{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "is_view": false, "human_description_en": "where state = \"TN\" and year = 2013 sorted by date descending", "rows": [["https://web.archive.org/web/20140307001348/http://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=0e414404-d5e2-4216-bfdc-138a468e167b", "Alexander: Unhappy New Year for Tens of Thousands of Tennesseans Whose Health Insurance on the Job Will Change Because of Obamacare", "2013-12-31", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "December 31 2013  - \nSays enforcement of mandate requiring employers to provide insurance will lead to more canceled plans, higher costs\n***\n\u201cThe president\u2019s broken promise that \u2018If you like your health insurance, you can keep it\u2019 was an unwelcome Christmas present for 82,000 Tennesseans\u00a0buying insurance on their own. Now, since nearly 13 times as many Tennesseans receive health insurance on the job, Obamacare threatens to bring an Unhappy New Year for tens of thousands more Tennesseans.\u201d \u2013 Lamar Alexander\u00a0\nMARYVILLE, Dec. 31 \u2013 U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today said that since nearly 13 times as many Tennesseans receive health insurance through their employers as purchase their own individual plans, new Obamacare mandates on businesses mean that now\u00a0Tennesseans receiving health insurance through employers will have to\u00a0worry\u00a0about\u00a0Obamacare cancellations bringing\u00a0an \u201cUnhappy New Year.\u201d \u00a0 \u00a0\n\u201cDuring 2014, many of the burdensome Obamacare mandates on businesses that the Obama administration delayed will be in full force,\u201d Alexander said. \u201cWe\u2019ve already seen how the president\u2019s broken promise that \u2018If you like your health insurance, you can keep it\u2019 was an unwelcome Christmas present for 82,000 Tennesseans buying insurance on their own. Now, since nearly 13 times as many Tennesseans receive\u00a0health insurance on the job, Obamacare threatens to bring an Unhappy New Year for tens of thousands more Tennesseans.\"\u00a0\nAccording to the Kaiser Family Foundation, there are more than 246,000 Tennesseans on the individual insurance market, and Alexander said at least 82,000 Tennesseans are scheduled to begin losing their current insurance because their plans were \u201coutlawed\u201d under Obamacare. About 3,175,000 Tennesseans get their insurance through their employers, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, or nearly 13 times as many as in the individual insurance market. Alexander said the \u201cburdensome mandates on employers\u201d could mean \u201ctens of thousands more\u201d Tennesseans will lose their current plans or see their costs increase, just as in the individual health insurance market.\nIn 2014, employers will begin to make employee insurance and work-hour changes to prepare for the employer mandate to be enforced by the Obama administration, which requires employers with 50 employees or more to provide health insurance or pay a penalty. Alexander said the employer mandate will limit the options employers have to provide affordable insurance for all employees \u2013 leading to some existing plans no longer being legal, and insurance being more expensive, just as Americans saw in the individual health insurance market this year.\u00a0\nThe senator also noted that many employers are already starting to reduce employee work hours and limit new hires and reconsider business expansions in order to lessen their burdens under Obamacare. The Obama administration in July of 2013 delayed enforcement until Jan. 1, 2015, instead of Jan. 1, 2014. Alexander continued, \u201cEnforcement of burdensome mandates on businesses will mean fewer choices as health insurance plans offered by employers are outlawed under Obamacare, as well as higher costs for both Tennesseans and businesses that are trying to create jobs.\u201d\nThe Obama administration is expected to release rules related to the employer mandate soon.\u00a0The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will be releasing its final rule on the employer mandate, and the Internal Revenue Service will begin to reveal how much paperwork and personal information it will require businesses and employees to provide.\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://cohen.house.gov/press-release/cohen-announces-more-13-million-help-prepare-shelby-county-children-school", "Cohen Announces More Than $13 Million to Help Prepare Shelby County Children for School", "2013-12-23", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "[WASHINGTON, DC] \u2013 Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today announced that Shelby County has been awarded a $13,161,380 grant from the Department of U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) to support Head Start projects that help promote school readiness of children from birth until the age of 5 by enhancing their cognitive, social, and emotional development.\n\u201cToday\u2019s funding is an investment in our children, an investment in our families, and an investment in our future,\u201d said Congressman Cohen. \u201cBecause of this important funding, children from low-income families throughout Shelby County\u2019s will be healthier and better prepared to learn when they enter school. We will see countless benefits down the line as today\u2019s children grow into tomorrow\u2019s entrepreneurs, doctors, scientists, and productive members of our society. This is an important program that I am proud to support.\u201d\nHead Start is a federal program that provides comprehensive services to enrolled children and their families, which include health, nutrition, social services and other services determined to be necessary by family needs assessments, in addition to education and cognitive development services. Shelby County Head Start provides these services to over 3,000 children in Memphis and Shelby County.\nToday\u2019s funding will complete the funding needed for the school year that ends in May 2014. An announcement about who will administer the Head Start grant for the 2014-1015 school year is expected within the next few months, along with additional funding for this vital program.\nThe Head Start program was founded as part of Lyndon B. Johnson\u2019s War on Poverty in 1965 as an eight-week demonstration project. Since its founding, Head Start has served over 30 million children and their families in urban and rural areas in every corner of the nation and has grown to include full day as well as year services and numerous program options.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://web.archive.org/web/20140221084855/http://black.house.gov/press-release/case-you-missed-it-hiding-hacking-healthcaregov", "In Case You Missed It: Hiding the Hacking at Healthcare.gov", "2013-12-23", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Diane Black", "B001273", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "In Case You Missed It: Hiding the Hacking at Healthcare.gov  \n\tby John Fund\nChristmas shoppers were stunned to learn last Thursday that computer hackers had made off with the names and other personal info of some 40 million Target customers. Some of the pilfered information is reportedly being sold on the black market, prompting JP Morgan Chase to limit purchases and cash withdrawals on debit cards owned by recent Target shoppers.\nBut at least Target informed its customers of the security breach, as it is required by federal law to do. HealthCare.gov faces no such requirement; it need never notify customers that their personal information has been hacked or possibly compromised. The Department of Health and Human Services was specifically asked to include a notification requirement in the rules it designed for the health-care exchanges, but HHS declined.\nThe Federal Register\u00a0tells the tale\u00a0about what happened on March 27, 2012, at a meeting on the issue.\nAt that meeting, two commenters asked HHS to ensure the exchanges would promptly notify affected enrollees in the event of a data breach or unauthorized access to the exchange\u2019s databases. One commenter suggested that a full investigation be launched each time such a breach occurred, with the goal of holding hackers legally and financially accountable for breaking into the website.\nAccording to a\u00a0report by the group Watchdog.org, HHS responded: \u201cWe do not plan to include the specific notification procedures in the final rule. Consistent with this approach, we do not include specific policies for investigation of data breaches in this final rule.\u201d In other words, the government doesn\u2019t have to tell you about a security breach unless it decides it wants to \u2014 despite the fact that private companies are required to publicly disclose any incidents. State laws also require many of the 14 state-run insurance exchanges to disclose such information, but no such law exists for the federally run exchange, which 36 states rely upon.\nThe Watchdog report notes that it\u2019s through state laws that we\u2019ve learned the most about security problems in the exchanges. In September, the Minneapolis\u00a0Star Tribune\u00a0reported that \u201can official at MNsure, the state\u2019s new online health insurance exchange, acknowledged it had mishandled private data.\u201d A Minnesota insurance broker received an e-mail containing a trove of confidential information on more than 2,400 people, including their Social Security numbers and business addresses. A staffer at MNsure had accidentally sent the e-mail to him. \u201cThe more I thought about it, the more troubled I was,\u201d Jim Koester, the recipient of the data, told the\u00a0Star Tribune. \u201cWhat if this had fallen into the wrong hands? It\u2019s scary.\u201d\nLast July, Dave Jones, California\u2019s insurance commissioner and a Democrat, expressed his concerns about inadequate security processes on his state\u2019s exchange, one of the better-run ones. If unscrupulous people get hold of Social Security numbers, health records, or other private information of consumers \u201cwe can have a real disaster on our hands,\u201d Jones told the AP. He has declined further comment since then.\nIn Florida, GOP governor Rick Scott is troubled that privacy guidelines will be ignored in the rush to try to enroll his state\u2019s 3.5 million uninsured residents. He wrote to Congress this fall expressing worry that the thousands of \u201cnavigators\u201d hired by private groups posed a possible security threat, given that they undergo no federal background checks: \u201cAs the push for \u2018navigators\u2019 to sign up Floridians on the federal health insurance exchange becomes more frenzied, the need to safeguard the personal information Floridians submit to the \u2018navigators,\u2019 and its use in a \u2018federal data hub,\u2019 is taking on paramount importance.\u201d The workers the federal government hired to conduct the 2010 census were fingerprinted and underwent background checks. Not so the Obamacare \u201cnavigators.\u201d\nIt\u2019s not as if the Obama administration wasn\u2019t notified of security concerns about its website. MITRE Corporation, an HHS contractor, alerted the agency that 19 unaddressed security vulnerabilities plagued the website before its launch on October 1. Last week, Teresa Fryer, the chief information-security officer for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), told the House Oversight Committee that she recommended that HealthCare.gov not launch on October 1 because of serious security concerns. \u201cMy evaluation of this was a high risk,\u201d she\u00a0told\u00a0the committee in a private interview. Tony Trenkle, the project manager for the website, declined along with Fryer to sign the Authority to Operate (ATO) license needed to launch the site, which is why it had to be signed by Marilyn\u00a0Tavenner, the political appointee in charge of CMS. Trenkle retired on November 13 and has declined to talk with reporters. But Fryer said her own concerns about security remain unaddressed because there have been \u201ctwo high findings of risk\u201d \u2014 the most serious warning level \u2014 in tests conducted in just the past few weeks. A CMS spokesman says both problems have been resolved.\nFew cyber-security experts I spoke with for this article have much confidence that the government will quickly or competently reveal any security breaches on HealthCare.gov. On October 30, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius testified under oath before Congress that \u201cno senior official reporting to me ever advised me that we should delay\u201d the launch of the website. But Fryer told the House committee that she had personally briefed Sebelius\u2019s top aides on her findings on September 20, ten days before the site launched. While it may be true that Fryer and Trinkle don\u2019t report directly to Sebelius, they both declined to sign off on the ATO needed to launch the site. At best, Sebelius has demonstrated a complete inability to follow or manage the security crisis, though it\u2019s her responsibility to do so.\nAccording to Bruce Webster, a consultant who has advised companies for 40 years on IT issues, the administration\u2019s policy appears to be \u201csecurity through obscurity,\u201d a largely discredited approach. He told me:\nThey do not want to talk about their security measures; they do not want to talk about their security breaches; they do not want to inform affected citizens of compromised personal information. Their attitude reminds me of Lily Tomlin\u2019s character Ernestine as an AT&T operator back when AT&T had a monopoly: \u201cWe don\u2019t care. We don\u2019t have to. We\u2019re the phone company.\u201d\nCongresswoman Diane Black, a Tennessee Republican, is fed up with the obfuscation and evasion surrounding HealthCare.gov. She has introduced the \u201cFederal Data Breach Notification Act,\u201d which would require that the Federal Trade Commission notify anyone whose personal information has been jeopardized. \u201cThe federal government imposes these same rules on the private sector, yet they have gone out of their way to avoid imposing this basic diligence on their own Obamacare exchange,\u201d she told me.\nIf the House and Senate have any basic concern for the privacy rights of Americans, they will catapult her bill onto President Obama\u2019s desk ASAP. It is horrible news that Target\u2019s security vulnerabilities allowed hackers to filch the names and personal information of customers. But it will be even worse if the federal government can continue to keep people in the dark about its own security breaches, leaving many Americans with big, fat targets on their backs for identity thieves.\n\u2014 John Fund is a national-affairs columnist for\u00a0National Review Online.\nBackground: \nRELEASE: Black Introduces the Federal Exchange Data Breach Notification Act of 2013\n###\nCongressman Diane Black represents Tennessee\u2019s 6th Congressional District. She has been a registered nurse for more than 40 years and serves on the House Ways and Means and Budget Committees.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://web.archive.org/web/20140307024611/http://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=098b4bab-73df-4565-aed7-1897194cb8ee", "Alexander: Obamacare \u201cDelivering an Unwelcome Christmas Present to Tennesseans\u201d", "2013-12-23", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "December 23 2013  - \nSays 82,000 Tennesseans are on track to lose individual insurance because \u201cplans have been outlawed,\u201d many others to see increasing costs under Obamacare\n***\n\u201cBetween putting many health insurance plans on the naughty list, and increasing health insurance costs for many families, Obamacare\u2019s mandates are delivering an unwelcome Christmas present to Tennesseans.\u201d \u2013 Lamar Alexander\nMARYVILLE, Dec. 24 \u2013 U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the senior Republican on the Senate health committee, today said that at least 82,000 Tennesseans are on track to lose their individual health insurance Jan. 1, one of the many ways that the \u201chistoric mistake\u201d of Obamacare is reducing choices and driving up insurance costs over the holiday season.\n\u201cAt least 82,000 Tennesseans will begin to lose their individual health insurance policies starting Jan. 1 because their plans have been outlawed under Obamacare,\u201d Alexander said. \u201cBetween putting many health insurance plans on the naughty list, and increasing health insurance costs for many families, Obamacare\u2019s mandates are delivering an unwelcome Christmas present to Tennesseans.\u201d\nAlexander outlined several ways that Obamacare has led to fewer choices and higher costs for Tennesseans. The Obama administration recently acknowledged this by announcing that it would allow Americans unable to replace their canceled health care plans to instead purchase \u201ccatastrophic\u201d coverage.\u00a0\nAlexander said of that Dec. 19 announcement, \u201cRepublicans have suggested that to provide health coverage for more Americans, everyone should have the opportunity to buy affordable catastrophic insurance as part of a private-sector plan to create more competition, offer more choices, and lower costs. This is a completely different approach and would have been a better path than Obamacare. It was suggested by Republicans \u2013 and ridiculed by the president \u2013 at the 2010 White House health care summit.\u201d\nThe 82,000 Tennesseans who will begin to lose their individual health insurance plans starting Jan. 1 \u2013 despite the president\u2019s promise that \u201cIf you like your health insurance, you can keep it\u201d \u2013 include:\n \n\u2022 66,000 Tennesseans who will lose their BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee coverage because many plans do not meet Obamacare mandates.\n\u2022 16,000 Tennesseans who are losing their plans through CoverTN, a state-run health insurance program with plans that have been outlawed under Obamacare.\u00a0\n \nMany Tennesseans are also experiencing \u201crate shock,\u201d as their plans become more expensive or they are forced to find new individual health insurance policies in the private market or on Obamacare exchanges, Alexander said. For example:\n \n\u2022 In 2013 in Nashville, a 27-year old woman can choose from 30 insurance plans that cost less than the administration says insurance plans on the exchanges will cost, even with the new tax subsidy.\n\u2022 Also in 2013 in Nashville, a 27-year-old woman can buy a plan for as low as $58 a month.\u00a0 On the exchange, the lowest-priced plan in Nashville is $114 a month\u2014a 97 percent increase.\u00a0 Even with a tax subsidy if she made $25,000 a year, that plan would cost her $104 a month.\n\u2022 In 2013 in Memphis, a 27-year-old man in Memphis can buy a private insurance plan for as low as $41 a month.\u00a0 On the exchange, the lowest state average is $119 a month\u2014a 190 percent increase. Even with a tax subsidy if he made $25,000 a year, that plan would cost him $109 a month.\u00a0\n \n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://web.archive.org/web/20150110100102/http://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=a555444c-c926-42a6-9f6b-e9116daa3b88", "Alexander Cosponsors Bill to Protect U.S. Interests, Keep Pressure on Iran Over Nuclear Weapons", "2013-12-22", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "Says \u201cbest solution is a diplomatic solution,\u201d but U.S. should remain skeptical of \u201cuntrustworthy regime\u201d\n***\n\u201cThis legislation allows Congress to take an active role in making sure the Obama administration holds Iran accountable, and provides a safeguard if a final deal with the Iranians falls apart.\u201d \u2013 Lamar Alexander\nMARYVILLE, Dec. 22 \u2013 U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today announced that he would cosponsor legislation proposing sanctions that the United States would enact if the Iranian government violates the terms of its interim deal to slow its nuclear program, or does not complete a final agreement with the Obama administration.\n\u201cSanctions are what brought Iran to the negotiating table in the first place, and we should remain skeptical of this untrustworthy regime until we permanently halt its progress towards a nuclear weapon,\u201d Alexander said. \u201cThe best solution is a diplomatic solution, but we need to keep the pressure on Iran. This legislation allows Congress to take an active role in making sure the Obama administration holds Iran accountable, and provides a safeguard if a final deal with the Iranians falls apart.\u201d\nThe legislation was introduced by Senators Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and is cosponsored by a bipartisan group of 27 senators, including Alexander and Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.). The legislation lays out prospective sanctions to be enacted if the Iranian government violates the terms of its interim nuclear agreement with the Obama administration, or if a final agreement on Iran\u2019s nuclear program is not completed. The prospective sanctions include limitations on Iran\u2019s petroleum sector and new sanctions on its engineering, mining, and construction sectors.\nIn November, the Obama administration announced a six-month deal to relieve some sanctions in return for the Iranians slowing their nuclear program. Alexander said of the Obama administration\u2019s interim deal, \u201cI am skeptical of any agreement that does not require Iran to permanently halt progress towards a nuclear weapon. Sanctions should remain until a full inspection regime is in place and there is progress in terminating Iran\u2019s nuclear weapons program.\u201d\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://cohen.house.gov/press-release/cohen-putin-made-right-decision-free-imprisoned-musicians-and-other-political", "Cohen: Putin Made Right Decision To Free Imprisoned Musicians and Other Political Prisoners", "2013-12-20", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "[MEMPHIS, TN] \u2013 Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today reiterated that the imprisoned members of Russian punk music group \u201cPussy Riot\u201d should never have been incarcerated for an artistic performance and expressed approval of news that Russian President Vladimir Putin would\u2014at long last\u2014grant them their freedom. Congressman Cohen had\u00a0written to President Vladimir Putin\u00a0multiple times since the sentencing of Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina last year urging a pardon for their so-called crimes of \u201chooliganism.\u201d\n\u201cMs. Tolokonnikova and Ms. Alyokhina are not criminals, but artists who received neither fair trials nor humane sentences,\u201d\u00a0said Congressman Cohen.\u00a0\u201cTwo years in prison for a performance that\u2014at worst\u2014would be described as \u2018disorderly conduct\u2019 here in America is outrageous and inappropriate. And while they are among the best known political prisoners in Russia, there are thousands more incarcerated for things such as political speech, \u2018hooliganism,\u2019 and\u00a0other so-called \u2018crimes.\u2019 In granting amnesty to thousands of political prisoners, Russia and President Putin made the right decision. It is an important step towards correcting these injustices and furthering the cause of human rights\u2014but it must not be the last. I sincerely hope these actions are not simply window-dressing in advance of the 2014 Olympics, but reflect a shift in Russian policy regarding free expression. I look forward to seeing Ms. Tolokonnikova and Ms. Alyokhina perform with their band soon in the United States.\u201d\nPresident Putin yesterday\u00a0announced that he would pardon both Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, several environmental activists, and Mikhail Khodorovsky\u2014who many feel was imprisoned because of political opposition to Putin\u2014as part of a mass amnesty that could affect more than 20,000 prisoners in Russia.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://cohen.house.gov/press-release/cohen-send-guest-book-memphis-nelson-mandela-memorial-late-south-african-presidents", "Cohen to Send Guest Book From Memphis Nelson Mandela Memorial to the Late South African President's Family", "2013-12-20", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "[MEMPHIS, TN] \u2013 After attending last weekend\u2019s memorial service for the late Nelson Mandela at R.S. Lewis & Sons Funeral Home, Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today announced that he will send the service\u2019s guest book to the late President\u2019s family in South Africa. A photo of the guest book from the R.S. Lewis Funeral Home, the same funeral home where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.\u2019s body was taken for public viewing in April of 1968, is available here.\n\u201cAt the memorial service over the weekend, I reflected on the late Nelson Mandela\u2019s enduring spirit and his many honorable accomplishments,\u201d said Congressman Cohen. \u201cI will make sure that his family in South Africa receives this guest book from the same funeral home where Dr. King was taken for public viewing, the R.S. Lewis & Sons Funeral Home.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://web.archive.org/web/20140221002724/http://www.corker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ContentRecord_id=db91654e-b2ad-40d2-9d43-67b4c155444a", "Corker: Advocating for U.S. Disability Rights Abroad Should Not Come at the Expense of the Constitution", "2013-12-20", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Bob Corker", "C001071", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Senator Bob Corker, R-Tenn., ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee, today announced he cannot support Senate approval of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), citing concerns that U.S. ratification could undermine the constitutional balance between the state and federal governments and the legitimacy of our democratic processes.\u00a0 In doing so, Corker urged the U.S. to pursue different means of advocating for the rights of the disabled throughout the world.\u00a0 Corker also commended the efforts of the Obama Administration to work with him to address a range of legal concerns raised by the CRPD, but noted that he was unable to resolve his concerns through clarifying language \u2013 known as reservations, understandings, and declarations (RUDs) \u2013 that would be adopted in a resolution of ratification.\n\u201cI\u2019m very proud the United States passed the ADA in 1990, and I\u2019m glad to have supported efforts to further strengthen it in 2008. \u00a0I\u2019ve been deeply inspired by the people I\u2019ve met who have helped lead these efforts.\u00a0 Going forward, I hope our country will look for every appropriate opportunity to be a leader in pushing for the rights of persons with disabilities internationally.