibus Appropriations bill by a vote of 65 to 33. The House passed the bill by a vote of 316 to 113.\r\n# # #\r\nFor access to this release and the senators other statements, click here.\r\nTo stay up-to-date on the senators latest actions, follow him on Twitter and YouTube.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.corker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-list?ContentRecord_id=45df01f7-2c6e-47dd-b7af-018939f75f08", "Corker Statement on Passage of Bill to Provide Permanent Tax Relief and Fund Government", "2015-12-18", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Bob Corker", "C001071", "www.corker.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON  U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) today released the following statement on passage of legislation to provide permanent tax relief to American families and businesses and also fund the government through fiscal year 2016.\r\n\"Left to my own accord this bill would look much different, but it does put to bed a number of issues that have been left unaddressed for a number of years and provides permanent tax relief to American families and businesses, said Corker.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://blackburn.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=397853", "Blackburn Praises Tax Extenders Bill that Includes Sales Tax Deduction for Tennesseans", "2015-12-17", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Marsha Blackburn", "B001243", "blackburn.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Blackburn Praises Tax Extenders Bill that Includes Sales Tax Deduction for Tennesseans\r\n  \r\n    \r\n      \r\n      \r\n  \r\n    \r\n      f \r\n      t \r\n      #\r\n      e\r\n      \r\n      \r\n    \r\n    \r\n      \r\n        Washington,\r\n        December 17, 2015 | \r\n      Mike Reynard\r\n      (202-225-1112) \r\n    \r\n  \r\n  \r\n  \r\n  \r\n  \r\n  \r\n  \r\n    \r\n      \r\n      \r\n      Congressman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) today released the following statement on the tax extenders package the House is set to vote on this afternoon, the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015.\n\nConservatives have achieved a number of goals in this bill and we have made several annual extenders permanent. No longer will we have to wait until the end of the year to find out if we are able to make deductions that we normally make. This package will add more certainty to our tax code and allow hardworking American families to plan ahead and grow their businesses. \n\nI was able to realize a long time goal of mine in this bill. I came to Congress with the goal of restoring the ability to deduct state and local sales taxes Tennesseans pay each year from our federal income tax filing. This was an important victory towards leveling the playing field for those of us living in states without an income tax. \n\nWays and Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) originally assisted me in getting the sales tax deductibility restored in 2005. This deduction puts over $1 billion a year into the pockets of Tennessee families. Now, we are making that deductibility permanent, which means we no longer have to fight for it every year. There are other important provisions that have been made permanent as well. They include: a $250 deduction for teachers buying school supplies for their students, the Research and Development tax credit for growing businesses, and the Section 179 deduction for qualifying asset acquisitions. \n\nThe goal of this tax extenders package was to increase certainty in our yearly tax code, lessen the tax burden on hardworking Americans and stimulate economic growth. I am pleased with the package that Chairman Brady and I have worked so hard to achieve. This package will make certain that Americans have more money in their pockets in the years to come, Blackburn said.\n\nFor a one page summary of the entire bill, please click here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://fleischmann.house.gov/press-release/house-provides-stability-american-businesses", "House Provides Stability For American Businesses", "2015-12-17", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Chuck Fleischmann", "F000459", "fleischmann.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON Today the House of Representatives passed the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act that will provide much needed relief and certainty to Americas small businesses. Congressman Fleischmann released the following statement after passage of the bill.\nWith the passage of this bill we are providing some certainty to the tax code. Rather than waiting until the end of each year to pass extensions, the PATH Act provides permanent tax relief to hard working Americans. Individuals and businesses deserve a fairer, flatter, simpler tax code and this bill helps make that possible.\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://fleischmann.house.gov/media/press-releases/house-provides-stability-american-businesses", "House Provides Stability For American Businesses", "2015-12-17", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Charles J. \"Chuck\" Fleischmann", "F000459", "fleischmann.house.gov", "fleischmann", "https://fleischmann.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON\u2212 Today the House of Representatives passed the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act that will provide much needed relief and certainty to America\u2019s small businesses. Congressman Fleischmann released the following statement after passage of the bill.\n\n\u201cWith the passage of this bill we are providing some certainty to the tax code. Rather than waiting until the end of each year to pass extensions, the PATH Act provides permanent tax relief to hard working Americans. Individuals and businesses deserve a fairer, flatter, simpler tax code and this bill helps make that possible.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T20:33:33Z"], ["https://www.corker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-list?ContentRecord_id=55f670e9-ee6b-4ff8-9a4a-937122146ed1", "Corker Statement on FHFA 2016 Scorecard", "2015-12-17", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Bob Corker", "C001071", "www.corker.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON  U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, today released the following statement regarding the Federal Housing Finance Agencys (FHFA) 2016 Scorecard, which outlines the agencys priorities for government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.\r\nI applaud Director Watt and the FHFA for their sustained commitment to de-risk mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, said Corker. Specifically, I am pleased to see the FHFAs continued focus on broadening the credit risk transfer program, with an emphasis on building out front-end transactions. While the timeline for the development of the Common Securitization Platform has been slow, I also am pleased to see specific targets outlined in the scorecard.\r\nUnder the direction of the FHFA, both GSEs continue to reduce their retained portfolios and transfer credit risk away from the taxpayers to the private sector. To date, the enterprises have transferred credit risk on loans with over $667 billion of unpaid principal balance. In a letter to Director Watt earlier this year, Corker raised concerns about the development of the Common Securitization Platform (CSP) and urged the agency to adopt changes to ensure the CSP is accessible to not only the GSEs, but also private sector participants at some point in the future.\r\nCongress still must act to protect taxpayers by reforming our nations housing finance system, which was made clear this week with inclusion in the omnibus of my Jumpstart provision with Senator Warner to prohibit for at least two years the misguided idea of recap and release, added Corker. In the meantime, I am pleased that the agency continues to move toward the system we envisioned with Corker-Warner and away from the current system that leaves the American people on the hook for a future bailout.\r\nLegislation first introduced by Corker and Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.) in June 2013, the Housing Finance Reform and Taxpayer Protection Act (S.1217), passed the Senate Banking Committee in May 2014 by a vote of 13 to 9. The bill would strengthen Americas housing finance system by replacing government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with a privately capitalized system that preserves market liquidity and protects taxpayers from future economic downturns.\r\nDuring the 2008 financial crisis, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were taken into government conservatorship and given a $188 billion capital injection from taxpayers to stay afloat. As a result, the private market almost completely disappeared, and nearly every loan made in America today comes with a full government guarantee.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.corker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-list?ContentRecord_id=e5d4fb02-2b4e-4ac7-9030-2916f2858367", "Corker Says Failure to Impose Consequences for Irans Ballistic Missile Violations Sets Dangerous Precedent for Enforcement of Nuclear Deal", "2015-12-17", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Bob Corker", "C001071", "www.corker.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON  At the first oversight hearing on expected implementation of the Iran nuclear agreement, U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, warned that the Obama administrations failure to impose consequences for Irans violation of an international ban on ballistic missile testing sets a dangerous precedent for enforcement of the nuclear deal. Todays hearing featured testimony from Obama administration officials with the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Department of Energy who are responsible for implementation of the nuclear agreement.\r\nOne area that we all agree on is the need to be tough on any destabilizing or illegal action by Iran. With that view in mind, I think the agreement is off to a really terrible start, said Corker. Failure to impose any consequences on Iran for its violations of U.N. Security Council Resolutions and other destabilizing actions sets a dangerous precedent before implementation of the nuclear agreement, when sanctions are lifted and the leverage shifts to Iran.\r\nThe Obama administration and a report provided to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) have both confirmed Irans October 10 ballistic missile test violated UNSC Resolution 1929. In October, Senator Corker, along with committee members Senators Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), David Perdue (R-Ga.), and Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), wrote a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry seeking a determination on the ballistic missile test and how the U.S. would respond. The State Departments response asserted U.S. authority and precedent for imposing unilateral penalties for Irans missile-related activities. So far the administration has not taken such action despite reports of a second ballistic missile test in November.\r\nToday Senator Corker detailed a number of Irans hostile acts since the nuclear deal was reached including the conviction of captive Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, cyber-attacks against the State Department, defiance of a U.N. travel ban when Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commander Qasem Soleimani visited Russia, export of weapons to Syria and Yemen, violations of the ballistic missile testing ban, and attempts to cover up military dimensions of their nuclear program, which was confirmed by an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report.\r\nI realize not all of those issues are covered by the Iran agreement, but they all relate to our relationship with Iran, Corker said. And its very evident that they are taking a very different tack I think than many administration officials thought would be the case after the agreement was agreed to.\r\nFor complete footage and witness testimony from todays hearing click here.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.corker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-list?ContentRecord_id=ed378b97-8108-436e-a2ee-146951620b29", "Corker Applauds Inclusion of Jumpstart GSE Reform Provision in Omnibus", "2015-12-17", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Bob Corker", "C001071", "www.corker.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON  In a speech on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, applauded inclusion of a Jumpstart GSE Reform Act provision in the fiscal year 2016 omnibus appropriations bill and encouraged his colleagues to prioritize housing finance reform in the new year.\r\nAs we continue consideration of the omnibus, I rise today to applaud the inclusion of language I coauthored with Senator Mark Warner that will ensure the fate of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac  entities Congress created  will be determined by Congress and make crystal clear that this body does not support efforts to return to the failed model of private gains and public losses, said Corker. And as we wrap up our legislative business of 2015, I also am here to remind my colleagues that there is much work to be done in the new year to finally address the last unfinished business of the 2008 financial crisis.\r\nThe provision, which would spur substantive and structural housing finance reform, would prohibit for at least two years the sale of Treasury-owned senior preferred shares in government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac without congressional approval. The appropriations bill also expresses the sense of Congress that it should pass and the President should sign into law legislation determining the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and that notwithstanding the expiration of subsection (b), the Secretary should not sell, transfer, relinquish, liquidate, divest, or otherwise dispose of any outstanding shares of senior preferred stock acquired pursuant to the Senior Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement until such legislation is enacted.\r\nIn 2008, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were taken into government conservatorship and given a $188 billion capital injection from taxpayers to stay afloat. As a result of the bailout, the U.S. Department of Treasury purchased senior preferred stock in the GSEs and was given sole discretion to sell or otherwise dispose of those shares.\r\nThere is broad bipartisan, bicameral consensus that the status of the GSEs prior to conservatorship was a failure and that the best way to prevent another bailout and protect taxpayers is through comprehensive housing finance reform. Furthermore, the Obama administration has made clear that they continue to believe comprehensive housing finance reform is the only effective way forward and have publicly rebuked calls by some activist groups to recapitalize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and release them from conservatorship.\r\nThe Jumpstart GSE Reform Act was introduced in September by Corker, Warner and Senators David Vitter (R-La.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and does not indicate which housing finance reform proposal should be adopted.\r\nComplete text of Senator Corkers remarks as prepared for delivery is below.\r\nMR. PRESIDENT: As we continue consideration of the omnibus, I rise today to applaud the inclusion of language I coauthored with Senator Mark Warner that will ensure the fate of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac  entities Congress created  will be determined by Congress and make crystal clear that this body does not support efforts to return to the failed model of private gains and public losses.\r\nAnd as we wrap up our legislative business of 2015, I also am here to remind my colleagues that there is much work to be done in the new year to finally address the last unfinished business of the 2008 financial crisis.\r\nPrior to the crisis, mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were publicly traded.\r\nThey benefited from an implicit government guarantee  which meant any upside went to the company.\r\nBut as we saw at the height of the financial crisis, the downside of this structure fell on the taxpayers  and it fell hard.\r\nIn September 2008, because of their flawed model, losses mounted at Fannie and Freddie, causing taxpayers to write a $188 billion bailout check to keep them afloat.\r\nThe entities remain in government conservatorship today, backed by the taxpayers and owned by the U.S. Treasury Department.\r\nA 2014 Federal Housing Finance Agency stress test projected that the GSEs could require a $190 billion taxpayer bailout to keep them afloat during a future crisis, something none of us want to see happen.\r\nBecause housing finance reform remained the last unaddressed piece of the financial crisis left, in 2013 Senator Mark Warner and I developed legislation that attempted to address the flaws in our housing finance system and protect taxpayers.\r\nThe bill has been called the blueprint for how our nations housing finance system should look in the future.\r\nAfter working with a group of bipartisan members and then-Chairman Tim Johnson and Ranking Member Mike Crapo, a reform bill passed the Senate Banking Committee in May 2014 by a vote of 13 to 9.\r\nThe bill would protect taxpayers from future economic downturns by replacing Fannie and Freddie with a privately capitalized system.\r\nUnfortunately, it did not come to the Senate floor, but that doesnt change the fact that there continues to be broad, bipartisan, bicameral support to reform these entities.\r\nThat broad support at the committee level and throughout Congress came despite pushback from a number of large, self-interested Wall Street hedge funds.\r\nLet me explain.\r\nAs a result of the 2008 bailout, Treasury purchased senior preferred stock in Fannie and Freddie and was given sole discretion  sole discretion  to sell or otherwise dispose of those shares.\r\nSeeing an opportunity to make huge profits at the expense of taxpayers, a number of big Wall Street hedge funds and other entities rushed in when Fannie and Freddie crashed. They bought shares for pennies on the dollar  after the government had taken them into conservatorship and knowing full-well the government would have the authority to make decisions relative to their future. Now, the hedge funds appear to be spending big money and going to extreme lengths to stop housing finance reform in order to reap huge financial returns.\r\nAs they know how to do so well, these wealthy hedge funds made a highly speculative bet: that Congress would fail to do its job, structural reform efforts would fail, and Fannie and Freddie would be recapitalized and released out of conservatorship.\r\nAnd under that bet, the taxpayers lose while some of the wealthiest hedge fund managers get even wealthier. That is why the Wall Street hedge funds want to stop efforts to protect the taxpayers in hopes Fannie and Freddie could be recapitalized and released from conservatorship.\r\nLet's be clear: Under that scenario  recapitalizing and releasing Fannie and Freddie in their current form  we would fall back to a system of private gains and public losses, lining the pockets of multi-millionaires while leaving taxpayers on the hook for future bailouts.\r\nLooking at what is at stake, one can see why these hedge funds are so engaged in stepping on the taxpayers and preventing reform from occurring.\r\nUsing a self-analysis from one prominent hedge fund, under a recap and release scenario, this fund  with an estimated current hold of $366 million  has a potential net profit of $8.1 billion and a total sale of $8.4 billion.\r\nTo give you another example, using those same projections, another prominent hedge fund  with an estimated current holding of $501 million  has a potential net profit of $2.3 billion and a sale of over $2.8 billion.\r\nThese hedge funds  and several others  would benefit greatly from a recap and release scenario, which is why they are so adamantly opposed to housing finance reform that would put taxpayers interest above their own.\r\nSurely we will not conflate the clear interests of the hedge fund managers  which is billions of dollars in profits  with the critical need to protect taxpayers from a future bailout by enacting sound housing policy in our country.\r\nReturning to the failed model of private gains and public losses would leave the taxpayers on the hook for the GSEs $5 trillion in outstanding liabilities.\r\nThis is why I believe we must act.\r\nInclusion of the Jumpstart provision in this bill is a good first step.\r\nThis legislation would prohibit the sale of Treasury-owned senior preferred shares in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac without congressional approval and ensure Congress  not self-interested hedge funds  have the final say on how our housing finance system should look in the future.\r\nAnd while I believe that recap and release is totally inappropriate, I do understand that the hedge funds still have claims to deal with in court, and this legislation does not prejudice those claims.\r\nI believe the blueprint Senator Warner and I laid out in 2013 is a good start  and one that will protect taxpayers  but this legislation in the omnibus bill is silent on the future system.\r\nIt simply says that Congress should have the final say in what happens to these entities  again entities that Congress created in the first place.\r\nWith passage of this provision  in the face of extremely intense opposition  we are telling taxpayers that we are putting to bed the idea that returning to the status quo is an option.\r\nWe will not return to a system where big Fannie and big Freddie control the lions share of our housing system and taxpayers are exposed for future bailouts.\r\nBut there is much work to be done.\r\nSo the question I have is this.\r\nMoving forward, who are we going to fight for?\r\nAre we going to abdicate our responsibility and shy away due to efforts by large Wall Street hedge funds wanting to get wealthier off of taxpayers by placing taxpayers at greater risk?\r\nOr are we going to fight for the people we represent?\r\nMr. President, as all of us who served in this body during the financial crisis know well: the American people do not want to write another bailout check.\r\nWithout housing finance reform, that is an all too real possibility.\r\nTo my colleagues: Trust me. I know a number of you have felt pressure from large Wall Street hedge funds and the interest groups they support. But I also know that there is not one of you who truly wants to put private investors interest ahead of the people we represent.\r\nIn the new year, it is time for Congress to finally do its job.\r\nBy finally addressing the last major piece of unfinished business from the financial crisis, we can once and for all end this failed model.\r\nAnd fortunately, a lot of the heavy lifting already has taken place.\r\nAs we look toward 2016, protecting taxpayers by reforming our nations housing finance system should be near the top of the to-do list.\r\nSo this legislation takes us a step in the right direction toward that effort by saying the fate of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be determined by Congress.\r\nAnd I remain committed to doing everything I can to make sure we do not return to the same failed model that put taxpayers on the hook for billions of dollars, and instead we can create a dynamic housing finance system that works for Americans rather than against them.\r\nMr. President, I yield the floor.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://blackburn.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=397852", "Blackburn Achieves Permanent Tax Relief for Tennessee Families", "2015-12-16", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Marsha Blackburn", "B001243", "blackburn.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Congressman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) issued the following statement praising the work of House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) for his leadership in including language in the extenders bill to make permanent the ability of Tennesseans to deduct their state and local sales tax from their federal income tax. Blackburn and Brady have been leading the fight in the House on the issue for over a decade.  \n  \nWhen I was in the Tennessee state Senate, I led the fight to make sure that Tennesseans wouldnt be additionally burdened by a state income tax; instead we pay state and local sales taxes. Coming to Congress in 2003, I made the commitment that I would work to restore that deduction. That goal was achieved in 2005. Immediately, I began working to make the deduction permanent and with passage of this extender bill, it is achieved. Chairman Kevin Brady has worked with me every step of the way and I am grateful for his leadership on this issue.Making these deductions permanent is vital to Tennessee families and small businesses as it will allow millions of dollars to be pumped back into our economy. Families and individuals should not be punished because they pay state and local sales taxes rather than an income tax. Taxpayers can deduct their state income tax; there is no reason that Americans in states without an income tax can't deduct sales tax. . Hardworking Tennesseans pay their fair share of taxes just like citizens in every other state. We know better than anyone how important it is to make permanent the state and local sales tax deduction.   \n  \nThis is simply is simply an issue of fairness  fairness for families that live and work in states that dont have a state income tax. Thats why Ive worked tirelessly with Chairman Brady over the last decade on this issue and look forward to pushing it over the finish line when we vote on the extenders bill later this week, Blackburn said.   \n  \nEarlier this year, Reps. Blackburn and Brady led the effort on House passage of H.R. 622, the State and Local Sales Tax Deduction Fairness Act.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://cohen.house.gov/press-release/cohen-and-maloney-secure-additional-4-million-help-eliminate-rape-kit-backlog-omnibus", "Cohen and Maloney Secure Additional $4 million to Help Eliminate Rape Kit Backlog in Omnibus Spending Bill", "2015-12-16", "2015", "2015-12", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "[WASHINGTON, DC]  Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN) and Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) today hailed the inclusion of an additional $4 million in the final Omnibus Fiscal Year 2016 spending bill for local law enforcement agencies working to reduce their backlogs of untested rape kits. The additional $4 million was added earlier this year via an amendment offered by Congressman Cohen and Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney. This years increase builds upon a $5 million increase Congressman Cohen secured last year, increasing the overall funding level to $45 million  a 25% increase over the past 2 years.\nDNA analysis has been revolutionary in helping catch criminals and prevent further crimes from occurring. But when evidence is sitting on a shelf somewhere waiting to be tested, that means assailants are still at large and could be assaulting more victims, said Congressman Cohen. The backlog of untested rape kits across this country is shameful, and we need to commit the resources necessary to get them tested. This increased funding will help make that happen, and I am grateful that it has been included.\nVideo of the Congressman speaking on the floor about the inclusion of the $4 million increase in the Omnibus spending bill is available here.\nThe rape kit backlog must be eliminated and these additional federal funds will help, said Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY). I authored the Debbie Smith Act, and the SAFER Act which have helped process millions of kits, but still the backlog persists. Im proud to have worked with Rep. Steve Cohen to secure $4 million more to help local law enforcement agencies put more rapists behind bars.\nIf enacted, the $45 million will fund a grant program specifically created to help law enforcement agencies across the country cut through their sexual assault kit backlogs. At its peak, the backlog reached 12,000 untested kits in Memphis alone with an estimated 400,000 sitting in evidence rooms nationwide. Earlier this year, Memphis received nearly $2 million from this grant program to reduce its rape kit backlog.\nBoth the House and Senate are expected to vote on the FY2016 Omnibus funding bill later this week.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://cohen.house.gov/press-release/houses-passes-cohen%E2%80%99s-bipartisan-national-guard-reservist-debt-relief-extension-act", "Houses Passes Cohens Bipartisan National Guard & Reservist Debt Relief Extension Act", "2015-12-16", "2015", "2015-12", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "[WASHINGTON, DC]  The House of Representatives today, by a vote of 419-1, passed Congressman Steve Cohens (TN-09) bipartisan National Guard and Reservists Debt Relief Extension Act of 2015, H.R. 4246, to ensure that certain members of the National Guard and Reserves who fall on hard economic times after their military service will continue to obtain bankruptcy relief without having to fill out the substantial paperwork required by the so-called \"means test\" under chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code. The bill extends the existing means test exception until 2019. If Congress does not act, the exemption will expire later this month.This bill is cosponsored by Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), and Congressman Randy Forbes (R-VA) and is supported by the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys.\nI am pleased the House moved so swiftly to pass my bill, said Congressman Cohen. This bill is a way for our nation to recognize the tremendous sacrifice made by National Guard and Reserve members who have served on active duty or homeland defense since September 11 and may be suffering financial hardship. These veterans who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan disrupted their civilian lives to serve our country in war zones and homeland defense activities, and could face a risk of financial distress. It is only fair that we help them during the bankruptcy process. I urge my colleagues in the Senate to follow the lead of the House and pass this extension before it expires.\nIn 2005, President Bush signed the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act into law (Public Law 1098, 119 Stat. 23). Among the many changes it made was the establishment of a means test to determine a debtors ability to repay debts. Under this test, a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case is presumed to be an abuse of the bankruptcy process if it appears that the debtor has income in excess of certain thresholds.\nThe National Guard and Reservists Debt Relief Act of 2008, Public Law No. 110-438, created an exception to the means tests presumption of abuse for members of the National Guard and Reserve who, after September 11, 2001, served on active duty or in a homeland defense activity for at least 90 days. The exception is also available for 540 days after the servicemember leaves the military. This exception, however, is set to expire later this year. The National Guard and Reservist Debt Relief Extension Act of 2015 would extend the exemption until December 2019.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://cooper.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/cooper-praises-funding-for-nashville-courthouse-in-omnibus-spending-bill", "Cooper Praises Funding for Nashville Courthouse in Omnibus Spending Bill", "2015-12-16", "2015", "2015-12", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Jim Cooper", "C000754", "cooper.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON  U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper (TN-5) praised funding for a new federal courthouse in Nashville, culminating an effort that began when authorities deemed the existing courthouse inadequate more than two decades ago.\nCooper applauded Sen. Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, for his leadership.\n\"Sen. Alexander was essential in our efforts, and I thank him for his leadership,\" Rep. Cooper said. \"For safety reasons, Nashville has to have a new courthouse, and we've needed one for more than 20 years. This is a huge win for our city.\"\nCooper also acknowledged the efforts of former Rep. Bob Clement, an early and tenacious advocate for the project. And Cooper thanked Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, a Tennessee member of the House Appropriations Committee.\nCongress included the funding in an omnibus spending bill. Votes are expected later this week.\nThe existing Estes Kefauver Federal Courthouse was first judged inadequate in 1992, and Nashville tops the Judicial Conferences national list of priorities for courthouse construction.\nIn 2002, the federal government purchased the downtown property on Church Street as the site of the new courthouse. About $25 million has been spent on the project, but additional studies and a recession have delayed construction. This year, for the first time, the project was a priority in President Obamas budget.\nCooper was a founding member of the Congressional Courthouse Caucus, which was formed to address the urgent need for functional, secure courthouses that would be funded based on greatest need, rather than political influence.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://fleischmann.house.gov/press-release/chattanooga-shootings-victims-receive-purple-heart", "Chattanooga Shootings Victims To Receive Purple Heart", "2015-12-16", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Chuck Fleischmann", "F000459", "fleischmann.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTONJust hours after the FBI Director designated the Chattanooga shootings as terrorism the Secretary of the Navy has announced that the victims of those attacks will receive the Purple Heart. Following the announcement Congressman Fleischmann made the following statement.\nGunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan, Staff Sgt. David Wyatt, Sgt. Carson A. Holmquist, Lance Cpl. Squire D. \"Skip\" Wells, and Petty Officer 2nd Class Randall Smith were killed and Sgt. DeMonte Cheeley was injured five months ago today during an act of terrorism in our great city of Chattanooga. Today, they are receiving the Purple Heart in recognition of their bravery and service. These young men exemplify the best of our nation and their service will always be remembered.\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://fleischmann.house.gov/press-release/fbi-designates-chattanooga-shootings-terrorism", "FBI Designates Chattanooga Shootings As Terrorism", "2015-12-16", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Chuck Fleischmann", "F000459", "fleischmann.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTONFBI Director, James Comey, announced today that the July 16th shootings at two military sites in Chattanooga were inspired by a foreign terrorist organization. Congressman Fleischmann and Homeland Security Committee Chairman, Michael McCaul (TX-10), released the following statements regarding the terrorism designation.\nIt has been five months, to the day, since our community was struck by this horrendous attack and I am thankful the FBI has finally recognized it as terrorism, Fleischmann said. It is my sincere hope that with this designation the victims will finally be awarded the Purple Hearts they so justly deserve. The threat of terrorism is just as real today as it was on July 16th and we must continue to do all we can to remain vigilant and keep our nation safe.\n\"The FBI's announcement confirms what many of us have long suspected: the Chattanooga shooter was an Islamist terrorist, and our city streets have become the front lines in this war. What happened in Chattanooga can unfortunately happen anytime, anyplace. We face an unprecedented homegrown terror threat, said Chairman McCaul. However, I'm glad to see the this week's omnibus spending bill includes needed increases in funding for the FBI and DHS to prioritize and ramp up their domestic counterterrorism efforts to protect Americans.\"\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://fleischmann.house.gov/media/press-releases/chattanooga-shootings-victims-receive-purple-heart", "Chattanooga Shootings Victims To Receive Purple Heart", "2015-12-16", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Charles J. \"Chuck\" Fleischmann", "F000459", "fleischmann.house.gov", "fleischmann", "https://fleischmann.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON\u2212Just hours after the FBI Director designated the Chattanooga shootings as terrorism the Secretary of the Navy has announced that the victims of those attacks will receive the Purple Heart. Following the announcement Congressman Fleischmann made the following statement.\n\n\u201cGunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan, Staff Sgt. David Wyatt, Sgt. Carson A. Holmquist, Lance Cpl. Squire D. \"Skip\" Wells, and Petty Officer 2nd Class Randall Smith were killed and Sgt. DeMonte Cheeley was injured five months ago today during an act of terrorism in our great city of Chattanooga. Today, they are receiving the Purple Heart in recognition of their bravery and service. These young men exemplify the best of our nation and their service will always be remembered.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T20:33:33Z"], ["https://fleischmann.house.gov/media/press-releases/fbi-designates-chattanooga-shootings-terrorism", "FBI Designates Chattanooga Shootings As Terrorism", "2015-12-16", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Charles J. \"Chuck\" Fleischmann", "F000459", "fleischmann.house.gov", "fleischmann", "https://fleischmann.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON\u2212FBI Director, James Comey, announced today that the July 16th shootings at two military sites in Chattanooga were inspired by a foreign terrorist organization. Congressman Fleischmann and Homeland Security Committee Chairman, Michael McCaul (TX-10), released the following statements regarding the terrorism designation.\n\n\u201cIt has been five months, to the day, since our community was struck by this horrendous attack and I am thankful the FBI has finally recognized it as terrorism,\u201d Fleischmann said. \u201cIt is my sincere hope that with this designation the victims will finally be awarded the Purple Hearts they so justly deserve. The threat of terrorism is just as real today as it was on July 16th and we must continue to do all we can to remain vigilant and keep our nation safe.\u201d\n\n\"The FBI's announcement confirms what many of us have long suspected: the Chattanooga shooter was an Islamist terrorist, and our city streets have become the front lines in this war. What happened in Chattanooga can unfortunately happen anytime, anyplace. We face an unprecedented homegrown terror threat,\u201d said Chairman McCaul. \u201cHowever, I'm glad to see the this week's omnibus spending bill includes needed increases in funding for the FBI and DHS to prioritize and ramp up their domestic counterterrorism efforts to protect Americans.