\u00a0\n\u201cI also greatly appreciate the efforts of the administration and Senator Menendez in working with us for several weeks.\u00a0 However, through the process of attempting to resolve concerns about the treaty being used inappropriately to expand federal power beyond constitutional limits, I remain uncertain that even the strongest RUDs would stand the test of time, and I believe any uncertainty on this issue is not acceptable. Ultimately, I\u2019m unable to vote for a treaty that could undermine our Constitution and the legitimacy of our democratic process as the appropriate means for making decisions about the treatment of our citizens,\u201d said Corker.\u00a0\n\u201cI\u2019m disappointed I can\u2019t support the treaty, but I stand ready to look at other ways to enhance ongoing U.S. efforts to improve circumstances for the disabled both at home and around the world.\u201d\nSupreme Court precedent in Missouri v. Holland recognized NO limits on the federal government\u2019s power to implement treaties. \u00a0Therefore, through ratification of a treaty, the federal government\u2019s power can be expanded beyond the Constitution\u2019s normal limits.\u00a0 Because the CRPD deals so extensively with matters that the Constitution leaves to the states, ratifying this treaty would greatly expand federal authority into these areas, including family law.\u00a0 This problem was highlighted most recently in a case before the U.S. Supreme Court, Bond v. U.S., where the federal government prosecuted a Pennsylvania woman for violating a federal law implementing the chemical weapons treaty.\u00a0\nThe CRPD is a different type of treaty that, instead of dictating the relationship between countries, establishes international law as authority dictating how the U.S. government must treat its own people.\u00a0 The CRPD seeks to establish certain \u201crights\u201d for Americans, as well as what the U.S. government must do to assist persons with disabilities, reaching deep into many aspects of life including education, health care, and family law. \u00a0In the United States, the rights of Americans are governed by the Constitution, and decisions about how the government should assist those with disabilities to be full participants in our society are typically made through the democratic process. \u00a0\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://web.archive.org/web/20140221004234/http://blackburn.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=364950", "Blackburn Statement on the Latest Obamacare Delay", "2013-12-20", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Marsha Blackburn", "B001243", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "Congressman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) issued the following statement on the Obama Administration\u2019s latest decision to offer hardship exemptions to those individuals whose health care plans were cancelled due to the broken promises of Obamacare (PolitiFact 2013 Lie of the Year).\u201cWe\u00a0asked Secretary Sebelius point blank what would be the next holiday surprise, and she was silent. Yet, here we are with another major policy shift. The sad reality is that when the law takes effect come January 1, more Americans will be without coverage under Obamacare than one year ago. What's worse, the administration knew millions of plans would be cancelled, but the president kept repeating his solemn promises knowing they would not be kept. Less than two weeks from going live, the White House seems to be in full panic mode. No bandaid can heal the hemorrhaging this law has and will continue to cause. Rather than more White House delays, waivers, and exemptions, the administration should provide all Americans relief from its failed law.\u201d VIDEO: BLACKBURN GRILLS SEBELIUS ABOUT OBAMACARE DELAYS", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://web.archive.org/web/20140221084938/http://black.house.gov/press-release/black-statement-new-healthcaregov-security-concerns", "Black Statement on New Healthcare.gov Security Concerns", "2013-12-20", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Diane Black", "B001273", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013\u00a0Today, Congressman Diane Black (R-TN-06) issued the following statement following reports of high security risks found after the HealthCare.gov launch:\n\u201cIt is deeply concerning that, almost three months after healthcare.gov was launched, we are still learning of new and serious security risks with the Obamacare website,\u201d said Congressman Black. \u201cThe fact is, this program was never ready to be launched, and it is reprehensible that this Administration would proceed with implementation when the security of millions of Americans\u2019 personal information is at risk from cyber threats and identity theft. Obamacare should be stopped in its entirety, but in the meantime, the very least this Administration can do is properly notify someone if the personal information they have entered into the website is under threat \u2013 something that the federal government is currently under no obligation to do. This is why I have introduced the Federal Exchange Data Breach Notification Act of 2013 -- legislation that would require the federal government to notify those whose personal information has been compromised on the federal Obamacare exchange. Until Obamacare can be fully repealed, we must do what we can to protect Americans from this disastrous and dangerous law.\u201d\nAdditional Resources: \n12/16/13: Black Introduces the Federal Exchange Data Breach Notification Act of 2013\n\tWashington Free Beacon: Congresswoman: Require Feds to Disclose Security Breaches on Healthcare.gov\n###\nCongressman Diane Black represents Tennessee\u2019s 6th Congressional District. She has been a registered nurse for more than 40 years and serves on the House Ways and Means and Budget Committees.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://web.archive.org/web/20140307001356/http://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=22029e4a-b585-4de4-8b1b-93c095bc73dd", "Alexander, Barrasso Comment on White House Announcement that Americans Unable to Replace Canceled Health Plans May Purchase Catastrophic Coverage", "2013-12-20", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "December 20 2013  - \nSenators point out that Obama rejected the Republican idea of catastrophic coverage at the 2010 White House health care summit\u00a0\nWASHINGTON, Dec. 20 \u2013 The senior Republican on the Senate health committee and the chairman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee released the following statements in response to the Obama administration\u2019s announcement that it would allow Americans unable to replace their canceled health care plans to instead purchase \u201ccatastrophic\u201d coverage:\nU.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), said: \u201cRepublicans have suggested that to provide health coverage for more Americans, everyone should have the opportunity to buy affordable catastrophic insurance as part of a private-sector plan to create more competition, offer more choices, and lower costs. This is a completely different approach and would have been a better path than Obamacare. It was suggested by Republicans \u2013 and ridiculed by the president \u2013 at the 2010 White House health-care summit.\u201d\nU.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), chairman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee, said: \u00a0\u201cIt is time to eliminate the individual mandate for all Americans. We have clear proof now that the President\u2019s health care law is hurting more people than it is helping.\u00a0We know that more fake \u2018fixes\u2019 won\u2019t solve the problem \u2013 they just continue to add to Americans\u2019 confusion, anxiety and anger about this law. And after blatantly deriding the value of catastrophic plans in 2010, it\u2019s ironic that the President is now embracing them. The White House\u2019s latest backtrack is more proof that President Obama ignored good Republican ideas and pushed through a law full of bad ideas that would never work.\u00a0 President Obama has changed his health care law so many times that it is now completely unrecognizable \u2013 and fatally flawed.\u201d\nAlexander and Barrasso, along with Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), on Wednesday introduced legislation that would reverse the Obama administration\u2019s recent decision to delay next year\u2019s Obamacare insurance enrollment deadline until after the 2014 election. \u201cThe Premium Disclosure Act\u201d would also require the administration to provide premium increase and cost-sharing information to Americans prior to open enrollment so they have time to make decisions about their health care.\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://cohen.house.gov/press-release/cohen-president-obama-right-track-can-and-should-do-more-bring-fairness-our-justice", "Cohen: President Obama on the Right Track, But Can and Should Do More to Bring Fairness to Our Justice System", "2013-12-19", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "[MEMPHIS, TN] \u2013 After President Obama commuted the sentences of 8 Americans serving unfair crack cocaine sentences and pardoned 13 others, Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) positively acknowledged the use of executive clemency but noted that thousands more like these Americans remain incarcerated, serving sentences that would not be ordered today and that have been repudiated by Congress and by the United States. For years, the Congressman has repeatedly called on the President to make broader use of his pardon and commutation powers to address these injustices, including repeatedly urging Attorney General Holder to address the issue, in a letter sent to the President in June, in an August speech on Capitol Hill and in a column that appeared in The Nation.\n\u201cPresident Obama took a step in the right direction with the commutation of a small number of Americans that he acknowledged were \u2018sentenced under an unfair system,\u2019\u201d said Congressman Cohen. \u201cBut he also acknowledged that there are \u2018thousands\u2019 more still serving unfair sentences, and that this \u2018must not be the last\u2019 step towards restoring justice and fairness in our judicial system\u2014I could not agree more. President Obama can and should use his Constitutional power to help bring all of these inmates the justice they deserve, not just 8 of them.\u201d\nThe Fair Sentencing Act, which was passed by Congress and signed into law by the President in 2010, marked a turning point in our nation\u2019s approach to drug policy and took a critical step towards eliminating the dramatic and unfair disparity between crack and cocaine mandatory minimum sentences. But, as the President mentioned today, it \u201ccame too late\u201d for thousands of people who were sentenced before the law was passed are still serving sentences that have been repudiated by Congress and the President. Now that the United States government has declared these sentences to be void against public policy, the President can and should use his commutation power to remedy this injustice for all of those still incarcerated under outdated sentences.\nCongressman Cohen continued: \u201cWhile the country remains light years behind the United States when it comes to human rights and free expression, reports today indicate that even Russia and Vladimir Putin are taking steps to change their ways by granting amnesty to thousands of prisoners incarcerated for things such as expressing their right to free speech, \u2018hooliganism,\u2019 and other political \u2018crimes.\u2019 The United States must change its ways and reconsider its incarceration and sentencing policies as well. The President has shown that he is willing to help in that process with today\u2019s commutations, but he must do more to release people who are simply draining our economy.\u201d\nToday\u2019s announcement only highlights how much more the President can do. The pardon and commutation powers are, in addition to being the speediest method of bringing needed justice to thousands of people incarcerated under outdated crack cocaine sentences, one of the few actions that the President can take without being blocked or delayed by an obstructionist Congress.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://cohen.house.gov/remember-get-covered-december-23rd", "Remember to Get Covered by December 23rd", "2013-12-19", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Dear Friend,\nI\u2019m glad to be home in Memphis for the holidays after a long and frustrating year in Congress. I hope that you and your loved ones have a wonderful holiday season. Keep reading to learn what else happened this week.\nHonoring the Late Nelson Mandela  Helping Memphians Get Covered by December 23rd  Extending Coverage to Those Most\u00a0in Need  Opposing Telephone Calls on Airplanes  Senator Elizabeth Warren Joins My Effort to Ensure All Job Seekers Are Treated Fairly  Reining In the FISA Court and NSA Surveillance  2014 U.S. Capitol Historical Society Calendars Are Available  White House Internships  Grant Announcements\nHonoring the Late Nelson Mandela\nIn the last week, I attended a memorial service for the late Nelson Mandela at the R.S. Lewis and Sons Funeral Home\u2014the same funeral home where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.\u2019s body was taken for public viewing in April of 1968. At the memorial service this week, I signed the guest book and reflected on his great spirit and accomplishments. I will make sure that the guest book gets to the Mandela family in South Africa.\nHelping Memphians Get Covered by December 23rd\nAll Memphians should have quality health coverage and the President\u2019s landmark Affordable Care Act\u2014also known as Obamacare\u2014is making affordable, higher-quality coverage available to people who have not had access to it in the past. Luckily, many who have been unable to afford quality coverage in the past are now eligible to enroll in Tennessee\u2019s Health Insurance Marketplace, though\u00a0the deadline to enroll for coverage that starts on January 1st is just 4 days away. If you do not have health insurance coverage, you may also be eligible to save money on your health care premiums\u00a0in the Marketplace.\nIf you are on Medicare or your employer is going to offer qualified health insurance next year that you will enroll in, you\u2019re already covered and won\u2019t need to enter the Marketplace for your health coverage. If you aren\u2019t sure whether or not you will need to use the Marketplace to get insurance, call the Marketplace Hotline at 1-800-318-2596 or visit www.HealthCare.gov. You can also call my office or the Marketplace Hotline to find out if TennCare (Tennessee\u2019s Medicaid program) is a coverage option for you. If you are one of the millions of Americans who need health insurance, you can sign up\u00a0for coverage that will take effect January 1, 2014 until December 23, 2013. Enrollment in the marketplace will remain open until March 31, 2014 if you miss the deadline for coverage starting in January. Visit www.healthcare.gov\u00a0 today to look at your options.\nThe Affordable Care Act is already working for families across the Ninth District and the recent government shutdown didn\u2019t change that. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 147,000 individuals in the district now have health insurance that covers preventive services without co-pays, $3.1 million in insurance premiums have been returned to consumers, and more than 5,000 seniors on Medicare paid a total of $5.9 million less for their prescription medications as we continue to close the \u2018donut hole.\u2019 Also, health insurance companies can no longer discriminate against patients with pre-existing conditions and young adults up to age 26 can now stay on their parents\u2019 insurance plan.\nMany of the Marketplace website issues that have been in the news recently have been resolved.\u00a0However, the Marketplace website is only one tool that you can use to sign up for coverage. If you are having trouble accessing the website, please do not hesitate to call the Marketplace Hotline at 1-800-318-2596 or attend one of Seedco Mid-South\u2019s enrollment events for in-person help. Seedco\u2019s Navigators will be at the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library today and tomorrow to help provide information and assist with in-person enrollment in Marketplace health insurance options. They will be in the library\u2019s Meeting Room B from 4:00 \u2013 6:30 PM tonight (Thursday), in Meeting Room A from 10:00 AM\u00a0\u2013 1:00 PM tomorrow (Friday), and Room L-56 from 2:00 \u2013 4:00 PM tomorrow (Friday). You do not need to preregister to attend any of these sessions. If you cannot make any of these sessions, you can also visit the Seedco Mid-South office at 22 North Front Street (Suite 900), and they can be reached by phone at 901-528-8341. If you have any other questions, you should also feel free to call my office at 901-544-4131.\nExtending Coverage to Those Most in Need\nWhile the technical problems with the health insurance Marketplace\u2019s website are largely resolved, a political problem with another important tool to help people access health care remains: TennCare has not been expanded to include everyone that the Affordable Care Act allows it to include. And sadly, our governor has failed to expand it\u2014making health insurance completely unattainable for some of the most vulnerable Tennesseans. This week, I wrote a column in the Commercial Appeal about why we must expand TennCare. You can read it here.\nOpposing Telephone Calls on Airplanes\nYesterday, I led a bipartisan group of 15 Members of Congress in urging the FAA to keep the ban on in-flight calls in place. I, along with my Congressional colleagues, share the concerns of the flying public and the many professionals in the aviation industry that such a change to the current rules disallowing the use of cell phone voice networks could result in not only a markedly less pleasant flying experience, but a less safe one as well.\nAllowing passengers to make phone calls while in flight would disrupt the right of consumers to enjoy the quiet comfort of their flight. Simply put, the flying experience in the United States would be forever changed for the worse if voice calls are allowed on flights. I hope that the FAA considers our concerns and makes the right decision.\nSenator Elizabeth Warren Joins My Effort to Ensure All Job Seekers Are Treated Fairly\nUsing a job applicant\u2019s credit history to deny employment is not fair because personal credit history is not an accurate predictor of job performance. And worse still, without a job the chances of improving one\u2019s credit rating can be significantly diminished, meaning that using credit ratings to deny employment only perpetuates these cyclical problems. According to TransUnion, Greater Memphis residents have among the lowest average credit ratings in America.\nMy Equal Employment for All Act would help those with less-than-stellar credit reports by prohibiting employers from using consumer credit checks and bankruptcy filings in the hiring or firing processes. This week, my bill got a big boost when U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren introduced it in the Senate.\u00a0Having Senator Warren and other consumer champions like her on our side is great news. I look forward to working with her in the coming session of Congress to pass this important bill that will help Americans who are looking for work.\nReining In the FISA Court and NSA Surveillance\nThis week, a federal judge originally appointed by President George W. Bush ruled that some of the methods used by the National Security Agency (NSA) to spy on American citizens were likely unconstitutional. On Monday night, I spoke with Chris Hayes on MSNBC about some of the ways we can help protect our rights\u2014including my bill to change how members of the FISA court, which oversees the NSA, are appointed. You can watch my interview with Chris here.\n2014 U.S. Capitol Historical Society Calendars Are Available\nMy office currently has a limited number of 2014 U.S. Capitol Historical Society calendars available. If you would like to receive next year\u2019s calendar, please complete this short form on my website \u00a0Due\u00a0to the rules of the House, I am only able to mail calendars to residents of Tennessee\u2019s Ninth District. Please feel free to share this email with other citizens of the Ninth District who may be interested in receiving one but who do not receive my eNewsletter.\nWhite House Internships\nThe White House Internship Program is currently accepting applications from young people who are interested in government and devoted to public service. If you\u2014or anyone you know\u2014 would like to spend some time working at the White House, gaining valuable professional experience and building leadership skills, I would like to take this opportunity to urge you to apply. The application deadline is January 5th, 2014. Click here\u00a0for more information.\nGrant Announcements\nI regularly release a list of grant announcements from federal agencies like the Department of Health and Human Services, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Transportation, and others. These federal funding opportunities are available to faith-based and neighborhood associations, nonprofits and other community organizations in the 9th District. The announcements are\u00a0updated regularly on my website.\nMerry Christmas and Happy New Year,\n  \n\tSteve Cohen  \n\tMember of Congress", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://desjarlais.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-desjarlais-introduces-the-restoring-our-commitment-to-our-nations", "Rep. DesJarlais Introduces the Restoring Our Commitment to Our Nation's Veterans Act", "2013-12-19", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Scott DesJarlais", "D000616", "desjarlais.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Representative Scott DesJarlais, M.D. (TN-04), today introduced the \u201cRestoring our Commitment to our Nation\u2019s Veterans Act.\u201d This legislation would replace the cost of living adjustment (COLA) cuts for military retirees that were included in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 with reductions to the Affordable Care Act\u2019s Prevention and Public Health Fund.\nAfter introducing this legislation, Representative DesJarlais released the following the statement:\n\u201cImposing these cuts on our military retirees breaks our commitment to those who bravely risked their lives in defense of this nation. It was one of the key reasons I voted against the Ryan-Murray Budget Deal. I am calling on all my colleagues, both those who voted in favor of these cuts and those who did not, to support this legislation immediately restoring these benefits we owe to our veterans. We have an opportunity to do the right thing by eliminating a slush fund being used as a taxpayer funded lobbying effort for ObamaCare.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://desjarlais.house.gov/media-center?ID=60DCC95B-3BA9-4BB3-BD4C-0110DCF1376A", "Rep. DesJarlais Introduces the Restoring Our Commitment to Our Nation's Veterans Act", "2013-12-19", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Scott DesJarlais", "D000616", "desjarlais.house.gov", "desjarlais", "https://desjarlais.house.gov/media-center", "scraper", "Representative Scott DesJarlais, M.D. (TN-04), today introduced the \u201cRestoring our Commitment to our Nation\u2019s Veterans Act.\u201d This legislation would replace the cost of living adjustment (COLA) cuts for military retirees that were included in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 with reductions to the Affordable Care Act\u2019s Prevention and Public Health Fund.\n\nAfter introducing this legislation, Representative DesJarlais released the following the statement:\n\n\u201cImposing these cuts on our military retirees breaks our commitment to those who bravely risked their lives in defense of this nation. It was one of the key reasons I voted against the Ryan-Murray Budget Deal. I am calling on all my colleagues, both those who voted in favor of these cuts and those who did not, to support this legislation immediately restoring these benefits we owe to our veterans. We have an opportunity to do the right thing by eliminating a slush fund being used as a taxpayer funded lobbying effort for ObamaCare.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-27T22:40:02Z"], ["https://web.archive.org/web/20140109220955/http://black.house.gov:80/press-release/black-neal-introduce-comprehensive-care-payment-innovation-act", "Black, Neal Introduce Comprehensive Care Payment Innovation Act", "2013-12-19", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Diane Black", "B001273", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013\u00a0Today, Congressmen Diane Black (R-TN-06) and Richard E. Neal (D \u2013 MA-01) introduced the Comprehensive Care Payment Innovation Act \u2013 legislation that would allow Medicare\u2019s fee-for-service program to prioritize patient outcomes and quality through a more cost-effective delivery system.\n\u201cAs a nurse for more than 40 years, I take great joy in knowing that Americans are healthier and living longer than they were 20 years ago,\u201d said Congressman Black.\u00a0 \u201cWhile there is no doubt this is in part due to the men and women who provide exceptional medicine, with 10,000 baby boomers retiring every day, Congress must take action to ensure that we have a health care infrastructure in place that can provide quality, affordable care for seniors. That is why I have introduced the Comprehensive Care Payment Innovation Act\u2013a commonsense measure that would allow Medicare providers to bundle certain services in a manner that focuses on improving patient outcomes while lowering costs for taxpayers.\u201d\n\u201cHospitals in Massachusetts and across the country are used to pushing the envelope on innovative advances in patient care and this legislation will advance the effort to help hospitals and other providers to better focus on overall patient care, increasing value rather than volume of care.\u00a0 This should be a \u2018win win\u2019 for hospitals, healthcare costs, but most importantly for patients,\u201d said Congressman Neal.\nThe Comprehensive Care Payment Innovation Act would create a voluntary bundle payment program for Medicare that allows health care providers to treat a beneficiary for an episode of care, such as a hip or knee replacement, for the entire continuum of care.\u00a0 The provider would receive one lump sum payment that would cover the cost of the patient for the hospitalization and conclude 90 days afterward.\u00a0 All services would be covered in the bundle, which means the provider would take greater responsibility for patient outcomes.