\"", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T20:33:33Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=3667566e-9334-4836-9721-3f1bb722cfba", "Chickamauga Lock Construction Funded for Second Consecutive Year", "2015-12-16", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Alexander, Fleischmann say $29 million slated for new lock builds momentum to finish construction, and benefits all of Tennessee\r\n***\r\nWASHINGTON, D.C., Dec. 16, 2015 Tennessees two federal appropriators,U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander and U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, today said that replacement of Chickamauga Lock should continue for the second consecutive year after Congress passes an omnibus funding bill for fiscal year 2016 that makes $29 million available to continue construction of the new Chickamauga Lock.\r\nU.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, who leads the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, said money slated for the new lock in the Omnibus Appropriations bill should allow construction of the new lock to continue, which was restarted last year after years of delay. \r\nThe bill provides sufficient funding for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to continue construction in fiscal year 2016 of Chickamauga Lock. Based on estimates for the first three Inland Waterways Trust Fund priorities, there should be $29 million available to continue construction on Chickamauga Lock, which is the fourth priority in the list of projects Congress agreed upon. This builds on the $3 million used to restart construction on Chickamauga Lock last year, Alexander said. This is the second year that the Energy and Water Appropriations bill has fully funded the plan for inland waterways priorities, which is important for Americas economy. When you consider the new money that is raised by the fees the large barge companies voluntarily agreed to pay  that are matched with taxpayers dollars  if we continue this over a period of time, then we will have the kind of locks and dams that a great economy like ours needs.\r\nU.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, who serves on the House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, said the bill builds on previous efforts.\r\nThis years Energy and Water Appropriations bill marks another great step for our Inland Waterways Trust Fund projects and Chickamauga Lock. Thanks to work previously done to restructure the Inland Waterways Trust Fund and the increase in the Trusts funding there should be enough money to continue work on the Chickamauga Lock that was started earlier this year, Fleischmann said.\r\nThe House and Senate are expected to vote on the Omnibus Appropriations bill later this week.\r\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=4b57d3c8-56a1-4bd6-a412-0719ba66a252", "Alexander: Record Level of Funding for Basic Research at Department of Energy Benefits Major Programs at Oak Ridge National Laboratory", "2015-12-16", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON,Dec. 16, 2015 U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said today the 2015 Energy & Water Development Appropriations bill, which is included as part of the Omnibus Appropriations bill, prioritizes energy and infrastructure projects important to Tennessee and the nation.  \r\nAlexander is chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy & Water Development and he worked with ranking member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) to draft the bill.\r\nSenator Feinstein and I worked hard to create a bipartisan bill that helps solve critical problems facing our country. The bill provides a record-level of funding for basic research at the Office of Science, and it increases funding for deepening our ports and improving our inland waterways. The bill also funds cleanup of hazardous materials at Cold War facilities and strengthens our national security, Alexander said.\r\nThe bill includes the following vital energy and research priorities:\r\n \r\nThe bill provides sufficient funding for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to continue construction of Chickamauga Lock in fiscal year 2016. Based on current estimates for the first three Inland Waterways Trust Fund priorities, there should be up to $29 million available to continue construction on Chickamauga Lock, which is the fourth priority in the list of projects Congress agreed upon. This builds on the $3 million used to restart construction on Chickamauga Lock last year.\r\nThe U.S Department of Energys Office of Science, which supports basic energy research and is the nations largest supporter of research in the physical sciences, is funded at a record $5.35 billion-level.\r\nA total of $1.24 billion is provided for advanced computing, including both the Office of Science and the National Nuclear Security Administration. The Office of Sciences Advanced Scientific Computing Research Program, which supports the new Summit supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is funded at$621 million. Once again, the worlds fastest supercomputer will be at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Alexander said. Additionally, exascale computing is supported at $234 million.\r\nThe Advanced Research Projects Agency  Energy (ARPA-E) is funded at$291million. ARPA-E was created by the America COMPETES Act to invest in high-impact energy technologies.\r\nNuclear infrastructure at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, including hot cells and isotope production facilities,isfunded in the bill. Many of the isotopes produced at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are not available anywhere else,and are necessary to support medical treatments, oil and gas exploration, and deep-space satellites, among other priorities.\r\nSmall Modular Reactors, which Alexander said will give utilities and the military the ability to generate clean, cheap, reliable nuclear power in new ways.\r\nThe bill includes funding for a new mercury treatment facility to help clean up nuclear facilities that are no longer in service in Oak Ridge.\r\nFunding to maintain research facilities used by scientists from around the world, such as the Spallation Neutron Source, the High Flux Isotope Reactor, and the Leadership Computing Facilities at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which have hosted more than 24,000 visiting scientists and researchers since 2006.\r\nFunding to continue advancing additive manufacturing technologies at the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.\r\nProvides $6 million to preserve the historic contributions made by the K25 site to the Manhattan Project.\r\nThe bill includes $70 million to operate and maintain the following navigation projects: Wolf River Harbor, the Tennessee River, and the seven lock and dam projects located in Tennessee.\r\nThe bill also includes $2.1 million to operate and maintain the Memphis Harbor, McKellar Lake project through the Mississippi River and Tributaries funding. \r\nThe Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex is funded at$430 million, which will continue to keep this project on time and on budget.\r\n \r\n# # #\r\nFor access to this release and the senators other statements, click here.\r\nTo stay up-to-date on the senators latest actions, follow him on Twitter and YouTube.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=a965c76d-5a29-480b-8bab-6573ef1699bb", "Alexander Statement on Chattanooga Shooting Victims Receiving Purple Hearts", "2015-12-16", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, Dec. 16, 2015  Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today made the following statement on the announcement that the Department of the Navy will award Purple Hearts to the Chattanooga shooting victims:\r\nFive months ago today, a horrific act of terrorism shocked the Chattanooga community, taking the lives of Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan, Staff Sgt. David Wyatt, Sgt. Carson A. Holmquist, Lance Cpl. Squire D. Skip Wells, and Petty Officer 2nd Class Randall Smith and injuring Sgt. DeMonte Cheeley. They were young men dedicated to serving our country, and today, these heroes are being awarded the Purple Hearts they deserve for their bravery and courage. When I spoke at the July memorial service of those who died, I quoted a poet who said it best: They will never grow old, they will always be young and we know one thing with every bit of our thinking, theyre in the arms of God.\r\n###\r\nFor access to this release and the senators other statements, click here.\r\nTo stay up-to-date on the senators latest actions, follow him on Twitter and YouTube.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=f83676b2-8ac6-43e2-8653-7b544c9a8e13", "Alexander: Full Funding for Federal Courthouse Is Very Good News for Nashville", "2015-12-16", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Says 2016 funding bill includes money to build new courthouse\r\n***\r\nThe Senate appropriations bill, at my request, included$181.5 million to fully fund construction of the Nashville federal courthouse, and now the House of Representatives' appropriations bill agrees. This is a rare move because it funds the courthouse all at once instead of creating uncertainty and waste by spreading the project out over several years. The need for the courthouse is obvious: It is the No. 1 project on the federal judiciarys list, it has serious security concerns that need to be addressed and federal taxpayers have already spent $26.1 milliondollars to begin the project.\r\nWASHINGTON, D.C., Dec. 16, 2015  Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today said it is very good news that the fiscal year 2016 Omnibus Appropriations bill expected to be approved by both Houses of Congress and signed into law by the president includes full funding for a new federal courthouse in Nashville.\r\nThe Senate appropriations bill, at my request, included $181.5million to fully fund construction of the Nashville federal courthouse, and now the House of Representatives' appropriations bill agrees. This is a rare move because it funds the courthouse all at once instead of creating uncertainty and waste by spreading the project out over several years. The need for the courthouse is obvious: It is the No. 1 project on the federal judiciarys list, it has serious security concerns that need to be addressed and federal taxpayers have already spent $26.1 milliondollars to begin the project.\r\nAlexander continued, I want to thank Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.) and Rep. Ander Crenshaw (R-Fla.), Chairmen of the Senate and House Financial Services and General Government appropriations subcommittees, for their efforts to include funding for the Nashville federal courthouse because it will increase safety for those working and visiting the courthouse.\r\nThe Nashville federal courthouse has been on the Administrative Office of the Courts Five Year Plan for 18 years and ranks No. 1 on the federal judiciarys nationwide priority list. Congress has already appropriated $26.1 million for the new courthouse, and the site has been acquired and is ready for construction. The current federal building and courthouse face several security concerns.\r\nThe fiscal year 2016 Omnibus Appropriations bill announced today was negotiated by the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives and includes enough money to build a new federal courthouse in Nashville. The Senate is expected to vote on the bill later this week. \r\nIn July, the Senate Appropriations Committee passed the fiscal year 2016 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill, which approved the necessary funding for a new federal courthouse in Nashville.\r\n###\r\nFor access to this release and the senators other statements, click here.\r\nTo stay up-to-date on the senators latest actions, follow him on Twitter and YouTube.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.corker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-list?ContentRecord_id=6cb665a1-be66-4701-bc46-896d50fc45ab", "Corker Statement on Federal Reserve Interest Rates Decision", "2015-12-16", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Bob Corker", "C001071", "www.corker.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON  U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, released the following statement today about the Federal Reserves decision to raise interest rates.\r\nI am pleased with todays announcement that the Fed has begun to normalize interest rates, said Corker. It is my hope this decision, like every FOMC decision, was made based on the data. A truly independent central bank is critical to maintaining long-run price stability.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.corker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-list?ContentRecord_id=784f8aab-a5d8-46d6-a430-b76d6f1880d5", "Corker, Warner Applaud Inclusion of Jumpstart GSE Reform Provision in Omnibus", "2015-12-16", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Bob Corker", "C001071", "www.corker.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON  U.S. Senators Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.), members of the Senate Banking Committee, today applauded inclusion of a Jumpstart GSE Reform Act provision in the fiscal year 2016 omnibus appropriations bill.\r\nThe provision, which would spur substantive and structural housing finance reform, would prohibit for at least two years the sale of Treasury-owned senior preferred shares in government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac without congressional approval. The appropriations bill also expresses the sense of Congress that it should pass and the President should sign into law legislation determining the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and that notwithstanding the expiration of subsection (b), the Secretary should not sell, transfer, relinquish, liquidate, divest, or otherwise dispose of any outstanding shares of senior preferred stock acquired pursuant to the Senior Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement until such legislation is enacted.\r\nPassage of this provision makes it clear that Congress  who created mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the first place  should ensure we do not return to the failed model of private gains and public losses that once forced taxpayers to write a $188 billion bailout check, said Corker. Recapitalizing and releasing these behemoth entities as they now exist is not in our nations interest. Today, we are putting to bed that misguided idea, but there is more work to be done. Fortunately, a lot of the heavy lifting has taken place, and it is time for Congress to finally finish its job. Protecting taxpayers and ensuring we have a dynamic housing finance system that works for Americans will remain near the top of my to-do list, and I look forward to working with my colleagues toward that end.\r\nThe inclusion of our Jumpstart GSE provision demonstrates the unmistakable intent of Congress that the Secretary of Treasury shall not re-IPO or otherwise divest the taxpayers' investment in Fannie and Freddie without full debate and clear direction from the peoples' elected representatives, said Warner. Homeownership is a fundamental part of the American Dream, and we remain committed to revamping the housing finance system to ensure affordable access while protecting taxpayers so they are never again on the hook for a bailout.\r\nIn 2008, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were taken into government conservatorship and given a $188 billion capital injection from taxpayers to stay afloat. As a result of the bailout, the U.S. Department of Treasury purchased senior preferred stock in the GSEs and was given sole discretion to sell or otherwise dispose of those shares.\r\nThere is broad bipartisan, bicameral consensus that the status of the GSEs prior to conservatorship was a failure and that the best way to prevent another bailout and protect taxpayers is through comprehensive housing finance reform. Furthermore, the Obama administration has made clear that they continue to believe comprehensive housing finance reform is the only effective way forward and have publicly rebuked calls by some activist groups to recapitalize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and release them from conservatorship.\r\nThe Jumpstart GSE Reform Act was introduced in September by Corker, Warner and Senators David Vitter (R-La.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and does not indicate which housing finance reform proposal should be adopted.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.corker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-list?ContentRecord_id=b93b2b47-c334-4fa6-967a-4261a96643a9", "Corker Applauds Funding for End Modern Slavery Initiative in Omnibus Appropriations Bill", "2015-12-16", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Bob Corker", "C001071", "www.corker.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON  U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today applauded funding for his bold, bipartisan initiative to end modern slavery that was included in the fiscal year 2016 omnibus appropriations bill. The End Modern Slavery Initiative will create a powerful effort in concert with the private sector and foreign governments to help eliminate modern slavery around the globe.\r\nWith this important funding for The End Modern Slavery Initiative, we can begin a vigorous effort to end slavery worldwide, which currently affects more than 27 million people, especially women and children, said Corker. Ive seen firsthand the terrible conditions and impacts of slavery, and I am proud that we are another step closer to establishing what will be a transformational initiative that will change the lives of many around the world.\r\nThis effort would not be possible if not for the numerous organizations and faith-based institutions that have helped raise awareness about the devastating conditions of slavery and human trafficking that exists in more than 167 countries, including our very own, added Corker.\r\nThe omnibus appropriations bill includes language providing $25 million for this effort to end modern slavery. The text of the bill was released late Tuesday and will be voted on by the Senate and House of Representatives later this week.\r\nOn February 26, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously passed The End Modern Slavery Initiative Act of 2015, which will charter a 501(c)(3) non-profit grant-making foundation based in Washington, D.C.\r\nThe End Modern Slavery Initiative Foundation will fund programs outside the United States that:\r\n Contribute to the freeing and sustainable recovery of victims of modern slavery, prevent individuals from being enslaved, and enforce laws to punish individual and corporate perpetrators of modern slavery;\r\n Set out clear, defined goals and outcomes that can be empirically measured; and\r\n Achieve a measurable 50 percent reduction of modern slavery in targeted populations.\r\nIn addition, a number of advocacy groups and faith-based institutions have issued support for the effort including, the Alliance to End Slavery & Trafficking (ATEST), the END IT Movement, International Justice Mission (IJM), United Way Worldwide, Freedom House, Rotary International, and Circle of Friends, Inc., among others.\r\nClick here for more information on The End Modern Slavery Initiative.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.corker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-list?ContentRecord_id=ee272344-1c03-46ef-be5f-be390a7cbd0e", "Corker Statement on Navy Decision to Award Purple Hearts to Chattanooga Terror Attack Victims", "2015-12-16", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Bob Corker", "C001071", "www.corker.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON  U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today applauded the announcement by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus that the Department of the Navy will award the Purple Heart to the four Marines and one Sailor killed and the Marine injured during the July 16 terrorist attack in Chattanooga, Tenn. The decision followed an announcement by the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that the killer was inspired by a foreign terror organization.\r\nThe men we lost - and those who were wounded - on July 16 in the deadly terror attack in Chattanooga exemplify the very best that America has to offer, and I am pleased to learn they will be awarded the Purple Heart, said Corker. Our commander-in-chief has classified the heartbreaking events that took place that day as an act of terror, and I have been pressing the FBI to provide answers to both the families of the fallen and our community. I appreciate the efforts of all involved as they work tirelessly to piece together this puzzle so we can better protect ourselves in the future. The threat of terrorism is not just something we see across our shores anymore; its here in our homeland; it hit my hometown; and we must continue to show resolve in the fight against this evil.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://cohen.house.gov/press-release/congressman-cohen-introduces-bipartisan-national-guard-reservist-debt-relief-extension", "Congressman Cohen Introduces Bipartisan National Guard & Reservist Debt Relief Extension Act", "2015-12-15", "2015", "2015-12", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "[WASHINGTON, DC]  Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) and Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) today introduced the bipartisan National Guard and Reservists Debt Relief Extension Act of 2015 to ensure that certain members of the National Guard and Reserves who fall on hard economic times after their military service will continue to obtain bankruptcy relief without having to fill out the substantial paperwork required by the so-called \"means test\" under chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code. This bill extends the existing means test exception, which will expire at the end of the year if Congress fails to act, until December 2019.\nThis bill is a way for our nation to recognize the tremendous sacrifice made by National Guard and Reserve members who have served on active duty or homeland defense since September 11 and may be suffering financial hardship, said Congressman Cohen. These veterans who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan disrupted their civilian lives to serve our country in war zones and homeland defense activities, and could face a risk of financial distress. It is only fair that we help them during the bankruptcy process. I urge my colleagues to move swiftly in passing this extension before it expires at the end of the year.\nIn 2005, President Bush signed the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act into law (Public Law 1098, 119 Stat. 23). Among the many changes it made was the establishment of a means test to determine a debtors ability to repay debts. Under this test, a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case is presumed to be an abuse of the bankruptcy process if it appears that the debtor has income in excess of certain thresholds.\nThe National Guard and Reservists Debt Relief Act of 2008, Public Law No. 110-438, created an exception to the means tests presumption of abuse for members of the National Guard and Reserve who, after September 11, 2001, served on active duty or in a homeland defense activity for at least 90 days. The exception is also available for 540 days after the servicemember leaves the military. This exception, however, is set to expire later this year. The National Guard and Reservist Debt Relief Extension Act of 2015 would extend the exemption until December 2019.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.corker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-list?ContentRecord_id=674b7b10-3cc0-4422-8061-5d2a973b8aaf", "Corker Urges U.N. Security Council to Hold Iran Accountable for Ballistic Missile Violation", "2015-12-15", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Bob Corker", "C001071", "www.corker.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON  U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called for the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to hold Iran accountable for an illicit ballistic missile test after a panel of experts assessment confirmed the October launch violated UNSC Resolution 1929. He also expressed disappointment over the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEAs) Board of Governors decision today that ends an inquiry into possible military dimensions (PMD) of Irans nuclear program.\r\nNow that it is absolutely verified that Iran has violated U.N. Security Council Resolution 1929, it is incumbent upon the U.N. Security Council to enforce it, said Corker. The failure to impose consequences on Iran for its violation sets a dangerous precedent before implementation of the nuclear agreement when sanctions are lifted and the leverage shifts to Iran.\r\nWith inaction over the missile tests and an IAEA process that was not conducted with integrity, the nuclear deal is getting off to a terrible start, added Corker. We know Iran concealed its nuclear weapons development and yet the investigation into possible military dimensions is now closed despite their deception. As the Senate Foreign Relations Committee continues its vigorous oversight of the nuclear deal this week, we will press the administration on the implications of these events and enforcement of the agreement.\r\nFollowing Irans October 10 ballistic missile test, Senator Corker, along with committee members Senators Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), David Perdue (R-Ga.), and Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), wrote a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry seeking a determination on whether the test violated UNSCR 1929 and how the U.S. would respond. The State Departments letter in response asserted U.S. authority and precedent for imposing unilateral penalties for Irans missile-related activities. So far the administration has not taken such action despite acknowledging Irans violation of the UNSC resolution.\r\nSenators Corker and Ben Cardin (D-Md.), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in a separate letter to President Obama presented their plans for ongoing oversight of the Iran nuclear deal. The two senators coauthored the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015 which requires the administration to certify every 90 days that Iran is in compliance with the nuclear agreement. A failure to provide the certification or a material breach by Iran would make available expedited procedures for consideration of legislation in Congress to reimpose sanctions. An additional semi-annual report from the administration also will provide detailed information regarding Irans nuclear-related activities, including work on ballistic missiles.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://cohen.house.gov/press-release/congressman-cohen%E2%80%99s-statement-department-justice-review-darrius-stewart-shooting", "Congressman Cohens Statement on Department of Justice Review of the Darrius Stewart Shooting", "2015-12-14", "2015", "2015-12", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "[WASHINGTON, DC]  Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), ranking member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice, today released the following statement after the Department of Justice announced that it, in tandem with its Civil Rights Division, the U.S. Attorneys Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, would conduct a comprehensive review of the Darrius Stewart shooting.\nI am pleased that the Department of Justice and FBI are conducting a comprehensive review of the Darrius Stewart shooting, said Congressman Cohen. In July, I asked the Department of Justice to open an independent investigation to determine whether any federal civil rights violations had occurred and have continued to urge them to do so. This case should have the full, fair and public review it deserves.\nCongressman Cohen initially asked the Department of Justice to investigate the Darrius Stewart case in July. A copy of Congressman Cohens July letter to the Department of Justice can be foundhere. A copy of the Department of Justices October 16, 2015 response can be foundhere. Congressman Cohen renewed his call for a federal investigation on November 2, 2015. A copy of Congressman Cohens November 3 letter to Attorney General Lynch can be found here.In November, Congressman Cohen asked U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to open a federal investigation during a House Judiciary Hearing. The full video of Congressman Cohens questions to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch can be found here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/weeklycolumns?ContentRecord_id=c56281be-b290-4d08-bd99-06c1b9042442", "Weekly Column by Lamar Alexander: Law ends Common Core mandate, strengthens local control", "2015-12-14", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Last year, campaigning for reelection, I said to Tennessee voters, Give us a Republican majority in the United States Senate and well repeal the federal Common Core mandate and reverse the trend toward a national school board.\r\nThis past week, the United States Congress did just that and President Obama signed it. TheWall Street Journalcalled our legislation fixing the 2001 No Child Left Behind law the largest devolution of federal control to states in a quarter of a century. (For why theJournalcould say this, go towww.alexander.senate.gov.)\r\nTwice partisan Democrat proposals had failed to fix whatNewsweekcalled the law everyone wants fixed. This year, as the Senate education committees new chairman, I made it our first priority. Our proposal was bipartisan. It could not have been enacted without the support of Democrat senators and the signature of a Democrat president.\r\n \r\nFirst, the new law explicitly prohibits Washington from mandating or even incentivizing Common Core or any other specific academic standards.\r\nSecond, it prohibits Washington from deciding which schools and teachers are succeeding or failing.\r\nThird, it eliminates the waivers from No Child Left Behind rules that allowed the U.S. Department of Education to act, in effect, as a national school board for 80,000 schools in 42 states  including Tennessee.Governors were having to go to Washington and play Mother, May I? in order for a state to put in a plan to evaluate teachers, for example.\r\nFourth, the new law strengthens the charter schools program, giving parents more choices and teachers more freedom.\r\n \r\nThere was not only a consensus that the law needed fixing, but also about how to fix it: keep the important measurements of student achievement, disaggregate and report the results of those tests, but restore to states, school districtsand teachers the decisions about what to do about the results. I believe our new law will result in fewer but better tests.\r\nThe huge bipartisan vote  85-12in the Senate and 359-64 in the House  makes clear that, in the future, thepath to higher standards, better teachingand real accountability will be through states and communities and classrooms, not Washington, D.C.\r\nThe fact is, Tennessee already was doing pretty well without Washingtons supervision. During the 1980s, we became the first state to pay teachers more for teaching well.\r\nIn the 1990s, Tennessee pioneered relating student achievement to teacher performance. Later on, Govs. PhilBredesen and Bill Haslam pushed our academic standards higher and improved teacher evaluation.\r\nAs a result, since 2011, Tennessee has been the fastest improving state in reading and math, as measured by the Nations Report Card. Restoring responsibility to states and classroom teachers, I believe, will inaugurate a new era of innovation and excellence in student achievement.\r\nEnacting this law was not easy. Everyone is an expert on education. It was a lot like being in a football stadium with 100,000 fans, all of whom knew exactly which play to call  and usually said so.\r\nSome Republicans wanted even more local control. I was one of them. But I took the advice of a president named Reagan and supported getting 80 percent of what I wanted. Besides, voting No would have left in place the federal Common Core mandate and the national school board.\r\nFor those who have been saying that Congress cant get anything done and that campaign speeches never matter, I hope you will look at the new Every Student Succeeds Act.\r\nIt creates some real winners: 50 million children and 3.4 million teachers in 100,000 public schools.\r\nLamar Alexander is chairman of the U.S. Senates education committee. He has been U.S. Secretary of Education, Tennessee governor and University of Tennessee president.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://cohen.house.gov/addressing-police-practice-using-young-confidential-drug-informants", "Addressing the Police Practice of Using Young Confidential Drug Informants", "2015-12-11", "2015", "2015-12", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Dear Friend,\nThis week, I spoke out against the police practice of coercing young Americans into becoming confidential informants, and continued to work towards passage of my bill to require states to use independent prosecutors when civilians die at the hands of law enforcement. Congress and President Obama commemorated the 150th Anniversary of the Ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment, President Obama signed into law the bipartisan Every Student Succeeds Act, and the House passed a short-term budget bill, with more work to be done next week on a long-term agreement. Read on to learn more.\nConfidential Informants  Short-Term Continuing Resolution  Continuing My Call for Independent Prosecutors in Police Deadly Force Cases  Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the Ratification of the 13th Amendment  Every Student Succeeds Act Becomes Law  Helping Memphians Get Covered  2016 U.S. Capitol Historical Society Calendars Confidential Informants\nThis week, I spoke on the House floor to invite my colleagues to work with me on legislation to stop the disturbing practice of local enforcement putting young people at risk as confidential informants for minor, non-violent marijuana related offenses. This dangerous trend was recently featured on 60 Minutes. According to the report, informants are not advised of their right to counsel, are told they are not allowed to tell anyone about their work as confidential informants and in some cases end up getting killed. Cornered, frightened and under supreme duress, these young people are told they need to wear a wire and enter dangerous situations with no training and often inadequate protection or face criminal charges which could negatively impact them for life. Two young people, Rachel Hoffman and Andrew Sadek, have been murdered in this line of coerced service. This is wrong, it needs to end, and I am working on legislation to address this.\n  Short-Term Continuing Resolution\nToday, the House voted to pass a short-term Continuing Resolution in order to prevent a government shutdown tonight at midnight. Passage of this short-term budget resolution gives Congress until December 16th to decide what a long-term funding bill will look like.\nAlthough I am not pleased with short-term extensions in place of substantive budget agreements that provide certainty to American citizens and the American economy, I am hopeful that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will come together next week to do the work voters expect us to do, and pass a full funding bill. Continuing My Call for Independent Prosecutors in Police Deadly Force Cases This week, 9 of my House colleagues signed onto the H.R. 2302, the Police Training and Independent Review Act, including House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers. Congressman Lacy Clay -- whose district includes Ferguson, Missouri  and I introduced this bill earlier this year to remove a conflict of interest that arises from police shootings when local prosecutors are asked to investigate the same police with whom they work so closely. Our bill would withhold significant portions of federal funding from state and local law enforcement unless independent prosecutors are used to investigate and, if necessary, prosecute police when their use deadly force results in death or injury. I am both honored and encouraged that 50 members of the House of Representatives have now signed onto our bill, and look forward to continuing to work for its passage.\nCelebrating the 150th Anniversary of the Ratification of the 13th Amendment On December 6th, 1865, the United States ratified the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, and abolished the evil of slavery in America. On Sunday, December 6th, 2015 our nation marked the 150th anniversary of that ratification, and on Wednesday, December 9th my House and Senate colleagues joined President Obama on Capitol Hill to reflect on our nations history, our nations progress, on the work that still lies ahead of us. See the Presidents speech here.\nPresident Obama stated in his address that we condemn ourselves to shackles once more if we fail to answer those who wonder if they are truly equal in their communities, or their justice systems, or in a job interview. He called on all Americans to rise above cynicism and fear, and to believe that change is indeed possible, no matter how slow-moving or hard-fought it may be. It is as true in 2015 as it was in 1865 that our freedom is bound up with the freedom of others, regardless of what they look like, where they come from, what their last name is or what faith they practice. We can and must do much more to make certain that all people in American can enjoy the equal rights and dignity that is every Americans birthright. It is up to us to carry forward efforts to secure equal justice for all, and to ensure that the bitter legacy of slavery  and its second act, segregation and Jim Crow  do not place barriers before the descendants of slaves and other marginalized communities from equally accessing the opportunities our nation promises to its citizens.\nEvery Student Succeeds Act Becomes Law I was pleased this week that President Obama signed into law the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), allowing for American teachers and students to move beyond the flawed No Child Left Behind legislation that has hampered them for more than a decade with over-testing and a one-size-fits-all approach to education reform. This bipartisan bill takes steps to improve our education system from beginning to end  from laying the foundation to expand access to high quality pre-schools, toensuring high school students graduate ready for college and future careers, this legislation holds everyone to high standards for teaching and learning.\nI am particularly pleased that the spirit of my amendment to H.R. 5 (the House version of this education reform bill) is included in this bipartisan legislation.Funds will be made available to States to provide professional development on restorative justice and conflict resolution, giving teachers the tools they need to address disciplinary problems in ways other than suspensions or by involving law enforcement, and giving students the chance to stay in school, and out of the school-to-prison pipeline. This legislation upholds the American value that education is a civil right, and I am pleased that the House, Senate, and President Obama came together to pass the ESSA.\nHelping Memphians Get Covered\nTheHealthcare.govinsurance marketplace has opened for 2016 plan shopping and comparisons. While the current shopping period runs until January 31, 2016, December 15, 2015 is the deadline to enroll in coverage that will take effect on January 1, 2016. You can visit this page to see if you qualify for tax credits that will be applied as discounts on your monthly insurance premium. If you already have insurance coverage through the Healthcare.govmarketplace, your plan will be automatically renewed for 2016 but you should still visitHealthcare.govto update your information, ensure you receive the full tax credit to which you are entitled, and review new options as cheaper insurance plans that better fit your needs may now be available.\nIf you are on Medicare or your employer offers qualified health insurance in which you are enrolled, you're already covered and won't need to enter the Marketplace for your health coverage. If you aren't sure whether or not you should use the Marketplace to get insurance, call the Marketplace Hotline at (800) 318-2596, visitHealthcare.gov, or call the healthcare navigator Seedco at (901) 255-2955. You can also call my office at (901) 544-4131 or the Marketplace Hotline to find out if TennCare (Tennessee's Medicaid program) is a coverage option for you.\n2016 U.S. Capitol Historical Society Calendars Are Available\nMy office currently has a limited number of 2016 U.S. Capitol Historical Society calendars available. If you would like to receive a calendar, please completethis formon my website. Due to the rules of the House, I am only able to mail calendars to residents of Tennessees 9th Congressional District. Please feel free to share this email with other residents of the 9th Congressional District who may be interested in receiving one but who do not receive my eNewsletter.\nAs always, I remain,  \n\tMost sincerely,  \nSteve Cohen  \n\tMember of Congress", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/op-eds?ContentRecord_id=df1baa76-5422-4a21-83f2-3d2e90a44411", "Lamar Alexander: Law ends Common Core mandate, strengthens local control", "2015-12-11", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "First, the new law explicitly prohibits Washington from mandating or even incentivizing Common Core or any other specific academic standards. \r\nSecond, it prohibits Washington from deciding which schools and teachers are succeeding or failing.\r\nThird, it eliminates the waivers from No Child Left Behind rules that allowed the U.S. Department of Education to act, in effect, as a national school board for 80,000 schools in 42 states  including Tennessee. Governors were having to go to Washington and play Mother, May I? in order for a state to put in a plan to evaluate teachers, for example.\r\nFourth, the new law strengthens the charter schools program, giving parents more choices and teachers more freedom.\r\n \r\n\r\nThere was not only a consensus that the law needed fixing, but also about how to fix it: keep the important measurements of student achievement, disaggregate and report the results of those tests, but restore to states, school districts, and teachers the decisions about what to do about the results. I believe our new law will result in fewer but better tests.\r\nThe huge bipartisan vote  85-12in the Senate and 359-64 in the House  makes clear that, in the future, thepath to higher standards, better teaching, and real accountability will be through states and communities and classrooms, not Washington, D.C.\r\nThe fact is, Tennessee already was doing pretty well without Washingtons supervision. During the 1980s, we became the first state to pay teachers more for teaching well.\r\nIn the 1990s, Tennessee pioneered relating student achievement to teacher performance. Later on, Governors PhilBredesen and Bill Haslam pushed our academic standards higher and improved teacher evaluation.\r\nAs a result, since 2011, Tennessee has been the fastest improving state in reading and math, as measured by the Nations Report Card. Restoring responsibility to states and classroom teachers, I believe, will inaugurate a new era of innovation and excellence in student achievement.\r\nEnacting this law was not easy. Everyone is an expert on education. It was a lot like being in a football stadium with 100,000 fans, all of whom knew exactly which play to call  and usually said so.\r\nSome Republicans wanted even more local control. I was one of them. But I took the advice of a president named Reagan and supported getting 80 percent of what I wanted. Besides, voting No would have left in place the federal Common Core mandate and the national school board.\r\nFor those who have been saying that Congress cant get anything done and that campaign speeches never matter, I hope you will look at the new Every Student Succeeds Act.\r\nIt creates some real winners: 50 million children and 3.4 million teachers in 100,000 public schools.\r\nLamar Alexander is chairman of the U.S. Senates education committee. He has been U.S. Secretary of Education, Tennessee governor and University of Tennessee president.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://blackburn.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=397851", "Blackburn, Smith, Barletta, and DesJarlais Lead Effort to Keep Terrorists Out of America", "2015-12-10", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Marsha Blackburn", "B001243", "blackburn.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "U.S. Representatives Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Lamar Smith (R-TX), Lou Barletta (R-PA), and Scott DesJarlais (R-TN) today introduced legislation that would temporarily halt the refugee resettlement program by cutting off funding for any resettlement activity.Under the bill, no funding would be made available for refugee resettlement operations until the following four conditions are met:  Congress passes a joint resolution approving the Presidents refugee resettlement plan  \n CBO provides a report to Congress scoring the long term cost of refugee resettlement operations  \n DHS submits a report to Congress identifying terrorist and criminal activity of refugees admitted into the U.S. since 2001  \n The President submits a report to Congress of the prior years cost of admitting refugees and proposes offsetting spending cuts to pay for resettlement Rep. Blackburn: President Obamas plan to admit thousands of additional Syrian refugees into this country at a time of heightened jihadist threats and the San Bernardino massacre is beyond reckless. It endangers our national security and costs hard working taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, which is why an omnibus funding bill should not include a blank check for refugee resettlement. We must confront the danger of radical Islamic extremism. Our legislation will allow Congress to check the Presidents irresponsible resettlement agenda.   Rep. Smith: Recent attacks justify a temporary halt in our current refugee resettlement program. We have asked this administration for reports on the number of refugees admitted in recent years, the associated costs, and the number who have engaged in acts of terrorism or committed crimes. Americans deserve answers to these questions, yet the administration has failed to provide them. Our bill is simple: no more refugee admittance until we can strengthen the system and better ensure the safety of Americans. For this administration to force foreign refugees on American communities at this time ignores the very real security threats we face. Rep. Barletta: The attack in California demonstrated once again that there are radical Islamic terrorists whose main goal in life is to kill Americans. While the United States has always been a nation that welcomes people seeking refuge, it is only prudent to suspend our refugee program until we know exactly who we are letting in. The peoples representatives in Congress should have a say in who is admitted, how much relocating them will cost, and what security risks are associated with them. Until we have a handle on a dependable vetting process, we should put national security first and call a temporary halt to the refugee program. Rep. DesJarlais: The United States has always been a kind and caring nation. However, we must not forget our governments primary constitutional responsibility of ensuring the safety of the American public. As such, it is incumbent upon our elected officials to establish protocols that will properly safeguard our country from those who come here solely to do us harm. Unfortunately, President Obamas own administration has publicly admitted that under the current framework, Syrian refugees cannot be vetted in a way that meets the rigorous security standards we rightfully expect. Therefore, it is critical we halt the refugee program until Congress is satisfied any individual admitted will not pose a security risk now or in the future. Click here to read the full text of the legislation.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=54a584be-4a57-4af9-856b-19f40e39eb45", "President Signs Bill to Reform K-12 Education", "2015-12-10", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON  House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN) and Ranking Member Robert C. Bobby Scott (D-VA), along with Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA), released the following statements after President Obama signed into law the Every Student Succeeds Act (S. 1177), a bipartisan, bicameral bill to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act: Today we begin a new approach to K-12 education that will help every child in every school receive an excellent education, said Chairman Kline. Classrooms will no longer be micromanaged by the U.S. Department of Education. Instead, parents, teachers, and state and local education leaders will regain control of their schools, and children will have a better shot at receiving a great education. This important achievement was possible because both sides agreed the status quo had to go and we had to find common ground. With numerous challenges facing the country, its time to build on this success. We have more work to do and more opportunities to deliver real results for the American people. \"The Every Student Succeeds Act affirms that every student has the right to an equal education as stated in Brown v. Board of Education, and honors the civil rights legacy of the original ESEA, said Ranking Member Bobby Scott. Today, the President signed into law an embodiment of what we can achieve here in Washington  a workable compromise that does not force either side to desert its core beliefs. I commend my colleagues and our staffs for their diligence, and I have no doubt that this bipartisan legislation will make a positive difference in the lives of our nations students and live up to all of our ideals. Today we are unleashing a new era of innovation and excellence in student achievementone that recognizes that the path to higher standards, better teaching and real accountability is classroom by classroom, community by community, and state by stateand not through Washington, D.C, said Chairman Alexander. We have reversed the trend toward a national school board, repealed the federal Common Core mandate, and enacted what the Wall Street Journal called the largest devolution of federal control to states in a quarter century. With his signature today, the president has joined the Senate and the House in sending a Christmas present to 50 million children and 3.4 million teachers in 100,000 public schools across this countrysomething theyve been eagerly awaiting. Today marks a great step forward in our nations continuing commitment to provide all students with a high-quality education, said Senator Murray. Ive been so proud to work with both Republicans and Democrats to fix the badly broken No Child Left Behind law in a way that will work for students, parents, teachers, and communities in my home state of Washington and across the country. The Every Student Succeeds Act includes strong federal guardrails to ensure all students have access to a quality education, reduces reliance on high-stakes testing, makes strong investments to improve and expand access to preschool for our youngest learners, and so much more. Now, our work will begin to make sure this law is implemented effectively so all students have access to a quality education, regardless of where they live, how they learn, or how much money their parents make.  Known as the Every Student Succeeds Act (S. 1177), the bipartisan, bicameral bill represents a compromise between the House-passed Student Success Act and the Senate-passed Every Child Achieves Act. The compromise bill was drafted by a House-Senate conference committee and approved by both chambers with overwhelming bipartisan support. To learn more about the Every Student Succeeds Act, visit edworkforce.house.gov/k12education.\r\n# # #\r\nFor access to this release and the senators other statements, click here.\r\nTo stay up-to-date on the senators latest actions, follow him on Twitter and YouTube.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=bbc92bca-e6fb-4128-8f16-f84ccc1e82f2", "Alexander Statement on Department of Interiors Draft Proposal on Tennessees Petition for Lands Unsuitable for Mining", "2015-12-10", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, Dec. 10, 2015  U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today made the following statement after the Department of Interior Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement released its draft proposal and draft Environmental Impact Statement on Tennessees petition for lands unsuitable for mining:\r\nIn 2010, Gov. Bredesen asked the department to protect 500 miles of ridgetops in Anderson, Campbell, Scott and Morgan counties as unsuitable for mining. I asked the department to carefully consider the petition because we have seen how protecting the rivers, streams, mountains, forests, wildlife refuges and wilderness areas has been important, not only for our enjoyment of the Great American Outdoors, but it has attracted millions of tourists and thousands of jobs to Tennessee. This draft proposal would not affect other mining within these counties or other parts of Tennessee.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://blackburn.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=397849", "Blackburn Leads Effort to Protect Access to Medical Equipment", "2015-12-09", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Marsha Blackburn", "B001243", "blackburn.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Congressman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) is leading the effort on Protecting Access through Competitive-pricing Transition (PACT) Act, legislation that will protect both seniors and individuals with disabilities from a burdensome program that complicates their ability to receive quality medical equipment in a timely manner as well as the small, local businesses that supply medical devices.   \r\n  \r\nIn business, competitive bidding is used to keep costs down and to guarantee a supply of a goods. Unfortunately, the competitive bidding program at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) was not implemented as it should have been. CMS encouraged low ball bids by companies and then those companies have been unable to keep up with the demand for their products. What CMS calls competitive bidding limits access to medical services needed by seniors and individuals with disabilities. People in rural areas, long distances from the companies who have bid in this process, are particular susceptible to limited access to needed equipment.  \r\n  \r\nWeve seen in areas of the country where Medicare has already implemented competitive bidding that the program is inefficient and puts those who need access to medical equipment at risk. While the program aims to award contracts to suppliers who bid the cheapest price, it disregards the ability of the contractor to actually supply the equipment. It makes no sense to put our seniors at risk by implementing a program nation-wide that has already been a proven failure, Blackburn said.   \r\n  \r\nThe PACT Act will implement a market-pricing program (MPP), a state-of-the-art auction system that is designed to save as much money as the competitive bidding program, but unlike the competitive bidding program, will establish market-based prices and ensure a financially stable program, while improving patient access to quality items and services. Additionally, this legislation will guarantee access to needed medical equipment and level the playing field for our small business owners who provide needed medical equipment.  \r\n  \r\nThis legislation is a step in the right direction to ensure Tennesseans have access to the life-saving medical devices they need while also protecting the small businesses who make Tennessee a world-leader in the medical device industry, Blackburn said.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=5cdd8408-c1f1-461e-b98b-c9dbc4614b50", "Alexander, Murray: Senate Passes Bill to Fix No Child Left Behind, 85-12", "2015-12-09", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Overwhelming bipartisan support in Senate and House sendslegislationto presidents desk\r\n* * *\r\nWASHINGTON, D.C.,Dec. 9 Following Senate passage todayby 85-12, the Every Student Succeeds Act to fix NoChild Left Behind, sponsored bySenate education committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-Wash.), heads to the presidents desk. The House of Representatives approved the bill last week, 359-64.\r\nAlexander said:The huge bipartisan vote in both the Senate and the House reverses the trend toward a national school board and makes clear that, in the future, the path to higher standards, better teaching and real accountability will be through states, communities and classrooms and not Washington, D.C. Restoring responsibilityto states and teachers will, I believe, inaugurateanew era of innovation and excellence in student achievement. The real winners in this remarkable consensus will be50 million children in 100,000 public schools.\r\nMurray said: I am thrilled that through our bipartisan work, Congress has finally come together to fix No Child Left Behind in a way that works for students, parents, teachers, and communities in my home state of Washington and across the country. This legislation includes strong federal guardrails to ensure all students have access to a quality education, reduces reliance on high-stakes testing, makes strong investments to improve and expand access to preschool for our youngest learners, and so much more. Im looking forward to President Obama signing our bipartisan bill into law to help more students get the chance to learn, grow, and thrive in the classroom and beyond.\r\nA summary of the Every Student Succeeds Act is below:\r\n \r\nRepeals adequate yearly progress and replaces it with a statewide accountability system  The conference report replaces the one-size-fits-all adequate yearly progress federal accountability system under current law with a comprehensive State-designed system that improves State capacity to identify and support struggling schools. States would submit a plan outlining their accountability systems to the Secretary of Education, who is only authorized to ensure that the plan is consistent with the law. The system builds on State-led innovation in measuring school performance using multiple measures beyond test scores. States can use other indicators of student achievement and school quality, including student engagement, access to and completion of advanced coursework, and school climate and safety. Under the conference report, states are required to improve student learning in the states lowest-performing 5 percent of schools, high school dropout factories, and schools in which any group of students is consistently underperforming under the States accountability system, and ensures that all students count for the purposes of accountability.\r\n \r\n \r\nMaintains important information about student performance  The conference report maintains annual, statewide assessments in reading and math in grades 3 through 8 and once in high school, as well as science tests given three times between grades 3 and 12. States may pursue flexibility to develop and implement innovative assessments through a pilot program and may choose to offer nationally recognized local assessments at the high school level, so long as those assessments meet technical standards for reliability, validity, and comparability. Recognizing the need to reduce unnecessary testing, the conference report authorizes the use of federal funds for states and school districts to conduct audits of state and local assessment systems to eliminate assessments that do not contribute to student learning.\r\n \r\n \r\nAffirms State control of standards  The conference report ensures States are able to choose their challenging academic standards in reading and math aligned to higher education in the state without interference from Washington. The federal government may not mandate or incentivize states to adopt or maintain any particular set of standards, including Common Core.\r\n \r\n \r\nHelps States to improve low performing schools The conference report transfers responsibility to states for identifying schools and providing support for improvement in struggling schools, and prohibits the federal government from interfering in state and local decisions regarding accountability and school improvement activities by prescribing specific methods or systems. Instead of requiring schools to implement the same one-size-fits all school improvement requirements as they did under NCLB, the conference report calls for evidence-based action in any school in which students arent learning, but the Secretary cannot prescribe the specific interventions or improvement strategies schools must use.\r\n \r\n \r\nImproves accountability for learning outcomes for all students  The conference report sets high standards for students with disabilities by putting in place a state-level participation cap of 1 percent of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who can take the alternate assessment aligned to alternate academic achievement standards. Additionally, the conference report moves accountability for English language proficiency from a separate system in Title III to Title I, to ensure that States are focusing on the unique needs of students who are learning English. The conference report maintains annual reporting of data disaggregated by subgroups of children, including low-income students, students of color, students with disabilities, and English learners, as well as by migrant status, homeless status, children in foster care, and military-connected children.\r\n \r\n \r\nTargets funds to at-risk children  The conference report maintains maintenance of effort and supplement not supplant, with additional flexibility for States and school districts. The conference report also authorizes the Secretary to grant flexibility to eligible school districts that demonstrate equitable state and local funding through use of a weighted student funding formula that allocates additional funds based on weighting student characteristics such as low-income and English learner status.\r\n \r\n \r\nHelps States increase teacher quality  The conference report provides resources to states and school districts to implement various activities to support teachers, principals, and other educators, including by providing high quality induction services for new teachers, ongoing evidence-based professional development for teachers, and opportunities to recruit new educators to the profession. The conference report also ends federal mandates on teacher evaluations, while allowing states to innovate with federal funding. The conference report adjusts the allocation of Title II formula funds by ensuring that states with higher numbers of students in poverty receive funding that is reflective of their current student populations.\r\n \r\n \r\nSupports at-risk populations  The conference report provides resources to states and school districts to support English learners and requires States to develop statewide entrance and exit procedures for English learner programs to ensure that English learners are reclassified upon achieving English proficiency. The conference report provides grants to support programs for American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian students to ensure that schools address the unique academic and cultural needs of these students. The conference report updates and improves supports to rural schools by providing more flexible use of federal funding to enable rural districts to more effectively implement programs and updates and strengthens the Impact Aid program, which reimburses eligible local school districts that are near, or serve students from, military bases, federal lands, and Indian reservations, for the loss of property taxes due to certain activities of the federal government. Finally, the conference report recognizes the unique challenges that homeless students face and provides the necessary supports for homeless students to enroll, attend, and succeed in schools.\r\n \r\n \r\nProvides greater funding flexibility to enhance support for students and schools  The conference report authorizes the new Student Support and Academic Enrichment grant program to help States and local school districts target federal resources on local priorities. For example, school districts would be able to use these resources to help provide students a well-rounded education, promote the effective use of technology in schools, and protect the health and safety of students. So long as they follow basic requirements, school districts determine how they will spend the additional funding based on local needs and priorities.\r\n \r\n \r\nPromotes high-quality choices for parents  The conference report improves the Charter Schools Program by investing in new charter school models, as well as allowing for the replication and expansion of high-quality charter school models. The conference report also incentivizes charter school accountability, transparency, and community engagement practices. The conference report prioritizes grants to evidence-based magnet school programs, including inter-district and regional magnet programs, and provides opportunities to expand magnet school programs with a demonstrated record of success.\r\n \r\n \r\nMaintains and strengthens critical programs  The conference report significantly streamlines and reduces the number of existing federal programs, while authorizing dedicated funding to support important priorities, including innovation, teacher quality, afterschool programming, increased access to STEM education, arts education, and accelerated learning, safe and healthy students, literacy, and community involvement in schools, and other bipartisan priorities. The conference report also authorizes the Preschool Development Grants program. This competitive grant program, will use existing funding to support states that propose to improve coordination, quality, and access for early childhood education and will be administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services jointly with the Department of Education.\r\n \r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=b4c47121-2afd-454c-9aff-414b91989aa3", "Alexander Hails Senate Passage of Legislation to Reverse Trend Toward a National School Board", "2015-12-09", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.,Dec. 9 Following Senate passage todayby 85-12, legislation sponsored by Senate education committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) heads to the presidents desk to fix No Child Left Behind and reverse the trend toward a national school board, end the federal Common Core mandate, and bring about the largest devolution of federal control to states in a quarter-century.\r\n\r\nIn a speech yesterday on the Every Student Succeeds Act, sponsored by Alexander and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Alexander said the legislation will inaugurate a new era of innovation and excellence in student achievement by restoring responsibility to states and classroom teachers.\r\n\r\nAlexander continued, We have the opportunity to vote in favor of what the Wall Street Journal has called the largest devolution of federal control to states in a quarter-century. Governors, teachers, superintendents, parents, Republicans, Democrats, and students all want to see this law fixed. There is a consensus about that. And, fortunately, there is a consensus about HOW to fix it. And that consensus is this: Continue the laws important measures of academic progress of studentsdisaggregate and report the results of those measurementsbut restore to states, school districts, classroom teachers and parents the responsibility for deciding what to do about those tests and about improving student achievement.\r\n\r\nThis consensus will end the waivers through which the U.S. Department of Education has become, in effect, a national school board for more than 80,000 schools in 42 states, Alexander said. It will end the federal Common Core mandate. It moves decisions about whether schools and teachers and students are succeeding or failing out of Washington, D.C., and back to states and communities and classroom teachers where those decisions belong.\r\n\r\nNoting that No Child Left Behind expired eight years ago, Alexander said, We have an opportunity today to provide much needed stability and certainty to federal education policy to some important people who are counting on us: 50 million children and 3.4 million teachersin 100,000 public schools.\r\n\r\nA summary of the Every Student Succeeds Act is belowand the full text of Alexanders prepared remarks, delivered yesterday on the Senate floor, is available HERE. \r\n\r\nTHE EVERY STUDENT SUCCEEDS ACT:\r\n1) STRENGTHENS STATE, LOCAL CONTROL: The bill restores responsibility for creating accountability systems to states, working with school districts, teachers, and others, to ensure all students are learning and prepared for success. The accountability systems will be state-designed and meet minimum federal parameters, including ensuring all students and subgroups of students are included in the accountability system, disaggregating student achievement data, and establishing challenging academic standards for all students. The federal government is prohibited from determining or approving state standards.\r\n2) ENDS THE COMMON CORE MANDATE: The bill affirms that states decide what academic standards they will adopt, without interference from Washington, D.C. The federal government may not mandate or incentivize states to adopt or maintain any particular set of standards, including Common Core. States will be free to decide what academic standards they will maintain in their states.\r\n3) ENDS THE SECRETARYS WAIVERS: The bill prohibits the Secretary from mandating additional requirements for states or school districts seeking waivers from federal law. The bill also limits the Secretarys authority to disapprove a waiver request.\r\n4) MAINTAINS IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR PARENTS, TEACHERS, COMMUNITIES: The bill maintains the federally required two annual tests in reading and math in grades 3 through 8 and once in high school, as well as science tests given three times between grades 3 and 12. These important measures of student achievement provide parents with information on how their children are performing, and help teachers support students who are struggling to meet state standards. A pilot program will allow states additional flexibility to experiment with innovative assessment systems. The bill maintains annual data reporting, which provides valuable information about whether all students are achieving, including low-income students, students of color, students with disabilities, and English learners.\r\n5) ENDS FEDERAL TEST-BASED ACCOUNTABILITY: The bill ends the federal test-based accountability system of No Child Left Behind, restoring to states the responsibility for determininghow to use federally required tests for accountability purposes.States must include these tests in their accountability systems, but states will determine the weight of those tests. States will also be required to include graduation rates, another measure of academic success for elementary schools, English proficiency for English learners, and one other State-determined measure of school quality or student success. States may also include other measures of student and school performance in their accountability systems in order to provide teachers, parents, and other stakeholders with a more accurate determination of school performance.\r\n6) STRENGTHENS THE CHARTER SCHOOL PROGRAM: The bill provides grants to state entities and charter management organizations to start new charter schools and to replicate or expand high-quality charter schools, including by developing facilities, preparing and hiring teachers, and providing transportation. It also provides incentives for states to adopt stronger charter school authorizing practices, increases charter school transparency, and improves community engagement in the operation of charter schools.\r\n7) HELPS STATES FIX LOWEST-PERFORMING SCHOOLS: The bill includes a state set-aside for states to subgrant funds to school districts to help improve low-performing schools that are identified by the state accountability systems. School districts will be responsible for designing evidence-based interventions for low-performing schools, with technical assistance from the states, and the federal government is prohibited from mandating, prescribing, or defining the specific steps school districts and states must take to improve these schools.\r\n8) HELPS STATES SUPPORT TEACHERS: The bill provides resources to states and school districts to implement activities to support teachers, principals, other school leaders, and other educators, including through high quality induction programs for new teachers and ongoing rigorous professional development opportunities. The bill allows, but does not require, states to develop and implement teacher evaluation systems.\r\n\r\n###\r\nFor access to this release and the senators other statements, click here.\r\n\r\nTo stay up-to-date on the senators latest actions, follow him on Twitter and YouTube.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.corker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-list?ContentRecord_id=c67d1593-a247-49ea-9105-3bb59aa0c36d", "Corker Applauds Passage of Bipartisan Reform Legislation to Fix No Child Left Behind", "2015-12-09", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Bob Corker", "C001071", "www.corker.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON  U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) released the following statement today regarding passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act, a bipartisan education reform bill authored by Senators Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) to reauthorize and fix flaws in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, commonly known as No Child Left Behind. The legislation now will be sent to the president to be signed into law.\r\nWith this bill now headed to the presidents desk, Congress has made clear that decisions regarding student achievement should be made at the state and local level, not in Washington, said Corker. Under Governor Haslams leadership, Tennessee has seen great success in recent years due to the hard work of our students, educators and parents, and I am pleased this legislation will limit the power and influence of federal bureaucrats and will provide states greater flexibility to work with local school districts to determine what is best for our students. I applaud Senator Alexander for his work on this important legislation and urge the president to sign it into law.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=13ea3f71-4f74-4fbb-9d94-e4960021957c", "Alexander: More Than 1,000 Tennesseans Die Each Year From Opioid AbuseNation Must Act to Combat this Growing Epidemic", "2015-12-08", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.,Dec. 8 The chairman of the Senate health committee today said that with millions of Americans abusing opioidswhich include prescription opioid painkillers, like hydrocodone and morphine, as well as the illegal drug heroinand more than 1,000 Tennesseans a year dying from opioid abuse, partners at the federal, state and local level must all act together to fight this growing epidemic.\r\nTodays hearing comes as the number of U.S. opioid-related deaths climbsdeaths from prescription opioid painkillers more than tripling since 2000 and heroin use taking more than 8,200 lives in 2013 alone.\r\nChairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said, The human costs of this epidemic are too high, and I hear about the challenges of dealing with this epidemic at home in Tennessee, particularly in East Tennessee where I am from. ...[b]ut, the truth is, this problem affects all states and is frontline issue for communities all over.\r\nHe continued, This is a complex problem that calls for action by all who have a role in preventing opioid abuse and responding to this problem, whether it is doctors, the health department, law enforcement, or families. I am open to suggestions about ways to ensure that the federal government is helping address the problem, not hindering it.\r\nAlexander referred to a roundtable he held in Knoxville on opioid abuse in September with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Tom Frieden, where Frieden called deaths due to opioid overdose a problem gripping our country.\r\nAt that roundtable, Frieden announced Tennessee would receive $3.4 million over four years from the agency to help the state continue its work fighting prescription opioid painkiller abuse and overdose.\r\nAlexander pointed out that according to a 2011 survey, more than 69,000 Tennesseans were estimated to be addicted to prescription opioid painkillersand more than 1,000 Tennesseans die each year as a result of drug overdose, many related to abuse of prescription opioid painkillers\r\nIve mentioned a lot of statistics today, Alexander said, and its important to remember that behind these numbers there are very real human beings whose lives are cut short due to this growing epidemic.\r\nAlexanders full prepared remarks at todays hearing are below: \r\nToday, we are meeting to discuss the growing epidemic in this country of opioid abuse and overdose.\r\nThe term opioid includes prescription opioid painkillers, like hydrocodone and morphine, and also the illegal drug heroin.\r\nSome people can become addicted to prescription opioid painkillers, and the illegal drug heroin is highly addictive, placing people at risk for overdose.\r\nAccording to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, prescription opioid painkiller abuse may lead to heroin use.