\u00a0\nA bundle payment allows providers to develop greater efficiencies in health care delivery and ensures quality care for seniors.\u00a0 In fact, the Congressional Budget Office, in its Options for Reducing the Deficit: 2014 to 2023 report, cited bundle payments as a method to achieve greater health care savings.\nFor a more comprehensive bill summary, click here, or for the bill text, click here.\n####", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://web.archive.org/web/20140221002738/http://www.corker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ContentRecord_id=57bcec1b-9463-414a-a774-cedad20b75e9", "Corker Opposes Excess Spending in Defense Bill", "2013-12-19", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Bob Corker", "C001071", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Senator Bob Corker, R-Tenn., ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee, today announced his opposition to the 2014 National Defense Authorization Act because it authorizes spending above limits set by the Budget Control Act of 2011, as well as the recent budget agreement. He voted against ending debate on NDAA since only two amendments were allowed to be considered, and he will vote \u201cno\u201d on final passage of the bill tonight.\n\u201cWashington\u2019s refusal to appropriately deal with our fiscal issues flies in the face of the courage and sacrifices of our men and women in uniform. Our country\u2019s deficits weaken the nation they fight to protect, so I don\u2019t think contributing to the spend-now-pay-later mentality of Congress is an appropriate way to honor their service,\u201d said Corker.\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=421c44b2-0c71-477e-baa0-7514f9d97d4b", "Alexander: Defense Bill Key to Military Readiness, Tennessee Installations", "2013-12-19", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Says he\u2019ll vote yes on legislation supporting troop pay, Second Amendment rights against UN Arms Trade Treaty\r\n***\r\n\u201cI am voting for this legislation because it ensures that the men and women wearing the uniform of our Armed Services are paid, and gives them the support they need to fight for our freedoms and keep us safe.\u201d \u2013 Lamar Alexander\u00a0\r\nWASHINGTON, Dec. 19 \u2013 U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today announced that he would vote in favor of the National Defense Authorization Act, which authorizes funding for military pay, construction projects impacting Tennessee and a range of weapons programs.\r\n\u201cThe National Defense Authorization Act is the most important legislation affecting the military that Congress considers,\u201d Alexander said. \u201cI am voting for this legislation because it ensures that the men and women wearing the uniform of our Armed Services are paid, and gives them the support they need to fight for our freedoms and keep us safe.\u201d\r\nThe National Defense Authorization Act authorizes funding for the Department of Defense on a range of fronts. It includes military pay \u2013 which would expire for combat troops without passage of this legislation \u2013 and construction projects impacting members of the military and their families. It also provides funding for weapons programs, in addition to addressing a range of policies, including the proposed United Nations Arms Trade Treaty.\r\n\u00a0\r\nSpecifically, the legislation:\r\n \r\nProvides military pay, including a 1 percent across-the-board pay raise for military personnel. Pay for combat personnel would have expired at the end of 2013.\r\nProvides funding for military construction projects in Tennessee, including: $137 million at Fort Campbell, $18 million at McGree Tyson Air National Guard Base near Knoxville, $4.3 million for the Navy in Memphis and $2.2 million at Arnold Engineering Development Center in Tullahoma.\r\nProhibits funding from being used to implement any part of the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty without advice and consent of the U.S. Senate, of which Alexander said, \u201cThe U.N. Arms Trade Treaty violates the Second Amendment rights of Tennesseans and all Americans by failing to protect the lawful ownership and use of firearms.\u201d\r\nIncludes more than 30 provisions related to combatting sexual assault in the military.\r\n \r\n\u00a0\r\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=cd36ef9b-c511-49a6-b5cf-71ac292d09dd", "Alexander: Obamacare Delivers Unwelcome Christmas Present, Unhappy New Year for Many Tennesseans", "2013-12-19", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Says Obamacare is increasing costs and reducing health care choices for Tennesseans, businesses and school districts\r\n***\r\n\u201cUnfortunately, at least 82,000 Tennesseans are losing their health policies this year, and that\u2019s an unwelcome Christmas present. Even more unfortunately, an Unhappy New Year is coming in which hundreds of thousands of Tennesseans could lose the employer-sponsored policies they have and like when Obamacare\u2019s burdensome mandates on employers kick in.\u201d \u2013 Lamar Alexander\u00a0\r\nWASHINGTON, Dec. 19 \u2013 In a speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate yesterday, U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) highlighted the ways Obamacare has increased costs and reduced choices for Tennesseans in 2013, and warned of more widespread consequences in the New Year.\r\n\u201cThe fact t least 82,000 Tennesseans will begin to lose their individual health insurance policies starting Jan. 1 is an unwelcome Christmas present,\u201d Alexander said. \u201cAnd it\u2019ll be an unhappy New Year for many more Tennesseans who get their insurance on the job when Obamacare\u2019s burdensome mandates on employers kick in.\u201d\r\nThe senator discussed how Obamacare\u2019s mandates have outlawed many insurance plans \u2013 despite the president\u2019s promise that \u201cIf you like your health insurance, you can keep it\u201d \u2013 will increase costs for individuals and businesses and is even burdening school districts.\r\nAlexander\u2019s remarks as prepared are below:\r\nFor the last couple months, we\u2019ve heard countless stories from constituents who are losing the health plans they purchased on the individual market.\u00a0\r\nAccording to America\u2019s Health Insurance Plans, there are 19 million Americans in the individual market.\u00a0The Obama administration knew in 2010 that the rules it wrote for health plans would mean at least 47 percent to 60 percent of those policies could not be legally offered under Obamacare by 2014.\u00a0 Yet the President still said to people:\u00a0\u201cIf you like your health insurance, you can keep it.\u201d\r\nBy now we all know what the president said wasn\u2019t true. According to news reports collected by my staff, at least 5 million Americans, including 82,000 Tennesseans, will lose their individual plans starting Jan. 1. That\u2019s an unwelcome Christmas present for at least 82,000 Tennesseans (16,000 Tennesseans are losing their CoverTN plan; 66,000 Tennesseans will also lose their BlueCross Blue Shield of Tennessee coverage). \u00a0\r\nMy constituent Emily from Middle Tennessee told me in a recent letter: \u201cI cannot keep my current plan because it does not meet the standards of coverage. This alone is a travesty. CoverTN has been a lifeline \u2026.With the discontinuation of CoverTN, I am being forced to purchase a plan though the Exchange\u2026My insurance premiums alone will increase a staggering 410 percent. My out-of-pocket expense will increase by more than $6,000 a year \u2013 that includes subsidies. Please help me understand how this is \u2018affordable.\u2019\u201d\r\nUnfortunately, Emily is not the only one experiencing \u201crate shock.\u201d\u00a0 Millions of Americans are losing their insurance plans and then being forced to buy new plans with higher premiums, deductibles, and co-insurance.\r\nAccording to data from the Department of Health and Human Services, Tennesseans can expect to pay up to three times more on the exchanges being set up under Obamacare for the health insurance they now have.\r\n \r\nIn 2013, a 27-year-old man in Memphis could buy a private insurance plan for as low as $41 a month.\u00a0On the exchange for insurance coverage in 2014, the lowest state average is $119 a month\u2014a 190 percent increase.\u00a0\r\n \r\n \r\nToday, a 27-year-old woman in Nashville can also buy a plan for as low as $58 a month.\u00a0 On the exchange, the lowest-priced plan in Nashville is $114 a month\u2014a 97 percent increase.\u00a0 Even with a tax subsidy if she made $25,000 a year, that plan is $104 a month, almost twice what she could pay today if the $58 plan was all she felt she needed.\r\n \r\n \r\nToday, women in Nashville can choose from 30 insurance plans that cost less than the administration says insurance plans on the exchange will cost, even with the new tax subsidy.\u00a0\r\n \r\n \r\nIn Nashville, 105 insurance plans offered today will not be available in the exchange.\r\n \r\nAccording to HealthPocket, Inc., a consumer-oriented health research firm, the average individual deductible for a bronze plan on the federally run exchange is $5,081 a year.\u00a0\r\nThat is 42 percent more than the average deductible of $3,589 for an individually purchased plan in 2013.\r\nAnd according to Deloitte, that is 348 percent more than the $1,135 average deductible for an employer health plan in 2013.\r\nAccording to Avalere Health, 90 percent of bronze plans require patients to pay 40 percent of the cost of their Tier 3 and 4 drugs out of their own pockets, compared with 29 percent of employer-sponsored plans that most Americans currently use. Most silver plans also require patients to pay 40 percent. For cancer patients and those with chronic illnesses, this kind of cost-sharing could mean they will pay thousands of dollars out of pocket or go without the drugs they need to stay healthy.\r\nAmericans had to wait until the exchanges opened on October 1st to find out just how much they were going to have to pay for insurance in 2014.\r\nWith such dramatic hikes in premiums and out-of-pocket expenses, it\u2019s no wonder Americans are outraged.\r\nAnd then, just before Thanksgiving, we learned that the Obama administration is delaying open enrollment for 2015 until after the mid-term elections in November.\r\nThe only American consumers this change will help are Democratic politicians\u00a0who voted for Obamacare,\u00a0because it delays disclosure of some of the law's most insidious effects until after the election.\r\nSenators Barrasso, Enzi, and I today introduced a bill called the \u201cPremium Disclosure Act\u201d to change the open enrollment date back to October and to provide Americans notice of their premiums and cost-sharing requirements 30 days in advance so that they can plan for the future knowing their health care costs for the next year.\r\nThis is a common-sense proposal that I hope my colleagues across the aisle will join me in passing.\r\nAs my colleague Senator Barrasso likes to say, what we now know about Obamacare is just the tip of the iceberg.\u00a0\r\nMuch of the media attention has focused upon the disastrous rollout of the website and the19 million Americans in the individual market. But just below the tip of the iceberg are nearly 160 million Americans who the Congressional Budget Office says have insurance through their employers and who will also soon start to feel the effects of Obamacare.\u00a0\r\nThink about issues like restrictive grandfathered plan rules, limits on the number of hours employees can work and be considered part-time, the mandate that employers provide government-approved insurance or pay a fine, and the millions of dollars in new taxes on health plans. All of these issues will have an impact on employer-sponsored health insurance in both the public and private sectors.\r\nWe\u2019re already starting to see the effects of the law and it hasn\u2019t even gone fully into effect. Employers such as Sea World, Trader Joe\u2019s, The Home Depot, and other companies have publicly said they are reducing worker hours or dropping part-time employee health benefits.\u00a0\r\nThe CEO of Ruby Tuesday told me that the cost to implement Obamacare is equal to the profit his company earned last year.\r\nIn case you think these are isolated examples, the National Association of Manufacturers says more than three-fourths of manufacturers cited rising health care and insurance costs as their most important business challenge.\u00a0\r\nThe U.S. Chamber of commerce also has a membership survey which says 74 percent of businesses are reporting that the health care law makes it harder for their firms to hire new workers.\r\nMany of these businesses self-insure, meaning they design and pay directly for the health plans they offer to their employees.\r\nAccording to the Kaiser Family Foundation, more than 100 million Americans currently have an employer-sponsored health plan that is self-insured.\u00a0\r\nSelf-insurance is a method of providing health insurance that has worked well since its inception in 1974 and should be preserved.\r\nLast month, Senators Rubio, Risch, McConnell and I introduced a bill to ensure the Obama administration does not change the rules that allow companies to insure themselves against a medical claim that could bankrupt them. \u00a0\u00a0\r\nAny effort by the Obama administration to change the rules on companies that self-insure will break the president\u2019s promise to millions more hardworking Americans. It won\u2019t matter if they like their employer\u2019s health care plans; many won\u2019t be able to keep them.\r\n\u00a0\r\nIt\u2019s not just the private sector facing fiscal challenges because of Obamacare. Our nation\u2019s schools, colleges, and universities are also being hit hard.\r\nThere\u2019s no shortage of examples in Tennessee of local leaders dealing with the burdens of Obamacare:\r\n \r\nFranklin Special School District has begun limiting substitute teachers to working four days a week, in order to avoid paying between $1 million to 4.5 million more per year in health care costs.\r\n \r\n \r\nMaury County Schools is also limiting its substitute teachers to no more than 28 hours a week for the same reason. As one school board member told the local news, \u201cStudents struggle enough having one substitute teacher, but then now we\u2019re going to have to possibly split the substitute time between two substitute teachers. It just makes it hard on the students to learn.\u201d\r\n \r\n \r\nWilson County Board of Education wrote to tell me that Obamacare\u2019s \u201creinsurance fee\u201d will cost the district an additional $165,000 in 2014 alone.\r\n \r\n \r\nAt least nine other Tennessee school districts are reportedly limiting employee work hours or entire jobs, including:\r\n\r\nClarksville County Schools\r\nRutherford County Schools\r\nJohnson City Schools\r\nCarter County Schools\r\nWashington County School District\r\nOneida Special School District\r\nScott County School System\r\nStewart County School System\r\n\r\n\r\n \r\n \r\nCumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee, has adopted a new policy to limit adjunct faculty to no more than three courses each term \u2013 meaning that they will not be allowed to offer a course even if they are the most qualified instructor available.\r\n \r\nThe impact of Obamacare on education is by no means limited to Tennessee.\u00a0 Investor\u2019s Business Daily has identified well over 100 school districts and institutions of higher education nationwide that have made cuts and/or limited employee work hours because of Obamacare.\u00a0 That number is climbing daily, again suggesting that this is just the tip of the iceberg.\r\nWho pays the price for this? Our children. Cash-strapped schools simply do not have the resources to absorb these costs, so they\u2019re forced to make difficult choices that will impact our nation\u2019s education system.\r\nFor these reasons \u2013 broken promises, higher costs, fewer choices \u2013 Obamacare was an historic mistake. It expanded a health care delivery system we already knew cost too much, and left Americans with fewer choices.\r\nNow, what would we do differently, as Republicans, if we could elect a Republican Senate in 2014, and a Republican president in 2016? We would repeal and replace Obamacare. We would replace it with step-by-step reforms reduce health care costs and put patients in charge by giving them more choices.\r\nHere are some of the steps we would take to transform health care so Americans could afford it:\r\n \r\nMake Medicare solvent so seniors can depend on it to be there for them and their grandchildren.\r\n \r\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 2.\u00a0Give Governors more flexibility with their state Medicaid programs so \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 they can lower costs, improve health outcomes, and have more money \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 for other programs like education and roads.\r\n \r\nStrengthen innovative workplace wellness programs that empower employees with more incentives to make healthy lifestyle choices.\r\n  \r\nLet small businesses pool their resources and offer lower cost insurance plans for their employees.\r\n  \r\nProvide families the opportunity to purchase insurance across state lines, creating greater competition between insurance companies and lowering premiums for everyone.\u00a0\r\n \r\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a06. Expand access to Health Savings Accounts and catastrophic health  \u00a0insurance plans, giving people more affordable insurance options that fit  \u00a0their lifestyles.\r\n \r\nIncentivize the growth of private health insurance exchanges to give consumers expanded health insurance choices and allow them to keep insurance between jobs.\r\n  \r\nMake it easier for patients to compare prices and quality of doctors and medical services.\u00a0\r\n  \r\nIncentivize states to reform junk lawsuits that drive up health care costs for everyone and are driving medical professionals out of their profession.\r\n \r\nWhen Irving Kristol died not long ago, James Q. Wilson wrote a tribute in the Wall Street Journal that struck me. He said that when they began their association as neoconservatives they were \u201cpolicy skeptics.\u201d He said that was their common view. And by that I think he must have meant that they did not believe that Washington could through a comprehensive piece of legislation fix our entire health care system, that what Washington should do \u2013 particularly in this iPhone age \u2013 is go step by step in a direction that allows for more personal freedom to Americans so they can live longer, live healthier, live safer, and be happier.\r\nThat\u2019s what Republicans would like to do.\r\nBut unfortunately, at least 82,000 Tennesseans are losing their health policies this year, and that\u2019s an unwelcome Christmas present. Even more unfortunately, an Unhappy New Year is coming in which hundreds of thousands of Tennesseans could lose the employer-sponsored policies they have and like when Obamacare\u2019s burdensome mandates on employers kick in.\r\nWe\u2019re ready to go in a different direction. We want to create a way for Americans to have more choices, more competition, and insurance they can purchase at a lower cost.\r\n\r\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://cohen.house.gov/press-release/gaining-momentum-cohen-bill-prevent-employers-using-credit-checks-hiring-process", "Gaining Momentum, Cohen Bill to Prevent Employers from Using Credit Checks in Hiring Process Introduced in the Senate", "2013-12-18", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Greater Memphis residents have among the lowest average credit ratings in America \n[WASHINGTON, D.C.] \u2013 Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today commended U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (MA) on introducing his legislation, the Equal Employment for All Act, in the United States Senate. The legislation, which is cosponsored by 6 other Senators and 31 U.S. Representatives in the House, would help protect job applicants from unfair discrimination from employers based on less-than-stellar or inaccurate credit ratings.\n\u201cUsing a job applicant\u2019s credit history to deny employment is not fair because personal credit history is not an accurate predictor of job performance,\u201d said Congressman Cohen. \u201cWe should be doing everything in our power to help people find jobs during these tough economic times \u2013 not hinder them. Having Senator Warren and other consumer champions on our side is great news and I look forward to working with her to pass our Equal Employment for All Act.\u201d\nCongressman Cohen originally introduced the Equal Employment for All Act in 2009 to prohibit employers from using credit checks and bankruptcy filings in the hiring process unless the position sought involves national security, FDIC clearance or tremendous financial responsibility.\n\u201cA bad credit rating is far more often the result of unexpected medical costs, unemployment, economic downturns, or other bad breaks than it is a reflection on an individual's character or abilities,\u201d Senator Warren said. \u201cFamilies have not fully recovered from the 2008 financial crisis, and too many Americans are still searching for jobs. This is about basic fairness -- let people compete on the merits, not on whether they already have enough money to pay all their bills.\u201d\nAccording to the Society for Human Resource Management, the number of U.S. employers conducting pre-employment credit checks is on the rise, up from 36 percent to 43 percent. It was previously thought that credit history may provide insight into an individual's character, but research has shown that an individual's credit rating has little to no correlation with his or her ability to be successful in the workplace.\nNot only are credit ratings a poor indicator of performance, but they are often inaccurate in the first place. Earlier this year, a study from the Federal Trade Commission suggested that errors in credit reports are common and, in many cases, have been difficult to correct.\u00a0\nThe Equal Employment for All Act has been endorsed by more than 40 organizations, including 9to5, AFGE Women's and Fair Practices Departments, American Association for Affirmative Action (AAAA), American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Relations (AFL-CIO), American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Americans for Financial Reform, Asian American Justice Center, Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, Black Women's Roundtable, Campaign for Community Change, Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race & Justice, Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), Consumer Action, D\u0113mos, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF), Disability Rights Legal Center, Job Opportunities Task Force, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Legal Action Center, MFY Legal Services, NAACP, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, National Association of Consumer Advocates, National Black Justice Coalition, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low-income clients), National Council of La Raza, National Council on Independent Living, National Employment Law Project, National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA), National Fair Housing Alliance, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund, National Network to End Domestic Violence, National Organization for Women, National Partnership for Women and Families, National Women's Law Center, National Workrights Institute, Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project (NEDAP), New York Legal Assistance Group, PolicyLink, Poverty and Race Research Action Council, Public Citizen, Public Justice Center, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and U.S. PIRG.\nU.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) joined Senator Warren in cosponsoring the Senate bill. Congressman Cohen\u2019s companion legislation in the House has 31 cosponsors.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://fleischmann.house.gov/press-release/media-advisory-chuck-fleischmann-make-important-announcement-etec", "Media Advisory: Chuck Fleischmann To Make Important Announcement At ETEC", "2013-12-18", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Chuck Fleischmann", "F000459", "fleischmann.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Oak Ridge \u2212 Congressman Chuck Fleischmann will be addressing the East Tennessee Economic Council on Thursday, December 19th.\u00a0 During his speech the Congressman will give an update on the pending budget situation and make an important economic announcement for East Tennessee.\u00a0 Press is welcome at the event.\u00a0\nDate: Thursday, December 19, 2013\nTime: 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Media Availability: Immediately following\u00a0\nLocation: ETEC Meeting Room\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01201 Oak Ridge Turnpike\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Oak Ridge, TN 37830", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://fleischmann.house.gov/media/press-releases/media-advisory-chuck-fleischmann-make-important-announcement-etec", "Media Advisory: Chuck Fleischmann To Make Important Announcement At ETEC", "2013-12-18", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Charles J. \"Chuck\" Fleischmann", "F000459", "fleischmann.house.gov", "fleischmann", "https://fleischmann.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Oak Ridge \u2212 Congressman Chuck Fleischmann will be addressing the East Tennessee Economic Council on Thursday, December 19th. During his speech the Congressman will give an update on the pending budget situation and make an important economic announcement for East Tennessee. Press is welcome at the event.\n\nDate: Thursday, December 19, 2013\n\nTime: 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Media Availability: Immediately following\n\nLocation: ETEC Meeting Room\n\n1201 Oak Ridge Turnpike\n\nOak Ridge, TN 37830", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-27T22:40:02Z"], ["https://web.archive.org/web/20140307024759/http://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=a25351c9-de18-4129-b09a-41356392e440", "Alexander, Barrasso, Enzi Introduce Bill to Reverse Administration\u2019s \u201cPolitically Motivated\u201d Decision to Delay Next Year\u2019s Obamacare Insurance Enrollment Until After 2014 Election", "2013-12-18", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "December 18 2013  - \nLegislation would require Obama administration to open enrollment prior to election as originally planned, disclose premium increase and cost-sharing information to American families beforehand\nWASHINGTON, Dec. 18 \u2013 Senators Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), and Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) today introduced legislation that would reverse the Obama administration\u2019s recent decision to delay next year\u2019s Obamacare insurance enrollment deadline until after the 2014 election. \u201cThe Premium Disclosure Act\u201d would also require the administration to provide premium increase and cost-sharing information to Americans prior to open enrollment so they have time to make decisions about their health care.