\r\nDr. Tom Frieden, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said the heroin epidemic is a one-two punch: First, a growing number of people are exposed to and become addicted to prescription opioid painkillers, which he said primes people for heroin addiction laterand two, the accessibility to heroin has increased.\r\nThe number of prescription opioid painkillers prescribed to patients in the United States has skyrocketed in the last 25 years, from 76 million in 1991 to nearly 207 million in 2013.\r\nIn 2012, the CDC found that more than 2 million Americans were abusing prescription opioid painkillers.\r\nAnd, sadly, along with that trend, weve seen a staggering increase in overdose deaths in the United States due to prescription opioid painkillers, which have more than tripled over the last 15 years.\r\nOver 70% of prescription drug-related deaths were caused by prescription opioid painkillers in 2013.\r\nAdditionally, the number of heroin users has doubled since 2005 and reached 670,000 in 2012 and continues to trend upward, taking more than 8,200 lives in 2013 alone.\r\nIn September, Dr. Frieden came to Knoxville where we hosted a roundtable with local physicians, community leaders, and public health officials on ways to fight opioid abuse. There, Frieden called deaths due to opioid overdose a growing epidemic that is gripping our country.\r\nThe human costs of this epidemic are too high, and I hear about the challenges of dealing with this epidemic at home in Tennessee, particularly in East Tennessee where I am from.\r\nTennessee ranks near the top of the list for prescription drug abuse, which includes opioids, with the third highest rate of abuse in the nation.\r\nAccording to a 2011 survey, more than 69,000 Tennesseans were estimated to be addicted to prescription opioid painkillers.\r\nMore than 1,000 Tennesseans die each year as a result of drug overdose, and many of these deaths are related to abuse of prescription opioid painkillers.\r\nTennessee is working hard to fight this fast-growing drug problem.\r\nThe state has taken a number of actions to prevent prescription opioid abuse and overdose, like making it harder for those seeking prescription opioid painkillers from multiple doctorsa practice known as doctor shoppingby requiring that doctors check the states prescription drug monitoring program before prescribing an opioid painkiller to a patient.\r\nAt our September roundtable in Knoxville, Dr. Frieden announced Tennessee was one of 16 states to receive funding from the CDC through its Prescription Drug Overdose Prevention for States program.\r\nTennessee will receive $3.4 million over four years to help the state continue its work fighting prescription opioid painkiller abuse and overdose, including support for the states database that has been crucial in combatting the practice of doctor shopping I have just described.\r\nAt the roundtable, we heard from Austin Maxwell, a father who lost his son to a prescription opioid painkiller overdose, just days before his son had planned to head to college to start taking classes for his freshman year and begin practice as a walk-on to the schools football team.\r\nIve mentioned a lot of statistics today, and its important to remember that behind these numbers there are very real human beings whose lives are cut short due to this growing epidemic.\r\nI know that I am not alone in hearing about the challenges of prescription opioid painkiller abuse when I return home.\r\nThis is a problem that I have discussed with members of this committee, including Sen. Collins whose home state has been hit especially hard.\r\nBut, the truth is, this problem affects all states and is frontline issue for communities all over.\r\nSens. Ayotte and Manchin have also led a group of nine senators in highlighting the damaging impact of opioid abuse and overdose, and I appreciate their attention to this issue.\r\nLate last month, the president signed into law the Protecting Our Infants Act of 2015, legislation that passed the HELP Committee in late Septemberand the full Senate in October thanks to the hard work of the sponsors Majority Leader McConnell, our HELP Committee member Bob Casey, and Senator Ayotte and many other supporters of the legislation.\r\nIn Tennessee, for example, there has been a tenfold increase in the past decade of infants born addicted to drugs.\r\nThe Protecting Our Infants Act will work to reverse this disturbing trend in Tennessee and other states by directing the Department of Health and Human Services to develop a strategy to address any gaps in researchas well as gaps, overlap, and duplication in federal treatment and prevention programs for pregnant women with opioid use disorders and infants born addicted to drugs to help improve programs and make them more effective.\r\nThere is a lot of interest in addressing the problem of opioid abuse, and I look forward to our conversation here today about what we can do to really address this problem and prevent opioid abuse and overdose deaths.\r\nI am open to suggestions about ways to ensure that the federal government is helping address the problem, not hindering it.\r\nFor example, at that same Knoxville roundtable with Dr. Frieden, one problem we specifically heard about was the Patient Satisfaction Survey that Medicare uses to ask patients about pain management.\r\nState Rep. Bill Dunn and others told me that the patient satisfaction survey for Medicare patients actually has the perverse effect of encouraging physicians to overprescribe prescription opioid painkillers because reimbursements for hospitals are based to some extent upon the score that patients give doctors about how well theyre satisfied with their treatment.\r\nAccording to those in the roundtable, patients are unlikely to give doctors a high score unless they prescribe the maximum amount of painkilling opioids  and if doctors dont get a high score, their Medicare reimbursement is reduced.\r\nWell, I thought that sounded like a serious problem with a pretty obvious solution. So I called Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell and recommended she take a look at the possibility this survey was encouraging this growing epidemic.\r\nAnd in late October, the president made a big announcement in West Virginia about the administrations plans to fight abuse of prescription opioid painkillers  and one part of the plan is to review this patient satisfaction survey.\r\nSo, I was glad to see such a direct response from the administration to the concerns I heard during our roundtable discussion in Knoxville.\r\nThis is a complex problem that calls for action by all who have a role in preventing opioid abuse and responding to this problem, whether it is doctors, the health department, law enforcement, or families. We look forward to continuing this conversation in the HELP Committee.\r\nWe know that recovery from opioid abuse is possible, but it can be long and challenging road.\r\nI look forward to hearing from our witnesses here today about the challenges they face and the solutions they believe are needed to truly address this problem.\r\n# # #\r\nFor access to this release and the senators other statements, click here.\r\nTo stay up-to-date on the senators latest actions, follow him on Twitter and YouTube.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/speechesfloorstatements?ContentRecord_id=596f3c4e-c181-4f85-9121-5045c5c9ca78", "Alexander Encourages All Senators To Vote In Support of Cloture on Bill to Fix No Child Left Behind", "2015-12-08", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "This is a day of rare opportunity in the United States Senate.\r\nWe have an opportunity today to vote toreverse the trend of the last several years toward a national school board.\r\nWe have an opportunity to make clear that, in the future, the path to higher standards, better teaching and real accountability will be through states, communities and classrooms and not through Washington, D.C. \r\nWe have the opportunity to vote in favor of what the Wall Street Journal has called the largest devolution of federal control to states in a quarter-century.  \r\nWe have an opportunity to inaugurate a new era of innovation and excellence in student achievement by restoring responsibility to states and classroom teachers. Tennessee was the first state to pay teachers more for teaching well. Minnesota educators created the first charter schools. The real advances in higher standards and accountability and appropriate testing have come from classroom teachers and governors, not from Washington, D.C., and I believe and thats where those advances will come from in the future.\r\nWe have an opportunity today to provide much needed stability and certainty to federal education policy for some important people who are counting on us: 50 million children and 3.4 million teachersin 100,000 public schools.\r\nNewsweek magazine recently reminded us what we already knew very well: No Child Left Behind is the law everybody wants fixed.\r\nGovernors, teachers, superintendents, parents, Republicans, Democrats, and students all want to see this law fixed.\r\nThere is a consensus about that.\r\nAnd, fortunately, there is a consensus about HOW to fix it.\r\nAnd that consensus is this: Continue the laws important measures of academic progress of studentsdisaggregate and report the results of those measurementsbut restore to states, school districts, classroom teachers and parents the responsibility for deciding what to do about those tests and about improving student achievement.\r\nIn our Senate hearings we heard more about over-testing than any other subject. I believe this new law will result in fewer and better tests because states and classrooms teachers will be deciding what to do about the results of those tests.\r\nBuilding on this consensus is why in the Senate our bill passed 22-0 in committee and 81-17 on the floor.\r\nThat is why conferees from the Senate and House were able to agree, 38-1.\r\nThat is why last Thursday the House of Representatives approved the conference report, 359-64.  \r\nAnd that is why the National Governors Association gave our conference report the first full endorsement it has given any legislation in nearly twenty years.\r\nAnd that is why the Chief State School Officers, the school superintendents, the National Education Association, and the American Federation of Teachers all have supported this result.\r\nThis consensus will end the waivers through which the U.S. Department of Education has become, in effect, a national school board for more than 80,000 Schools in 42 states. Governors have been forced to go to Washington and play Mother, May I? in order for a state to put in a plan to evaluate teachers or help a low performing school, for example.\r\nIt will end the federal Common Core mandate. It explicitly prohibits Washington from mandating or even incentivizing Common Core or any other specific academic standards.\r\nIt moves decisions about whether schools and teachers and students are succeeding or failing out of Washington, D.C., and back to states and communities and classroom teachers where those decisions belong.\r\nI am grateful to Sen. Murray, Reps. Kline and Scott, and to all the members of our Senate education committee for the leadership they have shown and the way they have worked on this legislation.\r\nI am grateful to both the Democratic and Republican staffs in the Senate and the House for their ingenuity and hard work.\r\nFixing No Child Left Behind has not been not easy. Everyone is an expert on education. This has been a lot like being in a football stadium with 100,000 fans, all of whom know exactly which play to calland usually say so.\r\nSome Republicans would like even more local control of schools.\r\nI am one of them.\r\nBut my Scholarship for Kids proposal, which would have given states the option to allow federal dollars to follow children to the schools their parents choose, only received 45 votes in the Senate. It needed 60.\r\nSo I have decided, like a president named Reagan once advised, that I will take 80 percent of what I want and fight for the other 20 percent on another day.\r\nBesides, if I were to vote no, I would be voting to leave in place the federal Common Core mandate and voting to leave in place the waivers that permit the U.S. Department of Education to act as a national school board for 80,000 schools in 42 statesand voting against the largest step toward local control of schools in 25 years.\r\nLet me repeat that: Voting no is voting to leave in place the Common Core mandate and the national school board and voting against the largest step toward local control of schools in 25 years.\r\nThis law expired eight years ago. It has become unworkable. If it were strictly applied, it would label nearly every school in America a failing school.\r\nSo states and teachers and children and parents have been waiting eight years for us to reauthorize this law.\r\nIf this were homework, they would give Congress an F for being tardy.\r\nIt is a great privilege to serve in the United States Senate.\r\nBut there is no need for us to have that privilege if all we do is announce our different opinions or vote no if we dont get 100 percent of our way.\r\nWe could do that at home, or on the radio, or in the newspaper or on the street corner.\r\nAs United States senators, after we have had our say, our job is to get a principled result.\r\nToday we have that opportunity.\r\nI hope that today we will demonstrate that we understand that privilege and that we cherish our children by building upon this consensus by voting yes to fix the law that everybody wants fixed and restoring responsibility for our schools to states, communities and classroom teachers.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://cooper.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/cooper-congratulates-travis-mcdonough-on-federal-judgeship", "Cooper Congratulates Travis McDonough on Federal Judgeship", "2015-12-07", "2015", "2015-12", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Jim Cooper", "C000754", "cooper.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON  U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper (TN-05) today issued the following statement after the Senate confirmed Travis McDonough as a U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Tennessee:\nTravis McDonough represents the best of East Tennessee. He will make an excellent federal judge, Rep. Cooper said. I am glad the Senate has confirmed him. His talents are needed on the bench right now.\nAn East Tennessee native, McDonough graduated from Vanderbilt University Law School and served in leadership roles at the Miller & Martin law firm in Chattanooga, before leaving to serve as chief of staff for Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke. Appointed by President Obama, McDonough will succeed Judge Curtis Collier.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=48fb4333-970f-4eac-adbd-5509a26ee9e1", "Alexander on Senate Confirmation of McDonough as U.S. District Judge for Eastern District of Tennessee", "2015-12-07", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.,Dec. 7  U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) released the following statement after voting to confirm Travis McDonough as a U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Tennessee:\r\nTennessee will be well-served by Travis McDonough. Travis is a man of good character and good temperament, and I am glad the Senate confirmed his nomination.\r\nIn July, Alexander, along with Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) introduced McDonough to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee when it met to consider his nomination. Today, the Senate confirmed McDonough to be a U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Tennessee by a vote of 89 to 0.\r\n###\r\nFor access to this release and the senators other statements, click here.\r\nTo stay up-to-date on the senators latest actions, follow him on Twitter and YouTube.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=f906879b-a47d-4023-8b40-43510a01d706", "Alexander Statement on President Obama's Oval Office Address", "2015-12-07", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C., Dec. 6 Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) made the following statement on President Obama's Oval Office Address:\r\n\"Unfortunately, ISIS appears to be growing stronger and bolder in no small part due to this administration's lack of resolve in the face of evil people who will stop at nothing to win. President Obamashould propose a more effective strategy to defeat ISIS, and he should work with Congress to make sure our military and counterterrorism agencies have the resources they need to identify the types of extremists who carried out thetragic shootings in Chattanooga and San Bernardino.\"", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.corker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-list?ContentRecord_id=52e9605f-6ea0-43a9-aeaf-b858d11d00d7", "Corker Condemns Lack of U.S. Response to Illicit Iranian Ballistic Missile Tests", "2015-12-06", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Bob Corker", "C001071", "www.corker.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON  U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today condemned the lack of a U.S. response to repeated Iranian ballistic missile tests that violate existing U.N. Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR). U.S. officials yesterday confirmed in media reports that Iran conducted an illicit ballistic missile test on November 21, which represents the second such launch since the Iran nuclear agreement was reached in July.\r\nIran violates U.N. Security Council resolutions because it knows neither this administration nor the U.N. Security Council is likely to take any action, said Corker. Instead, the administration remains paralyzed and responds to Iran's violations with empty words of condemnation and concern. These continued violations without consequences also validate concern that all leverage will shift to Iran once sanctions are removed. If we cannot respond to a clear violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution, I have no faith that the U.N. and the Obama administration will implement any form of snapback in response to Iranian violations of the nuclear agreement.\r\nThe administration has the authority to penalize foreign individuals who engage in proliferation-related activities like ballistic missile launches, added Corker. They have used that authority in the past, and should do so again.\r\nFollowing Irans October 11 ballistic missile test, Senator Corker, along with committee members Senators Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), David Perdue (R-Ga.), and Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), wrote a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry seeking a determination on whether the test violated UNSCR 1929 and how the U.S. would respond. The State Departments letter in response asserted U.S. authority and precedent for imposing unilateral penalties for Irans missile-related activities. So far the administration has not taken such action despite acknowledging Irans violation of the UNSC resolution.\r\nSenators Corker and Ben Cardin (D-Md.), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in a separate letter to President Obama last week presented their plans for ongoing oversight of the Iran nuclear deal. The two senators coauthored the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015 which requires the administration to certify every 90 days that Iran is in compliance with the nuclear agreement. A failure to provide the certification or a material breach by Iran would make available expedited procedures for consideration of legislation in Congress to reimpose sanctions. An additional semi-annual report from the administration also will provide detailed information regarding Irans nuclear-related activities, including work on ballistic missiles.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://cohen.house.gov/improving-our-transportation-and-infrastructure", "Improving our Transportation and Infrastructure", "2015-12-04", "2015", "2015-12", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Dear Friend,\nThis week, I voted for the first long-term federal highway funding bill in 10 years, voted to end the failed No Child Left Behind policy and reform our education system, renewed my call for independent prosecutors in cases where police use deadly force results in death or injury, and hosted a telephone town hall to answer questions and address the concerns of my constituents. Keep reading to learn more or follow me on TwitterandFacebookto see these updates as they happen.\nImproving our Transportation and Infrastructure  Reforming Our Education System  Renewing My Call for Independent Prosecutors in Police Deadly Force Cases  Hosting My Telephone Town Hall  Increasing Government Transparency  Helping Memphians Get Covered  Bringing Congress to your Corner  2016 U.S. Capitol Historical Society Calendars Are Available\nImproving our Transportation and Infrastructure\nOn Thursday, the House passed the bipartisan federal highway funding bill.This historic bill, signed into law by President Obama today, is the first long-term highway bill passed in 10 years. This legislation is a vital investment in our country. It funds highways and railroads that are important for Memphiss standing as a premier distribution center. Memphis has five Class I railroads and three interstate highways that run through the city. I was particularly pleased that my amendment to provide local transit systems, such as Memphis Area Transit Authoritys MATAplus Service, increased flexibility to enhance and improve paratransit services was included in the final bill. In addition, my bill to allow passengers to transport their pets on Amtrak trains was also incorporated, as was a provision to encourage development along public transportation corridors which benefits the environment. On a local level, the bill includes increased funding for buses that will help improve MATA services in Memphis and incentives for states to collect data to combat racial profiling at traffic stops. Furthermore, it continues the highly-successful provision that ensures women and minority-owned businesses are able to fairly compete for U.S. Department of Transportation contracts and reauthorizes the Export-Import Bank which will allow Americas businesses to remain competitive in the global marketplace.\nReforming Our Education System\nOn Wednesday, the House of Representatives voted to move beyond the flawed No Child Left Behind legislation that has held back students and teachers for more than a decade and passed the bipartisan Every Student Succeeds Act. This bill will repeal the one-size-fits-all Adequate Yearly Progress accountability system, take steps to improve low-performing schools, and target funds to at-risk children and populations. It will also ensure that teachers can teach to the needs of the students rather than teach to the test. I am particularly pleased that the spirit of my amendment to the House version of this bill was included in this bipartisan legislation. At long-last, funds will be made available to states to provide professional development on restorative justice and conflict resolution. This will give teachers the tools they need to address disciplinary problems in ways other than suspensions or involving law enforcement, and give students the chance to stay in school and out of the school-to-prison pipeline.\nRenewing My Call for Independent Prosecutors in Police Deadly Force Cases\nOn Tuesday, in the wake of the shocking video of the brutal shooting of Laquan McDonald by Chicago police, I took to the House floor to renew my call for a federal law to encourage states to use independent prosecutors in cases involving police use of deadly force results in death or injury: the Police Training and Independent Review Act (H.R. 2302). Congressman Lacy Clay and I introduced this bill earlier this year to stop local prosecutors from being tasked with investigating and prosecuting the same local police with whom they work so closely. This is an inherent conflict of interest  and what happened in Chicago is just the latest evidence that it needs to end. Law enforcement officers have a tough job. They bring cases to District Attorneys and serve as witnesses. This hand-in-glove relationship should not be upset, but it also should not upset justice. You can watch my remarks on the House floor here.\nHosting My Telephone Town Hall\nOn Monday evening, I hosted a telephone town hall to answer questions and discuss a variety of topics that are important to Tennessees 9th Congressional District. During the telephone town hall meeting, I heard from my constituents and discussed a wide variety of issues including enrolling in the Healthcare Marketplace for 2016, improving our roads, bridges, and mass transit, fighting for increased funding for the National Institutes of Health to fight deadly diseases, helping reduce our rape kit backlog, and assisting with navigating federal agencies. Please stay tuned to these weekly newsletter for information on our next telephone town hall.\nIncreasing Government Transparency\nOn Monday, the House of Representatives passed my bill, the Open Book on Equal Access to Justice Act. If enacted, this bill would increase transparency and give the public access to information about federal payments awarded under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), which allows individuals who sue the federal government to seek attorneys fees. Access to this information will help enable ordinary citizens such as veterans, seniors, small business owners, and advocates for clean air and clean water to fight unfair or illegal government action without fear of court costs.\nHelping Memphians Get Covered\nTheHealthCare.govinsurance marketplace has opened for 2016 plan shopping and comparisons. While the current shopping period runs until January 31, 2016, December 15, 2015 is the deadline to enroll in coverage that will take effect on January 1, 2016. You can visithttps://bit.ly/hcSavingsto see if you qualify for tax credits that will be applied as discounts on your monthly insurance premium. If you already have insurance coverage through the HealthCare.govmarketplace, your plan will be automatically renewed for 2016 but you should still visit HealthCare.govto update your information, ensure you receive the full tax credit to which you are entitled, and review new options as cheaper insurance plans that better fit your needs may now be available.\nIf you are on Medicare or your employer offers qualified health insurance in which you are enrolled, you're already covered and won't need to enter the Marketplace for your health coverage. If you aren't sure whether or not you should use the Marketplace to get insurance, call the Marketplace Hotline at (800) 318-2596, visitHealthCare.gov, or call the healthcare navigator Seedco at (901) 255-2955. You can also call my office at (901) 544-4131 or the Marketplace Hotline to find out if TennCare (Tennessee's Medicaid program) is a coverage option for you.\nBringing Congress to your Corner\nOn Friday, December 11 from 12pm to 2pm, my office will hold Congress on your Corner office hours at the Orange Mound Community Center at 2572 Park Ave. If you have questions or problems with Social Security, Medicare, FHA, the VA or any other federal agencies, my staff will be on hand to answer questions and provide assistance. We hope you can make it.\n2016 U.S. Capitol Historical Society Calendars Are Available\nMy office currently has a limited number of 2016 U.S. Capitol Historical Society calendars available. If you would like to receive a calendar, please complete this form on my website. Due to the rules of the House, I am only able to mail calendars to residents of Tennessees 9th Congressional District. Please feel free to share this email with other residents of the 9th Congressional District who may be interested in receiving one but who do not receive my eNewsletter.\n\nAs always, I remain.  \n\tMost sincerely,    \n\tSteve Cohen  \n\tMember of Congress", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=2b3a0984-add3-4a90-8384-b176af701b82", "Alexander, Murray: Full Senate to Begin Debate on Bipartisan, Bicameral Bill to Fix No Child Left Behind", "2015-12-04", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.,Dec. 3 Senate education committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-Wash.), following Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnells announcement that the Senate would take up the bipartisan, bicameral agreement to fix No Child Left Behind next week, said they look forward to a successful vote in the Senate, following passage in the House of Representatives yesterday by a vote of 359-64.\r\nThe legislation before the Senate next week fixes No Child Left Behind by reversing the trend toward a national school board and restoring to states, communities and teachers the responsibility for improving student achievement, Alexander said. It passed the House of Representatives yesterday by a vote of 359-64 and received huge bipartisan support in the Senate earlier this year. I expect the same result next week so we can finally send a bill to the presidents desk to fix this broken law for our 50 million children and 3.4 million teachers in 100,000 public schools.\r\nMoving forward on these last steps to finally fix No Child Left Behind is great news for students, parents, teachers, and communities in Washington state and across the country, Murray said. I look forward to the Senate voting to reduce reliance on high-stakes testing, invest in improving and expanding access to early learning programs, ensure all students have access to a quality education, and so much more. I will continue working hard to finish our bipartisan work in the Senate next week and send the bill the Presidents desk so that this legislation can get to work for my home state and our nation.\r\nA summary of the Every Student Succeeds Act is below:\r\n \r\nRepeals adequate yearly progress and replaces it with a statewide accountability system  The conference report replaces the one-size-fits-all adequate yearly progress federal accountability system under current law with a comprehensive State-designed system that improves State capacity to identify and support struggling schools. States would submit a plan outlining their accountability systems to the Secretary of Education, who is only authorized to ensure that the plan is consistent with the law. The system builds on State-led innovation in measuring school performance using multiple measures beyond test scores. States can use other indicators of student achievement and school quality, including student engagement, access to and completion of advanced coursework, and school climate and safety. Under the conference report, states are required to improve student learning in the states lowest-performing 5 percent of schools, high school dropout factories, and schools in which any group of students is consistently underperforming under the States accountability system, and ensures that all students count for the purposes of accountability.\r\n \r\n \r\nMaintains important information about student performance  The conference report maintains annual, statewide assessments in reading and math in grades 3 through 8 and once in high school, as well as science tests given three times between grades 3 and 12. States may pursue flexibility to develop and implement innovative assessments through a pilot program and may choose to offer nationally recognized local assessments at the high school level, so long as those assessments meet technical standards for reliability, validity, and comparability. Recognizing the need to reduce unnecessary testing, the conference report authorizes the use of federal funds for states and school districts to conduct audits of state and local assessment systems to eliminate assessments that do not contribute to student learning.\r\n \r\n \r\nAffirms State control of standards  The conference report ensures States are able to choose their challenging academic standards in reading and math aligned to higher education in the state without interference from Washington. The federal government may not mandate or incentivize states to adopt or maintain any particular set of standards, including Common Core.\r\n \r\n \r\nHelps States to improve low performing schools The conference report transfers responsibility to states for identifying schools and providing support for improvement in struggling schools, and prohibits the federal government from interfering in state and local decisions regarding accountability and school improvement activities by prescribing specific methods or systems. Instead of requiring schools to implement the same one-size-fits all school improvement requirements as they did under NCLB, the conference report calls for evidence-based action in any school in which students arent learning, but the Secretary cannot prescribe the specific interventions or improvement strategies schools must use.\r\n \r\n \r\nImproves accountability for learning outcomes for all students  The conference report sets high standards for students with disabilities by putting in place a state-level participation cap of 1 percent of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who can take the alternate assessment aligned to alternate academic achievement standards. Additionally, the conference report moves accountability for English language proficiency from a separate system in Title III to Title I, to ensure that States are focusing on the unique needs of students who are learning English. The conference report maintains annual reporting of data disaggregated by subgroups of children, including low-income students, students of color, students with disabilities, and English learners, as well as by migrant status, homeless status, children in foster care, and military-connected children.\r\n \r\n \r\nTargets funds to at-risk children  The conference report maintains maintenance of effort and supplement not supplant, with additional flexibility for States and school districts. The conference report also authorizes the Secretary to grant flexibility to eligible school districts that demonstrate equitable state and local funding through use of a weighted student funding formula that allocates additional funds based on weighting student characteristics such as low-income and English learner status.\r\n \r\n \r\nHelps States increase teacher quality  The conference report provides resources to states and school districts to implement various activities to support teachers, principals, and other educators, including by providing high quality induction services for new teachers, ongoing evidence-based professional development for teachers, and opportunities to recruit new educators to the profession. The conference report also ends federal mandates on teacher evaluations, while allowing states to innovate with federal funding. The conference report adjusts the allocation of Title II formula funds by ensuring that states with higher numbers of students in poverty receive funding that is reflective of their current student populations.\r\n \r\n \r\nSupports at-risk populations  The conference report provides resources to states and school districts to support English learners and requires States to develop statewide entrance and exit procedures for English learner programs to ensure that English learners are reclassified upon achieving English proficiency. The conference report provides grants to support programs for American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian students to ensure that schools address the unique academic and cultural needs of these students. The conference report updates and improves supports to rural schools by providing more flexible use of federal funding to enable rural districts to more effectively implement programs and updates and strengthens the Impact Aid program, which reimburses eligible local school districts that are near, or serve students from, military bases, federal lands, and Indian reservations, for the loss of property taxes due to certain activities of the federal government. Finally, the conference report recognizes the unique challenges that homeless students face and provides the necessary supports for homeless students to enroll, attend, and succeed in school.\r\n \r\n \r\nProvides greater funding flexibility to enhance support for students and schools  The conference report authorizes the new Student Support and Academic Enrichment grant program to help States and local school districts target federal resources on local priorities. For example, school districts would be able to use these resources to help provide students a well-rounded education, promote the effective use of technology in schools, and protect the health and safety of students. So long as they follow basic requirements, school districts determine how they will spend the additional funding based on local needs and priorities.\r\n \r\n \r\nPromotes high-quality choices for parents  The conference report improves the Charter Schools Program by investing in new charter school models, as well as allowing for the replication and expansion of high-quality charter school models. The conference report also incentivizes charter school accountability, transparency, and community engagement practices. The conference report prioritizes grants to evidence-based magnet school programs, including inter-district and regional magnet programs, and provides opportunities to expand magnet school programs with a demonstrated record of success.\r\n \r\n \r\nMaintains and strengthens critical programs  The conference report significantly streamlines and reduces the number of existing federal programs, while authorizing dedicated funding to support important priorities, including innovation, teacher quality, afterschool programming, increased access to STEM education, arts education, and accelerated learning, safe and healthy students, literacy, and community involvement in schools, and other bipartisan priorities. The conference report also authorizes the Preschool Development Grants program. This competitive grant program, will use existing funding to support states that propose to improve coordination, quality, and access for early childhood education and will be administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services jointly with the Department of Education.\r\n \r\n###\r\nFor access to this release and the senators other statements, click here.\r\nTo stay up-to-date on the senators latest actions, follow him on Twitter and YouTube.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=767237c4-feb1-4f99-b8e0-3227e46c555c", "Alexander Calls On President to Sign Legislation to Fix Damage Caused By Obamacare", "2015-12-04", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, December 3 The chairman of the Senate health committee today called on President Obama to sign legislation to fix damage caused by Obamacare and work with Republicans step by step to create a system where millions more Americans will have access to their choice of health plans that fit their needs and fit their budgets after the Senate voted to pass legislation to repeal Obamacare.