\nIn 2011, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that enrollment in the Obamacare exchanges for 2015 would begin Oct. 15 of next year. But after two months of negative public reaction to the exchange\u2019s high premiums, deductibles and co-insurance, agency officials delayed enrollment and disclosure of next year\u2019s insurance cost increases until after the 2014 elections.\nThis legislation will also make it easier for families to plan for expenses in 2015 by requiring HHS to disclose health insurance plan and cost information 30 days in advance of open enrollment. For the current open enrollment season, agency officials were not required to disclose any information and did not do so until the exchanges opened on Oct. 1.\u00a0\nAlexander, the senior Republican on the Senate health committee, said: \u201cThe only Americans the Obama administration\u2019s delay will help is Democratic politicians who voted for Obamacare, because it delays disclosure of some of the law\u2019s most insidious effects for 2015 until after the election. This legislation would stop the administration from playing politics with Americans\u2019 health care, and ensure that families will know what the costs will be well before the exchanges open.\u201d\nBarrasso said: \u201cThe decision to delay the enrollment season by a mere month adds to the Administration\u2019s long record of misleading the American people about this health care law.\u00a0 Instead of trying to hide the skyrocketing costs, they need to come clean about the terrible impacts of this law. The fact is that many Americans can\u2019t keep their coverage, can\u2019t keep their doctor and can\u2019t afford this law. Our bill will deliver the transparency that the American people deserve when making important health care decisions for their families.\u201d\nEnzi said: \u201cEarlier rounds of health care mandates were not popular, so the Administration has sought to delay as many of them as possible until after the next election. Our legislation would not only prevent this political move, but would make sure families have premium and cost-sharing information in time to make more informed decisions for themselves.\u201d\nThe two-page bill sets the open enrollment dates of the exchanges from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7 in statute, rather than after the November 2014 mid-term elections as the Obama administration currently has planned. It also requires the administration to provide American families with notice of any premium increases and cost-sharing requirements 30 days before open enrollment. Alexander noted that the 30-day notice \u2013 which HHS says is not possible \u2013 is the same that seniors receive for Medicare Advantage, a program that provides private insurance options under Medicare.\nHHS announced in November that it will delay the beginning of the next Obamacare enrollment season by one month, until Nov. 15, 2014, after the midterm elections, instead of beginning open enrollment season the department\u2019s previously announced date of Oct. 15.\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Multimedia&ContentRecord_id=4db17122-de72-4ae0-aa28-a5f736bc216f", "Alexander: Obamacare Brings Unwelcome Christmas Present, Unhappy New Year for Many Tennesseans", "2013-12-18", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the senior Republican on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today on the Senate floor highlighted how Obamacare has increased costs and reduced health care choices for Tennesseans, and warned of more widespread consequences in the New Year.On the floor, Alexander said: \"The fact that at least 82,000 Tennesseans will begin to lose their individual health insurance policies starting Jan. 1 is an unwelcome Christmas present. And it'll be an unhappy New Year for many more Tennesseans who get their insurance on the job when Obamacare's burdensome mandates on employers kick in.\"", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Multimedia&ContentRecord_id=ceb8d02b-f240-42db-8329-7d54c892612f", "Alexander, Barrasso, Enzi Bill Would Reverse Administration\u2019s \u201cPolitically Motivated\u201d Obamacare Insurance Enrollment Delay", "2013-12-18", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Senators Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), and Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) today introduced legislation that would reverse the Obama administration\u2019s recent decision to delay next year\u2019s Obamacare insurance enrollment deadline until after the 2014 election. \u201cThe Premium Disclosure Act\u201d would also require the administration to provide premium increase and cost-sharing information to Americans prior to open enrollment so they have time to make decisions about their health care.\r\nAlexander, the senior Republican on the Senate health committee, said: \u201cThe only Americans the Obama administration\u2019s delay will help is Democratic politicians who voted for Obamacare, because it delays disclosure of some of the law\u2019s most insidious effects for 2015 until after the election. This legislation would stop the administration from playing politics with Americans\u2019 health care, and ensure that families will know what the costs will be well before the exchanges open.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=e3617c65-6af7-48d3-91b5-e4c23c416782", "Alexander Votes Against Budget Agreement", "2013-12-18", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 \u2013 U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today released the following statement on his vote against the Ryan-Murray budget agreement:\r\n\u201cI voted against the budget agreement because it avoids the federal government\u2019s most urgent need: reducing the growth of runaway entitlement spending. Instead, it spends savings that should be used to strengthen Medicare, pensions, and the air transportation system. It is particularly troubling that the budget agreement takes money from pensions in a way that treats military retirees worse than the civilian federal employees.\r\n\u201cIt would have been better to pay for this agreement with a small part of the $1 trillion in entitlement savings that Sen. Corker and I have identified in our \u2018Fiscal Sustainability Act,\u2019 or with entitlement savings suggested in the president\u2019s budget. \u00a0\r\n\u201cAlthough I can\u2019t support it, I appreciate the efforts of Rep. Ryan and Sen. Murray to bring certainty to the budget process, which is why I voted Tuesday to allow a Senate vote on their agreement, which had passed the House with two-to-one Republican support.\u201d\u00a0\r\nIn addition to its failure to address growth of mandatory entitlement spending \u2013 such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security \u2013 Alexander cited four major objections to the budget agreement. Alexander objected to the agreement because it:\r\n \r\nCuts $22 billion in 2022 and 2023 in Medicare reimbursements to doctors and other health care providers, for savings that may never materialize.\r\nIncreases pension premiums paid by employers to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. by $7.9 billion, to pay for unrelated spending.\r\nCuts the annual cost-of-living benefits for military retirees under the age of 62 by 1 percent, to pay for unrelated spending. This would impact current retirees, as opposed to new hires as in the case of changes to civilian federal employee pensions.\r\nIncreases by $12.6 billion airport security fees \u2013 which generally get passed on to airline passengers \u2013 to pay for unrelated spending. Such fees should be used to improve airport security.\r\n \r\nIn February, Senators Alexander and Corker introduced the\u00a0\u201cFiscal Sustainability Act,\u201d S. 11, to reduce the growth of entitlement spending (Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security) by nearly $1 trillion in the next decade in order to improve the programs\u2019 solvency. The bill incorporates many of the recommendations made by President Obama\u2019s Debt Commission (Simpson-Bowles) as well as by former Republican Senator Pete Domenici and Alice Rivlin, budget director for former President Clinton.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\r\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=SpeechesFloorStatements&ContentRecord_id=90881e7a-cb4d-4c88-b081-c898cb6b3f85", "Floor Speech: Obamacare Delivers Unwelcome Christmas Present", "2013-12-18", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "I congratulate the Senator from Missouri for his comments.\u00a0 Sometimes I think Republican Senators especially should begin and end every speech with an answer to the question, \u201cWhat would the Senator do if he were in charge?\u201d\u00a0 And the Senator from Missouri has said that very eloquently.\u00a0 It is not the first time what Republicans would do has been said on this floor.\u00a0 He mentioned that the law was passed 3 1/2 years ago.\u00a0 We counted it one time. We mentioned 173 times on this floor the Republican step-by-step proposal for a different approach to health care in this country.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We said, \u201cDon't expect Senator McConnell or any other Republican to come in with a 3,000-page Republican bill in a wheelbarrow.\u201d\u00a0 We don't believe in that.\u00a0 We believe in a different direction, a different approach.\u00a0 We don't believe we are wise enough in Washington to write 3,000 pages of rules to govern every aspect of our health care system in America that takes 18 or 19 percent of the economy.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We live in the iPhone age, where we want to increase the personal freedom of Americans to live longer, better, safer, and healthier.\u00a0 We want people to be able to do these things for themselves.\u00a0 We want to increase choice, competition, and in that way lower costs.\u00a0 If we lower costs, then more people will be able to afford to buy health insurance.\u00a0 That is the real way to expand health insurance in America -- make it more affordable; make it so people can afford it.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 So I am beginning these short remarks with a salute to the Senator from Missouri for talking about what we would do if we were in charge, and I am going to end in that way as well.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 For the last couple of months, we have heard countless stories from constituents who are losing the health plans they purchased on the individual market.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 According to America's Health Insurance Plans, there are 19 million Americans in the individual market.\u00a0 The Obama administration knew in 2010 that the rules it wrote for health plans would mean that 47 to 60 percent of those policies could not be legally offered under Obamacare by 2014.\u00a0 Nevertheless, the President still said, \"If you like your health insurance, you can keep it.\"\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Now we all know that wasn't true.\u00a0 According to news reports collected by my staff, at least 5 million Americans, including 82,000 Tennesseans, will lose their individual plans starting January 1.\u00a0 That is an unwelcome Christmas present for those 82,000 Tennesseans.\u00a0 16,000 Tennesseans are losing their CoverTN plans; these are people who especially need help. \u00a0There are also 66,000 Tennesseans who will lose their Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee coverage.\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I heard from a woman named Emilie, who is from Middle Tennessee.\u00a0 She is 39 years of age and has lupus.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She wrote:\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI cannot keep my current plan because it doesn't meet the standards of coverage.\u00a0 This alone is a travesty.\u00a0 CoverTN has been a lifeline....With the discontinuation of CoverTN, I am being forced to purchase a plan through the Exchange....My insurance premiums alone will increase a staggering 410 percent.\u00a0 My out-of-pocket expense will increase by more than $6,000 a year -- that includes subsidies.\u00a0 Please help me understand how this is \u2018affordable.\u2019\"\r\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Unfortunately, Emilie is not the only one experiencing rate shock.\u00a0 Millions of Americans are losing their insurance plans.\u00a0 They are being forced to buy new plans, many of them with higher premiums, deductibles, and coinsurance.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 According to data from the Department of Health and Human Services, Tennesseans can expect to pay up to three times more on the exchanges being set up under Obamacare for the health insurance they now have.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In 2013, a 27-year-old man in Memphis can buy a private insurance plan for as low as $41 a month.\u00a0 On the exchange, the lowest state average is $119 a month -- a 190-percent increase.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Today, a 27-year-old woman in Nashville can buy a plan for as low as $58 a month.\u00a0 On the exchange, the lowest priced plan in Nashville is $114 a month -- a 97-percent increase.\u00a0 Even with a tax subsidy, if she made $25,000 a year, the plan would be $104 a month -- almost twice what she could pay today if the $58 plan was all she felt she needed.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Today, women in Nashville can choose from 30 insurance plans that cost less than the administration says insurance plans on the exchange will cost, even with the new tax subsidy.\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In Nashville, 105 insurance plans offered today will not be available in the exchange.\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 According to HealthPocket Inc., a consumer-oriented health research firm, the average individual deductible for a bronze plan on the federally-run exchange is $5,081 a year.\u00a0 That is 42 percent more than the average deductible of $3,500 for an individually purchased plan in 2013.\u00a0 According to Deloitte, that is 348 percent more than the $1,135 average deductible for an employer health plan in 2013.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 These are a lot of numbers, but Americans -- millions of them -- are getting familiar with these numbers because this has gone from being political to very personal.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 According to Avalere Health, 90 percent of bronze plans require patients to pay 40 percent of the cost of their tier 3 and 4 drugs out of their own pockets, compared with 29 percent of employer-sponsored plans that most Americans currently use.\u00a0 Most silver plans also require patients to pay 40 percent.\u00a0 For cancer patients and those with chronic illnesses, this kind of cost sharing could mean they will pay thousands of dollars out-of-pocket or go without the drugs they need to stay healthy.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Americans had to wait until the exchanges opened on Oct.1 to find out just how much they were going to have to pay for insurance in 2014.\u00a0 With such dramatic hikes in premiums and out-of-pocket expenses, it is no wonder that Americans are outraged.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Then, just before Thanksgiving, we learned that the Obama administration is delaying open enrollment for 2015 until after the midterm elections in November.\u00a0 The only American consumers this change will help are Democratic politicians who voted for Obamacare because it would delay disclosure of some of the law's most insidious effects until after the election.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Senators Barrasso, Enzi, and I introduced today the Premium Disclosure Act.\u00a0 We want to change the open enrollment date back to October and provide Americans notice of their premiums and cost-sharing requirements 30 days in advance so that they can plan for the future knowing their health care costs for the next year.\u00a0 This is a commonsense proposal that I hope my colleagues will support.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As my colleague Senator Barrasso likes to say, what we know now about Obamacare is just the tip of the iceberg.\u00a0 Much of the media attention has focused on the disastrous rollout of the website and the 19 million Americans in the individual market.\u00a0 But just below the tip of the iceberg are 160 million Americans -- nearly 10 times more than have individual policies -- who the Congressional Budget Office says get their insurance through the job, employer insurance.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Think about issues such as restrictive grandfathered plan rules, limits on the number of hours employees can work and be considered part time, the mandate that employers provide government-approved insurance or pay a fine, and the millions of dollars in new taxes on health plans.\u00a0 All of these issues will have an impact on employer-sponsored health insurance in both the public and private sector.\u00a0 We are already seeing that.\u00a0 Employers such as Sea World, Trader Joe's, The Home Depot, and other companies have publicly said they are reducing worker hours or dropping part-time employee health benefits.\u00a0 The chief executive officer of Ruby Tuesday, a restaurant company, told me that the cost to implement Obamacare would be equal to the profit his company earned all of last year.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In case you think these are isolated examples, the National Association of Manufacturers says that more than three-fourths of manufacturers cited rising health care and insurance costs as the most important business challenge.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The U.S. Chamber also has a membership survey saying that 74 percent of businesses are reporting that the health care law makes it harder for their firms to hire new workers.\u00a0 This is at a time when jobs are supposed to be the principal concern in our country.\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Many of these businesses self-insure, meaning they design and pay directly for the health plans they offer their employees.\u00a0 According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, more than 100 million Americans currently have employer-sponsored health plans that are self-insured.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Self-insurance is a method of providing health insurance that has worked well since its inception in 1974.\u00a0 It needs to be preserved.\u00a0 Last month Senators Rubio, Risch, McConnell and I introduced a bill to make sure the Obama administration doesn't change that, doesn't change the rule that allows the companies to insure themselves against a medical claim that could bankrupt them.\u00a0 Any effort by the Obama administration to change the rule on companies that self-insure will break the President's promise to millions of Americans.\u00a0 It won't matter if they like their employers' health plans; they won't be able to keep them.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It is not only the private sector facing fiscal challenges because of Obamacare.\u00a0 Our Nation's schools, colleges and universities are also being hit hard.\u00a0 There is no shortage of examples in my State of Tennessee of local leaders dealing with the burdens of Obamacare.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Franklin Special School District has begun limiting substitute teachers to working 4 days a week in order to avoid paying between $1 million and $4.5 million more per year in health care costs.\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Maury County Schools, south of Nashville, is also limiting its substitute teachers to no more than 28 hours a week for the same reason.\u00a0 One school board member told the local news:\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Students struggle enough having one substitute teacher, but then now we're going to have to possibly split the substitute time between two substitute teachers.\u00a0 It just makes it hard on the students to learn.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Wilson County Board of Education wrote to tell me that Obamacare's reinsurance fee will cost the district an additional $165,000 in 2014 alone.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 At least eight other Tennessee school districts are reportedly limiting employee work hours or entire jobs, including Clarksville, Rutherford County, Johnson City, Carter County, Washington County, Oneida Special School District, Scott County and Stewart County.\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cumberland University in Lebanon has adopted a new policy to limit adjunct faculty to no more than three courses each term, meaning they won't be able to offer a course even if they are the most qualified instructor available.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The impact of Obamacare on education is by no means limited to Tennessee.\u00a0 Investor's Business Daily has identified well over 100 school districts and institutions of higher education nationwide that have made cuts or limited employee work hours because of Obamacare. That number is climbing daily, again suggesting this is only the tip of the iceberg.\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Remember, what we are hearing about today are individual policies.\u00a0 What we are going to hear about next year are employer policies being cancelled, new costs, and there are 10 times as many Americans with employer policies as individual policies.\u00a0 Who pays the price for this?\u00a0 Our children.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cash-strapped schools simply don't have the money to absorb these costs, so they are forced to make difficult choices.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 For these reasons -- broken promises, higher costs, fewer choices -- Obamacare was an historic mistake.\u00a0 It expanded a health care delivery system that already costs too much and left Americans with fewer choices.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I said at the beginning of my remarks that I would like to end in\u00a0the same way, and I will do that with an answer to this question:\u00a0 What would we do if we were in charge?\u00a0 What if we elected a Republican Senate and even a Republican President in 2016?\u00a0 We would replace Obamacare, not by moving backward, but by moving in a different direction.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Remember, Obamacare's real problem was it expanded a delivery system that already costs too much.\u00a0 What we would do instead is go step by step to introduce new ways to increase choices, to have more competition and to lower costs.\u00a0\u00a0 We would make Medicare solvent, so seniors can depend on it.\u00a0 We would give governors more flexibility with Medicaid so they can create programs with lower costs.\u00a0 We would repeal the Obamacare wellness regulation -- the Senator from Missouri talked about that -- and replace it with one that makes it easier, not harder, for employers to give employees lower health insurance costs if they live a healthy lifestyle.\u00a0 We would let small businesses pool their resources and offer low-cost insurance plans for their employees.\u00a0 The Congressional Budget Office says that Senator Enzi's bill would allow coverage for 750,000 more Americans at a lower cost if we did that.\u00a0 We would allow families to purchase insurance across state lines.\u00a0 If there is a policy regulated by Kentucky that fits my needs, and I want to buy it, why shouldn't I be able to do it if I can afford it?\u00a0 We will expand health savings accounts.\u00a0 We would incentivize the growth of private health insurance exchanges.\u00a0 That is beginning to develop all across our country, giving more choices to employees.\u00a0 We would make it easier for patients to compare prices and quality of doctors and medical services.\u00a0 We would incentivize states to reform junk lawsuits.\u00a0 Those are the steps in the right direction where we would like to go.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 When Irving Kristol died not long ago, James Q.\u00a0 Wilson wrote a tribute in The Wall Street Journal which struck me.\u00a0 He said when they began their association as neoconservatives -- they were mostly Democrats -- he said we were policy skeptics.\u00a0 He said that was mainly what our common view was.\u00a0 By that, I think he must have meant they did not believe Washington could, through a comprehensive piece of legislation, fix our whole health care system; that what Washington should do, particularly in this iPhone age, is to go step by step in a direction that gives more personal freedom to consumers, to Americans, so they can live longer, live healthier, live safer, and be happier.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 That is what we would like to do.\u00a0 That is how we would like to change Obamacare, and we would like to have that opportunity.\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 So unfortunately, an unwelcome Christmas present this year for 82,000 Tennesseans is that they are losing their individual policies.\u00a0 Even more unfortunately, an unhappy New Year is coming, in which hundreds of thousands of Tennesseans will lose their employer policies -- the policies they get through their employers -- because of Obamacare. We are ready to go in a different direction and create a way for Americans to have more choices, more competition, and insurance they can purchase at a lower cost.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I thank the Chair, and I yield the floor.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\r\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://cohen.house.gov/press-release/cohen-leads-bipartisan-congressional-letter-urging-faa-not-allow-cell-phone-calls", "Cohen Leads Bipartisan Congressional Letter Urging FAA to Not Allow Cell Phone Calls In Flight", "2013-12-17", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "[WASHINGTON, D.C.] \u2013 After the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) opened the door to a proposal that would allow for voice calls from cell phones during domestic air travel, Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) sent a bipartisan Congressional letter to Michael Huerta, Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), strongly urging him to maintain the ban on cell phone calls in flight. The letter, which is cosigned by 14 Members of Congress and available here, also expresses concerns about disruptions to passengers\u2019 flight experience as well as for consumer safety.