\r\nSix years ago, Republicans warned the president about the disastrous consequences of Obamacare for millions of Americans, Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said. Unfortunately for these Americans, Republicans were right when we said that Obamacare would burden state Medicaid budgets, increase premiums and taxes, and hurt jobs. We need to start over and go step by step toward the goal of reducing health care costs.\r\nAlexander continued: I renew our invitation to the president, and if he doesnt accept our invitation, I extend it to our next president: Forget about party, forget about this side or that side, and side with the American people whose premiums went up, who lost plans they liked, whose Medicare has been raided, whose state budgets have been destroyed, and whose jobs have been lost. Work with Republicans in Congress to fix the damage Obamacare has done to health care in America. Work with us to replace Obamacare with real reforms that lower costs so more Americans can afford to buy insurance.\r\nSome of the proposals in the legislation include:\r\n Repealing Medicaid expansion and Obamacares new entitlement spending after a two year transition period\r\n Repealing the individual mandate and the employer mandate\r\n Repealing most of Obamacares 21 tax increases including the health benefits tax, the medical device tax, and the prescription drug tax\r\n Putting the savings from repealing Obamacare back into the Medicare Trust Fund which was raided by Obamacare\r\nThe full text of Senator Alexanders floor speech from Tuesday afternoon as the Senate began debate on the legislation:\r\nLet me take you back five and a half years ago to February 25, 2010, and the White House health care summit at Blair House. This is the same scene where Arthur Vandenburg met privately with George Marshall to discuss the reconstruction plan for Europe that became the Marshall plan  and the perfect setting to have a serious, bipartisan discussion about how to improve health care for millions of Americans.\r\nThirty-six members of members of Congress attended the summit to discuss the health care bill passed by Democrats  whats now known as Obamacare. We stayed there all day. It was televised continuously. Both then-Minority Leader Boehner and then-Minority Leader McConnell asked me to lead in speaking on behalf of Republicans.\r\nI said to the President that day that I was there not only to represent the views of all Republicansbut as a former governor that I would like to try to represent the views of governors as well  because they had a big stake in this. I said too that I was at the summit to represent the views of a great number of the American people who have tried to say in every way they know how  through town meetings, through surveys, through elections in Virginia and New Jersey and Massachusetts, that they oppose the health care bill that passed the Senate on Christmas Eve.\r\nI warned the president that day about the unfortunate consequences of Obamacare for millions of Americans. I told the president that Obamacare would send an unfunded Medicaid mandate to states. I said, It will cut Medicare by about half a trillion dollars and spend most of that on new programs ... It means there will be about a half trillion dollars of new taxes in it.It means that for millions of Americans, premiums will go up, because when people pay those new taxes, premiums will go up, and they will also go up because of the government mandates.\r\nI said directly to the President that instead of this partisan planpassed without the support of a single Republican in the Senatethat we Republicans were prepared to work with him to reform health care. I said to the president, We need to start over and go step by step toward the goal of reducing health care costs. I said this means working together the way General Marshall and Senator Vandenberg did....And it means going step by step together to re-earn the trust of the American people.\r\nThe President and congressional Democrats did not take my advice that day at Blair House  and hardly any of the advice of my Republican colleagues, for that matter  about what the disastrous outcomes of Obamacare would be  and more than five years after the law was passed and nearly two years into its implementation, we can say one thing without question: The unfortunate reality for the American people struggling with Obamacare is that Republicans were right. Obamacare was an historic mistake.\r\nRepublicans agreed with the president and his party that our health care system was broken and needed to be fixed. But we argued the president was moving in exactly the wrong direction to fix it.\r\nWhat Obamacare did was expand a broken system everybody already knew was too expensive. Republicans said so at that February 2010 summit, and the facts today show we were right.\r\nLets take a closer look at what Republicans predicted six years ago  and what unfortunately came true.\r\nLets also take a look at what Democrats predicted back thenor better put: what they promisedand which of their predictions and promises came true.\r\nLets go through them one by one.\r\nFirst: Medicaid.\r\nDuring my opening speech at Blair House, I said, Nothing used to make me madder as a governor than when Washington politicians would get together, pass a bill, take credit for it, and send me the bill to pay. Thats exactly what this does, with the expansion of Medicaid. In addition, it dumps 15 to 18 million low-income Americans into a Medicaid program that none of us want to be a part of, because 50 percent of doctors won't see new patients.So its like giving someone a ticket to a bus line where the buses only run half the time.\r\nMedicaid had already always been one of the federal governments biggest unfunded mandates on statesand expanding that mandate would only wreak more havoc on state budgets that, especially at the time, during the height of the recession, were already struggling. Former Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesena Democratsaid the proposed Medicaid expansion under Obamacare would represent the mother of all unfunded mandates.\r\nWhen I was governor, Medicaid only made up about 8 percent of Tennessees state budget. By last year, it was 30.6 percent. States paying more and more to expand Medicaid means less to spend on other priorities like higher education, roads, and law enforcement. In 2012, I said that over the prior ten years, Tennessees Medicaid costs had gone up 43 percent, forcing the state to decrease its funding to colleges and universities by 11 percent. As a result, tuition went up 120 percent over those ten years.\r\nAccording to the Congressional Budget Office, the law adds 14 million new beneficiaries to struggling state Medicaid programs by 2025at an extra cost of $46 billion to states and $847 billion to federal taxpayers by 2025.\r\nAnd why is that so bad? I said at the time and its still true todayMedicaids reimbursement rates are so low that only about half of doctors will even see Medicaid patients and many of those arent accepting new ones. Its not hard to see why expanding a failed program isnt good for Americans.\r\nAnd another thing to consider is that states still haven't yet had to pay for covering new Medicaid enrollees under the expansion. The federal government promised to pay 100 percent for the first few years. But starting in 2017, states will have to start paying 5 percent, and eventually up to ten percent by 2020.\r\nThat may not seem like very much in Washington terms, but it can mean a lot to states. States may have to start raising income taxes or gas taxesor find some other way to find the moneybut regardless of how its paid for, expanding Medicaid puts a huge dent in state budgets. Does that mean less money for teachers salaries? Does that mean tuition is going to have to be higher at community colleges and state universities?\r\nTennessee hasnt expanded Medicaid, but in its proposal to expand the program called Insure Tennessee, Governor Haslam anticipated an additional $35.6 million in costs to the state in 2017.\r\nIn Illinois, Medicaid expansion will cost the state $208.6 million in 2020  according to projections from Gov. Bruce Rauners administration.\r\nAnother example is Kentucky. Under Kentuckys expansion, the state will have to pay $74 million in 2017 and an estimated $363 million in 2021. Governor-elect Bevin hasnt started looking for ways to pay for that huge increase because he plans to repeal the states expansion, and if you look at the figures, you may begin to understand why he may be considering a repealrather than raising taxes on Kentuckians.\r\nSo we were right about Obamacares enormous impact on Medicaid and in turn Medicaids huge, negative effect on state budgets.\r\nSecond: higher premiums.\r\nWhen my turn came at the White House summit, I said directly the president that the Congressional Budget office report says that premiums will rise in the individual market as a result of Obamacare.\r\nThe president said I was wrong about that.\r\nA little bit later that day, I gave the president a letter showing that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office had, in fact, said in a letter to then-Senator Bayh, also a Democrat, that CBO and [the Joint Committee on Taxation] estimate that the average premium per person covered (including dependents) for new nongroup policies would be about 10 percent to 13 percent higher in 2016 than the average for nongroup coverage in that same year under current law.\r\nIn that same letter, I reminded the president that his own chief actuary for the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services agreed with the CBO, saying that the fees in the presidents proposed law would generally be passed through to health consumers in the form of higher drug and device prices and higher insurance premiums.\r\nYou might be thinking the law turned out better than the Congressional Budget Office, the Joint Committee on Taxation, and the chief actuary for CMS predicted, and that health insurance premiums went down, not up.\r\nBut sadly, thats not the case. We were right about Obamacares higher premiums for Americans with individual health care plans:\r\nWere talking about 15.6 million Americans who purchase these plans. These are policies that individual Americans buy for themselves. Again, 15.6 million Americans  and the cost of these plans is going through the roof.\r\nOn June 1 of this year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that nearly 700 individual and small group health plans in 41 states plus the District of Columbia requested double-digit premium increases for 2016. In my home state, after already seeing some of the largest premium increases in the country in 2015, Tennesseans will now face a rate hike in 2016 of more than 36 percent for the states most popular health insurance plan.\r\nIn Maryland, the largest insurance provider in the state will increase premium rates by up to 26 percent for Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) subscribers, and nearly 20 percent for Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) subscribers.\r\nOn average, 2016 premium increases for Oregons biggest insurer on the states health exchange will be over 25 percent, and for some smaller providers the increase will be over 30 percent.\r\nIn 2016, South Dakotans will pay as much as 63 percent more for health insurance through the exchange.\r\nThe list of states experiencing health premium spikes goes on.\r\nA recent report by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that in 2014, individual health insurance market premiums grew by 24.4 percent on average compared to what they would have been without Obamacare.\r\nAnd going back to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office that predicted back in 2010 that the proposed law would increase premiums: The CBO recently predicted that the premiums on the Obamacare exchange will increase by 6 percent, on average, every year between 2016 and 2024.\r\nAnd yet, five and a half years ago, the president and congressional Democrats told Republicans time and time again during the debate that we were wrong, that their law would decrease premiums  when in fact, our predictions, the administrations own estimates, estimates from the National Bureau of Economic Research and the nonpartisan CBO all confirm premiums are going through the roof.\r\nThird, Republicans said Obamacare would increase taxes.\r\nObamacare added 21 tax increases to the tax code, totaling over a trillion dollars over ten years, according to the Congressional Budget Officea dozen of whichtarget middle-income Americans, in clear violation of the Presidents pledge to avoid tax hikes on these individuals and families.\r\nOur fourth prediction also came true: We said Obamacare would cost jobs.\r\nSome time ago I met with a large group of chief executive officers of restaurant companies in America. The service and hospitality industries are the largest employers in America. Restaurant companies are the largest employer of low-income, young, usually minority people.\r\nIn that meeting, the chief executive officer of Ruby Tuesday, Incorporated, which has about 800 restaurants, said to me -- and he didn't mind being quoted -- that the cost to his company of implementing the new health care law would equal his entire profit for the company last year and that he wouldn't build anymore new restaurants in the United States as a result of that.\r\nAnother, even larger restaurant company, said because of their analysis of the law, instead of operating their stores with 90 employees, they would try to offer it through stores with 70 employees. So that means fewer employees, and it means fewer employees receiving employer health care.\r\nMore recently, another family franchise business  which employs 550 people and operates under the name of a well-known brandtold me we have already begun cutting the hours of our employees to get well below the 30 hour thresh hold, and all of our new job postings are for part time positions only.Adjusting the hours of our current employees has had a dramatic impact on the employee employer relationship, causing the loss of other fringe benefits such as loss [or] reduction of vacation eligibility, reduction [or] elimination of discretionary bonus programs, and an increase in the loss of eligibility [and] participation in 401(k) retirement programs. These are all unintended consequences of the decisions employers have had to make due to themandate.  Without a change in the law, the costs of health care will exceed our net profit, regardless of whether we cover our employees or pay the penalty, and small businesses cannot absorb these costs.\r\nThese are just a few examples of whats basic economics.\r\nIf you heap costs on employers, they have less money to expand, less money to hire more American workers. You heap even higher costs on employers, employers might need to cut employees hours to pay those costs. You heap still higher costs on employers, they might need to lay off employees.\r\nWeve seen all three as a result of the employer mandate that says employers with more than 50 full-time employees need to provide health insurance. Whats more: Obamacare went a step further and for the first time in our history defined full time as more than 30 hours a week, increasing the number of employees subject to Obamacares employer mandate.\r\nWhat followed, anyone could have predictedand Republicans did so all throughout the debate.\r\nBecause providing health care costs a lot of money, employers started to decrease their employees hours from 35 or 40 to 29 or fewer in order to decrease their number of full-time employees subject to Obamacare.\r\nThey didnt do this for ideological or political reasons. These employers are running businesses, not trying to make a political point.\r\nIf what an employer takes in doesnt exceed what the employer expends, the businesses wont last long. And in whats been a struggling economy since the 2008 crash in no small part because of the presidents failed economic policies, many employers have struggled to deal with the added costs Obamacare imposed on their businesses.\r\nThe Congressional Budget Office has projected that Obamacare will result in 2 million fewer full-time jobs in 2017 and 2.5 million fewer full-time jobs by 2024. At least 450 employers across the nation, including 100 school districts, have said Obamacare forced them to cut positions or reduce worker hours. The National Federation of Independent Business estimates that Obamacares $100 billion tax on health insurance will eliminate between 152,000 and 286,000 private sector jobs between 2014 and 2023.\r\nNow, weve been over what Republicans said would happen years agothat Medicaid would destroy state budgets, that premiums and taxes would go up, and that jobs would be lost.\r\nThis has all, unfortunately, come true.\r\nLets now look at what the president and congressional Democrats promised about their own law. Were they right or wrong?\r\nThe most famous, or infamous, promise, which Politifact named the 2013 Lie of the Year, was the presidents: If you like your plan, you can keep it.\r\nMillions of Americans learned very quickly when Obamacare was fully implemented in 2014 that they wouldnt be able to keep the plans they liked.\r\nIn October 2013, I received a letter from a woman, Emilie, who lives in Middle Tennessee who was one of 16,000 Tennesseans who is part of another plan called CoverTN. She is losing her policy.\r\nThe letter reads:\r\nI am 39 year old single woman with a chronic illness, Lupus. I worked my way through college. \r\nAs a person with a chronic illness that was deemed uninsurable, the only way I was able to obtain health insurance was through an employer based program called CoverTN...Although some call it a minimal coverage plan, it has been stellar AND affordable...I was excited to hear about the Affordable Health Care Act. I was glad to hear that \"uninsurables\" could no longer be denied coverage...unfortunately [that] is NOT TRUE.\r\nI cannot keep my current plan because it does not meet the standards of coverage. This alone is a travesty. CoverTN has been a lifeline.\r\nWith the discontinuation of CoverTN, I am being forced to purchase a plan...that will increase [my costs] by a staggering 410%. My out of pocket expense will increase by more than $6,000.00 a year. Please help me understand how this is affordable.\r\nI beg of you to continue the fight for those, like me, who would only ask to be allowed to continue to have what we already enjoy. A fair health insurance plan at a fair price.\r\nThat is from Emilie, and we could spend all day telling stories of Americans who liked their health care plans but werent able to keep them under Obamacare. In November 2013, it looked as if nearly 5 million Americans in 32 states were going to lose their coverage beginning in January 2014. The administration then made a series of last-minute, regulatory fixes in 2013 and 2014  but many Americans  like Emilie  still lost their plans and were forced to go shopping for something else.\r\nThe president also said: Medicare is a government program. But dont worry: Im not going to touch it.\r\nThe problem with that statement is: He touched Medicare in a big, big way. His health care law raids $700 billion from Medicare in order to finance Obamacare.\r\nDuring debate over Obamacare in 2009, I said Obamacare would cut grandma's Medicare to spend on somebody other than grandma -- a new entitlement program. Obamacare, I said, would do that at a time when the Medicare Program  is going broke. ... The Medicare trustees -- it is their job to watch out for these things -- said: We need timely and effective action to address Medicare financial challenges. I think what they are saying to us is if you are going to cut grandma's Medicare, you ought to at least spend it on grandma instead of spending it on somebody else. End quote.\r\nAgain, the president went against the promise he repeated over and over again and raided a program that serves more than 55 million older Americans.\r\nIn summary, unfortunately, Republicans were right when we said that Obamacare would force spikes in state Medicaid spending, increase premiums and taxes, and hurt jobs.\r\nAnd as right as Republicans were about how bad Obamacare would be for the American people, Democrats were equally as wrong about what they said throughout the debate that their law would allow Americans to keep the health plans they liked and that Medicare wouldnt be affected.\r\nAnd finally, an important point about how none of this had to happen. We all agreed the health care system needed to be fixed. So how did we end up with a law that has only made things worse?\r\nWell, one big reason is: the debate over Obamacare in the Senate wasnt really a debate. If it had been, we might not find ourselves in this mess today.\r\nThen-Majority Leader Harry Reid had a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate and seemed to think that meant Republicans didnt have any ideas worth considering.Rather than to listen to Republicans, or to the majority of Americans who opposed the directionPresident Obama and the Democratic majority were planning to take our health care system,theywrote their bill behind closed doors and on Christmas Eve unveiled a bill filled to the brim with items from each Democratic members wish list.\r\nAlong with our warnings throughout the Obamacare debate, we offered plenty of thoughtful ideas to fix our health care system in a way that would lower costs and expand access while making sure patients didnt lose control over their own health care.\r\nBut Democrats also had a majority in the House, as well as a president in the White House who also didnt think he had to listen to, let alone work with, Republicans in Congress who were also elected to represent their constituents.\r\nOur predictions, which turned out to be true, and our ideas, which would have worked, unfortunately for the American people all fell on deaf ears.\r\nNow Ive spent enough time saying We told you so.\r\nWhat next? What do Republicans offer the American people?\r\nIf Republicans were right about Obamacare being an historic mistake, Id like to say we were also right about what we should have done instead to fix our broken health care system. And we should be trusted to fix the mess Obamacare has left us.\r\nThroughout the Obamacare debate, Leader McConnell, who was the minority leader at the time, was criticized for not coming up with a comprehensive plan of his own. We told the president and congressional Democrats not to hold their breath for Leader McConnell to roll a wheelbarrow onto the Senate floor with a twenty-seven-hundred-page bill of his own, because thats not how Republicans believed we could best fix the problems with our health care system.\r\nWe suggested a step-by-step approach to address each of the problems our health care system faced.\r\nThose waiting for Leader McConnell to do so now, to roll onto the Senate floor a wheelbarrow with a bill thousands of pages long to replace Obamacare, are again advised not to hold their breath.\r\nIf Democrats are saying that Republicans dont have a twenty-seven-hundred-page plan that increases premiums, decreases choice of doctors, hurts jobs, and raids Medicare to pay for a new entitlement, theyre exactly right.\r\nThats because Americans have been loud and clear that they dont want that.\r\nThe wisest course is to repeal Obamacare and replace it step by step with solutions that lower health care costs.\r\nThis approach to health reform is not something that Republicans cooked up yesterday or the day before. In fact, if you will examine theCongressional Recordyou will find Republican senators proposed a step-by-step approach to confronting our nations health care and other challenges 173 different times on the floor of the Senate during 2009.\r\nI hope the president will listen to us and work with us on some of the ideas we presented to the American people at Blair House six years ago and the ideas that we continue to offer to take us step by step in a different direction -- one that emphasizes more freedom, more choices, and lower costs:\r\nWe should allow individuals to buy a health plan in any state that meets their needs. There is no reason to force Americans to purchase federally mandated plans with benefits they dont want and cant afford. Health reform should be about expanding access to lower-cost plans, not increasing the cost of insurance.\r\nWe should reduce junk lawsuits against doctors that only increase costs.\r\nWe should expand Health Savings Accounts and other mechanisms that allow individuals to control how they spend their health care dollars.\r\nWe should return power to the states to regulate their markets and lower costs. States are the laboratories of democracy and need to be given the freedom to develop systems to drive competition, not be subject to one-size-fits-all rules.\r\nWe should allow small businesses to assist employees in purchasing insurance and look at other ways to support employers offering health care benefits to their employees\r\nWe should lower barriers at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) so that innovative drugs and devices can get to patients faster.\r\nWe should put the private sector in charge of health information technology to deliver better data and greater transparency.\r\nWe should ensure that Americans with pre-existing conditions have access to affordable coverage through high-risk pools or other insurance incentives.\r\nAnd there certainly are other ideas we can work on in a bipartisan way to lower costs, increase access, and put patients back in charge of their own health care.\r\nThis week, were talking about repealing Obamacare. But for the last six years weve been talking about a completely different path of providing health care at a lower cost to more Americans. Those steps that Republicans outlined in 2009 and 2010 and 2011 are the same kinds of steps that we should be taking today.\r\nIve been saying since 2009 that the problem with Obamacare was that we deliberately expanded a health care delivery system that already cost too much  instead of moving step by step to create a system where millions more Americans had choices of plans that fit their needs and fit their budgets.\r\nAnd the way we should accomplish this is the same way we passed Medicare, passed Social Security, passed the Civil Rights Act  and in the way we hopefully will pass a broad reauthorization to fix No Child Left Behind. None of this is done by cramming a bill down the throats of the American people with 60 votes in the middle of a snowstorm on Christmas Eve.\r\nI renew our invitation to the president, and if he doesnt accept our invitation, I extend it to our next president: Forget about party, forget about this side or that side, and side with the American people whose premiums went up, who lost plans they liked, whose Medicare has been raided, whose state budgets have been destroyed, and whose jobs have been lost. Work with Republicans in Congress to fix the damage Obamacare has done to health care in America.Work with us to replace Obamacare with real reforms that lower costs so more Americans can afford to buy insurance.\r\n###\r\nFor access to this release and the senators other statements, click here.\r\nTo stay up-to-date on the senators latest actions, follow him on Twitter and YouTube.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://blackburn.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=397847", "Blackburn, Sessions, Shelby, Smith: HHS Violating Law By Refusing To Submit Refugee Report", "2015-12-03", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Marsha Blackburn", "B001243", "blackburn.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Our nation is presented with serious economic and security threats emanating from our refugee resettlement programs. Congress cannot, and must not, issue a blank check to [the office of Refugee Resettlement], especially at a time when the Administration is actively in defiance of federal law. \nCongressmen Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Lamar Smith (R-TX) and U.S. Sens. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and Richard Shelby (R-AL) released the following letter that was sent yesterday to the Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell:  \n  \nDear Secretary Burwell: It has come to our attention that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has failed to submit an annual report to Congress regarding the activities of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), in violation of federal law. Section 413(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, requires the Secretary of HHS to submit an annual report to Congress no later than the January 31 following the end of each fiscal year[.] The FY2014 report  which was due no later than January 31 of this year  is still outstanding, and must be produced immediately. In its FY2016 Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees, HHS requested over $1.6 billion for ORR. This request illustrates the exponential growth in ORRs budget in recent years. Indeed, as recently as FY2012, ORR received $768,334,000 in funding  or less than half of what it currently seeks. Our nation is presented with serious economic and security threats emanating from our refugee resettlement programs. Congress cannot, and must not, issue a blank check to ORR, especially at a time when the Administration is actively in defiance of federal law. We look forward to the immediate submission of ORRs FY2014 Annual Report to Congress. Very truly yours. Senator Jeff Sessions Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn Senator Richard Shelby Congressman Lamar Smith [NOTE: To view the signed letter as a PDF, please click here.]", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://blackburn.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=397848", "Blackburn, Sessions: HHS Refusal To Submit Refugee Report One More Reason To Strip Blank Check From Omnibus", "2015-12-03", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Marsha Blackburn", "B001243", "blackburn.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "With millions of Americans barely scraping by, ORR wants a blank check by December 11th of this year to resettle foreign nationals in the United States, and yet refuses to even comply with federal law requiring an annual report on the program. This casual comfort with which this Administration disregards the taxpayer, and defies their elected representatives, chisels at the foundation of republican government.  This is exactly why we must not issue a blank resettlement check but instead put the people's Congress back in charge.\n\nCongressman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) issued the following statement today after sending a letter yesterday to the Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell concerning her Departments failure to submit a legally-required annual report on refugee resettlement in the United States:\n\nFailure to provide Congress with required information on the resettlement of foreign nationals within the United States violates both the law and the public trust.  These are grave matters.  \n  \nAlready, at least a dozen individuals admitted to the United States as refugees have been implicated in terrorism in 2015 alone. Additionally, refugees are provided instant, lifetime access to welfare and entitlements. For the cost of resettling 1 refugee in the United States we could assist 12 refugees in their home region.  \n  \nORR's operating model is to request funds to place refugees in the United States while not accounting for one cent of the cost associated with long-term welfare, healthcare, housing and entitlement benefits. Refugees also draw from Medicare and Social Security, accelerating these programs insolvency  and, again, ORR does not count or estimate these costs. These actions are draining the treasury.  \n  \nIn addition to resettling admitted refugees, ORR is involved with the relocation of illegal aliens within the interior of the United States as well.  \n  \nWith millions of Americans barely scraping by, ORR wants a blank check by December 11th of this year to resettle foreign nationals in the United States, and yet refuses to even comply with federal law requiring an annual report on the program. This casual comfort with which this Administration disregards the taxpayer, and defies their elected representatives, chisels at the foundation of republican government.  This is exactly why we must not issue a blank resettlement check but instead put the people's Congress back in charge.  \n  \nCongress should first obtain a full lifetime accounting of refugee resettlement costs and then consider the number of refugees to admit. This unlimited power of the President must be curtailed.  \n  \nBACKGROUND:  \nUnless Congress set new conditions, the President will have unchecked authority to bring in as many refugees as he wants, from anywhere he wants, without any requirement for Congressional or public approval. [NOTE: To view the joint letter, please click here.]", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://cohen.house.gov/press-release/congressman-cohen-hails-passage-bipartisan-bicameral-federal-highway-funding-bill", "Congressman Cohen Hails Passage of Bipartisan, Bicameral Federal Highway Funding Bill", "2015-12-03", "2015", "2015-12", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "[WASHINGTON, DC]  Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a member of the House-Senate Conference Committee for the federal highway funding bill and a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, today hailed the House passage of H.R. 22, the Fixing Americas Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act), a bipartisan, long-term surface transportation bill. The FAST Act provides $305 billion in guaranteed funding for Americas transportation and infrastructure programs over five years. It also reauthorizes the Export-Import Bank for four years.\nI am pleased the House and Senate have finally agreed to a bipartisan, long-term surface transportation bill, said Congressman Cohen. This historic bill is the first long-term highway bill passed in 10 years, and it funds highways and railroads that are important for Memphiss standing as an American distribution center. Memphis has five Class I railroads and three interstate highways that run through the city. I am most pleased that my amendment to provide local transit systems, such as Memphis Area Transit Authoritys MATAplus Service, increased flexibility to enhance and improve paratransit services was included in the final bill. A bill I sponsored with Congressman Denham to allow passengers to transport their pets on Amtrak trains was also incorporated, as was a provision I championed to encourage development along public transportation corridors which benefits the environment.\nThe FAST Act provides an estimated $41 million increase in highway funding and an estimated $2.9 million in transit funding for Tennessee next year.\nOn a local level, the bill includes increased funding for buses and bus facilities that will help improve MATA services in Memphis and incentives for states to collect data to combat racial profiling at traffic stops, added Congressman Cohen. Furthermore, it continues the highly-successful Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program that ensures women and minority-owned businesses are able to fairly compete for U.S. Department of Transportation contracts. After 36 short-term extensions, it is past time for America to fully invest in improvements to our roads, bridges, rail, and mass transit. I would like to thank my colleagues who also served on the House-Senate Conference Committee for working in a bipartisan manner to finalize this bill.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://duncan.house.gov/press-release/duncan-blasts-ut-%E2%80%9Choliday-party%E2%80%9D-rules-calling-secret-santa-ban", "Duncan Blasts UT Holiday Party Rules Calling for Secret Santa Ban", "2015-12-03", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "John Duncan", "D000533", "duncan.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON  In an interview with Fox News Thursday, U.S. Rep. John J. Duncan, Jr. (R-Tenn.) blasted the University of Tennessees Office of Diversity and Inclusion for issuing rules on holiday parties, calling the memo ridiculous.\nThe guidance warns students and faculty to ensure your holiday party is not a Christmas party in disguise, and to not play games with religious and cultural themes such as Secret Santa. It warned that parties should have no emphasis on religion or culture. \nI am saddened and very disappointed that the school from where I graduated would do this. People all over the Country are sick and tired of all this political correctness. It is going to an extreme that the overwhelming majority of my constituents and the American people are opposed, Duncan said.\nThe people on the far left who claim to be tolerant seem to be tolerant of everything except traditional Christianity, Duncan continued. They dont object to Jewish, Muslim, Hindu or any other religions traditions. But they go unhinged on anything that hints of traditional Christianity. They try to take down Crosses and Christian emblems. It is a shame and very sad. And it is extremism.\nJustice William Douglas was one of the most liberal and left wing Supreme Court Justices to ever serve, Duncan continued. In a famous case in 1952, Zorach v. Carson, he wrote an opinion for the court that said, we find no constitutional requirement which makes it necessary for government to be hostile to religion and to throw its weight against efforts to widen the effective scope of religious influence. He was correct, and this is still the law of the land today.\nThe people I represent are disgusted by this action, and people at the University should be taken to task for it, Duncan said.\nThe University of Tennessee receives most of its operating budget from federal student loans and State government appropriations.\nIn September, the same office backed-off of a call to switch to gender neutral pronouns such as xe and xym after an international public outcry. Duncan at the time said that policy made UT a laughingstock and he was personally embarrassed as a UT alumnus.\nSomeone obviously has too much time on his or her hands, Duncan said.\nUPDATE: The holiday party memo has been removed by UT officials.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://roe.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=397955", "Long-Term Highway Bill Passes House With Roes Support", "2015-12-03", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Phil Roe", "R000582", "roe.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  Today, Rep. Phil Roe, M.D. (R-TN) released the following statement after voting in support of the conference report for H.R. 22, the Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act: \r\n\"This bipartisan, bicameral, five-year highway funding bill brings certainty in transportation planning to state and local governments, while eliminating bureaucracy to allow states to invest funds where they need it most. This bill will provide much-needed certainty and resources to start the long process of repairing and replacing the failing infrastructure around this country. It provides federal, state and local governments with the ability to strategically plan their projects and spend wisely, which will save taxpayer resources. Weve got to fund roads and bridges around the country, but weve also got to work smarter and do more with less. Ive said time and time again that I strongly believe we need a long-term highway funding bill, and I thank Chairmen Shuster and Thune, as well as the House and Senate conferees, for making this a priority.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://desjarlais.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/desjarlais-statement-on-voting-against-the-every-student-succeeds-act", "DesJarlais Statement on Voting Against the Every Student Succeeds Act", "2015-12-03", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Scott DesJarlais", "D000616", "desjarlais.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Congressman Scott DesJarlais, M.D. (TN-04) released the following statement after voting against S. 1177, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA):\nUnfortunately, this legislation fails to sufficiently curtail excessive government overreach in our nations school system. Rather than returning control of education back to the state and local level, this bill continues with the misguided policy of allowing Washington bureaucrats to make decisions affecting childrens education that should be left to parents and teachers. Tennessee educators know best when it comes to creating curriculums that will ensure our children are receiving a quality education. Therefore, we should be empowering those individuals that understand the unique needs of students in their communities.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://desjarlais.house.gov/media-center?ID=FA06919A-832B-4E77-BDB0-D76C07F7B9F8", "DesJarlais Statement on Voting Against the Every Student Succeeds Act", "2015-12-03", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Scott DesJarlais", "D000616", "desjarlais.house.gov", "desjarlais", "https://desjarlais.house.gov/media-center", "scraper", "Congressman Scott DesJarlais, M.D. (TN-04) released the following statement after voting against S. 1177, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA):\n\n\u201cUnfortunately, this legislation fails to sufficiently curtail excessive government overreach in our nation\u2019s school system. Rather than returning control of education back to the state and local level, this bill continues with the misguided policy of allowing Washington bureaucrats to make decisions affecting children\u2019s education that should be left to parents and teachers. Tennessee educators know best when it comes to creating curriculums that will ensure our children are receiving a quality education. Therefore, we should be empowering those individuals that understand the unique needs of students in their communities.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T20:33:33Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=115c80c7-f1aa-407d-8391-0c459aa74111", "Alexander: Five-Year Highway Bill Provides Stability and Certainty, and Will Help Grow Jobs in Tennessee", "2015-12-03", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, Dec. 3, 2015 U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said today final passage of a five-year plan to reauthorize federal highway programs, which he voted for, is good for Tennessee and will lead to more good-paying jobs in our state and across the nation.\r\nThis bill is good for Tennessee, because we have seen over the last 30 years how good roads have helped to spread auto suppliers and good jobs across the state. This is the longest federal highway bill in 17 years, which provides stability and certainty  and is a more efficient use of taxpayer dollars, Alexander said. My preference for funding transportation bills is for highway users to pay for improvements to the highways, which is the course I hope Congress will take on future bills.\r\nThe Fixing Americas Surface Transportation Act, also known as the FAST Act, reauthorizes funding for federal transportation programs for five years which allows states to plan for more construction projects. The bill, which is fully paid for, provides federal funding for roads, bridges, and transit programs that are critically important to Tennessees economy. The bill also gives state transportation agencies more flexibility and streamlines the process to approve projects, which means projects can get done faster and cheaper. The bill also creates a new National Highway Freight Program to maintain heavily trafficked corridors, including several in Tennessee.\r\nThe Senate passed the bill today by a vote of 83-16. The House also passed the bill by a vote of 359-65 today.\r\n# # #\r\nFor access to this release and the senators other statements, click here.\r\nTo stay up-to-date on the senators latest actions, follow him on Twitter and YouTube.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=eef2ff3e-b723-4bdb-b17f-3e4c8033b7ff", "Alexander Commends House Passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act", "2015-12-03", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, December2  Senate education committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today released the following statement on House passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act  legislation to fix No Child Left Behind  by a vote of 359 to 64:\r\nThe real winners in todays House vote are 50 million children and 3.4 million teachers in 100,000 public schools. This legislation fixes No Child Left Behind by reversing the trend toward a national school board and restoring to states, communities and teachers the responsibility for improving student achievement. The legislation received huge bipartisan support in the United States Senate earlier this year, and I expect that to happen again next week.\r\n# # #\r\nFor access to this release and the senators other statements, click here.\r\nTo stay up-to-date on the senators latest actions, follow him on Twitter and YouTube.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.corker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-list?ContentRecord_id=630f3681-f2b6-4c5d-81f3-158a42f09a33", "Corker Outlines Iran Nuclear Deal Oversight Plan", "2015-12-03", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Bob Corker", "C001071", "www.corker.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON  U.S. Senators Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.), the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today in a letter to President Barack Obama presented their plans for ongoing oversight of the Iran nuclear deal, or the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), that was reached in July with members of the P5+1 and Iran.\r\nAs the JCPOA with Iran moves toward Implementation Day, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will initiate a rigorous program to ensure effective Congressional monitoring and oversight of this agreement as well as its regional and nonproliferation implications, the senators wrote in their letter to the president.\r\nWe hope that your Administration will remain committed to engaging Congress going forward. In anticipation of this program, we request that you make available Administration witnesses to testify in public hearings and provide classified briefings, they added.\r\nThe proposed schedule includes an initial series of hearings with administration officials beginning in December that will be timed with the release of the International Atomic Energy Agencys report on possible military dimensions of Irans nuclear program, the first semi-annual report from the administration pursuant to existing law under the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015, and Implementation Day when Iran has complied with the terms of the JCPOA. The senators also requested regular interagency briefings consistent with reporting requirements of the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015.\r\nThe act, which was coauthored by Corker and Cardin, requires the administration to certify every 90 days that Iran is in compliance with the nuclear agreement. A failure to provide the certification or a material breach by Iran would make available expedited procedures for consideration of legislation in Congress to reimpose sanctions. An additional semi-annual report from the administration also will provide detailed information regarding Irans nuclear-related and other destabilizing activities, including support for terrorism.\r\nFull text of the letter is included below and is available online here.\r\nDear Mr. President:\r\nThank you for providing senior Administration officials for public hearings, classified briefings, and numerous consultations during the period of Congressional Review of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Your engagement with Congress was important in informing our deliberations and assessment of the JCPOA. As the JCPOA with Iran moves toward Implementation Day, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will initiate a rigorous program to ensure effective Congressional monitoring and oversight of this agreement as well as its regional and nonproliferation implications. We hope that your Administration will remain committed to engaging Congress going forward.\r\nIn anticipation of this program, we request that you make available Administration witnesses to testify in public hearings and provide classified briefings. The Committee anticipates holding the following hearings at to-be-determined dates:\r\n December 2015: Hearing on the International Atomic Energy Agencys (IAEA) Report on Possible Military Dimensions of Irans Nuclear Program. This report will be due to the IAEA Board of Governors by December 15, 2015. This is a significant milestone toward the JCPOAs implementation and thus merits a public discussion and debate.\r\nWe request that the Lead Coordinator for Iran Nuclear Implementation, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Administrator, and the Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation testify during this hearing.\r\n January 2016: Hearing on the first semi-annual report due to Congress pursuant to the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015. The hearing will provide an assessment of Irans compliance with the JCPOA, as well as updates on Irans support for terrorist activities and advances in its ballistic missile program. Though Implementation Day may not occur by the deadline for the first semi-annual report, other national security threats related to Irans behavior and actions outside of the JCPOA merit public discussion and debate.\r\nWe request that the Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, the Lead Coordinator for Iran Nuclear Implementation, and the Under Secretary of Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence testify during this hearing.\r\n TBD: Hearing on JCPOA Implementation Day. If Implementation Day for the JCPOA is achieved, the Committee will hold a public hearing to discuss U.S. expectations for monitoring and verifying Iranian compliance with the JCPOA, tracking sanctions relief provided to Iran, articulating a multi-tiered strategy for responding to incidents of Iranian non-compliance with the JCPOA, and institutionalizing a U.S. strategy for countering Irans destabilizing actions.\r\nWe request the Secretary of State, Secretary of Energy, and the Secretary of the Treasury testify during this hearing.\r\nFollowing implementation of the JCPOA, the Committee will hold regular classified briefings. These briefings will cover the full scope of issues relevant to Iranian compliance with the JCPOA, as well as Irans support for terrorism and destabilizing regional activities. As part of its oversight function before each briefing the Committee should receive all information relevant to Irans compliance with the nuclear agreement. For these briefings we request that you make an interagency briefing team available with representation from the State Department, Treasury Department, Energy Department, Defense Department, and Intelligence Community:\r\n On a quarterly basis, an interagency team should be prepared to brief members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.\r\n On a monthly basis, an interagency team should be prepared to brief Committee staff at the appropriate clearance level.\r\nWe appreciate your assistance, through access to administration officials and information, to ensure effective Congressional oversight and monitoring of the JCPOA.\r\nSincerely,\r\nBob Corker\r\nChairman\r\nBen Cardin\r\nRanking Member\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.corker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-list?ContentRecord_id=c2b27720-b16f-4f36-a7ce-527dc36da29f", "Corker Votes to Dismantle President Obama's Health Care Law", "2015-12-03", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Bob Corker", "C001071", "www.corker.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON  U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) today voted for the Restoring Americans Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015 (H.R. 3762), legislation that would dismantle the presidents health care law and build a bridge to a better health care system for hardworking families across the country.\r\nThe presidents health care law was sold to Tennesseans as a way to bring down health care costs and provide certainty to individuals and companies across the nation, yet it has done just the opposite, said Corker. Year after year, we have seen double digit increases in the cost of plans, small businesses grappling with unreasonable mandates, and health insurance providers threatening to leave the marketplace or shutting down completely due to upside down profit expectations. The simple fact is that this law has not delivered the results that were promised. Americans want an open health care marketplace that provides far greater choice and affordable plans that meet their actual needs so companies can openly and effectively compete for their business.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.corker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-list?ContentRecord_id=eb49d63c-07ad-4681-8afe-9566db33199b", "Corker Votes Against Highway Bill", "2015-12-03", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Bob Corker", "C001071", "www.corker.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON  U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) today released the following statement after voting against the conference report on the Senate and Houseof Representativeshighway bills.\r\nI am extremely disappointed that both Republicans and Democrats have passed this gimmick-laden piece of legislation that weakens our nation and in no way pays for our countrys important infrastructure in real time, said Corker. Yet again, Congress has pulled a fast one on the American people by painting a rosy picture so that they can feel good now but in realityWashington isthrowing future generations under the bus by failing to put in place a long-term funding mechanism for the Highway Trust Fund.\r\nAccording to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), if the legislation is enacted, the Highway Trust Fund will run a nearly $100 billion shortfall between 2021 and 2025.\r\nThis legislation does not solve the real problem. It simply kicks the can down the road, added Corker.Both parties should be embarrassed that they have allowed the Highway Trust Fund to become one of the largest budgeting failures in the federal government.In coming years, Congress still will be faced with the challenge of putting in place a long-term funding mechanism for these important programs.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://duncan.house.gov/duncan-supports-education-reform-bill", "Duncan Supports Education Reform Bill", "2015-12-02", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "John Duncan", "D000533", "duncan.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON-- Rep. John J. Duncan, Jr. delivered the following remarks on the floor of the House Wednesday in support of a major education reform bill:\nMr. Speaker:\nIn 2001, I was one of just 45 members of the House who voted against the No Child Left Behind federal education law.\nJust 10 of those 45 remain in the House today: Republican Congressmen Sam Johnson, Walter Jones, Joe Pitts, Dana Rohrabacher, Jim Sensenbrenner, Pete Sessions, and myself  and Democrats John Conyers, Bobby Scott, and Maxine Waters.\nThis turned out to be one of the most popular votes I ever cast, especially with teachers.\nI have spoken well over a thousand times in schools through the years, and I voted against the bill in 2001 because I felt the teachers, principals, and parents in East Tennessee had enough common sense and intelligence to run their own schools and classrooms and didnt need Washington bureaucrats telling them what to do.\nThe No Child Left Behind law was a great overreaction to failed schools in some of our Nations biggest cities, and it needs to be replaced.\nToday, I rise in support of the Every Student Succeeds Act, so we can leave behind the No Child Left Behind law.\nThe Wall Street Journal on Monday published an editorial calling this new bill a bipartisan compromise that would be the largest devolution of federal control in a quarter-century.\nThe Paper pointed out that its far better than the status quo which would continue if nothing passes and described the bill as a rare opportunity for real reform.\nThis bill should please many conservatives because it does away with the Common Core mandate.\nThis legislation is an example of great work by my own Senator, constituent, and friend Sen. Lamar Alexander. This bill is just one of many reasons why Sen. Alexander is one of the most respected members of the Other Body, and I commend him for his efforts to improve our Nations schools.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://roe.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=397953", "Roe Votes to Replace No Child Left Behind, Stop Common Core", "2015-12-02", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Phil Roe", "R000582", "roe.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  Today, Rep. Phil Roe, M.D. (R-TN) released the following statement after voting in support of the conference report for S. 1177, the Every Student Succeeds Act: \r\n\"I've served on the House Education and Workforce Committee since coming to Congress in 2009, and have visited with hundreds of educators in and around the First Congressional District. I've also had the opportunity to speak with students and their families and a there's a common theme in our conversations: stop Common Core, get Washington bureaucrats out of our schools and let teachers and parents decide what's best for our kids. I'm proud to say that the Every Student Succeeds Act will do those important things, all while preserving conservative principles in education reform. I thank Chairmen Kline and Alexander and Ranking Members Scott and Murray for the opportunity to serve as a conferee on this important bill and for their leadership to make the education system work better for students, families and educators.\r\nMore information on the bill can be found on the House Education and Workforce Committee's website: http://edworkforce.house.gov/k12education/.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://cohen.house.gov/press-release/congressman-cohen-cites-chicago-police-shooting-house-floor", "Congressman Cohen Cites Chicago Police Shooting on House Floor", "2015-12-01", "2015", "2015-12", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "[WASHINGTON, DC]  Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), the Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice, today cited the shooting of Laquan McDonald by Chicago police on the House floor while renewing his call for a federal law to encourage states to use independent prosecutors in cases involving police use of deadly force: the Police Training and Independent Review Act (H.R. 2302). A video of Congressman Cohens full remarks can be found here.\nIn the wake of the shocking video from Chicago showing the brutal shooting of Laquan McDonald by a Chicago police officer, I rise today to encourage my colleagues to pass H.R. 2302 -- The Police Training and Independent Review Act, said Congressman Cohen. Congressman Lacy Clay and I introduced this bill earlier this year to stop local prosecutors from being tasked with investigating and prosecuting the same local police with whom they work so closely. This is an inherent conflict of interest  and what happened in Chicago is just the latest evidence that it needs to end.\nCongressman Cohenintroduced the Police Training and Independent Review Actearlier this year with Congressman Lacy Clay (MO-01, which includes Ferguson, Missouri) to encourage states to require independent investigation and, if necessary, prosecution of law enforcement officers accused of offenses involving their use of deadly force in the course of carrying out their official duties, when such force results in death or injury. To date, it has 37 cosponsors in the House, including Congressional Black Caucus Chairman G.K. Butterfield and Chicago area U.S. Representatives Bobby Rush, Danny Davis and Luis Gutierrez. The bill is also supported by the NAACP.\nIf enacted, H.R. 2302 would condition receipt of full federal Byrne-JAG funding on states adopting laws requiring the independent investigation, and if necessary prosecution, of law enforcement officers accused of offenses involving their use of deadly force in the course of carrying out their official duties when such force results in a death or injury.\nThe bill directly addresses a key recommendation included in President Obamas Taskforce on 21st Century Policings final report: (See Action Item 2.2.3in https://www.cops.usdoj.gov/pdf/taskforce/TaskForce_FinalReport.pdf -- on p. 21 of the final report): \n2.2.3 Action Item:\nThe task force encourages policies that mandate the use of external and independent prosecutors in cases of police use of force resulting in death, officer-involved shootings resulting in injury or death, or in-custody deaths.\nStrong systems and policies that encourage use of an independent prosecutor for reviewing police uses of force and for prosecution in cases of inappropriate deadly force and in-custody death will demonstrate the transparency to the public that can lead to mutual trust between community and law enforcement.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://cohen.house.gov/press-release/congressman-cohen-hosts-more-12000-constituents-during-teletown-hall-meeting-evening", "Congressman Cohen Hosts More Than 12,000 Constituents during TeleTown Hall Meeting this Evening", "2015-12-01", "2015", "2015-12", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "[WASHINGTON, DC]  Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) this evening hosted a telephone town hall to answer his constituents questions about the issues facing Tennessees Ninth Congressional District and the nation. During the telephone town hall meeting, the Congressman discussed a wide variety of issues including enrolling in the Healthcare Marketplace; improving our roads, bridges, and mass transit; fighting for increased funding for the National Institutes of Health to fight deadly diseases; helping reduce our rape kit backlog; and assisting with navigating federal agencies.\nThese town hall meetings offer Memphians and all citizens of the Ninth District yet another way to speak directly with me and share whats important to them, said Congressman Cohen. I appreciated having this opportunity to listen to the Ninth Districts perspective on the issues from veterans to prison reform as well as other issues facing our community. I also enjoyed discussing my work and legislation with more than 12,000 Memphians. Hearing the perspective, opinions and ideas of my constituents helps me best represent the Ninth District in Congress.\nThe Telephone Town Hall meeting began at 6:30PM CT and lasted roughly one hour. Since being elected to the House of Representatives in 2006, Congressman Cohen has hosted dozens of town hall meetings in his Congressional district and via telephone from Washington, D.C.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=0f55994f-7d27-4592-8b0d-2dd4eec1e57f", "Alexander: Republican Predictions Were Right: Obamacare Was an Historic Mistake", "2015-12-01", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, December 1 Five and a half years after the White House health care summit at Blair House, Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today spoke on the Senate floor to discuss what Republicans warned the president would happen if Obamacare became law  and to outline what this historic mistake of a law looks like for millions of Americans today.\r\nAlexander was asked by both then-Minority Leader Boehner and then-Minority Leader McConnell to lead in speaking on behalf of Republicans at the summit in 2010. Alexander said, I warned the president that day about the unfortunate consequences of Obamacare for millions of Americans. I told the president that Obamacare would send an unfunded Medicaid mandate to states. I said, It will cut Medicare by about half a trillion dollars and spend most of that on new programs ... It means there will be about a half trillion dollars of new taxes in it.It means that for millions of Americans, premiums will go up, because when people pay those new taxes, premiums will go up, and they will also go up because of the government mandates.\r\nI said directly to the President that instead of this partisan planpassed without the support of a single Republican in the Senatethat we Republicans were prepared to work with him to reform health care. I said to the president, We need to start over and go step by step toward the goal of reducing health care costs.\r\nSpeaking today on the Senate floor as the Senate begins debate on Obamacare repeal legislation, Alexander said that the president and congressional Democrats did not take my advice that day at Blair House  and hardly any of the advice of my Republican colleagues, for that matter  about what the disastrous outcomes of Obamacare would be.\r\nHe continued, Unfortunately, Republicans were right when we said that Obamacare would force spikes in state Medicaid spending, increase premiums and taxes, and hurt jobs.\r\nAfter outlining the disastrous impact Obamacare has had on state budgets, for business, and for millions of America families, Alexander again called on the president to work with Republicans on step by step proposals that emphasize more freedom, more choices, and lower costs.\r\nSome of the Republicans proposals Alexander mentioned include:\r\n\r\n Allowing individuals to buy a health plan in any state that meets their needs;\r\n Reducing junk lawsuits against doctors that only increase costs;\r\n Expanding Health Savings Accounts and other mechanisms that allow individuals to control how they spend their health care dollars;\r\n Returning power to the states to regulate their markets and lower costs;\r\n Allowing small businesses to assist employees in purchasing insurance and look at other ways to support employers offering health care benefits to their employees;\r\n Lowering barriers at the Food and Drug Administration so that innovative drugs and devices can get to patients faster;\r\n Putting the private sector in charge of health information technology to deliver better data and greater transparency;\r\n And ensuring that Americans with pre-existing conditions have access to affordable coverage through high-risk pools or other insurance incentives.\r\n\r\nAlexander concluded, I renew our invitation to the president, and if he doesnt accept our invitation, I extend it to our next president: Forget about party, forget about this side or that side, and side with the American people whose premiums went up, who lost plans they liked, whose Medicare has been raided, whose state budgets have been destroyed, and whose jobs have been lost. Work with Republicans in Congress to fix the damage Obamacare has done to health care in America.Work with us to replace Obamacare with real reforms that lower costs so more Americans can afford to buy insurance.\r\nThe full text of Alexanders prepared remarks is below:\r\nLet me take you back five and a half years ago to February 25, 2010, and the White House health care summit at Blair House. This is the same scene where Arthur Vandenburg met privately with George Marshall to discuss the reconstruction plan for Europe that became the Marshall plan  and the perfect setting to have a serious, bipartisan discussion about how to improve health care for millions of Americans.\r\nThirty-six members of members of Congress attended the summit to discuss the health care bill passed by Democrats  whats now known as Obamacare. We stayed there all day. It was televised continuously. Both then-Minority Leader Boehner and then-Minority Leader McConnell asked me to lead in speaking on behalf of Republicans.\r\nI said to the President that day that I was there not only to represent the views of all Republicansbut as a former governor that I would like to try to represent the views of governors as well  because they had a big stake in this. I said too that I was at the summit to represent the views of a great number of the American people who have tried to say in every way they know how  through town meetings, through surveys, through elections in Virginia and New Jersey and Massachusetts, that they oppose the health care bill that passed the Senate on Christmas Eve.\r\nI warned the president that day about the unfortunate consequences of Obamacare for millions of Americans. I told the president that Obamacare would send an unfunded Medicaid mandate to states. I said, It will cut Medicare by about half a trillion dollars and spend most of that on new programs ... It means there will be about a half trillion dollars of new taxes in it.It means that for millions of Americans, premiums will go up, because when people pay those new taxes, premiums will go up, and they will also go up because of the government mandates.\r\nI said directly to the President that instead of this partisan planpassed without the support of a single Republican in the Senatethat we Republicans were prepared to work with him to reform health care. I said to the president, We need to start over and go step by step toward the goal of reducing health care costs. I said this means working together the way General Marshall and Senator Vandenberg did....And it means going step by step together to re-earn the trust of the American people.\r\nThe President and congressional Democrats did not take my advice that day at Blair House  and hardly any of the advice of my Republican colleagues, for that matter  about what the disastrous outcomes of Obamacare would be  and more than five years after the law was passed and nearly two years into its implementation, we can say one thing without question: The unfortunate reality for the American people struggling with Obamacare is that Republicans were right. Obamacare was an historic mistake.\r\nRepublicans agreed with the president and his party that our health care system was broken and needed to be fixed. But we argued the president was moving in exactly the wrong direction to fix it.\r\nWhat Obamacare did was expand a broken system everybody already knew was too expensive. Republicans said so at that February 2010 summit, and the facts today show we were right.\r\nLets take a closer look at what Republicans predicted six years ago  and what unfortunately came true.\r\nLets also take a look at what Democrats predicted back thenor better put: what they promisedand which of their predictions and promises came true.\r\nLets go through them one by one.\r\nFirst: Medicaid.\r\nDuring my opening speech at Blair House, I said, Nothing used to make me madder as a governor than when Washington politicians would get together, pass a bill, take credit for it, and send me the bill to pay. Thats exactly what this does, with the expansion of Medicaid. In addition, it dumps 15 to 18 million low-income Americans into a Medicaid program that none of us want to be a part of, because 50 percent of doctors won't see new patients.So its like giving someone a ticket to a bus line where the buses only run half the time.\r\nMedicaid had already always been one of the federal governments biggest unfunded mandates on statesand expanding that mandate would only wreak more havoc on state budgets that, especially at the time, during the height of the recession, were already struggling. Former Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesena Democratsaid the proposed Medicaid expansion under Obamacare would represent the mother of all unfunded mandates.\r\nWhen I was governor, Medicaid only made up about 8 percent of Tennessees state budget. By last year, it was 30.6 percent. States paying more and more to expand Medicaid means less to spend on other priorities like higher education, roads, and law enforcement. In 2012, I said that over the prior ten years, Tennessees Medicaid costs had gone up 43 percent, forcing the state to decrease its funding to colleges and universities by 11 percent. As a result, tuition went up 120 percent over those ten years.\r\nAccording to the Congressional Budget Office, the law adds 14 million new beneficiaries to struggling state Medicaid programs by 2025at an extra cost of $46 billion to states and $847 billion to federal taxpayers by 2025.\r\nAnd why is that so bad? I said at the time and its still true todayMedicaids reimbursement rates are so low that only about half of doctors will even see Medicaid patients and many of those arent accepting new ones. Its not hard to see why expanding a failed program isnt good for Americans.\r\nAnd another thing to consider is that states still haven't yet had to pay for covering new Medicaid enrollees under the expansion. The federal government promised to pay 100 percent for the first few years. But starting in 2017, states will have to start paying 5 percent, and eventually up to ten percent by 2020.\r\nThat may not seem like very much in Washington terms, but it can mean a lot to states. States may have to start raising income taxes or gas taxesor find some other way to find the moneybut regardless of how its paid for, expanding Medicaid puts a huge dent in state budgets. Does that mean less money for teachers salaries? Does that mean tuition is going to have to be higher at community colleges and state universities?\r\nTennessee hasnt expanded Medicaid, but in its proposal to expand the program called Insure Tennessee, Governor Haslam anticipated an additional $35.6 million in costs to the state in 2017.\r\nIn Illinois, Medicaid expansion will cost the state $208.6 million in 2020  according to projections from Gov. Bruce Rauners administration.\r\nAnother example is Kentucky. Under Kentuckys expansion, the state will have to pay $74 million in 2017 and an estimated $363 million in 2021. Governor-elect Bevin hasnt started looking for ways to pay for that huge increase because he plans to repeal the states expansion, and if you look at the figures, you may begin to understand why he may be considering a repealrather than raising taxes on Kentuckians. \r\nSo we were right about Obamacares enormous impact on Medicaid and in turn Medicaids huge, negative effect on state budgets.\r\nSecond: higher premiums.\r\nWhen my turn came at the White House summit, I said directly the president that the Congressional Budget office report says that premiums will rise in the individual market as a result of Obamacare.\r\nThe president said I was wrong about that.\r\nA little bit later that day, I gave the president a letter showing that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office had, in fact, said in a letter to then-Senator Bayh, also a Democrat, that CBO and [the Joint Committee on Taxation] estimate that the average premium per person covered (including dependents) for new nongroup policies would be about 10 percent to 13 percent higher in 2016 than the average for nongroup coverage in that same year under current law.\r\nIn that same letter, I reminded the president that his own chief actuary for the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services agreed with the CBO, saying that the fees in the presidents proposed law would generally be passed through to health consumers in the form of higher drug and device prices and higher insurance premiums.\r\nYou might be thinking the law turned out better than the Congressional Budget Office, the Joint Committee on Taxation, and the chief actuary for CMS predicted, and that health insurance premiums went down, not up.\r\nBut sadly, thats not the case. We were right about Obamacares higher premiums for Americans with individual health care plans:\r\nWere talking about 15.6 million Americans who purchase these plans. These are policies that individual Americans buy for themselves. Again, 15.6 million Americans  and the cost of these plans is going through the roof.\r\nOn June 1 of this year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that nearly 700 individual and small group health plans in 41 states plus the District of Columbia requested double-digit premium increases for 2016. In my home state, after already seeing some of the largest premium increases in the country in 2015, Tennesseans will now face a rate hike in 2016 of more than 36 percent for the states most popular health insurance plan.\r\nIn Maryland, the largest insurance provider in the state will increase premium rates by up to 26 percent for Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) subscribers, and nearly 20 percent for Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) subscribers.\r\nOn average, 2016 premium increases for Oregons biggest insurer on the states health exchange will be over 25 percent, and for some smaller providers the increase will be over 30 percent.\r\nIn 2016, South Dakotans will pay as much as 63 percent more for health insurance through the exchange.\r\nThe list of states experiencing health premium spikes goes on.\r\nA recent report by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that in 2014, individual health insurance market premiums grew by 24.4 percent on average compared to what they would have been without Obamacare.\r\nAnd going back to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office that predicted back in 2010 that the proposed law would increase premiums: The CBO recently predicted that the premiums on the Obamacare exchange will increase by 6 percent, on average, every year between 2016 and 2024.\r\nAnd yet, five and a half years ago, the president and congressional Democrats told Republicans time and time again during the debate that we were wrong, that their law would decrease premiums  when in fact, our predictions, the administrations own estimates, estimates from the National Bureau of Economic Research and the nonpartisan CBO all confirm premiums are going through the roof.\r\nThird, Republicans said Obamacare would increase taxes.\r\nObamacare added 21 tax increases to the tax code, totaling over a trillion dollars over ten years, according to the Congressional Budget Officea dozen of whichtarget middle-income Americans, in clear violation of the Presidents pledge to avoid tax hikes on these individuals and families.\r\nOur fourth prediction also came true: We said Obamacare would cost jobs.\r\nSome time ago I met with a large group of chief executive officers of restaurant companies in America. The service and hospitality industries are the largest employers in America. Restaurant companies are the largest employer of low-income, young, usually minority people.