\n\u201cWe share the concerns of the flying public and the many professionals in the aviation industry that such a change to the current rules disallowing the use of cell phone voice networks could result in not only a markedly less pleasant flying experience, but a less safe one as well,\u201d wrote the Representatives. \u201cAllowing passengers to make phone calls while in flight would disrupt the right of consumers to enjoy the quiet comfort of their flight. In addition, we have strong concerns about the effect such a change may have on safety. Simply put, the flying experience in the United States would be forever changed for the worse if voice calls are allowed on flights. We hope that you will consider our concerns and those of the industry\u2019s experienced professionals as you consider how to proceed.\u201d\nShould the FCC change its current rules, the FAA would have to approve changes to in-flight policies made by individual airlines. Last month, the Association of Flight Attendants released a statement explaining: \u201cAny situation that is loud, divisive, and possibly disruptive is not only unwelcome but also unsafe.\u201d\nRepresentatives Michael Capuano (MA-07), Jim Cooper (TN-05), Peter DeFazio (OR-04), Keith Ellison (MN-05), Elizabeth Esty (CT-05), Sam Farr, (CA-20), Raul Grijalva (AZ-03), Michael Honda (CA-17), Walter Jones (NC-03), Betty McCollum (MN-04), Thomas Petri (WI-06), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Allyson Schwartz (PA-13), and Eric Swalwell (CA-15) joined Congressman Cohen in signing this letter.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://web.archive.org/web/20140221002751/http://www.corker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ContentRecord_id=3c5bacf1-267a-40d9-a637-de8a58a703fc", "Alexander, Corker Welcome Lee University\u2019s \u201cVoices of Lee\u201d to Tennessee Tuesday", "2013-12-17", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Bob Corker", "C001071", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 \u2013 U.S. Senators Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) today welcomed a performance by the Voices of Lee, the travelling choir of Lee University in Cleveland, Tenn., during Tennessee Tuesday, the weekly breakfast the senators hold for Tennesseans visiting the Capitol. The choir performing at today\u2019s event is part of the Lee University Festival Choir that Alexander, as a member of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, personally recommended to perform at the presidential inauguration this past January. (Click here to see video of today\u2019s performance.)\nRecalling that announcement as he introduced the choir this morning, Alexander said, \u201cOne of my prerogatives as a committee member was to identify one group to perform at the presidential inauguration. So, I drove down to Lee University in Cleveland, and they assembled the student body there, and I said, \u2018We don\u2019t know who the president is going to be, but we do know one thing: that the Lee University singers will be singing at the inauguration of the President of the United States\u2019\u2026They are terrific musicians and they represent our country and our state and their community in a beautiful way.\u201d \u00a0\nCorker said, \u201cAs mayor of Chattanooga, I had the opportunity to hear talented young people from Lee University perform many times, and I was delighted to welcome the \u2018Voices of Lee\u2019 to Washington this morning. The recognition they received from Lamar Alexander, the Senate\u2019s resident musician, is high praise indeed.\u201d\nBeginning a long history with Lee, Alexander invited Lynn Golden of Lee College, as the university was called at the time, to sing the national anthem when he was sworn-in as governor of Tennessee on January 20, 1979. The new governor had met and heard Lynn sing during his 1,000-mile campaign walk across Tennessee.\nAt the breakfast today, the choir performed \u201cSilver Bells\u201d and a rendition of The Preamble to the United States Constitution, transitioning into \u201cAmerica the Beautiful.\u201d\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://web.archive.org/web/20140221002805/http://www.corker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ContentRecord_id=c521dd70-7c6b-4ee6-a16c-71a6fc71b67c", "Corker to Vote No on Budget", "2013-12-17", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Bob Corker", "C001071", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON\u2014U.S. Senator Bob Corker, R-Tenn., announced today that he will vote against the budget deal before the Senate because it busts budget caps without making meaningful changes to mandatory programs.\nEarlier today Corker voted against cloture, which is a vote to end debate on the budget deal. Majority Leader Harry Reid filled the amendment tree on this bill on Sunday, allowing no amendments and no debate.\u00a0 Since there was no debate and there were no amendments, Corker did not feel it was appropriate to support cloture. \n\u201cBecause of the Budget Control Act, for three years in a row, Congress has spent less on discretionary programs than the year before.\u00a0 While I appreciate the dilemma Paul Ryan was in, it's disappointing the misguided strategy of the House this fall weakened our hand on fiscal issues and that House appropriators indicated they were unwilling to live within the budget discipline laid out in the sequester.\u00a0\u00a0 So with the afterglow of the \u2018bipartisan\u2019 deal fading, I think everyone can see this budget deal busts the budget caps by $45,000,000,000 in the first year alone without making meaningful changes to mandatory programs, violating the only real progress we have made in getting our fiscal house in order and demonstrating that Congress continues to lack the discipline to control spending even in this small way.\u00a0 Spending now and paying later is the cause of our deficit problems, not the solution,\u201d said Corker.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://web.archive.org/web/20140221085039/http://black.house.gov/press-release/black-introduces-legislation-permanently-eliminate-illegal-alien-lobbyist-position-ice", "Black Introduces Legislation to Permanently Eliminate Illegal Alien Lobbyist Position at ICE", "2013-12-17", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Diane Black", "B001273", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013\u00a0Congressman Diane Black (R-TN-06) has introduced H.R. 3732, the Immigration Compliance Enforcement (ICE) Act. Last March, President Obama signed into law the Consolidated and Continuing Appropriations Act of 2013, which contained language to defund the illegal alien lobbyist position within U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) (Sec. 567 here). This \u201cPublic Advocate\u201d acted as a lobbyist for illegal aliens by serving as a special point of contact for those who had flouted our nation\u2019s immigration laws.\nDespite the House and Senate passing language to defund this position and stop this waste of precious taxpayer dollars, and the President signing it into law, ICE simply rebranded the office as \u201cCommunity Outreach\u201d and allowed its employees to continue their activities as before. This complete disregard for the law was reported on by multiple news outlets and federal watchdogs, such as Fox News and Judicial Watch. In the face of this backlash, ICE has continued to shamelessly operate as if it has done nothing wrong.\n\u201cIt is an outrage that federal bureaucrats think they can simply skirt the law, in essence ignoring the will of the people by playing a shell game and hiding ICE employees and activities with a mere title change,\u201d said Congressman Black. \u201cTo stop this blatant abuse of power, I have introduced H.R. 3732, the Immigration Compliance Enforcement (ICE) Act. This bill would defund both positions and prohibit the creation of any new position within ICE that would allow the agency to ignore the law and continue its pro-illegal immigration activities. It is of utmost importance that ICE be held accountable and be required to follow the spirit of the law, not just the letter.\u201d\nDespite formal inquiries and letters, Congressman Black has received no response from ICE as to the nature of this position change. She has also demanded information about the operations of this position under the Freedom of Information Act.\nFor text of this legislation, click here.\nAdditional Resources: \n06/07/12: House Passes Black\u2019s Amendment to Prohibit Funding for Illegal Alien Lobbyist\n09/23/13: Black Letter to ICE Demands Answers on the Defunded \u201cPublic Advocate\u201d Position\n12/16/13: Congressman Black\u2019s FOIA Request\n\u00a0\n###\nCongressman Diane Black represents Tennessee\u2019s 6th Congressional District. She has been a registered nurse for more than 40 years and serves on the House Ways and Means and Budget Committees.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://web.archive.org/web/20140307001532/http://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Multimedia&ContentRecord_id=dd278bb2-d1c8-4a79-98f7-80a0b157f733", "Lee University's \"Voices of Lee\" Perform at Tennessee Tuesday", "2013-12-17", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "December 17 2013  - \nU.S. Senators Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) today welcomed a performance by the Voices of Lee, the travelling choir of Lee University in Cleveland, Tenn., during Tennessee Tuesday, the weekly breakfast the senators hold for Tennesseans visiting the Capitol. The choir performing at today's event is part of the Lee University Festival Choir that Alexander, as a member of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, personally recommended to perform at the presidential inauguration this past January.Recalling that announcement as he introduced the choir this morning, Alexander said, \"One of my prerogatives as a committee member was to identify one group to perform at the presidential inauguration. So, I drove down to Lee University in Cleveland, and they assembled the student body there, and I said, 'We don't know who the president is going to be, but we do know one thing: that the Lee University singers will be singing at the inauguration of the President of the United States'...They are terrific musicians and they represent our country and our state and their community in a beautiful way.\"", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=1f1fb17c-2856-494c-9fd2-bfb0a80b9957", "Alexander, Corker Welcome Lee University\u2019s \u201cVoices of Lee\u201d to Tennessee Tuesday", "2013-12-17", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Senators, Tennesseans visiting Washington treated to performance by members of university choir that performed at January\u2019s presidential inauguration\u00a0\u00a0\r\nWASHINGTON, Dec. 17 \u2013 U.S. Senators Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) today welcomed a performance by the Voices of Lee, the travelling choir of Lee University in Cleveland, Tenn., during Tennessee Tuesday, the weekly breakfast the senators hold for Tennesseans visiting the Capitol. The choir performing at today\u2019s event is part of the Lee University Festival Choir that Alexander, as a member of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, personally recommended to perform at the presidential inauguration this past January. (Click here to see video of today\u2019s performance.)\r\nRecalling that announcement as he introduced the choir this morning, Alexander said, \u201cOne of my prerogatives as a committee member was to identify one group to perform at the presidential inauguration. So, I drove down to Lee University in Cleveland, and they assembled the student body there, and I said, \u2018We don\u2019t know who the president is going to be, but we do know one thing: that the Lee University singers will be singing at the inauguration of the President of the United States\u2019\u2026They are terrific musicians and they represent our country and our state and their community in a beautiful way.\u201d \u00a0\r\nCorker said, \u201cAs mayor of Chattanooga, I had the opportunity to hear talented young people from Lee University perform many times, and I was delighted to welcome the \u2018Voices of Lee\u2019 to Washington this morning. The recognition they received from Lamar Alexander, the Senate\u2019s resident musician, is high praise indeed.\u201d\r\nBeginning a long history with Lee, Alexander invited Lynn Golden of Lee College, as the university was called at the time, to sing the national anthem when he was sworn-in as governor of Tennessee on January 20, 1979. The new governor had met and heard Lynn sing during his 1,000-mile campaign walk across Tennessee.\r\nAt the breakfast today, the choir performed \u201cSilver Bells\u201d and a rendition of The Preamble to the United States Constitution, transitioning into \u201cAmerica the Beautiful.\u201d\r\n\u00a0\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=582e67a7-44fa-4667-9eb9-02200a878e48", "Alexander: End Wind Production Tax Credit to Pay for Budget Agreement", "2013-12-17", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Senators call on Senate Finance Committee to let wind production tax credit expire; Alexander says billions being wasted could go toward budget agreement to reduce debt or replace sequester\r\n***\r\n\u201cCongress is struggling to find $63 billion to spend in the budget agreement, when all we have to do is get rid of the wasteful wind production tax credit. For the next 10 years, extending the tax credit one year at a time could cost $60 billion or more. Using the wind production tax credit to pay for all or part of the budget agreement would do this country more good than extending this subsidy for expensive, low-quality wind electricity ever could.\u201d\r\n\u2013 Lamar Alexander\u00a0\r\nWASHINGTON, Dec. 17 \u2013 U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and a bipartisan group of senators today sent a letter to Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Ranking Member Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), calling on them to let wind power \u201cstand on its own\u201d in the marketplace by allowing the wind production tax credit to expire as required under current law.\r\nThe bipartisan letter, led by Alexander and Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), states that after more than 20 years and eight extensions, a 1992 tax credit originally intended to boost a fledgling technology is now subsidizing a \u201cmature technology,\u201d wasting taxpayer money and distorting energy markets by \u201cpicking winners and losers.\u201d It requests that the Finance Committee exclude the wind production tax credit \u2013 which under current law will have provided $22 billion to wind producers between 1992 and 2022 \u2013 from any legislation the committee may consider.\r\nThe letter was signed by several members of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Signatories include Senators Alexander, Manchin, Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), Jim Risch (R-Ida.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.)\u00a0\r\n\u201cCongress is struggling to find $63 billion to spend in the budget agreement, when all we have to do is get rid of the wasteful wind production tax credit,\u201d Alexander said. \u201cFor the next 10 years, extending the tax credit one year at a time could cost $60 billion or more. Using the wind production tax credit to pay for all or part of the budget agreement would do this country more good than extending this subsidy for expensive, low-quality wind electricity ever could.\u201d\r\nThe senators write, \u201cOur nation\u2019s energy policy must make economic sense for taxpayers and not manipulate markets.\u00a0Continuation of the wind PTC not only picks winners and losers, it is distorting our energy markets and it's past time to end a temporary tax credit that was put into law in 1992. After more than 20 years, and tens of billions of tax-payer dollars, it\u2019s time to let the wind PTC expire and continue to invest in new technologies.\u201d\u00a0\r\nIn the letter, the senators call for the Finance Committee to let the wind production tax credit\u00a0expire as scheduled at the end of 2013 and not consider any kind of extension, pointing out that wind producers will continue to qualify for subsidies if the wind facility is placed in service before Jan. 1, 2016. As it stands now, the wind production tax credit will have given $22 billion to wind producers by 2022, according to the most recent estimate from the Congressional Research Service. That doesn\u2019t include additional subsidies to wind as part of President Obama\u2019s federal stimulus bill, which total another $12.9 billion, according to the U.S. Treasury.\r\nThe letter also describes how the wind production tax credit is wasting taxpayer money on what the Obama administration has called a \u201cmature technology\u201d while distorting energy markets, putting cheaper and more reliable forms of energy, such as coal and nuclear, at a competitive disadvantage.\r\n\u00a0\r\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=6437155c-9baa-4465-9a23-ee964546d19b", "Alexander to Vote Against Budget Agreement", "2013-12-17", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 \u2013 U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today released the following statement on Senate consideration of the budget agreement passed by the House of Representatives by a vote of 332-94:\r\n\u201cI will vote against the budget agreement because it avoids the federal government\u2019s most urgent need: reducing the growth of runaway entitlement spending. Instead, it spends savings that should be used to strengthen Medicare, pensions, and the air transportation system. \u00a0\r\n\u201cIt would have been better to pay for this agreement with a small part of the $1 trillion in entitlement savings that Sen. Corker and I have identified in our \u2018Fiscal Sustainability Act,\u2019 or with entitlement savings suggested in the president\u2019s budget. \u00a0\r\n\u201cAlthough I can\u2019t support it, I appreciate the efforts of Rep. Ryan and Sen. Murray to bring certainty to the budget process, which is why I voted earlier today to allow a Senate vote on their agreement, which had passed the House with two-to-one Republican support.\u201d\u00a0\r\nIn February, Senators Alexander and Corker introduced the\u00a0\u201cFiscal Sustainability Act,\u201d S. 11, to reduce the growth of entitlement spending (Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security) by nearly $1 trillion in the next decade in order to improve the programs\u2019 solvency. The bill incorporates many of the recommendations made by President Obama\u2019s Debt Commission (Simpson-Bowles) as well as by former Republican Senator Pete Domenici and Alice Rivlin, budget director for former President Clinton.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\r\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=SpeechesFloorStatements&ContentRecord_id=0fda688e-8444-49e9-8c2c-ca656f51188d", "Floor speech: The debt-paying generation", "2013-12-17", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "We are watching America pass from the hands of the \"greatest generation\" to the hands of the \u201cdebt-paying generation\u201d with nothing to show for it but the bill.\u00a0 For months Republicans have challenged President Obama to fix the federal debt, to save entitlement programs that Americans depend upon, and to rescue young Americans from being forever known as the debt-paying generation. \u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Earlier this year, for example, I called on the president to show the same kind of leadership that President Johnson did on civil rights, that President Nixon did on China, that President Carter did on the Panama Canal Treaty, and that President Reagan did on Social Security.\u00a0 Confront your own party.\u00a0 Say what needs to be said.\u00a0 Do what needs to be done.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0This has not happened.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I appreciate very much the efforts of the senator from Washington and Representative Ryan to try to bring certainty to the budget process.\u00a0 That is why I voted today to allow a vote on the House-passed budget agreement.\u00a0 It seems to me, at least, that a Republican senator could allow a vote on legislation passed by the House of Representatives with the support of the House Republican leadership and two-thirds of the House Republicans, so I voted yes to allow a vote.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 However, I am going to vote against the Ryan-Murray budget amendment because it avoids the federal government's single greatest challenge; that is, reducing the growth of runaway entitlement spending.\u00a0 Instead, it spends savings that should be used to strengthen Medicare, to strengthen pensions, and to strengthen the air transportation system.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I believe in user fees.\u00a0 When you build a highway, you have a gas tax to pay for the highway.\u00a0 You do not raise the gas tax to pay for education.\u00a0 You do not raise the gas tax to pay for a health program.\u00a0 A user fee is related to the service it provides.\u00a0 This budget agreement does not withstand that test.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It would have been much better to pay for this budget agreement by using a small part of the almost $1 trillion in entitlement savings that Senator Corker and I have suggested in the Fiscal Sustainability Act or with meaningful entitlement savings from the president's own budget.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Fiscal Sustainability Act that Senator Corker and I have suggested would slow the growth of out-of-control mandatory spending by, among other things, recommending a more realistic Consumer Price Index.\u00a0 This is a Consumer Price Index that most economists have said is more realistic in its assessment of what the increase in the standard of living is.\u00a0 The monthly difference between the current Consumer Price Index and the more accurate Consumer Price Index is about $3 per month for the average beneficiary, which is less than the average cost of a gallon of gasoline.\u00a0 This modest change would help to slow the growth -- not cut but help slow the growth of mandatory entitlement spending.\u00a0 The purpose of that is to help make those programs solvent so beneficiaries can depend on them.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Medicare trustees have told us that Medicare will not have enough money in it in 13 years to pay all of the hospital bills.\u00a0 What are seniors going to think of senators who in 2013 did not take the steps to make Medicare solvent?\u00a0 We could do that if we would begin to adopt some of the recommendations in the Corker-Alexander Fiscal Sustainability Act or in the president's own budget.\u00a0 He also recommended a smaller version of the more realistic Consumer Price Index.\u00a0 He recommended several hundred billion other dollars of changes in entitlement programs that Republican senators might be able to agree with.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 To go back to the Consumer Price Index, according to the Congressional Budget Office, we could save $162 billion over 10 years if we adopted a more realistic Consumer Price Index for entitlement programs.\u00a0 That is twice as much money as we needed for the budget agreement.\u00a0 The rest could have been used to reduce the debt today, and the reduction would be even more in future years.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As I emphasized before, the purpose of reducing the growth of entitlement spending is so the programs are solvent, so a Medicare beneficiary does not get to a point in 13 years and say:\u00a0 Why does Medicare not have enough money to pay for all of my hospital bill?\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Here is another way we could have cut wasteful spending:\u00a0 Eliminate the wind production tax credit.\u00a0 The senator from West Virginia and I have written a letter to the Finance Committee and suggested we do that.\u00a0 Here we are in the budget agreement struggling to find $63 billion over the next 10 years.\u00a0 Where could we find $63 billion?\u00a0 That amount about equals what we could save if we did not extend the wind production tax credit each year for the next 10 years.\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 So any way you slice it, we could either have taken some of the president's suggested savings in entitlement spending, some of Senator Corker's and my suggested savings, we could have taken half of the savings from the more realistic Consumer Price Index, paid for the budget agreement that way, and then I could have voted for it because we would have moved money from the out-of-control side of the budget to relieve the sequester, and we would have done what we should have done.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What I have to ask with all respect is, Where was the president in all of this?\u00a0 I mean, if Lyndon Johnson can pass a civil rights bill and Richard Nixon can go to China, if Jimmy Carter can pass the Panama Canal Treaty and Ronald Reagan can work with Tip O'Neill on Social Security, why can't President Obama get involved with his own budget recommendations and help us begin to deal with entitlement spending, which everybody knows is the single biggest problem we have facing our country?\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Washington could learn a lot about debt and taxes from Tennessee.\u00a0 Tennessee's tax burden ranks third lowest of any state, it has the lowest per capita debt, and it balances its budget every year.\u00a0 All that did not happen by accident.\u00a0 I was governor when we needed three big road programs.\u00a0 Instead of borrowing the money, we paid for it as we went.\u00a0 We used user fees, the gasoline tax, but we applied that to the roads.\u00a0 Guess where we are today?\u00a0 We have one of the best four-lane highway systems in America and zero road debt.\u00a0 While other States have billions of dollars of road debt, we have zero.\u00a0 So all of our gas tax money goes to keeping one of the best four-lane highway systems in the country.\u00a0 Those policies have paid off.\u00a0 According to the Department of Labor, Tennessee is the fourth best state in the country in net new jobs.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Getting debt under control is the foremost problem we have facing our country.\u00a0 If we do not do that, the people who depend upon Medicare and other important programs will be not able to depend on them to pay their hospital bills.\u00a0 Runaway spending is going to leave our young Americans forever known as the debt-paying generation.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We are watching America pass from the hands of the \"greatest generation\" to the debt-paying generation with nothing to show for it but the bill.\u00a0\r\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://web.archive.org/web/20131225101447/http://black.house.gov:80/press-release/black-introduces-federal-exchange-data-breach-notification-act-2013", "Black Introduces the Federal Exchange Data Breach Notification Act of 2013", "2013-12-16", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Diane Black", "B001273", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013\u00a0Congressman Diane Black (R-TN-06) has introduced H.R. 3731, the Federal Exchange Data Breach Notification Act of 2013. This commonsense reform would simply require the federal government to notify individuals if their personal information has been compromised on the federal Obamacare exchange.\n\u201cWhether through Navigators with no background checks, or inadequate security testing on their website, the Obama Administration has thrown Americans\u2019 data security out the window when it comes to Obamacare,\u201d said Congressman Black. \u201cIT experts have repeatedly raised red flags about the security of the information people are putting into the exchanges, and it is only fair that the Administration gives people proper notice if this information has been compromised. Americans deserve this basic notice so that they can protect themselves from cyber attacks and identity theft. Most state run exchanges are subject to laws that guarantee this notice, and the federal government imposes these same rules on the private sector, yet they have gone out of their way to avoid imposing this basic diligence on their own Obamacare exchange. This is clearly wrong, and why I have introduced the Federal Exchange Data Breach Notification Act of 2013 \u2013 legislation that requires that the Federal Trade Commission to notify individuals whose personal information has been jeopardized by a security breach.\u201d\nAccording to a report from Watchdog.org, the Department of Health and Human Services ignored requests from experts to include data breach notification policies when developing the federal exchange. As they report, under current law, \u201chacks that happen behind the scenes \u2014potentially stealing everything from Social Security numbers to Department of Homeland Security watch lists \u2014 never have to be reported.\u201d\nAdditional Resources:\nBlack Statement on Sebelius\u2019 \u201cNavigator\u201d Comment\nBlack, Meehan Seek Answers on IRS Security Testing\n###\nCongressman Diane Black represents Tennessee\u2019s 6th Congressional District. She has been a registered nurse for more than 40 years and serves on the House Ways and Means and Budget Committees.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://web.archive.org/web/20140221085111/http://black.house.gov/press-release/case-you-missed-it-require-feds-disclose-security-breaches-healthcaregov", "In Case You Missed It: Require Feds to Disclose Security Breaches on Healthcare.gov", "2013-12-16", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Diane Black", "B001273", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "Congresswoman: Require Feds to Disclose Security Breaches on Healthcare.gov\nBy Elizabeth Harrington\nPublished December 16, 2013\nA bill in the House of Representatives would require the federal government to tell Americans if their personal information has been stolen while using Healthcare.gov.\nRep. Diane Black (R., Tenn.) introduced the \u201cFederal Exchange Data Breach Notification Act of 2013\u201d on Thursday to address privacy concerns regarding the Obamacare insurance website, which has been live for months despite its lack of fundamental security safeguards.\nThe two-page bill (H.R. 3731) would \u201csimply require the federal government to notify individuals if their personal information has been compromised on the federal Obamacare exchange.\u201d\n\u201cWhether through Navigators with no background checks, or inadequate security testing on their website, the Obama administration has thrown Americans\u2019 data security out the window when it comes to Obamacare,\u201d Black said in a statement.\nBlack cited a report from Watchdog.org, which explained that no law currently requires notification when the security of online government databases is breached.\nMany state-run exchanges are required to disclose security incidents. For instance, the Minnesota health exchange was compromised even before it launched, resulting in the leak of 2,400 insurance brokers\u2019 Social Security numbers.\nShould Black\u2019s bill be signed into law, failure to disclose a security breach on the federal health exchange would be classified as an \u201cunfair or deceptive act\u201d under the Federal Trade Commission Act, which can carry a civil penalty of up to $16,000 per violation. The bill was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.\nCyber security experts have warned Americans to stay away from the Obamacare website, saying no security has been built into its over 500 million lines of code, leaving Americans\u2019 personal information at risk.\nLast week, the House science committee sent a letter to the White House asking the administration what, if any, steps have been taken to address the security flaws within Healthcare.gov.\nBlack said her bill would at least allow Americans to know if their data has been hacked while using Healthcare.gov.\n\u201cIT experts have repeatedly raised red flags about the security of the information people are putting into the exchanges, and it is only fair that the administration gives people proper notice if this information has been compromised,\u201d she said. \u201cAmericans deserve this basic notice so that they can protect themselves from cyber attacks and identity theft.\u201d\n###\nCongressman Diane Black represents Tennessee\u2019s 6th Congressional District. She has been a registered nurse for more than 40 years and serves on the House Ways and Means and Budget Committees.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://cohen.house.gov/honoring-nelson-mandelas-memory", "Honoring Nelson Mandela's Memory", "2013-12-13", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Dear Friend, \nThis week, the late Nelson Mandela was on my mind quite a bit. The life he led and his steadfast dedication to the principles of forgiveness and reconciliation stand alone in their impact on the world as we know it today. The importance and priority that he placed on those principles played a role in my introducing the first Congressional apology for slavery and Jim Crow laws to pass in the U.S. House of Representatives five years ago. Apologizing for past wrongs is the first step towards forgiveness and reconciliation, and it was an important step for Congress to take that helped bring people with different backgrounds and historical experiences together. I spoke with Joie Chen on \u201cAmerica Tonight\u201d about what Mandela\u2019s death means for us and how we can move closer to the goal of true reconciliation. My interview will air in the coming days on \"America Tonight,\" which airs at 8PM CT. While the channel depends on your television provider,\u00a0you can click here\u00a0to learn where\u00a0it airs for you. Keep reading to learn more about what went on in Washington this week. \nPassing a Bipartisan Budget Compromise  Helping Memphians Get Covered  Fully Funding the National Institutes of Health  Hope Scholarships  2014 U.S. Capitol Historical Society Calendars Are Available  Grants to Memphis  White House Internships  Grant Announcements\nPassing a Bipartisan Budget Compromise \nAmerica is tired of government by crisis and of a Congress that lurches from one shutdown threat to the next. Last night, I voted for a two-year bipartisan budget compromise that will provide the stability both the business community and the American people need and deserve. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 passed the House by a 332 to 94 vote, putting us on course to pass the first budget through a divided Congress since 1986. You can watch me discussing the budget deal on \u201cAmerica Tonight\u201d by clicking here. \nWhile I don\u2019t agree with everything in the bill, I joined President Obama in supporting it because it is a significant step in the right direction. This budget will also alleviate some of the crippling effects of sequestration by restoring $25 billion for non-defense discretionary programs like Meals on Wheels, LIHEAP, and research at the National Institutes of Health that could lead to cures for debilitating and fatal diseases. \nStill, I am disappointed that this agreement does nothing to help the more than one million Americans at risk of losing unemployment benefits just days after Christmas. Before the budget passed yesterday, I voted to ensure this agreement extended a lifeline to those Americans looking for work, but Speaker Boehner and his colleagues did not join me and the vote failed. I will continue to urge the Speaker to keep the House in session until an extension of the unemployment compensation program is passed. \nHelping Memphians Get Covered \nAll Memphians should have quality health coverage and the President\u2019s landmark Affordable Care Act\u2014also known as Obamacare\u2014is making affordable, higher-quality coverage available to people who have not had access to it in the past. Luckily, many who have been unable to afford quality coverage in the past are now eligible to enroll in Tennessee\u2019s Health Insurance Marketplace, though the deadline to enroll for coverage that starts on January 1st is just 10 days away. If you do not have health insurance coverage, you may also be eligible to save money on your health care premiums\u00a0in the Marketplace. \nIf you are on Medicare or your employer is going to offer qualified health insurance next year that you will enroll in, you\u2019re already covered and won\u2019t need to enter the Marketplace for your health coverage. If you aren\u2019t sure whether or not you will need to use the Marketplace to get insurance, call the Marketplace Hotline at 1-800-318-2596 or visit www.HealthCare.gov. You can also call my office or the Marketplace Hotline to find out if TennCare (Tennessee\u2019s Medicaid program) is a coverage option for you. If you are one of the millions of Americans who need health insurance, you can sign up\u00a0for coverage that will take effect January 1, 2014 until December 23, 2013. Enrollment in the marketplace will remain open until March 31, 2014 if you miss the deadline for coverage starting in January. Visit www.healthcare.gov\u00a0 today to look at out your options. \nThe Affordable Care Act is already working for families across the Ninth District and the recent government shutdown didn\u2019t change that. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 147,000 individuals in the district now have health insurance that covers preventive services without co-pays, $3.1 million in insurance premiums have been returned to consumers, and more than 5,000 seniors on Medicare paid a total of $5.9 million less for their prescription medications as we continue to close the \u2018donut hole.\u2019 Also, health insurance companies can no longer discriminate against patients with pre-existing conditions and young adults up to age 26 can now stay on their parents\u2019 insurance plan. \nMany of the Marketplace website issues that have been in the news recently have been resolved.\u00a0However, the Marketplace website is only one tool that you can use to sign up for coverage. If you are having trouble accessing the website, please do not hesitate to call the Marketplace Hotline at 1-800-318-2596 or visit Seedco Mid-South for in-person help. Seedco is located at 22 North Front Street (Suite 900), and they can be reached by phone at 901-528-8341. If you have any other questions, you should also feel free to call my office at 901-544-4131. \nFully Funding the National Institutes of Health \nOn Wednesday, the House debated a bill called the Kids First Research Act. Supporters of the legislation claim the bill will redirect the spending of the tax dollars that fund political conventions\u2014which amount to a mere $13 million dollars, or less than 1% of the $1.5 billion cut from the NIH this year through sequestration\u2014to raise funding for pediatric research, though in reality the bill does not guarantee that funding will be used for research at all. \nThe NIH is our nation\u2019s true Department of Defense\u2014it defends us from cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer\u2019s, AIDS and diabetes. And its budget for research into new cures is being decimated by sequestration.\u00a0The $13 million in research funding this bill proposes doesn\u2019t replace even 1% of the cuts made by sequestration. I spoke out about this attempt to distract America from these cuts on the House floor. You can watch my speech here. \nMemphis is home to the world\u2019s best pediatric cancer center, St. Jude Children\u2019s Research Hospital. They deserve to be protected from these cuts, as do the countless kids who will be stricken with diseases and illnesses that research projects could cure if adequately funded. Those kids\u2014and all of those suffering with a disease or illness that could be cured with adequate funding\u2014need more than just the window-dressing this bill would provide. And while the bipartisan budget deal that the House passed yesterday gets us closer than this distraction, we need to do more to ensure the NIH is fully funded. \nHope Scholarships \nThe Commercial Appeal reported this week\u00a0that the Tennessee Lottery is projecting enough revenue to fund Hope Scholarships and other financial aid for as many as 102,000 Tennessee students. I worked for nearly two decades to establish the lottery when I was in the Tennessee Senate because it would help young people afford college. For more information about the Tennessee Lottery Scholarship and other financial aid options available through the State of Tennessee, visit www.tennessee.gov/tsac. \n2014 U.S. Capitol Historical Society Calendars Are Available \nMy office currently has a limited number of 2014 U.S. Capitol Historical Society calendars available. If you would like to receive next year\u2019s calendar, please complete this short form on my website.\u00a0Due to the rules of the House, I am only able to mail calendars to residents of Tennessee\u2019s Ninth District. Please feel free to share this email with other citizens of the Ninth District who may be interested in receiving one but who do not receive my eNewsletter. \nGrants to Memphis \nThis week, I announced almost $220,000 to help St. Jude Children\u2019s Research Hospital continue providing training for the world\u2019s first class doctors who choose to pursue the path of children\u2019s medicine. You can read more about the grant here. \nWhite House Internships \nThe White House Internship Program is currently accepting applications from young people who are interested in government and devoted to public service. If you\u2014or anyone you know\u2014 would like to spend some time working at the White House, gaining valuable professional experience and building leadership skills, I would like to take this opportunity to urge you to apply. The application deadline is January 5th, 2014. Click here\u00a0for more information. \nGrant Announcements \nI regularly release a list of grant announcements from federal agencies like the Department of Health and Human Services, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Transportation, and others. These federal funding opportunities are available to faith-based and neighborhood associations, nonprofits and other community organizations in the 9th District. The announcements are\u00a0updated regularly on my website. \nAs always, I remain.\u00a0  \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-chairman-lamar-smith-introduce-bipartisan-bill-protect-consumers-unfair-taxes", "Cohen, Chairman Lamar Smith Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Protect Consumers From Unfair Taxes on Digital Goods", "2013-12-13", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "[WASHINGTON, DC] \u2013 Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) joined Science, Space, and Technology Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (TX-21) this week to introduce legislation that would protect consumers from unfair taxes on digital goods, like those purchased over the Internet or on a smartphone. The Digital Goods and Services Tax Fairness Act of 2013, H.R. 3724, ensures that digital goods are not taxed at a higher rate than their tangible counterparts.\n\u201cDigital goods and services are quickly becoming a driving force in our national economy,\u201d said Congressman Cohen. \u201cWe need to establish a uniform framework for the taxation of digital goods and services so consumers won\u2019t be double-taxed.\u00a0 Our Digital Goods and Services Tax Fairness Act would accomplish such a goal.\u201d\nChairman Smith said: \u201cIn our modern economy, more and more consumers are buying digital goods and services rather than tangible goods. While books are still sold in stores across the country, readers can now download hundreds of digital books, newspapers and magazines instantaneously with the click of a mouse from the comfort of their home.\u00a0 But as technology advances, it is important that tax policies do not unfairly penalize consumers who choose to download digital goods rather than purchase their tangible counterparts. This legislation promotes tax fairness and ensures that consumers are not discouraged from purchasing digital goods.\u201d\nThis legislation would prevent the taxation of mp3 and software downloads, for example, at a higher rate than the tax on music and software CDs.\u00a0 The bill would also make sure that consumers do not suffer tax discrimination because they choose to purchase a good in digital rather than tangible form.\u00a0\nThe Digital Goods and Services Tax Fairness Act of 2013 is also cosponsored by Representatives Spencer Bachus (AL-06), Steve Chabot (OH-01), and Howard Coble (NC-06). Companion legislation was introduced in the Senate earlier this year by Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and John Thune (R-SD).", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://fleischmann.house.gov/press-release/house-passes-bipartisan-budget-act", "House Passes Bipartisan Budget Act", "2013-12-13", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Chuck Fleischmann", "F000459", "fleischmann.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON\u2212 The House of Representatives has passed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013.\u00a0 Following the vote, Congressman Fleischmann released the following statement.\n\u201cTonight, the House took a modest step toward reforming spending and setting our government on a more stable path.\u00a0 This agreement maintains sequester savings while also reforming the mandatory spending which is driving our national debt.\u00a0 In fact, this bill has a $23 billion net deficit reduction and ensures we will not shut down the government in 2014.\n\u201cWhile this bill is not perfect, it is a step in the right direction.\u00a0 For the first time since I have been in Congress, we will finally return to a regular appropriations process, an important step to ending the cycle of governing from crisis to crisis.\u00a0 I hope the Senate will quickly pass this bill so we can continue moving toward the real spending reform our nation so desperately needs.\u201d\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://fleischmann.house.gov/media/press-releases/house-passes-bipartisan-budget-act", "House Passes Bipartisan Budget Act", "2013-12-13", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Charles J. \"Chuck\" Fleischmann", "F000459", "fleischmann.house.gov", "fleischmann", "https://fleischmann.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON\u2212 The House of Representatives has passed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013. Following the vote, Congressman Fleischmann released the following statement.\n\n\u201cTonight, the House took a modest step toward reforming spending and setting our government on a more stable path. This agreement maintains sequester savings while also reforming the mandatory spending which is driving our national debt. In fact, this bill has a $23 billion net deficit reduction and ensures we will not shut down the government in 2014.\n\n\u201cWhile this bill is not perfect, it is a step in the right direction. For the first time since I have been in Congress, we will finally return to a regular appropriations process, an important step to ending the cycle of governing from crisis to crisis. I hope the Senate will quickly pass this bill so we can continue moving toward the real spending reform our nation so desperately needs.\u201d\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-27T22:40:02Z"], ["http://cohen.house.gov/press-release/cohen-statement-house-passage-bipartisan-budget-act-2013", "Cohen Statement on House Passage of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013", "2013-12-12", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "[WASHINGTON, DC] \u2013 After the United States House of Representatives passed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 to alleviate some of sequestration\u2019s crippling effects, Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) made the following statement:\n\u201cAmerica is tired of government by crisis and of a Congress that lurches from one shutdown threat to the next. I voted for the Bipartisan Budget Act because this compromise will provide the stability both the business community and the American people need and deserve. While I don\u2019t agree with everything in the bill, I joined President Obama in supporting it because it is a significant step in the right direction.\u201d\n\u201cTonight\u2019s vote means we are on course to pass the first budget through a divided Congress since 1986. The agreement will also alleviate some of the crippling effects of sequestration by restoring $25 billion for non-defense discretionary programs like Meals on Wheels, LIHEAP, and research at the National Institutes of Health that could lead to cures for debilitating and fatal diseases.\u201d\n\u201cStill, I am disappointed that this agreement does nothing to help the more than one million Americans at risk of losing unemployment benefits just days after Christmas. Earlier today, I voted to ensure this agreement extended a lifeline to those Americans looking for work, but Speaker Boehner and his colleagues did not join me and the vote failed. I will continue to urge the Speaker to keep the House in session until an extension of the unemployment compensation program is passed.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://desjarlais.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-desjarlais-votes-against-ryan-murray-budget-deal", "Rep. DesJarlais votes against Ryan-Murray budget deal", "2013-12-12", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Scott DesJarlais", "D000616", "desjarlais.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Congressman Scott DesJarlais, M.D. (TN-04) today released the following statement after voting against the Ryan-Murray budget deal:\n\u201cNot only does this budget deal fail to adequately address our nation\u2019s debt and deficit, it trades real spending cuts for the promise of future reductions. Further, this bill raises taxes under the guise of increasing user fees. My constituents are adamantly opposed to the idea of sending more of their money to Washington to pay for further government expansion.\n\u201cThis budget does not reflect the independent, conservative values we hold in Tennessee\u2019s Fourth Congressional District. Rather, this plan reflects the unacceptable status quo I was elected to fight against. Tennesseans are tired of career politicians who put more faith in manufactured poll numbers and the advice of high-priced political consultants than the views of their constituents.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://duncan.house.gov/press-release/duncan-opposes-budget-bill", "Duncan Opposes Budget Bill", "2013-12-12", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "John Duncan", "D000533", "duncan.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON--Congressman John J. Duncan, Jr. (R-Tenn.) released the following statement Thursday on his vote against a budget bill before the House of Representatives: \"I could not vote for a bill that increases spending by $63 billion when our National debt is more than $17 trillion dollars and climbing higher and faster than ever before. \u201cThe big increase in spending in this bill is offset only by promises of future cuts that could be changed by future Congresses. \u201cI agree with a column this week by Howard Kurtz, who wrote: \u2018Turns out nobody likes this budget deal except the press, which loves bipartisan agreements, no matter how puny.\u2019 \u201cIt also goes back on sequester cuts that were very minimal cuts, only about 2%. But you can never satisfy government\u2019s appetite for more money.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://fleischmann.house.gov/press-release/rep-fleischmann-submits-comments-defense-nuclear-facilities-safety-board", "Rep. Fleischmann Submits Comments to Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board", "2013-12-12", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Chuck Fleischmann", "F000459", "fleischmann.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "On December 10, 2013, Congressman Fleischmann submitted comments to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board\u2019s Safety in Design, Operations, and Emergency Preparedness at the Y-12 National Security Complex Public Hearing and Meeting. Click on the attachment below to read the letter.\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://fleischmann.house.gov/press-release/rep-fleischmann-submits-letter-proposed-land-transfer-changes", "Rep. Fleischmann Submits Letter On Proposed Land Transfer Changes", "2013-12-12", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Chuck Fleischmann", "F000459", "fleischmann.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "On December 11, 2013, Congressman Fleischmann sent a letter to Secretary Moniz regarding the proposed land transfer changes that could greatly impact the Oak Ridge community.\u00a0 Click on the attachment below to read the letter.