\r\nIn that meeting, the chief executive officer of Ruby Tuesday, Incorporated, which has about 800 restaurants, said to me -- and he didn't mind being quoted -- that the cost to his company of implementing the new health care law would equal his entire profit for the company last year and that he wouldn't build anymore new restaurants in the United States as a result of that.\r\nAnother, even larger restaurant company, said because of their analysis of the law, instead of operating their stores with 90 employees, they would try to offer it through stores with 70 employees. So that means fewer employees, and it means fewer employees receiving employer health care.\r\nMore recently, another family franchise business  which employs 550 people and operates under the name of a well-known brandtold me we have already begun cutting the hours of our employees to get well below the 30 hour thresh hold, and all of our new job postings are for part time positions only.Adjusting the hours of our current employees has had a dramatic impact on the employee employer relationship, causing the loss of other fringe benefits such as loss [or] reduction of vacation eligibility, reduction [or] elimination of discretionary bonus programs, and an increase in the loss of eligibility [and] participation in 401(k) retirement programs. These are all unintended consequences of the decisions employers have had to make due to themandate.  Without a change in the law, the costs of health care will exceed our net profit, regardless of whether we cover our employees or pay the penalty, and small businesses cannot absorb these costs.\r\nThese are just a few examples of whats basic economics.\r\nIf you heap costs on employers, they have less money to expand, less money to hire more American workers. You heap even higher costs on employers, employers might need to cut employees hours to pay those costs. You heap still higher costs on employers, they might need to lay off employees.\r\nWeve seen all three as a result of the employer mandate that says employers with more than 50 full-time employees need to provide health insurance. Whats more: Obamacare went a step further and for the first time in our history defined full time as more than 30 hours a week, increasing the number of employees subject to Obamacares employer mandate.\r\nWhat followed, anyone could have predictedand Republicans did so all throughout the debate.\r\nBecause providing health care costs a lot of money, employers started to decrease their employees hours from 35 or 40 to 29 or fewer in order to decrease their number of full-time employees subject to Obamacare.\r\nThey didnt do this for ideological or political reasons. These employers are running businesses, not trying to make a political point.\r\nIf what an employer takes in doesnt exceed what the employer expends, the businesses wont last long. And in whats been a struggling economy since the 2008 crash in no small part because of the presidents failed economic policies, many employers have struggled to deal with the added costs Obamacare imposed on their businesses.\r\nThe Congressional Budget Office has projected that Obamacare will result in 2 million fewer full-time jobs in 2017 and 2.5 million fewer full-time jobs by 2024. At least 450 employers across the nation, including 100 school districts, have said Obamacare forced them to cut positions or reduce worker hours. The National Federation of Independent Business estimates that Obamacares $100 billion tax on health insurance will eliminate between 152,000 and 286,000 private sector jobs between 2014 and 2023.\r\nNow, weve been over what Republicans said would happen years agothat Medicaid would destroy state budgets, that premiums and taxes would go up, and that jobs would be lost.\r\nThis has all, unfortunately, come true.\r\nLets now look at what the president and congressional Democrats promised about their own law. Were they right or wrong?\r\nThe most famous, or infamous, promise, which Politifact named the 2013 Lie of the Year, was the presidents: If you like your plan, you can keep it.\r\nMillions of Americans learned very quickly when Obamacare was fully implemented in 2014 that they wouldnt be able to keep the plans they liked.\r\nIn October 2013, I received a letter from a woman, Emilie, who lives in Middle Tennessee who was one of 16,000 Tennesseans who is part of another plan called CoverTN. She is losing her policy.\r\nThe letter reads:\r\nI am 39 year old single woman with a chronic illness, Lupus. I worked my way through college. \r\nAs a person with a chronic illness that was deemed uninsurable, the only way I was able to obtain health insurance was through an employer based program called CoverTN...Although some call it a minimal coverage plan, it has been stellar AND affordable...I was excited to hear about the Affordable Health Care Act. I was glad to hear that \"uninsurables\" could no longer be denied coverage...unfortunately [that] is NOT TRUE.\r\nI cannot keep my current plan because it does not meet the standards of coverage. This alone is a travesty. CoverTN has been a lifeline.\r\nWith the discontinuation of CoverTN, I am being forced to purchase a plan...that will increase [my costs] by a staggering 410%. My out of pocket expense will increase by more than $6,000.00 a year. Please help me understand how this is affordable.\r\nI beg of you to continue the fight for those, like me, who would only ask to be allowed to continue to have what we already enjoy. A fair health insurance plan at a fair price.\r\nThat is from Emilie, and we could spend all day telling stories of Americans who liked their health care plans but werent able to keep them under Obamacare. In November 2013, it looked as if nearly 5 million Americans in 32 states were going to lose their coverage beginning in January 2014. The administration then made a series of last-minute, regulatory fixes in 2013 and 2014  but many Americans  like Emilie  still lost their plans and were forced to go shopping for something else.\r\nThe president also said: Medicare is a government program. But dont worry: Im not going to touch it.\r\nThe problem with that statement is: He touched Medicare in a big, big way. His health care law raids $700 billion from Medicare in order to finance Obamacare.\r\nDuring debate over Obamacare in 2009, I said Obamacare would cut grandma's Medicare to spend on somebody other than grandma -- a new entitlement program. Obamacare, I said, would do that at a time when the Medicare Program  is going broke. ... The Medicare trustees -- it is their job to watch out for these things -- said: We need timely and effective action to address Medicare financial challenges. I think what they are saying to us is if you are going to cut grandma's Medicare, you ought to at least spend it on grandma instead of spending it on somebody else. End quote.\r\nAgain, the president went against the promise he repeated over and over again and raided a program that serves more than 55 million older Americans.\r\nIn summary, unfortunately, Republicans were right when we said that Obamacare would force spikes in state Medicaid spending, increase premiums and taxes, and hurt jobs.\r\nAnd as right as Republicans were about how bad Obamacare would be for the American people, Democrats were equally as wrong about what they said throughout the debate that their law would allow Americans to keep the health plans they liked and that Medicare wouldnt be affected.\r\nAnd finally, an important point about how none of this had to happen. We all agreed the health care system needed to be fixed. So how did we end up with a law that has only made things worse?\r\nWell, one big reason is: the debate over Obamacare in the Senate wasnt really a debate. If it had been, we might not find ourselves in this mess today.\r\nThen-Majority Leader Harry Reid had a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate and seemed to think that meant Republicans didnt have any ideas worth considering.Rather than to listen to Republicans, or to the majority of Americans who opposed the directionPresident Obama and the Democratic majority were planning to take our health care system,theywrote their bill behind closed doors and on Christmas Eve unveiled a bill filled to the brim with items from each Democratic members wish list.\r\nAlong with our warnings throughout the Obamacare debate, we offered plenty of thoughtful ideas to fix our health care system in a way that would lower costs and expand access while making sure patients didnt lose control over their own health care.\r\nBut Democrats also had a majority in the House, as well as a president in the White House who also didnt think he had to listen to, let alone work with, Republicans in Congress who were also elected to represent their constituents.\r\nOur predictions, which turned out to be true, and our ideas, which would have worked, unfortunately for the American people all fell on deaf ears.\r\nNow Ive spent enough time saying We told you so.\r\nWhat next? What do Republicans offer the American people?\r\nIf Republicans were right about Obamacare being an historic mistake, Id like to say we were also right about what we should have done instead to fix our broken health care system. And we should be trusted to fix the mess Obamacare has left us.\r\nThroughout the Obamacare debate, Leader McConnell, who was the minority leader at the time, was criticized for not coming up with a comprehensive plan of his own. We told the president and congressional Democrats not to hold their breath for Leader McConnell to roll a wheelbarrow onto the Senate floor with a twenty-seven-hundred-page bill of his own, because thats not how Republicans believed we could best fix the problems with our health care system.\r\nWe suggested a step-by-step approach to address each of the problems our health care system faced.\r\nThose waiting for Leader McConnell to do so now, to roll onto the Senate floor a wheelbarrow with a bill thousands of pages long to replace Obamacare, are again advised not to hold their breath.\r\nIf Democrats are saying that Republicans dont have a twenty-seven-hundred-page plan that increases premiums, decreases choice of doctors, hurts jobs, and raids Medicare to pay for a new entitlement, theyre exactly right.\r\nThats because Americans have been loud and clear that they dont want that.\r\nThe wisest course is to repeal Obamacare and replace it step by step with solutions that lower health care costs.\r\nThis approach to health reform is not something that Republicans cooked up yesterday or the day before. In fact, if you will examine the Congressional Record you will find Republican senators proposed a step-by-step approach to confronting our nations health care and other challenges 173 different times on the floor of the Senate during 2009.\r\nI hope the president will listen to us and work with us on some of the ideas we presented to the American people at Blair House six years ago and the ideas that we continue to offer to take us step by step in a different direction -- one that emphasizes more freedom, more choices, and lower costs:\r\nWe should allow individuals to buy a health plan in any state that meets their needs. There is no reason to force Americans to purchase federally mandated plans with benefits they dont want and cant afford. Health reform should be about expanding access to lower-cost plans, not increasing the cost of insurance.\r\nWe should reduce junk lawsuits against doctors that only increase costs.\r\nWe should expand Health Savings Accounts and other mechanisms that allow individuals to control how they spend their health care dollars.\r\nWe should return power to the states to regulate their markets and lower costs. States are the laboratories of democracy and need to be given the freedom to develop systems to drive competition, not be subject to one-size-fits-all rules.\r\nWe should allow small businesses to assist employees in purchasing insurance and look at other ways to support employers offering health care benefits to their employees\r\nWe should lower barriers at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) so that innovative drugs and devices can get to patients faster.\r\nWe should put the private sector in charge of health information technology to deliver better data and greater transparency.\r\nWe should ensure that Americans with pre-existing conditions have access to affordable coverage through high-risk pools or other insurance incentives.\r\nAnd there certainly are other ideas we can work on in a bipartisan way to lower costs, increase access, and put patients back in charge of their own health care.\r\nThis week, were talking about repealing Obamacare. But for the last six years weve been talking about a completely different path of providing health care at a lower cost to more Americans. Those steps that Republicans outlined in 2009 and 2010 and 2011 are the same kinds of steps that we should be taking today.\r\nIve been saying since 2009 that the problem with Obamacare was that we deliberately expanded a health care delivery system that already cost too much  instead of moving step by step to create a system where millions more Americans had choices of plans that fit their needs and fit their budgets.\r\nAnd the way we should accomplish this is the same way we passed Medicare, passed Social Security, passed the Civil Rights Act  and in the way we hopefully will pass a broad reauthorization to fix No Child Left Behind. None of this is done by cramming a bill down the throats of the American people with 60 votes in the middle of a snowstorm on Christmas Eve.\r\nI renew our invitation to the president, and if he doesnt accept our invitation, I extend it to our next president: Forget about party, forget about this side or that side, and side with the American people whose premiums went up, who lost plans they liked, whose Medicare has been raided, whose state budgets have been destroyed, and whose jobs have been lost. Work with Republicans in Congress to fix the damage Obamacare has done to health care in America.Work with us to replace Obamacare with real reforms that lower costs so more Americans can afford to buy insurance.\r\n# # #\r\n\r\nFor access to this release and the senators other statements, click here.\r\nTo stay up-to-date on the senators latest actions, follow him on Twitter and YouTube.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://cohen.house.gov/press-release/cohen-bill-increase-government-transparency-passes-house", "Cohen Bill to Increase Government Transparency Passes House", "2015-11-30", "2015", "2015-11", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "[Washington, D.C.]  The House of Representatives today passed by voice vote the Open Book on Equal Access to Justice Act (H.R. 3279), legislation introduced by Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), Congressman Doug Collins (R-GA), and Congressman Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) to increase transparency and give the public access to information about federal payments awarded under theEqual Access to Justice Act(EAJA).\nTransparency will enable ordinary citizens such as veterans, seniors, small business owners, and advocates for clean air and clean water to fight unfair or illegal government action without fear of court costs, said Congressman Cohen. I am glad our bipartisan Open Book on Equal Access to Justice Act passed the House and I hope the Senate will follow suit.\nCongress enacted EAJA in 1980 to allow Americans to recover attorneys fees and costs associated with lawsuits against the federal government. In 1995, however, an important reporting requirement was removed. The Open Book on Equal Access to Justice Act reinstates the laws tracking and reporting requirements of payments awarded by the federal government. Specifically, it requires every federal agency to begin tracking EAJA payments again, and tasks the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS) with compiling that data.\nRepresentatives Cohen, Collins, and Lummis were joined by Representatives Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Collin Peterson (D-MN) and Kurt Shrader (D-OR) in introducing the Open Book on Equal Access to Justice Act earlier this year.\nBackground on the Open Book on Equal Access to Justice Act\n In 1980 Congress passed the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) as a means to help individuals, retirees, veterans, and small businesses recover attorneys fees and costs associated with suing or defending against the federal government. Congress intended EAJA to remove a barrier to justice for those with limited access to the resources it takes to sue or defend against the federal government.\n  The EAJA established two methods by which individuals or groups could recover the costs of suing the federal government.\n  The first method is through agency proceedings, codified under Title 5, Section 504 of U.S. Code. It provides payments for adjudicatory proceedings within the agency themselves, as opposed to courts proceedings.\n  The EAJA required the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS) to track these payments and report on them to Congress.\n  In 1994, Congress defunded ACUS without transferring the responsibility of tracking EAJA payments to another agency.\n  The second method to recover EAJA fees is through court proceedings, codified in Title 28, Section 2412(d) of U.S. Code.\n  The EAJA directed the Department of Justice to track these payments and report them to Congress.\n  In 1994, The Paperwork Reduction Act eliminated the DOJs tracking and reporting responsibility for EAJA payments.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://roe.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=397950", "Roe Spends Thanksgiving in Afghanistan", "2015-11-30", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Phil Roe", "R000582", "roe.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. Rep. Phil Roe, M.D. (R-TN) spent the Thanksgiving holiday visiting with soldiers in Afghanistan. Roe was part of a bipartisan delegation that included the following members: Reps. Beto ORourke (D-TX), Mark Takano (D-CA), Mike Coffman (R-CO), Ann McLane Kuster (D-NH) and Dr. Ralph Abraham (R-LA). While the Congressman was abroad, he was briefed on the status of the U.S. mission and met with President Ghani. \r\nRoe released the following statement on the visit: \r\n\"It was an honor to spend Thanksgiving with our troops in Afghanistan, and to hear about the progress were making in the country. I am extremely grateful to our soldiers for their service and for welcoming us with so much pride and hospitality. These brave men and women put themselves in harms way every day, and I couldnt be prouder of their caliber. I also appreciate President Ghani taking the time to meet with us and for hosting us at the presidential palace.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=e97f9c74-f00f-4c0f-a13f-5b5deac8d5d7", "Alexander Statement on NGA Endorsement of Every Student Succeeds Act", "2015-11-30", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, November 30  U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate education committee, released the following statement on the National Governors Associations full endorsement of the Every Student Succeeds Act:\r\nThe National Governors Association's full endorsement of our bipartisan legislation to fix No Child Left Behindthe group's first such endorsement of any federal legislation in nearly 20 yearsis of huge significance. It is one more sign that there is a consensus that everyone wants this law fixedgovernors, teachers, parents, Republicans and Democrats. It also confirms that there is a consensus about how to fix it: by continuing the laws important measures of academic progress of students but restoring to states, school districts, classroom teachers, and parents the responsibility for deciding what to do about improving student achievement.\r\n###\r\nFor access to this release and the senators other statements, click here.\r\nTo stay up-to-date on the senators latest actions, follow him on Twitter and YouTube.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://cohen.house.gov/have-safe-and-happy-thanksgiving", "Have a Safe and Happy Thanksgiving!", "2015-11-25", "2015", "2015-11", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Dear Friend,\nThanksgiving is a time for us to gather with our families and loved ones and pause to count our blessings. As we enjoy our Thanksgiving meals, we should remember those who are not as fortunate and those who remain in need. We should also all remember those who cannot be with their families because they are protecting our country overseas, as well as those veterans who have done so in the past.I hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving! Go Tigers! Go Grizz!\nFollow me on TwitterandFacebookto see updates in Congress as they happen. Join My Telephone Town Hall on Monday, November 30th  \n\tHelping Memphians Get Covered  \n\tBringing Congress to your Corner  \n\t2016 U.S. Capitol Historical Society Calendars Are Available\nJoin My Telephone Town Hall on Monday, November 30th\nOn Monday evening, November 30th, at 6:30PM CT I will host a telephone town hall to answer your questions and discuss a variety of topics you feel are important to Tennessees 9th District. If you would like to participate in this telephone town hall on Monday, November 30th, please fill out the formhere with your home phone number  unfortunately, we are unable to call cell phones.\nHelping Memphians Get Covered\nTheHealthCare.govinsurance marketplace has opened for 2016 plan shopping and comparisons. While the current shopping period runs until January 31, 2016, December 15, 2015 is the deadline to enroll in coverage that will take effect on January 1, 2016. You can visithttps://bit.ly/hcSavingsto see if you qualify for tax credits that will be applied as discounts on your monthly insurance premium. If you already have insurance coverage through the HealthCare.govmarketplace, your plan will be automatically renewed for 2016, but you should still visit HealthCare.govto update your information, ensure you receive the full tax credit to which you are entitled, and review new options as cheaper insurance plans that better fit your needs may now be available.\nIf you are on Medicare or your employer offers qualified health insurance in which you are enrolled, you're already covered and won't need to enter the Marketplace for your health coverage. If you aren't sure whether or not you should use the Marketplace to get insurance, call the Marketplace Hotline at (800) 318-2596, visitHealthCare.gov, or call the healthcare navigator Seedco at (901) 255-2955. You can also call my office at (901) 544-4131 or the Marketplace Hotline to find out if TennCare (Tennessee's Medicaid program) is a coverage option for you.\nBringing Congress to your Corner\nOn Friday, December 11 from 12pm to 2pm, my office will hold Congress on your Corner office hours at the Orange Mound Community Center at 2572 Park Ave. If you have questions or problems with Social Security, Medicare, FHA, the VA or any other federal agencies, my staff will be on hand to answer questions and provide assistance. We hope you can make it.\n2016 U.S. Capitol Historical Society Calendars Are Available\nMy office currently has a limited number of 2016 U.S. Capitol Historical Society calendars available. If you would like to receive a calendar, please complete this form on my website. Due to the rules of the House, I am only able to mail calendars to residents of Tennessees 9th District. Please feel free to share this email with other residents of the 9th District who may be interested in receiving one but who do not receive my eNewsletter.\n\nAs always, I remain.  \n\tMost sincerely,    \n\tSteve Cohen  \n\tMember of Congress", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://cooper.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/cooper-behind-drive-to-fund-nashville-courthouse-0", "Cooper Behind Drive to Fund Nashville Courthouse", "2015-11-24", "2015", "2015-11", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Jim Cooper", "C000754", "cooper.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON  U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper (TN-05) headed a congressional effort this month to fund a new federal courthouse in Nashville.\nLed by Cooper, the Congressional Courthouse Caucus and much of Tennessees congressional delegation sent separate letters to the top Members of the House Appropriations Committee, which determines how money is allocated to federal projects.\nWe are all very sensitive to the funding challenges you face in tight budgetary times, but conditions have been deteriorating in federal courthouses for decades, Cooper wrote. Nowhere is this more apparent than Nashville, where weve reached a critical situation.\nFor the first time, Nashvilles need for a courthouse was included in President Obamas FY 2016 budget; it also was listed in the Senates FY 2016 appropriations bill. The existing Estes Kefauver Federal Courthouse was first deemed inadequate in 1992, and Nashville tops the Judicial Conferences national list of priorities for courthouse construction.\nIn 2002, the federal government selected the downtown property on Church Street as the site of the new building and purchased the parcels making up the site from 2002-2005. Since then, further studies and the lack of funding have delayed construction on any new federal courthouse.\nCooper was a founding member of the Congressional Courthouse Caucus, which was formed to address the urgent need for functional, secure courthouses around the country. Cooper has written to President Obama and Members of the House Appropriations Committee several times asking them to prioritize courthouse funding.Cooper has also met with the General Services Administration regarding the public safety hazard that sits atop the site designated for Nashvilles new courthouse, urging its immediate demolition.\nThe letters are attached here and here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://blackburn.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=397845", "Blackburn Working to Block Regulatory Overreach of the FCC", "2015-11-20", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Marsha Blackburn", "B001243", "blackburn.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Actions taken by the FCC over the last several months have raised issues of transparency, accountability, and regulatory humility. \r\nFrom Net Neutrality to the Commissions potential entry as an online privacy regulator, Congress continues to be discouraged by Commission policies, which are seen as picking winners and losers and hurting consumers.\r\nSpecifically, I continue to be troubled by the FCCs decision to pre-empt state laws in Tennessee and North Carolina that restrict municipal entry into broadband markets  a position even the DOJ found it could not support. Such decisions have financial consequences for state taxpayers and should be left to their elected representatives.\r\nOn November 17th the House Energy and Commerce Committee Subcommittee on Communications and Technology held an oversight hearing on the FCC. Full video of the hearing is here. \r\nAdditionally, Im leading an amicus brief, signed by 23 of my colleagues, asking the D.C. Court of Appeals to strike the net neutrality regulations down. The court will hold oral arguments on December 4th and we look forward to a decision expected in the first months of 2016. \r\nRate regulation is a tremendous concern as are increased fees, the loss of liberty, and the pre-empting of free speech. These concerns deserve a thorough examination. For more information, click here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://cohen.house.gov/fighting-justice", "Fighting for Justice", "2015-11-20", "2015", "2015-11", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Dear Friend,\nThis week, I spoke with U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch about the Darrius Stewart case and our nations misguided drug laws at a House Judiciary Hearing, fought to keep my paratransit amendment in the highway bill during the House-Senate Conference Committee, spoke out against the Republican bill to effectively end the U.S. refugee programs for Syrians and Iraqis, and introduced a bill to protect our veterans and service members from the for-profit college industrys predatory marketing campaigns. Keep reading to learn more or follow me on TwitterandFacebookto see these updates as they happen.\nFighting for Justice  Serving on the Highway Bill Conference Committee  Keeping America Safe  Reforming our Nations Drug Laws  Fighting for NIH Funding  Protecting our Veterans  Honoring Willie Nelson  Join My Telephone Town Hall on Monday, November 30th  Helping Memphians Get Covered  Bringing Congress to your Corner  2016 U.S. Capitol Historical Society Calendars Are Available\nFighting for Justice\nAt a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, I again asked U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to open a federal investigation into the shooting death of Darrius Stewart to see if any civil rights laws were violated. Ive written to her about this before, but I appreciated the opportunity to ask her about it in person this week. I also asked her if she would work to reschedule marijuana from a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act, a category that is otherwise reserved for only the most dangerous and highly-addictive drugs like heroin and LSD, and prioritize federal enforcement efforts based on which drugs pose the highest risk to public safety. Finally, I asked her about the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) which is used to discriminate against those in the LGBT community. You can watch my questions for Attorney General Lynch here.\nServing on the Highway Bill Conference Committee\nOn Wednesday, I participated in the House-Senate Conference Committee for the federal highway funding bill. As the Congressman for one of our nations largest transportation hubs, I voiced my support for higher funding levels to improve Americas roads, bridges, and mass transit. I also pushed to keep my amendment to encourage local transit agencies to ensure their systems are safely and effectively supporting the mobility of people with disabilities. Furthermore, I spoke insupport of a provision to make transit-oriented development infrastructure projects eligible for financing under the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) program. Transitoriented developments, walkable communities near reliable transit service, create benefits for the whole community. Demand for living near transit is projected to double over the next 20 years and, to meet this demand, significant new development near transit stations will be needed. I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues in the House and Senate to finalize a long-term surface transportation bill. You can view my committee speech here.\nKeeping America Safe\nOn Thursday, I spoke on the House floor against the Republican bill to shut down our refugee program for Iraqi and Syrian refugees. As a Member of Congress, my first responsibility is to protect the American people and do everything it takes to keep our country safe. We must ensure that not only refugees from Syria and Iraq, but also refugees from every country are subject to a rigorous screening process that ensures no terrorist or criminals are allowed access to the United States. We can do this while also maintaining our core humanitarian values. The House bill passed on Thursday was instead nothing more thana political attack on President Obama and did nothing to make us safer from terrorist or criminal threats. The House should work in a bipartisan fashion to appropriately address loop holes in our current visa programs, including the visa waiver program, which is much more likely to threaten our national security, as well as stop individuals on the terrorist watch list from obtaining guns and explosives. You can view my floor speech here.\nReforming our Nations Drug Laws\nOn Wednesday, I addressed members of the Drug Policy Alliance during their 2015 Captiol Hill lobbying day. The war on drugs has failed. Every second we spend trying to enforce marijuana possession laws is a moment that were not enforcing laws meant to protect Americans from the ravages of drugs like heroin, meth, and opioids. Thats where our priority should be.It is ludicrous to classify marijuana on the same level as heroin and LSD. There is a cultural lag in this country, and Congress and this Administration must fix it. As long as marijuana remains a Schedule I drug, the FDA is extremely limited in its research on the medical value of marijuana and its effect on people. My constituent, Chloe Grauer, passed away last year from her seizures because she could not get access to Charlottes Web, a non-psychoactive oil from the marijuana plant. More research needs to be done on marijuanas effects on childhood epilepsy, cancer, muscular dystrophy, glaucoma, and extreme pain. \nFighting for NIH Funding\nIn case you missed my opinion editorial forthe Commercial Appealon the need for increased funding for theNational Institutes of Health (NIH)to help find cures and treatments for deadly diseases, you can read it here. The NIH is our nations personal Department of Defense for Americas health and Congress must increase its funding.\nProtecting our Veterans\nOn Thursday, I introduced the bipartisanProtecting Our Students and Taxpayers (POST) Act with my colleague Congressman Walter B. Jones (R-NC). This bill would help put an end to the for-profit college industrys predatory marketing campaigns and aggressive recruiting of veterans, servicemembers and their families. Too often, these schools fail in their duty to adequately prepare graduates for jobs that will allow them to repay those loans, leaving taxpayers to foot the bill. \nIt would also eliminate the loophole that allows these proprietary companies to receive more than 90% of their revenue from the federal government. This loophole encourages bad behavior that weighs down our nations heroes with mountains of debt and few career prospects while lining the pockets of wealthy for-profit investors with taxpayer money. Simply put, this is unacceptable. We are entrusted with spending our monies efficiently and wisely, but too many for-profit colleges do not meet that test.\nSenators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Jack Reed (D-RI) have also introduced a companion bill in the U.S. Senate.\nHonoring Willie Nelson\nOn Wednesday, I attended an award ceremony and tribute concert hosted by the Library of Congress in honor of Willie Nelson receiving the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. After the concert, I had the opportunity to speak to Willie Nelson about our mutual friends and legislative issues before Congress. Neil Young, Paul Simon, Buckwheat Zydeco, Leon Bridges and others also shared the stage with Willie Nelson to pay tribute to the legend. The award ceremony and tribute concert will air on PBS on January 15 at 8pm CT.\nJoin My Telephone Town Hall on Monday, November 30th\nOn Monday evening, November 30th, at 6:30PM CT I will host a telephone town hall to answer your questions and discuss a variety of topics you feel are important to Tennessees 9th District. If you would like to participate in this telephone town hall on Monday, November 30th, please fill out the formhere with your home phone number  unfortunately, we are unable to call cell phones.\nHelping Memphians Get Covered\nTheHealthCare.govinsurance marketplace has opened for 2016 plan shopping and comparisons. While the current shopping period runs until January 31, 2016, December 15, 2015 is the deadline to enroll in coverage that will take effect on January 1, 2016. You can visithttps://bit.ly/hcSavingsto see if you qualify for tax credits that will be applied as discounts on your monthly insurance premium. If you already have insurance coverage through the HealthCare.govmarketplace, your plan will be automatically renewed for 2016 but you should still visit HealthCare.govto update your information, ensure you receive the full tax credit to which you are entitled, and review new options as cheaper insurance plans that better fit your needs may now be available.\nIf you are on Medicare or your employer offers qualified health insurance in which you are enrolled, you're already covered and won't need to enter the Marketplace for your health coverage. If you aren't sure whether or not you should use the Marketplace to get insurance, call the Marketplace Hotline at (800) 318-2596, visitHealthCare.gov, or call the healthcare navigator Seedco at (901) 255-2955. You can also call my office at (901) 544-4131 or the Marketplace Hotline to find out if TennCare (Tennessee's Medicaid program) is a coverage option for you.\nBringing Congress to your Corner\nThanks to all who came by Congress on your Corner at the Whitehaven Branch Library today. On Friday, December 11 from 12pm to 2pm, my office will hold Congress on your Corner office hours at the Orange Mound Community Center at 2572 Park Ave. If you have questions or problems with Social Security, Medicare, FHA, the VA or any other federal agencies, my staff will be on hand to answer questions and provide assistance. We hope you can make it.\n2016 U.S. Capitol Historical Society Calendars Are Available\nMy office currently has a limited number of 2016 U.S. Capitol Historical Society calendars available. If you would like to receive a calendar, please complete this form on my website. Due to the rules of the House, I am only able to mail calendars to residents of Tennessees Ninth District. Please feel free to share this email with other residents of the Ninth District who may be interested in receiving one but who do not receive my eNewsletter.\n\nAs always, I remain.  \n\tMost sincerely,    \n\tSteve Cohen  \n\tMember of Congress", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://cohen.house.gov/press-release/cohen-jones-durbin-congress-should-end-loophole-encourages-profit-colleges-target", "Cohen, Jones, Durbin: Congress Should End Loophole that Encourages For-Profit Colleges to Target Veterans & Servicemembers", "2015-11-20", "2015", "2015-11", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "[WASHINGTON, D.C.]  Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN), Congressman Walter B. Jones (R-NC) yesterday introduced bipartisan legislation that would help put an end to the for-profit college industrys predatory marketing campaigns and aggressive recruiting of veterans, servicemembers and their families.TheProtecting Our Students and Taxpayers (POST) Act, which U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Jack Reed (D-RI) have also introduced in the Senate, would eliminate the loophole that allows these proprietary companies to receive more than 90% of their revenue from the federal government.\nFor-profit colleges can receive overwhelming majorities of their revenue up to 90%from federal sources such as student loans,said Congressman Cohen.Too often, these schools fail in their duty to adequately prepare graduates for jobs that will allow them to repay those loans, leaving taxpayers to foot the bill. Even worse, a loophole in current law allows unscrupulous colleges to receive even more federal funds by enrolling veterans and servicemembers. This loophole encourages bad behavior that weighs down our nations heroes with mountains of debt and few career prospects while lining the pockets of wealthy for-profit investors with taxpayer money. Simply put, this is unacceptable. We are entrusted with spending our monies efficiently and wisely, but too many for-profit colleges do not meet that test. I am glad to be working with Senator Durbin and Congressman Jones to close this loophole, encourage for-profit colleges to provide better educations, and protect American taxpayers.