\n\t\t\t###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://desjarlais.house.gov/media-center?ID=E6A11D5B-564A-4C4D-8D5D-F32900414C3F", "Rep. DesJarlais votes against Ryan-Murray budget deal", "2013-12-12", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Scott DesJarlais", "D000616", "desjarlais.house.gov", "desjarlais", "https://desjarlais.house.gov/media-center", "scraper", "Congressman Scott DesJarlais, M.D. (TN-04) today released the following statement after voting against the Ryan-Murray budget deal:\n\n\u201cNot only does this budget deal fail to adequately address our nation\u2019s debt and deficit, it trades real spending cuts for the promise of future reductions. Further, this bill raises taxes under the guise of increasing user fees. My constituents are adamantly opposed to the idea of sending more of their money to Washington to pay for further government expansion.\n\n\u201cThis budget does not reflect the independent, conservative values we hold in Tennessee\u2019s Fourth Congressional District. Rather, this plan reflects the unacceptable status quo I was elected to fight against. Tennesseans are tired of career politicians who put more faith in manufactured poll numbers and the advice of high-priced political consultants than the views of their constituents.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-27T22:40:02Z"], ["https://fleischmann.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-fleischmann-submits-comments-defense-nuclear-facilities-safety-board", "Rep. Fleischmann Submits Comments to Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board", "2013-12-12", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Charles J. \"Chuck\" Fleischmann", "F000459", "fleischmann.house.gov", "fleischmann", "https://fleischmann.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "On December 10, 2013, Congressman Fleischmann submitted comments to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board\u2019s Safety in Design, Operations, and Emergency Preparedness at the Y-12 National Security Complex Public Hearing and Meeting. Click on the attachment below to read the letter.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-27T22:40:02Z"], ["https://fleischmann.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-fleischmann-submits-letter-proposed-land-transfer-changes", "Rep. Fleischmann Submits Letter On Proposed Land Transfer Changes", "2013-12-12", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Charles J. \"Chuck\" Fleischmann", "F000459", "fleischmann.house.gov", "fleischmann", "https://fleischmann.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "On December 11, 2013, Congressman Fleischmann sent a letter to Secretary Moniz regarding the proposed land transfer changes that could greatly impact the Oak Ridge community. Click on the attachment below to read the letter.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-27T22:40:02Z"], ["https://web.archive.org/web/20140220235609/http://blackburn.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=364345", "Blackburn Fights for America's Military", "2013-12-12", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Marsha Blackburn", "B001243", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "Congressman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) issued the following statement in support of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014.Based on two bills, H.R 1960 and S.1197, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 is a bipartisan agreement on America\u2019s national security goals, resources, and policies. One NDAA provision, a restoration of the Army and Air Force flying hours, secured by Congressman Blackburn provides important resources to the Fort Campbell and broader military community. \u201cThroughout my career, I have worked hard to make sure America\u2019s military heroes had what they needed to fight the causes at hand. It is immoral to ask our military servicemen and women to suit up and ship out without the proper resources, training, and funds they need. It only takes a few weeks for our nation\u2019s pilots and crew members to lose currency, putting their lives and our nation\u2019s security at risk. We need to make sure resources are available to keep their training up to date. \u201cThe NDAA is a vital mechanism to provide funding for America\u2019s military. Passed for 51 consecutive years, it has a long and bipartisan history. On behalf of all the outstanding troops of the Tennessee Seventh Congressional District, and their families who serve at home, I am pleased to support this legislation.\"", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://web.archive.org/web/20140220235919/http://blackburn.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=364336", "Blackburn Statement in Support of Budget Agreement", "2013-12-12", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Marsha Blackburn", "B001243", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "Congressman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) issued the following statement today in support of the Budget Agreement approved by the House of Representatives.\u201cThis agreement returns the power of the purse to Congress and allows us to take control of the budget process so we can begin to make permanent reforms to mandatory spending that will result in long term savings without raising taxes that President Obama wanted and needs to run his failed programs. It also achieves 100 percent of the Budget Control Act\u2019s spending cuts and reduces the deficit by an additional $23 billion. \u201cFurthermore, the agreement reins in waste, fraud and abuse by ending the permanent extension of unemployment benefits and putting a stop to government payments for prisoners and the deceased. Most importantly for our men and women in our military, the budget agreement will allow Congress and the Pentagon to return to regular order so we can better manage the cuts facing our military so that they will not damage our national security or vital installations like Fort Campbell. In addition, this bill ensures that our seniors will be able to continue to have access to their physicians and the care they deserve.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://web.archive.org/web/20140221002824/http://www.corker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ContentRecord_id=0435e2a7-62b2-444e-b8dd-e5a6698911e8", "Corker: \u201cNo Sacrifice\u201d for Iran in Interim Deal", "2013-12-12", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Bob Corker", "C001071", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON \u2013 During a Senate Banking Committee hearing on negotiations over Iran\u2019s nuclear program, U.S. Senator Bob Corker, R-Tenn., ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee, said the interim agreement requires \u201cno sacrifice\u201d of Iran and that the sanctions relief being offered by the U.S. risks creating \u201ca rush\u201d to do business with Iran.\n\u201cOnce you begin loosening sanctions, and people begin to see that Iran is now going to become not a rogue country but part of the international community\u2026there is a rush\u2026to do business with them.\u00a0 And I think that\u2019s why we\u2019re all concerned that we did an interim deal that has no sacrifice on their part whatsoever,\u201d said Corker.\u00a0 \u201cObviously, we\u2019re disappointed but hopeful that somehow you can put the genie back in the bottle and end up with some type of agreement that averts warfare.\u00a0 Because of all of us do want this to succeed.\u00a0 We just don\u2019t know how we get there with an interim deal framed in this way.\u201d\nOn November 21, Corker introduced legislation, the Iran Nuclear Compliance Act of 2013, to keep the pressure on Iran during the negotiations and prevent an interim agreement from becoming the final deal.\u00a0The bill requires Iran to fully comply with any interim deal and meet the basic conditions for an acceptable final agreement before the president of the United States could waive additional sanctions.\u00a0 It further requires an immediate snapback of all sanctions after confirmation of Iran\u2019s noncompliance at any point or if an acceptable final deal isn\u2019t reached within six months.\nKey provisions of the legislation are available here. Full text of the bill and an additional summary are available here.\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://web.archive.org/web/20140221085233/http://black.house.gov/press-release/black-statement-house-passage-budget-conference-agreement", "Black Statement on House Passage of Budget Conference Agreement", "2013-12-12", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Diane Black", "B001273", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "Washington \u2013 Today, Congressman Diane Black (R-TN-06) issued the following statement upon House passage of the bipartisan budget agreement:\n\u201cWhile this budget agreement is far from perfect, I believe it is a step in the right direction,\u201d said Congressman Black. \u201cDespite demands from Democrats, this budget plan will reduce our deficit by $23 billion over current law without raising taxes. Also, it will restore needed certainty to our budgeting process by returning Congress to regular order. This means that we can stop governing from crisis to crisis and focus on promoting economic growth and protecting Americans from the disastrous effects of Obamacare.\u201d\n\u201cIn addition, this agreement protects our military from devastating cuts which will help make sure our troops have what they need to keep us safe. I wish that this agreement went further to rein in Washington spending, but until conservatives control both Chambers of Congress and the White House, we must act incrementally where we can. This budget agreement reduces our deficit and moves us in the right direction.\u201d\nFor more information on the agreement, click here.\n###\nCongressman Diane Black represents Tennessee\u2019s 6th Congressional District. She has been a registered nurse for more than 40 years and serves on the House Ways and Means and Budget Committees", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://web.archive.org/web/20150110083938/http://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=a08a17af-9a3e-4f26-8632-2f53c26b4015", "Alexander: Small Modular Reactors \u201cAn Additional Source of Clean, Cheap, Reliable Energy\u201d", "2013-12-12", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, Dec. 12 \u2013 U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today released the following statement on the federal government\u2019s awarding of the second round of licensing support for the production of small modular nuclear reactors:\n\u201cThis is another step toward an additional source of clean, cheap, reliable energy. Congress directed the U.S. Department of Energy to make up to two competitive licensing support awards, and now the department has done so.\u201d\nThe U.S. Department of Energy today announced that it had selected Oregon-based NuScale for its second award for licensing support. The first award for licensing support went to Babcock & Wilcox of Tennessee, under which small modular reactors will be constructed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee.\nSmall modular reactors are a form of technology under development that would allow for nuclear power installations that are smaller than traditional nuclear power plants, with less capital investment.\n\u00a0\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=3d6f677f-94cd-46f3-8b44-0a7da6dba385", "Alexander, Feinstein Introduce Legislation to Stop Airplane Cell Phone Conversations", "2013-12-12", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Alexander says \u201ctext messages, yes; conversations, no\u201d\r\n***\r\n\u201cThis legislation is about avoiding something nobody wants: nearly 2 million passengers a day, hurtling through space, trapped in 17-inch-wide seats, yapping their innermost thoughts.\u201d \u2013 Lamar Alexander\u00a0\r\nWASHINGTON, Dec. 12 \u2013 U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today introduced legislation to prohibit cell phone conversations on commercial airline flights, a possibility the Federal Communications Commission is scheduled to consider today.\r\n\u201cKeeping phone conversations private on commercial flights may not be enshrined in the Constitution, but it is certainly enshrined in common sense,\u201d Alexander said. \u201cThis legislation is about avoiding something nobody wants: nearly 2 million passengers a day, hurtling through space, trapped in 17-inch-wide seats, yapping their innermost thoughts.\u201d\r\nU.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), an original cosponsor of the legislation, said: \u201cFlying on a commercial airline\u2014in a confined space, often for many hours\u2014is a unique travel experience that is, candidly, not conducive to numerous passengers talking on cell phones.\u00a0 This bill recognizes the use of cell phones to make calls during flights can be disruptive and irritating to other passengers and would prevent such communications during domestic flights.\u00a0 The bill, however, would not affect the ability to communicate via text and email during a flight.\u201d\r\nThe legislation, the Commercial Flight Courtesy Act, would prohibit the use of voice communication through cell phones on regularly scheduled commercial flights, after the Federal Communications Commission announced it is exploring what type of cell phone use is safe on airplanes. It would allow the use of cell phones for texting and other electronic communication, if the FCC were to approve such communications. It would also allow the use of personal electronic devices such as Kindles and iPads during flight, which the Federal Aviation Administration recently approved.\r\nThe FCC is scheduled to hold a public meeting this afternoon on a possible rule change approving the use of such technology on airplanes, a step it has acknowledged would \u201copen the door\u201d to approved cell phone conversations on flights. Alexander\u2019s legislation mirrors current regulation. It only applies to commercial airlines, not private charter flights or foreign carriers, unless the latter is flying between U.S. airports. It exempts federal air marshals and flight crews for official business.\r\nAlexander continued, \u201cWhen you stop and think about what we hear now in airport lobbies \u2013 babbling about last night\u2019s love life, next week\u2019s schedule, arguments with spouses \u2013 it\u2019s not hard to see why the FCC shouldn\u2019t allow cell phone conversations on airplanes. The solution is simple: text messages, yes; conversations, no.\u201d\r\n\u00a0\r\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=c45714de-bd7c-41a0-80d0-3de7121653bb", "Alexander: Get Washington Out of the Way, College Accreditation Too Costly", "2013-12-12", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Says Vanderbilt spends 5,000 hours to accredit College of Arts and Sciences, 8,000 hours for School of Engineering\r\n***\r\n\u201cThe whole purpose of accreditation to begin with was an effort by autonomous institutions to regulate themselves with the sole purpose of determining quality. \u2026 Are the accreditors doing some things they don\u2019t need to be doing? And are they spending enough time really focused on quality?\u201d \u2013 Lamar Alexander\u00a0\r\nWASHINGTON, Dec. 12 \u2013 The senior Republican on the Senate education committee today questioned whether \u201cthe federal government has overstepped\u201d in college accreditation, asking witnesses at a hearing to consider whether federal requirements have accreditors losing their focus on quality.\r\nU.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Ranking Member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, recounted the history of accreditation, noting that it began as a way for colleges to self-regulate and ensure quality. As federal aid became tied to accreditation standards, Alexander said, the federal government added requirements that may be harming efforts to ensure quality education. He asked witnesses to help identify those areas.\r\n\u00a0\u201cI think it is important to look back at where accreditation came from to see what it\u2019s central purpose is, whether the accreditors are fulfilling that role, what is the federal government\u2019s role in accreditation, and has the federal government overstepped to the point that accreditors are not doing what they were designed to do,\u201d Alexander said.\r\nComparing the single page of requirements from 1952 with stacks of paper of current federal statute and regulation, Alexander noted that federal accreditors now must consider 93 criteria. Alexander said, \u201cThis is what it is today. This is the law, these are the regulations. These are the sub-regulations \u2013 still quite a bit, and I think one of the things we want to know is, is all this necessary?\r\n\u201cIn our previous hearings, I have suggested that, through no evil intention of anybody, we\u2019ve reauthorized the Higher Education Act, I think nine times since 1965, and maybe we\u2019ve piled on laws and regulations, without thinking about what could be removed.\u201d\r\nThe senator described several phases of how the accreditation process has evolved from a simple way for schools to self-regulate to an extensive system of federal regulation. They included:\r\n\u00a0\r\n \r\nThe beginning of accreditation back in 1885 as a way for schools to differentiate for themselves whether they were high schools or colleges. About 3 percent of Americans were completing college at that point, Alexander said.\r\nThe increasing use of accreditation to determine quality among colleges, including the G.I. Bill tying approval of federal financial aid for veterans of the Korean War to the accreditation of colleges. Veterans were able to use federal money to go to any accredited schools, at which point about 6 percent of Americans were completing college, Alexander said.\r\nThe requirement in 1965 that any student receiving federal financial aid go to a federally accredited university, which led over time to increased federal regulation of the accreditation process. Today, Vanderbilt University devotes more than 5,000 hours to accreditation-related work for its College of Arts and Sciences, and up to 8,000 hours for its School of Engineering, Alexander said.\r\n \r\n\u201cThe whole purpose of accreditation to begin with was an effort by autonomous institutions to regulate themselves with the sole purpose of determining quality.\r\n\u201cThe federal government then \u2013 understandably, because we spend lot of money to help students \u2013 said, well, we want to make sure they are going to proper institutions, and so we have gotten involved in giving the accreditors more to do.\r\n\u201cAre the accreditors doing some things they don\u2019t need to be doing? And are they spending enough time really focused on quality?\u201d\r\nWhile questioning witnesses, the senator asked them to identify areas where the committee could clarify the proper role of accreditors and the federal government. Alexander said, \u201cHelp us sort out what accreditors are supposed to do, what the federal government is supposed to do, and what accreditors are doing now that you don\u2019t need to be doing.\r\n\u201cThe only other thing to do is hire a bunch of regulators and put them in the Department of Education and travel around and see 7,000 institutions and that would be a disaster. They wouldn\u2019t have a clue about what they were seeing.\u201d\r\nAlexander\u2019s full opening remarks follow:\r\nI want to welcome our witnesses and thank Chairman Harkin for this hearing. I especially appreciate the even-handed way he\u2019s approached all of these subjects on higher education and I look forward to working with him to doing our best to try to reauthorize higher education next year.\r\nI am glad that we are looking at the role of accreditation in all types of the six or seven thousand higher education institutions we have, and I think it is important to look back at where accreditation came from to see what it\u2019s central purpose is, whether the accreditors are fulfilling that role, what is the federal government\u2019s role in accreditation, and has the federal government overstepped to the point that accreditors are not doing what they were designed to do.\r\nIt\u2019s worth it to me to go back to where accreditation started.\u00a0\r\nThe first accrediting agencies emerged more than 120 years ago, in the late 1800s. That was a very different time. There were not many colleges, most of them were private, and they had abandoned the classical curriculum and some were adopting the new elective system.\u00a0\r\nThere were new types of institutions \u2013 it wasn\u2019t even clear what the difference was between a high school and a college, so the accrediting agencies\u2019 first role in that phase was to help create common admission standards so you could decide what was a high school and what was a college.\u00a0\r\nAnd the first effort at that was in 1885, at the turn of the 20th century, Mr. Chairman \u2013 when all this was going on, less than 13 percent of Americans were completing high school and less than 3 percent were completing college degrees. There wasn\u2019t any federal involvement at all in any of that.\r\nThen the G.I. Bill came in 1944 - money for veterans - and they could even spend the money at high schools. The number of people going to college doubled, but still wasn\u2019t really very many.\u00a0\r\nThen the Korean War came, and the Korean War G.I. Bill specified that institutions of higher education needed to be accredited by federally recognized accreditors in order for a veteran to spend money there. So, it began to tie the federal government to the existing institutions.\r\nAnd at that time, only about 35 percent of students were graduating from high school and 6 percent were completing college. That\u2019s the time of the Korean War. So, this is where this all came from.\r\nState approval of institutions was enough, everybody thought, for all of these higher education institutions. That pretty well lasted until 1965 with the federal student aid. It would only go to institutions recognized by a federally recognized accreditor. That\u2019s what the 1965 Higher Education Act did.\r\nThat tied eligibility to receive federal aid to federal regulation \u2013 but the law pretty well remained silent.\u00a0\r\nThis page [holding up a single sheet of paper], Mr. Chairman, is the entire amount of federal law on accreditation in the federal government in 1952, at the end of the Korean War.\r\nAnd this is what it is today [holding up a stack of papers]. This is the law, these are the regulations. These are the sub-regulations \u2013 still quite a bit, and I think one of the things we want to know is, is all this necessary?\r\nIn our previous hearings, I have suggested that, through no evil intention of anybody, we\u2019ve reauthorized the Higher Education Act, I think nine times since 1965, and maybe we\u2019ve piled on laws and regulations, without thinking about what could be removed. I\u2019ll be interested to see what you think about whether we are adding unnecessary costs and delays to institutions with these federal requirements.\r\nBriefly, in 1992 \u2013 and I was Education Secretary at that time [of the] the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. Sen. Kennedy was particularly involved in this. Sen. Harkin was on the committee at that time.\r\nIt defined the areas that accreditors needed to examine, and by then, 80 percent of Americans were completing high school and 21 percent were completing college. And that language was modified and expanded in 1998 and 2008.\r\nSo now we have 93 different criteria that accreditors must consider when determining institutional quality.\r\nI think the main point to make Mr. Chairman, and I\u2019ll bring my remarks to a conclusion so that we can hear from our witnesses. The whole purpose of accreditation to begin with was an effort by autonomous institutions to regulate themselves with the sole purpose of determining quality.\r\nThe federal government then \u2013 understandably, because we spend lot of money to help students \u2013 said, well, we want to make sure they are going to proper institutions, and so we have gotten involved in giving the accreditors more to do.\r\nI think we have to think about \u2013 have we asked the accreditors to do some things that they shouldn\u2019t be doing? Are the accreditors doing some things they don\u2019t need to be doing? And are they spending enough time really focused on quality?\r\nAt Vanderbilt University, they estimate its College of Arts and Sciences devotes more than 5,000 hours to accreditation-related work every year, and that its School of Engineering devotes up to 8,000 hours of work every year on accreditation.\r\n\u00a0\r\nThat is probably way too much, so we are looking for advice and we are trying to work together to sort through what has been done, and I appreciate the chairman giving me a little more time to talk about this. But I have watched it from various angles, from the angle of a university president, an education secretary and a governor, and I have gotten pretty mad at accreditors sometimes when they came in and told me what to do that I didn\u2019t think needed to be done \u2013 for example, when I was president of the University of Tennessee.\r\nSo I welcome your testimony, I thank the chairman for the hearing, and I look forward to the opportunity to ask questions.\r\n\u00a0\r\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://cohen.house.gov/press-release/cohen-165-house-dems-call-speaker-boehner-help-nations-unemployed-taking-his-christmas", "Cohen, 173 House Dems Call on Speaker Boehner to Help the Nation's Unemployed Before Taking His Christmas Vacation", "2013-12-11", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "[WASHINGTON, DC] \u2013 On the heels of the announcement of a 2-year budget agreement that does nothing to prevent more than a million Americans from losing unemployment benefits while they look for work, Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today joined 173 of his House Democratic colleagues in calling on Speaker Boehner to keep the House of Representatives in Washington and working until an extension of the unemployment compensation program is passed.\n\u201cWithout swift Congressional action, 1.3 million jobless workers will have their benefits cut off on December 28th, and nearly another 1.9 million will lose their unemployment benefits over the first half of next year,\u201d the Representatives wrote today in a letter to the Speaker. \u201cThis would not only be a devastating blow for millions of Americans who are already struggling, but it would also hurt our economy.