\nWe need to make sure that colleges arent exploiting veterans and taking advantage of American taxpayers, which is why Im pleased to join Congressman Cohen in introducing the POST Act, said Congressman Jones.\nBy law, for-profit college companies are allowed to receive no more than 90% of their revenue from federal financial aid programs. This high threshold allows far too much federal money to funnel to an industry that often provides a greater return on taxpayer investment to its administrators and investors than it does to its students. But theres a catch, said Senator Durbin. Money from the new Post 9/11 GI Bill and from Department of Defense tuition assistance programs isnt counted which leaves hundreds of millions of taxpayers dollars virtually unregulated. Consequently, these schools aggressively target veterans and servicemembers who too often dont receive the quality of education they deserve. We cant let this invitation to exploit our veterans continue.\nThe current federal 90/10 rule is a provision in the law that bars for-profit colleges and universities from deriving more than 90% of their revenue from the U.S. Department of Educations federal student aid programs. The other 10% needs to come from sources other than the federal government. The purpose of this rule is to ensure that schools are not counting on taxpayer dollars to be their sole source of revenue.\nBecause of the way the legislation was written, veterans and active duty service members federal student aid  such as G.I. bill benefits and the Department of Defenses tuition assistance funds  does not currently count toward the 90%. As a result, for-profit educational institutions have been aggressively recruiting and enrolling veterans, service members and their families to their programs as a way to comply withthe 90/10 rule.\nThePOST Actwould re-instate the original ratio of 85/15which was only loosened to 90/10 in 1998and change the definition of what counts as federal revenue so that it includes all federal funds.This new definition would eliminate the powerful incentive for-profit schools to aggressively recruit service members and veterans and ensure that all schools are complying with the law as it was intended.\nAdditionally, the Cohen-JonesPOST Actwould:\n Increase penalties for noncompliance with the new 85/15 ruleUnder the legislation, for-profit collegeswould lose eligibility to participate in federal student aid programs after one year of noncompliance with the new rule (currently, for-profit colleges must be noncompliant for two years before they lose eligibility).\n\tEliminate accounting tricks that inflate non-federal funding sources Currently, for-profit colleges that issue private loans directly to students are allowed to calculate a large portion as revenue for the purposes of 90/10 rule compliance before any of the loan is paid back. This accounting trick has led to for-profit colleges issuing private loans to students with little expectation of that loan being paid back. Todays legislation would only allow actual payments that students make to be counted as revenue.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/newsarticles?ContentRecord_id=43695746-0d48-48c5-b011-ba150aa7477f", "Weekly Column by Lamar Alexander: The Winners This Week Are 50 Million Children and Three Million Teachers In 100,000", "2015-11-20", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "The winners this week are 50 million children and 3.4 million teachers in 100,000 public schools.\r\nThats because the House and Senate conference committee were able to agree to a framework that would restore to states, communities, and teachers the responsibility for improving student achievement. Earlier this year, the Senate passed the Every Child Achieves Act of 2015 by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 81-17. The House also passed a bill fundamentally based upon that same consensus. Our job in the conference was to reconcile these two bills, and the framework we passed Thursday was the result. We are turning the agreement into legislation that I believe Congress will pass and the president will sign in December.\r\nNewsweek magazine recently reminded us what we already knew very well: No Child Left Behind is a law that everybody wants fixed. Governors, teachers, superintendents, parents, Republicans, Democrats, and students all want to see this law fixed.\r\nThere is a consensus about that. And, fortunately, there is a consensus about how to do it.\r\nAnd that consensus is this  Continue the laws important measurements of academic progress of students but restore to states, school districts, classroom teachers and parents the responsibility for deciding what to do about improving student achievement.\r\nThat s why (the senate bill)had the support of the nations governors, the Chief State School Officers, the school superintendents, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers.\r\nThe framework we agreed to Thursday would end the waivers through which the U.S. Department of Education has become, in effect, a national school board for more than 80,000 schools in 42 states.\r\nIt would end the federal Common Core mandate.\r\nIt would move decisions about whether schools and teachers are succeeding or failing out of Washington, D.C., and back to states and communities and teachers where those decisions belong because the real way to higher standards, better teachers and real accountability is through states, communities, and classroomsnot through Washington, D.C.\r\nEven though this agreement, in my opinion, is the most significant step toward local control of schools in 25 years, some Republicans would like to go further. I am one of them.\r\nBut my Scholarship for Kids proposal, which would have given states the option to allow federal dollars to follow children to the schools their parents choose, only received 43 votes in the Senate. We needed 60.\r\nSo I decided, like a president named Reagan once advised, that I would take 80 percent of what I wanted and Ill fight for the other 20 percent on another day.\r\nBesides, if I had voted no, I would have been voting to leave in place the federal Common Core mandate, the national school board, and the waivers in 42 states.\r\nNo Child Left Behind expired seven years ago. Fifty million children, 3.4 million teachers and 100,000 public schools have been waiting all that time. If this were homework, they would give Congress a failing grade for being tardy.\r\nThe conference report was approved 39-1. It is a bipartisan, bicameral step forward to fix the No Child Left Behind law that everyone wants fixed. The United States Senate and House of Representatives should complete our work in December so that the president can sign it into law, and give everyone a fix before the end of the year.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=0773781b-7cee-4ecc-acb9-1a94199cc054", "House-Senate Conference Committee Approves Framework to Fix No Child Left Behind", "2015-11-20", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  Today, the House-Senate conference committee reached agreement on a proposal to improve K-12 education and replace No Child Left Behind. The agreement represents a compromise between the House-passed Student Success Act (H.R. 5) and the Senate-passed Every Child Achieves Act of 2015 (S. 1177).\r\nNo Child Left Behind has been failing students, parents, teachers, and state and local education leaders for far too long, and today we took an important step in replacing this flawed law, said Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN). But there is still work to be done. We now have to turn this framework into a final bill for our House and Senate colleagues to review. I am confident that once they do, they will see it as an opportunity to replace a failed approach to education with a new approach that will reduce the federal role, restore local control, and empower parents. We will continue to work with all of our colleagues in the House as we move this important process forward.\r\nThe winners today are 50 million children and 3 million teachers in 100,000 public schools, said Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN). Our action would restore to states, communities, and teachers the responsibility for improving student achievement. This is a bipartisan step forward to fix the No Child Left Behind law that everyone wants fixed. The United States Senate and House of Representatives should complete our work in December so that the president can sign it into law before the end of the year.\r\nWith today's vote by the conference committee to reauthorize the ESEA, we have moved closer to advancing the principles of Brown v. Board of Education, which said that the opportunity for a public education 'is a right which must be made available to all on equal terms,' said Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA). This agreement ensures that when achievement gaps are found, meaningful action will be taken to intervene and support the needs of students. It ensures that funds will continue to be directed to communities and give teachers and schools the resources they need to support all students. I look forward to the vote by the House and Senate that will send President Obama a bill that is indeed worthy of his signature.\r\nTaking this next step to finally fix the broken No Child Left Behind law is great news for students, parents, teachers, and communities in my home state of Washington and across the country, said Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. I am proud that our agreement includes strong federal guardrails to ensure all students have access to a quality education, reduces reliance on high-stakes testing, makes strong investments to improve and expand access to preschool for our youngest learners, and so much more. I appreciate the hard work that so many Democrats and Republicans have put into this agreement, and I am optimistic that it can pass both chambers of Congress and get signed into law to help more students across the country get the chance to learn, grow, and thrive in the classroom and beyond.\r\nA summary of the framework approved by the conference committee can be found here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=c4741867-8049-408c-b2ac-0755a0270b55", "Alexander: It Is a Good Time for Oak Ridge", "2015-11-20", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Oak Ridge, Tenn.,Nov. 20U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today said that its a good time to be in Oak Ridge, calling the areas scientific brainpower, energy research,and technological capabilitiessome of the best in the world.\r\nEarlier this year, I suggested naming the four-lane highway from the Knoxville airport to Oak Ridge the Oak Ridge Corridor, Alexander said. Advanced manufacturing and supercomputing at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, construction of the Uranium Processing Facilitywhich is one of the largest construction projects in the countryand cleanup work inOak Ridgeshows the promise of bringing new jobs for East Tennesseans.\r\nAlexander continued, Oak Ridge has a played a key role in scientific research for many decades, and will continue to play a key role in our nations future. Lastweeks formal announcement of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park highlighted the vital role the Manhattan Project played in our historyandthe continuingimpact the projects legacyhas on our nations future. From that effort arosesomeof the countrys great national laboratoriesour secret weapons as we look to the future of keeping our country competitive in the world.\r\nNow more than ever before, the Oak Ridge-Knoxville area is showing great promise for a bright future, Alexander told reporters today at an event at the Oak Ridge municipal building with Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch and Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank.\r\nImworking, in conjunction with the House, on the Energy and Water Appropriations bill which is expected to include a record level of federal funding for Oak Ridge this year.\r\nMayor Gooch said, This is an exciting time for Oak Ridge where great things happen everyday. Last week, our city was introduced to the nation as the newest site in our national park system. This week our senior United States senator is visiting us as he promotes his bipartisan legislation which would greatly enhance the DOE missions in Oak Ridge and which would add momentum to rebranding Pellissippi Parkway as the Oak Ridge Corridor.\r\nAnd Mayor Frank said, Senator Alexanders idea to name the four-lane highway from the Knoxville airport to Oak Ridge the Oak Ridge Corridor is one of the best ideas Ive heard in a long time. The infrastructure, intellectual capital, and skilled workforce of the Manhattan Project carried forth to transform our area into a technological and manufacturing lodestone. Identifying the corridor will serve to multiply our regional success, and highlight the integral role we play in future advancements and security.\r\nAlexander is chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development. In May, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved Alexanders fiscal year 2016 Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill that provided $35.4 billionto fund Department of Energy programs and the Army Corps of Engineers.The legislation, which included $1.2 billion more than the FY2015 enacted level was approved by the Senate Appropriations Committeeby a vote of 26 to 4.\r\nThe appropriations bill approved by the Senate in May provided funding for the following programs and projects that are priorities for Oak Ridge:\r\n \r\nThe Dept. of Energys Office of Science, which supports basic energy research andprovides funding for Oak Ridge National Laboratory\r\nThe Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex\r\nFunding for advanced supercomputing, including the new Summit supercomputer. Once again, the worlds fastest supercomputer will be at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in 2017\r\nDevelopment of the Second Target Station at the Spallation Neutron Source\r\nExascale computing, which is the next leap forward in supercomputing and performs 1,000 times faster than current supercomputers\r\nNuclear infrastructure at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, including hot cells and isotope production facilities to support medical treatments, oil and gas exploration, and deep-space satellites. Many of the isotopes produced in Oak Ridge are not available anywhere else in the world\r\nA new mercury treatment facility and funding for cleanup of nuclear facilities that are no longer in service\r\n \r\nFor access to this release and the senators other statements, click here.\r\nTo stay up-to-date on the senators latest actions, follow him on Twitter and YouTube.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/weeklycolumns?ContentRecord_id=aafa4d1e-8275-4d29-a835-8806b6f2afdb", "Weekly Column by Lamar Alexander: The Winners This Week Are 50 Million Children and Three Million Teachers In 100,000", "2015-11-20", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "The winners this week are 50 million children and 3.4 million teachers in 100,000 public schools.\r\nThats because the House and Senate conference committee were able to agree to a framework that would restore to states, communities, and teachers the responsibility for improving student achievement. Earlier this year, the Senate passed the Every Child Achieves Act of 2015 by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 81-17. The House also passed a bill fundamentally based upon that same consensus. Our job in the conference was to reconcile these two bills, and the framework we passed Thursday was the result. We are turning the agreement into legislation that I believe Congress will pass and the president will sign in December.\r\nNewsweek magazine recently reminded us what we already knew very well: No Child Left Behind is a law that everybody wants fixed. Governors, teachers, superintendents, parents, Republicans, Democrats, and students all want to see this law fixed.\r\nThere is a consensus about that. And, fortunately, there is a consensus about how to do it.\r\nAnd that consensus is this  Continue the laws important measurements of academic progress of students but restore to states, school districts, classroom teachers and parents the responsibility for deciding what to do about improving student achievement.\r\nThat s why (the senate bill)had the support of the nations governors, the Chief State School Officers, the school superintendents, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers.\r\nThe framework we agreed to Thursday would end the waivers through which the U.S. Department of Education has become, in effect, a national school board for more than 80,000 schools in 42 states.\r\nIt would end the federal Common Core mandate.\r\nIt would move decisions about whether schools and teachers are succeeding or failing out of Washington, D.C., and back to states and communities and teachers where those decisions belong because the real way to higher standards, better teachers and real accountability is through states, communities, and classroomsnot through Washington, D.C.\r\nEven though this agreement, in my opinion, is the most significant step toward local control of schools in 25 years, some Republicans would like to go further. I am one of them.\r\nBut my Scholarship for Kids proposal, which would have given states the option to allow federal dollars to follow children to the schools their parents choose, only received 43 votes in the Senate. We needed 60.\r\nSo I decided, like a president named Reagan once advised, that I would take 80 percent of what I wanted and Ill fight for the other 20 percent on another day.\r\nBesides, if I had voted no, I would have been voting to leave in place the federal Common Core mandate, the national school board, and the waivers in 42 states.\r\nNo Child Left Behind expired seven years ago. Fifty million children, 3.4 million teachers and 100,000 public schools have been waiting all that time. If this were homework, they would give Congress a failing grade for being tardy.\r\nThe conference report was approved 39-1. It is a bipartisan, bicameral step forward to fix the No Child Left Behind law that everyone wants fixed. The United States Senate and House of Representatives should complete our work in December so that the president can sign it into law, and give everyone a fix before the end of the year.\r\n\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.corker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-list?ContentRecord_id=84704e0d-4619-4bf6-9efa-bfba3c55471b", "Corker in Paris Says U.S. Leadership Critical in Fight Against ISIS", "2015-11-20", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Bob Corker", "C001071", "www.corker.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "PARIS, France  In an interview today on CNN, U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the U.S. must make a decision to lead in the fight against ISIS and warned that if the Obama administration continues its strategy of containment in Syria, the world will continue to see unrest and terrorist activities.\r\nAs long as our strategy in Syria is containment, more and more and more of [these terrorist activities are] going to occur, said Corker. I think people are waking up to that I think everyone understands that collectively weve got to do something far more robust.\r\nCorker continued: I think the first decision that has to be made is: Are we, as the United States, going to take part, are we going to lead a coalition to actually end [ISISs] existence? Or are we going to just deal with the containment [strategy] that we have been doing? It is really an executive decision first. And then once that decision is made, it is collecting from our great military leaders the best way to go about doing that. We as a nation really havent made the decision yet, in my opinion, that we want to destroy them. It has been a decision to contain.\r\nAsked if U.S. leadership is critical, Corker added: Absolutely With something like this, the only way for it to be successful is with U.S. leadership.\r\nOn his way to the Middle East, Senator Corker stopped in Paris on Friday to discuss the response to the recent terrorist attacks and U.S. cooperation with France in the fight against ISIS. He will receive a briefing at the U.S. embassy, meet with FBI and French officials, and lay a wreath at one of the sites of the attacks, the Le Carillon restaurant, to commemorate the victims. In the Middle East, he will meet with U.S. and foreign officials about regional security and stability issues, especially terrorism.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.corker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/video?ContentRecord_id=e3426233-9fa5-407f-b985-121188124e6a", "Corker in Paris Says U.S. Leadership Critical in Fight Against ISIS", "2015-11-20", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Bob Corker", "C001071", "www.corker.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "PARIS, France  In an interview today on CNN, U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the U.S. must make a decision to lead in the fight against ISIS and warned that if the Obama administration continues its strategy of containment in Syria, the world will continue to see unrest and terrorist activities.\r\nAs long as our strategy in Syria is containment, more and more and more of [these terrorist activities are] going to occur, said Corker. I think people are waking up to that I think everyone understands that collectively weve got to do something far more robust.\r\nCorker continued: I think the first decision that has to be made is: Are we, as the United States, going to take part, are we going to lead a coalition to actually end [ISISs] existence? Or are we going to just deal with the containment [strategy] that we have been doing? It is really an executive decision first. And then once that decision is made, it is collecting from our great military leaders the best way to go about doing that. We as a nation really havent made the decision yet, in my opinion, that we want to destroy them. It has been a decision to contain.\r\nAsked if U.S. leadership is critical, Corker added: Absolutely With something like this, the only way for it to be successful is with U.S. leadership.\r\nOn his way to the Middle East, Senator Corker stopped in Paris on Friday to discuss the response to the recent terrorist attacks and U.S. cooperation with France in the fight against ISIS. He will receive a briefing at the U.S. embassy, meet with FBI and French officials, and lay a wreath at one of the sites of the attacks, the Le Carillon restaurant, to commemorate the victims. In the Middle East, he will meet with U.S. and foreign officials about regional security and stability issues, especially terrorism.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://blackburn.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=397844", "Blackburn Votes to Strengthen National Security", "2015-11-19", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Marsha Blackburn", "B001243", "blackburn.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Congressman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) today released the following statement after House passage of H.R. 4038, the American Security Against Foreign Enemies (SAFE) Act. This legislation would require the FBI, Homeland Security Department and director of national intelligence to certify to Congress that any refugee seeking entry to the United States from Syria or Iraq is not a threat to the security of the United States. This is a solid first step in strengthening our national security and protecting Americans from terrorists that pose as refugees. When we return after Thanksgiving, we will begin work on another package of legislation because more work must be done to ensure the safety of our country. \"We know that Islamic State terrorists can just as easily pose as illegal aliens crossing our southern border as they can refugees fleeing a war torn country overseas. Congressional action to protect American citizens from Islamic State terrorists must acknowledge vulnerabilities in our overseas vetting process as well as our domestic security vulnerabilities. Thats why Im working with my colleagues to temporarily suspend Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) resettlement funding for all refugees, as well as individuals not in a legitimate lawful status. If Congress funds ORR without such restrictions, Congress will be providing the President the funds to carry out his refugee resettlement efforts in full  both from countries overseas as well as through the resettlement of illegal aliens at the Southern border, Blackburn said.  To learn more about legislation Congressman Blackburn is working on to address the issue for inclusion in an omnibus spending bill, click here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://cohen.house.gov/press-release/congressman-cohen-statement-allowing-syrian-refugees-united-states", "Congressman Cohen Statement on Allowing Syrian Refugees into the United States", "2015-11-19", "2015", "2015-11", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "[WASHINGTON, D.C.]  Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today released the following statement regarding allowing Syrian refugees into the United States.\nAs a Member of Congress, my first responsibility is to protect the American people and do everything it takes to keep our country safe, said Congressman Cohen. We must ensure that not only refugees from Syria and Iraq, but also refugees from every country are subject to a rigorous screening process that ensures no terrorist or criminals are allowed access to the United States. We can do this while also maintaining our core humanitarian values. The House bill passed today is instead nothing more than a political attack on President Obama and does nothing to make us safer from terrorist or criminal threats. The House should work in a bipartisan fashion to appropriately address loop holes in our current visa programs, including the visa waiver program, which would be more likely to threaten our national security, as well as stop individuals on the terrorism watch list from buying guns and explosives.\nCongressman Cohen cosponsored a Democratic alternative bill that would have required checks and certifications for all refuges instead of just from Iraq and Syria. It would also ensure no person is admitted to the U.S. until his or her identity has been established and vetted against all security databases, such as the FBI, the Department of Defense, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Department of Homeland Security, and the State Department. The bill was defeated on a procedural vote 180-244.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://cooper.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/cooper-supports-american-safe-act", "Cooper Supports American SAFE Act", "2015-11-19", "2015", "2015-11", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Jim Cooper", "C000754", "cooper.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON  U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper (TN-05) issued the following statement on H.R. 4038, the American SAFE Act: \nAmerica has always welcomed refugees and should continue to do so. Todays vote wont change that tradition, Rep. Cooper said. This bill merely reinforces existing law that refugees not pose a threat to the U.S.\nEarlier in the week, Rep. Cooper condemned remarks made by several Tennessee state legislators. Those Republican lawmakers said Tennessee should activate the National Guard to remove refugees already in the state and use any means necessary to prevent others from entering.\nPanicky remarks from our state legislature do not make America safer. The Tennessee National Guard should not be used to round up recent immigrants, Rep. Cooper said. Such loose talk is not only ineffective but embarrassing. The FBI and local law enforcement have done an excellent job of policing any threats.\nForty-six Democrats joined Cooper in voting for the American SAFE Act:\nAguilar - CA\nAshford - NE\nBera - CA\nBishop - GA\nBrownley - CA\nBustos - IL\nCarney - DE\nConnolly - VA\nCooper - TN\nCosta - CA\nCourtney - CT\nCuellar - TX\nDelaney - MD\nDoggett - TX\nGabbard - HI\nGaramendi - CA\nGraham - FL\nGene Green - TX\nHahn - CA\nHimes - CT\nIsrael - NY\nKaptur - OH\nKeating - MA\nKind - WI\nKuster - NH\nLangevin - RI\nLipinski - IL\nLoebsack - IA\nLynch - MA\nSean Patrick Maloney - NY\nMurphy - FL\nNolan - MN\nNorcross - NJ\nPeters - CA\nPeterson - MN\nPolis - CO\nRice - NY\nRuiz - CA\nRyan - OH\nSchrader - OR\nScott - GA\nSewell - AL\nSinema - AZ\nSlaughter - NY\nVeasey - TX\nVela - TX\nWalz - MN", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://fleischmann.house.gov/press-release/congressman-fleischmann-votes-suspend-syrian-refugee-admission", "Congressman Fleischmann Votes To Suspend Syrian Refugee Admission", "2015-11-19", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Chuck Fleischmann", "F000459", "fleischmann.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON Today, the House of Representatives passed the SAFE Act to suspend the admission of Syrian and Iraqi refugees into the United States until security officials can certify the integrity of the background check process. Following the passage of the SAFE Act Congressman Fleischmann released the following statement.\nThe United States has a long and proud tradition of welcoming refugees; however we simply cant accept them at the risk of our safety. Senior law enforcement and intelligence officials have made clear that they are not confident in our vetting system and as such we must press pause on the process. The safety of American citizens will always be my top priority and until we have full confidence in our vetting process we cannot afford to admit Syrian and Iraqi refugees.\nThe SAFE Act places a moratorium on the admission of Syrian and Iraqi refugees until the following conditions are met:\n The FBI Director certifies the background investigation of each refugee\n The Secretary of Homeland Security, along with the FBI Director and the Director of National Intelligence, certifies to Congress that each refugee is not a security threat to the U.S.\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://roe.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=397947", "Roe Supports Bill to Pause Refugee Program", "2015-11-19", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Phil Roe", "R000582", "roe.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  Today, Rep. Phil Roe, M.D. (R-TN) voted in support of H.R. 4038, the American Security Against Foreign Enemies (SAFE) Act. \r\nRoe released the following statement after the bill passed the House with bipartisan support:\r\nThis bill is just a targeted first step to keep Americans safe. While many Syrians and Iraqis fleeing their country are doing so out of fear and desperation, our highest, most important duty is to protect our citizens and to do everything in our power to prevent another attack on our homeland. I've long been concerned that ISIS could use our refugee program to get into the United States, and after the horrific attacks in Paris we cannot afford to take that risk. I strongly believe we should immediately pause resettling refugees until, at the very least, we have improved the vetting of each refugee.\"\r\nThe SAFE Act pauses the admission of refugees from Iraq and Syria, and requires the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to ensure that refugee background checks are thorough enough to determine a refugee is not a threat to the United States. If the FBI cannot certify the background check, the refugee will not be admitted to the U.S. Additionally, this bill requires the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the Director of National Intelligence to unanimously certify a refugee is not a threat. The SAFE Act also requires the DHS to submit a monthly report to Congress on the number of refugees certified and not certified, and also requires the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security to conduct risk-based review of all refugee certifications. \r\nRep. Roe is also a cosponsor of H.R. 3314, the Resettlement Accountability National Security Act. The bill prohibits the administration from allowing refugees into the United States until Congress passes a joint resolution allowing the federal government to resume admitting refugees.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://fleischmann.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-fleischmann-votes-suspend-syrian-refugee-admission", "Congressman Fleischmann Votes To Suspend Syrian Refugee Admission", "2015-11-19", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Charles J. \"Chuck\" Fleischmann", "F000459", "fleischmann.house.gov", "fleischmann", "https://fleischmann.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON\u2212 Today, the House of Representatives passed the SAFE Act to suspend the admission of Syrian and Iraqi refugees into the United States until security officials can certify the integrity of the background check process. Following the passage of the SAFE Act Congressman Fleischmann released the following statement.\n\n\u201cThe United States has a long and proud tradition of welcoming refugees; however we simply can\u2019t accept them at the risk of our safety. Senior law enforcement and intelligence officials have made clear that they are not confident in our vetting system and as such we must press pause on the process. The safety of American citizens will always be my top priority and until we have full confidence in our vetting process we cannot afford to admit Syrian and Iraqi refugees.\u201d\n\nThe SAFE Act places a moratorium on the admission of Syrian and Iraqi refugees until the following conditions are met:\n\n\u00b7 The FBI Director certifies the background investigation of each refugee\n\n\u00b7 The Secretary of Homeland Security, along with the FBI Director and the Director of National Intelligence, certifies to Congress that each refugee is not a security threat to the U.S.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T20:30:58Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=8e6fb5d0-6894-4f09-bf0f-faf8605da6f0", "Alexander Supports Dept. of Energy Nominees Responsible for Work at Oak Ridge National Laboratory & Oak Ridge Environmental Cleanup", "2015-11-19", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, Nov. 19, 2015 U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today released the following statements on his support for three U.S. Dept. of Energy nominees who will have oversight of federal facilities and programs in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources approved the nominations of Victoria Wassmer as Under Secretary of the Dept. of Energy, Dr. Cherry Murray as Director of the Office of Science at the Dept. of Energy and John Kotek as Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy at the Dept. of Energy:\r\nOn Victoria Wassmer: Victoria Wassmer has an extensive background that should serve her well, and I appreciate her commitment to making cleanup of the East Tennessee Technology Park in Oak Ridge a priority.\r\nOn Dr. Cherry Murray: Dr. Cherry Murray understands the importance of funding research that leads to technology breakthroughs. She is well-qualified to be Director of the Office of Science, and I appreciate her commitment to strengthening this nations investment in supercomputing specifically and the Office of Science generally.\r\nOn John Kotek: John Kotek has had a strong background in nuclear energy, and I appreciate his commitment to ensuring that the nuclear facilities at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory are properly maintained and operated.\r\nAlexander continued, I am impressed by the nominees experience, and I am glad the committee voted to approve their nominations so that they can now be considered by the full Senate.\r\nAlexander is the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committees Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development.\r\n###\r\nFor access to this release and the senators other statements, click here.\r\nTo stay up-to-date on the senators latest actions, follow him on Twitter and YouTube.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "truncated": false, "filtered_table_rows_count": 1314, "expanded_columns": [], "expandable_columns": [], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "units": {}, "query": {"sql": "select url, title, date, year, month, party, chamber, state, member_name, bioguide_id, domain, scraper, source, date_source, text, has_text, collected_at, updated_at from releases where \"chamber\" = :p0 and \"state\" = :p1 and \"year\" = :p2 order by date desc limit 101", "params": {"p0": "House", "p1": "TN", "p2": "2015"}}, "facet_results": {"party": {"name": "party", "type": "column", "hideable": false, "toggle_url": "/press/releases.json?chamber=House&state=TN&year=2015", "results": [{"value": "Republican", "label": "Republican", "count": 1006, "toggle_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?chamber=House&state=TN&year=2015&party=Republican", "selected": false}, {"value": "Democrat", "label": "Democrat", "count": 308, "toggle_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?chamber=House&state=TN&year=2015&party=Democrat", "selected": false}], "truncated": false}, "chamber": {"name": "chamber", "type": "column", "hideable": false, "toggle_url": "/press/releases.json?chamber=House&state=TN&year=2015", "results": [{"value": "House", "label": "House", "count": 1314, "toggle_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?state=TN&year=2015", "selected": true}], "truncated": false}, "state": {"name": "state", "type": "column", "hideable": false, "toggle_url": "/press/releases.json?chamber=House&state=TN&year=2015", "results": [{"value": "TN", "label": "TN", "count": 1314, "toggle_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?chamber=House&year=2015", "selected": true}], "truncated": false}, "year": {"name": "year", "type": "column", "hideable": false, "toggle_url": "/press/releases.json?chamber=House&state=TN&year=2015", "results": [{"value": "2015", "label": "2015", "count": 1314, "toggle_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?chamber=House&state=TN", "selected": true}], "truncated": false}}, "suggested_facets": [], "next": "2015-11-19,https~3A~2F~2Fwww~2Ealexander~2Esenate~2Egov~2Fpublic~2Findex~2Ecfm~2Fpressreleases~3FContentRecord_id~3D8e6fb5d0-6894-4f09-bf0f-faf8605da6f0", "next_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?chamber=House&state=TN&year=2015&_next=2015-11-19%2Chttps~3A~2F~2Fwww~2Ealexander~2Esenate~2Egov~2Fpublic~2Findex~2Ecfm~2Fpressreleases~3FContentRecord_id~3D8e6fb5d0-6894-4f09-bf0f-faf8605da6f0&_sort_desc=date", "private": false, "allow_execute_sql": true, "query_ms": 197.71724590100348, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}