\u201d\nThe Representatives continued: \u201cNow is certainly not the time to further decimate vital federal assistance to workers who have lost their job through no fault of their own and who must actively seek work in order to be eligible for unemployment benefits\u2026 We write to urge you to address the looming expiration of unemployment benefits for millions of Americans before adjourning Congress for the remainder of the year.\u201d\u00a0 \nThe federal unemployment insurance program is scheduled to expire December 28, immediately cutting of all jobless aid to 1.3 million Americans. An additional 1.9 million Americans who are estimated to be eligible for federal unemployment insurance in the first half of 2014 would lose access to that coverage.\nThe text of the letter sent by House Democrats to Speaker Boehner today follows:\nDear Speaker Boehner:\nWe write to urge you to address the looming expiration of unemployment benefits for millions of Americans before adjourning Congress for the remainder of the year.\u00a0 Without swift Congressional action, 1.3 million jobless workers will have their benefits cut off on December 28th, and nearly another 1.9 million will lose their unemployment benefits over the first half of next year.\u00a0\u00a0 This would not only be a devastating blow for millions of Americans who are already struggling, but it would also hurt our economy.\nThe Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program is scheduled to immediately and completely stop at the end of 2013, during the holiday season, with the last payable week ending on December 28th.\u00a0 All current EUC beneficiaries will lose their benefits, and individuals exhausting their limited state unemployment benefits will no longer be eligible for EUC benefits in 2014.\u00a0 This cutoff will affect over 3 million Americans over the next six months, and thereby also negatively impact our economic growth. In fact, recent estimates indicate that the expiration of the EUC program would cost our economy 310,000 jobs and drain roughly four-tenths of a percentage point from first-quarter economic growth.\nWhile unemployment benefits remain a critical lifeline for dislocated workers and their families, these benefits have recently been significantly scaled back.\u00a0 According to the Congressional Research Service, the total amount of weeks of unemployment benefits has dropped by more than a third across the states, and by more than 50 percent in some states, compared to two years ago.\u00a0\u00a0 Furthermore, the recipients have seen their weekly benefit payment provided by the EUC program cut under sequestration.\nEven with the progress our economy has seen since the depths of the recession, there are still 1.3 million fewer jobs today than when the recession started six years ago. Additionally, approximately 4 million Americans are considered long-term unemployed, and have been looking for work for more than six months. Now is certainly not the time to further decimate vital federal assistance to workers who have lost their job through no fault of their own and who must actively seek work in order to be eligible for unemployment benefits.\u00a0\u00a0 We therefore strongly urge you to immediately bring up a one-year extension of the current EUC program.\nThank you for your attention to this critical issue.\nSincerely,", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://cohen.house.gov/press-release/cohen-blasts-house-gop-effort-distract-cuts-medical-research-are-preventing-new-cures", "Cohen Blasts House GOP Effort to Distract From Cuts to Medical Research That Are Preventing New Cures For Fatal Illnesses", "2013-12-11", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "[WASHINGTON, DC] \u2013 One of the most outspoken advocates in Congress for medical research programs and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today took to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives to lambast a Republican proposal meant to distract from sequestration\u2019s very real and crippling effects on the NIH\u2019s efforts to find cures for debilitating diseases like cancer, stroke, heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer\u2019s and AIDS. Video of the Congressman\u2019s remarks on the House Floor is available here.\n\u201cThe NIH is our nation\u2019s true Department of Defense\u2014it defends us from cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer\u2019s, AIDS and diabetes,\u201d said Congressman Cohen. \u201cAnd their budget for research into new cures is being decimated by sequestration. \u00a0The $13 million in research funding this bill proposes doesn\u2019t replace even 1% of sequestration\u2019s cuts. Memphis, the city I live in, is home to the world\u2019s best pediatric cancer center, St. Jude Children\u2019s Research Hospital. They deserve to be protected from these cuts, as do the countless kids who will be stricken with diseases and illnesses that research projects could cure if adequately funded. They need more than the window-dressing that this bill provides. I urge my colleagues to support full funding for the NIH, not just smoke and mirrors.\u201d\nThe Congressman was speaking out about the Kids First Research Act which was debated by the House today. Supporters of the legislation claim the bill will redirect the spending of the tax dollars that fund political conventions\u2014which amount to a mere $13 million dollars, or less than 1% of the $1.5 billion cut from the NIH this year through sequestration\u2014to raise funding for pediatric research, but the bill does not guarantee that funding will be used for such research.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://roe.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=364105", "Roe Joins Scalise, Blackburn to request meeting with President Obama to discuss health care alternative", "2013-12-11", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Phil Roe", "R000582", "roe.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C.  In a letter sent to President Barack Obama today, three Members of the Republican Study Committee who helped craft the RSC's American Health Care Reform Act requested a meeting to discuss a better way to health care reform. The letter was signed by RSC Chairman Steve Scalise, Congressman Phil Roe and Congressman Marsha Blackburn.\r\nThe letter comes in response to President Obama's statement earlier this month that the only alternative that Obamacare's critics have is, well, let's just go back to the status quo  because they sure haven't presented an alternative.\r\nThe American Health Care Reform Act currently has 117 cosponsors  a number that grows every day, the members write in the letter. Our legislation is anything but the status quo  it is a pragmatic, practical, and portable free-market alternative to the current health care system. In addition to the American Health Care Reform Act, Members of the RSC have introduced more than 200 health care related bills this Congress. As a caucus, we are dedicated to improving access to health care for all Americans. We welcome the opportunity to share these ideas with you.\r\nThe full text of the letter can be found here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://web.archive.org/web/20140221085258/http://black.house.gov/press-release/black-commends-house-passage-gabriella-miller-kids-first-research-act", "Black Commends House Passage of the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act", "2013-12-11", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Diane Black", "B001273", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "Washington \u2013 Today, Congressman Diane Black (R-TN-06) issued the following statement upon House passage of the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act \u2013 bipartisan legislation she cosponsored that would eliminate taxpayer financing of presidential campaigns and party conventions and use these funds to expand pediatric research at the National Institutes of Health:\n\u201cI am pleased that the House has passed this commonsense measure today,\u201d said Congressman Black. \u201cWhile we work to reduce government spending, it is also important that we target taxpayer dollars in ways that can best help the American people. Taking federal funds from political events to expand research into pediatric illnesses is a step in the right direction, and I am proud to support this important legislation to improve children\u2019s healthcare.\u201d\nFor more information on the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act, click here.\n###\nCongressman Diane Black represents Tennessee\u2019s 6th Congressional District. She has been a registered nurse for more than 40 years and serves on the House Ways and Means and Budget Committees.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://web.archive.org/web/20140221085444/http://black.house.gov/press-release/black-statement-budget-conference-agreement", "Black Statement on Budget Conference Agreement", "2013-12-11", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Diane Black", "B001273", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "Washington \u2013 Today, Congressman Diane Black (R-TN-06), member of the bicameral budget conference committee, issued the following statement on the agreement reached:\n\u201cWhile far from perfect, this agreement represents a modest step in the right direction,\u201d said Congressman Black. \u201cBy restoring our budgeting process to regular order, we can stop governing from crisis to crisis and provide some needed certainty to the way Washington works for the American people. Furthermore, this deal reduces our deficit without raising taxes and provides smarter cuts and reforms that will help make our government more responsible and efficient. We have much more work to do to tackle our nation\u2019s fiscal challenges, but in a divided government, we cannot let the perfect be the enemy of the good.\u201d\nFor more information on the agreement, click here.\n###\nCongressman Diane Black represents Tennessee\u2019s 6th Congressional District. She has been a registered nurse for more than 40 years and serves on the House Ways and Means and Budget Committees.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://web.archive.org/web/20160116033259/http://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=0f6bd362-da8f-4205-aa37-0003435d4723", "Alexander Names New Chief of Staff", "2013-12-11", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, Dec. 11 \u2013 U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) released the following statement:\n\u201cI have named David Cleary as my chief of staff. David has worked with me for eight years and fortunately is well-prepared to step into this position.\n\u201cEarlier today, I was informed by the United States Senate legal counsel\u2019s office that law enforcement agents were conducting a search of the personal residence of Ryan Loskarn, who has been chief of staff of my Washington, D.C., office, regarding allegations involving child pornography. I am stunned, surprised and disappointed by what I have learned. Based on this information, I immediately placed Mr. Loskarn on administrative leave without pay. The office is fully cooperating with the investigation.\n\u201cThe courts will judge Mr. Loskarn\u2019s guilt or innocence, but under these circumstances, he cannot continue to fulfill his duties as chief of staff of this office. Therefore, as of today, I have removed him from the payroll.\u201d\nDavid Cleary has served as Alexander\u2019s legislative director since 2011 and as Republican staff director for the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee since 2012. He has been working with Alexander since 2006. Cleary previously served as a staff member on the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce under then-Chairman John Boehner (R-Ohio), and as a legislative analyst for the U.S. Department of Education. Cleary earned a B.A. in Political Science and Master of Public Administration from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He is married to Marci Vanim Cleary and they have a 6-year old daughter, Maria.\u00a0\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=5cdac021-031f-4b25-94a0-68ee77c20e4d", "Alexander Introduces Bill to Include Four Tennessee Civil War Battlefields in National Park System", "2013-12-11", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Says the legislation, introduced in House by Rep. Marsha Blackburn, will \u201cpreserve and protect our heritage\u201d in Tennessee\u00a0\r\nWASHINGTON, Dec. 11 - U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today announced that he introduced legislation that would expand the boundary of Shiloh National Military Park to include three Civil War battlefields in Tennessee and designate Parker\u2019s Crossroads as an affiliated area of the National Park System. U.S. Representative Marsha Blackburn (R-Brentwood) introduced similar legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this year.\r\n\u201cAs Americans, we have a special obligation to preserve and protect our heritage,\u201d Alexander said. \u201cIncluding these Civil War battlefields in the National Park System will honor that commitment, while providing an opportunity to attract more visitors to Tennessee and encourage the local economies.\u201d\r\n\u201cI am pleased to be working with Senator Alexander in preserving this important piece of our national history,\u201d Blackburn said. \u201cTennessee played a vital role in the Civil War and it\u2019s important that we remember those who lost their lives on these hallowed grounds while fighting for what they believed in. This legislation will preserve our history for future generations and encourage all to travel to West Tennessee to see it firsthand.\u201d\r\nThe legislation would designate battlefields at Davis Bridge and Fallen Timbers in Tennessee and Russell House (which is in Tennessee and Mississippi) as part of Shiloh National Military Park. It will also include Parker\u2019s Crossroads of Tennessee in the National Park System. The National Park Service has already determined these battlefields are nationally significant and in need of preservation and protection, and the majority of the land included in this legislation is currently owned by the State of Tennessee or the Civil War Trust, which would speed the process of including these areas in the system.\r\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=d49234b5-ae5c-4da6-9293-97f3a1b82a30", "Alexander Statement on Law Enforcement Investigation of Chief of Staff", "2013-12-11", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, Dec. 11 \u2013 U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) released the following statement:\r\n\u201cI was just informed by the United States Senate legal counsel\u2019s office that law enforcement agents are conducting a search of the personal residence of Ryan Loskarn, the chief of staff of my Washington, D.C., office regarding allegations involving child pornography. I am stunned, surprised and disappointed by what I have learned. Based on this information, I immediately placed Mr. Loskarn on administrative leave without pay. The office is fully cooperating with the investigation.\u201d\r\n\u00a0\r\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://cohen.house.gov/press-release/cohen-announces-nearly-220000-st-jude-childrens-research-hospital", "Cohen Announces Nearly $220,000 For St. Jude Children's Research Hospital", "2013-12-10", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "[WASHINGTON, DC] \u2013 Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded $218,775 to St. Jude Children\u2019s Research Hospital for a graduate medical education payment program.\n\u201cThis funding will help St. Jude continue to provide the best training for the world\u2019s first-class doctors who choose to pursue the path of children\u2019s medicine,\u201d said Congressman Cohen.\nThis funding comes through HHS\u2019 Children's Hospitals Graduate Medical Education (CHGME) Payment Program, which provides federal funds to freestanding children's hospitals to help them maintain their graduate medical education (GME) programs that train resident physicians. GME follows graduation from medical school and can take between three and seven years to complete, depending on the specialty track chosen.\nFounded in 1962, St. Jude is one of the world\u2019s leading children\u2019s cancer research hospitals and is focused on finding cures for and saving children from cancer and other life-threatening diseases.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://web.archive.org/web/20140221085716/http://black.house.gov/press-release/black-challenges-sebelius-defend-obamacare-broken-promises", "Black Challenges Sebelius to Defend Obamacare Broken Promises", "2013-12-10", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Diane Black", "B001273", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "Washington \u2013 Congressman Diane Black (R-TN-06) issued the following statement ahead of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius\u2019 testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday:\n\u201cObamacare is an unmitigated disaster that is resulting in dropped coverage, skyrocketing premiums and deductibles, and causing Americans across the country to lose access to the doctors and hospitals they know. This is in direct contrast to repeated promises made by the President and his Administration. Furthermore, the website is not secure, potentially risking the security of Americans\u2019 most sensitive personal information as they seek to enroll in the exchanges. How does Secretary Sebelius intend to rectify the pain that this Administration has inflicted on the American public by Obamacare? Every day I hear from my constituents about how they are being impacted by this law. For instance, Steve Jones, a Pastor from Cookeville, Tennessee, wrote this to me:\n\u2018I am one of those who were lied to. I have received my cancellation letter. I have been trying for weeks to get through the system so I can purchase insurance, even though I don't like it. I cannot. I have called the center three times this week alone and each time after a lengthy time of the agent trying to help me, I have been told the system is now down to call back later. I have submitted an application online but have been waiting for weeks to get my identity verified, as in the early days of the system the attempt online failed. I have uploaded all they asked for but still cannot even get to the area of purchasing insurance. I am dealing with what is likely prostate cancer and if I cannot get this done in the next two weeks I will go January at least without insurance. I have never been so discouraged with our country as I am now.\u2019\n\u201cSadly, stories such as Steve\u2019s have become emblematic of the disastrous effects Obamacare is having on Americans across the country. Secretary Sebelius must answer for this Administration\u2019s broken promises, and must tell Steve and the American people how she plans to stop the pain Obamacare is causing them.\u201d\n###\nCongressman Diane Black represents Tennessee\u2019s 6th Congressional District. She has been a registered nurse for more than 40 years and serves on the House Ways and Means and Budget Committees.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=e9c799ce-d808-4aa5-9055-e04966cbf800", "Alexander: Majority Leader Reid, the \u201cObstructionist in Chief,\u201d Broke Senate Rules to \u201cHelp Obama Administration Advance its Radical Agenda Unchecked Through the Courts and Executive Agencies\u201d", "2013-12-10", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Says Democratic Leader has imposed \u201cgag rules\u201d 191 times, \u201ccutting off the right of American voices to be heard on the Senate floor\u201d\r\n***\r\n\u201cThe \u2018nuclear option\u2019 vote was not about the filibuster \u2026 The vote was about allowing the majority to do whatever it wants to do any time it wants to do it \u2026 In a country that prizes the rule of law, we now have a Senate without any rules because the Senate majority has decided, for the first time, that a majority can change the rules at any time, for any reason it wants, which makes this a body without rules.\u201d \u2013 Lamar Alexander\r\nWASHINGTON, Dec. 10 \u2013 U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), in a speech last night on the Senate floor, said that Senate Majority Harry Reid has become the Senate\u2019s \u201cobstructionist in chief.\u201d\r\nAlexander said Reid has imposed gag rules 191 times, \u201ccutting off the right of American voices to be heard on the Senate floor. Seventy-seven times this majority leader has cut off amendments in a body whose whole purpose is to amend, debate, and vote. He has filed a motion to cut off debate 114 times on the same day he has introduced a bill, and he calls that a \u2018filibuster.\u2019\u201d\r\nOn Nov. 21, Reid and 51 other Senate Democrats exercised the so-called \u201cnuclear option,\u201d voting to end the right to filibuster presidential nominations, except for those to the U.S. Supreme Court.\r\nAlexander said the \u201c\u2018nuclear option\u2019 vote was not about the filibuster \u2026 The vote was about allowing the majority to do whatever it wants to do any time it wants to do it,\u201d and \u201cI know of only one cure for this dangerous trend, and that is one word, an election \u2013 the election of six new Republican senators, so power plays such as Obamacare and the Nov. 21 rules change will be ended and the Senate will again be alive with bills, amendments, and debates, reflecting the will of the American people on the important issues of our time.\u201d\r\nThe full text of the speech follows:\r\n\u00a0\r\nI appreciate the courtesy of the majority leader in allowing me to ask him a question. I have more to say about this whole subject. But let me go back to my point. There are 13 district judges on the calendar. On November 21, when we last met, there were 13 district judges. There is only one person in this chamber who can bring a judge from the calendar to the floor for confirmation. That is the majority leader. Why did he not bring them all up? Why didn't he move them? Because under our rules, all he has to do is make a motion that so-and-so district judge be confirmed. If he files cloture, we have to wait one day, and then we have two hours of debate.\r\nNever in the history of the country, according to the Congressional Research Service, has a district judge been denied his or her seat because of a failed cloture vote, because of a filibuster. I know this from personal experience, because a judge named McConnell from Rhode Island was nominated by President Obama at the recommendation of the Rhode Island senators, and there were a number on this side who said we should filibuster the judge.\u00a0\r\nI thought not. I argued to all of the Republicans that we never had done that in history and we ought not to do it, we ought not to start it. So, what has happened? I believe, with all due respect, the majority leader is manufacturing a crisis. There is no crisis with those 13 district judges. He is the one who could bring them up. He could have done it on Thursday, November 21, the day he changed the rules. Friday would be the intervening day. The maximum amount of debate the Democrats could require on each judge would be one hour, if they yield back their hour. So in 13 hours, before midnight tonight, they could all be district judges. They were sitting on the calendar waiting for the majority leader to move.\u00a0\r\nThe same is true with the sub-cabinet members. But let's just stay with the district judges for a minute. I know I am right about this because I have sat down with the Senate historian. I sat down with the Congressional Research Service.\u00a0 I said, has there ever been a president's nominee for a federal district judge who has not been confirmed because of a failed cloture vote? The answer is zero \u2013 not for President Obama, not for President Bush, not for President Clinton, not for any president.\r\nBecause Senator Reid, the distinguished majority leader, believed that the district judges were moving too slowly through the Senate, we changed the rules this past year. We said that with district judges, once there is a cloture vote \u2013 and remember, no judge has ever been denied his seat because of a cloture vote. Once there is a cloture vote, there can only be two hours of debate, one for the minority and one for the majority. So, this is a manufactured crisis. That is what was done in order to do what the Democratic majority did on November 21, which is the most stunning development in the history of the Senate in terms of a rules change, and I intend to talk about that tonight. I want to go through some very specific facts \u2013 not speeches, not something made up, but facts.\r\nI am glad that the majority leader moved four district judges but every one of the other nine might ask, \u201cMr. Majority Leader, why did you not move my name? Why are you leaving me out?\u201d Because you could move it on Monday, wait a day, and on Wednesday you could confirm every single one of the judges there.\r\nThe reason was because the majority leader wanted to make it look like there was a problem here so he could do as Senator Levin said we did on November 21 \u2013 in effect, create a Senate without rules \u2013 over the objection of 48 senators the Democratic majority established a precedent that the Senate can change the rules any time it wants to for any reason it wants to. So, I want to speak a little bit tonight about how I and other senators are expected to serve in a Senate with no rules.\r\nYesterday was a pretty exciting day in the National Football League. There were a lot of close games. The Ravens and the Vikings scored five touchdowns in two minutes and one second. In Pittsburgh, Miami was ahead when the Steelers\u2019 Anthony Brown raced into the end zone after a series of lateral passes. It was one of those things where it is the last play of the game and they start playing, passing to each other. It rarely works. Every now and then it does, and it appeared to in this case because Brown was the last one with the ball. He got into the end zone before time expired, but the officials ruled he had stepped out of bounds before scoring.\r\nWhat if Pittsburgh had said yesterday, \u201cWait a minute, we are the home team. We will change the rules and say if you step out of bounds only once as you are running toward the end zone with lateral passes on the last play of the game, then you score, so Pittsburgh wins the game\u201d?\r\nOr what if they had said, \u201cWe are the home team. We will just add five minutes and see if we can win the game in that five minutes\u201d? They would have been happy in Pittsburgh yesterday, but maybe not for long.\r\nBut what happens when Miami becomes the home team and Pittsburgh goes to Miami to play and Miami changes the rules in the middle of the game so Miami can win? What would happen to the game of professional football if the home team could change the rules in the middle of the game to get the result it wanted? The National Football League knows. They spend a lot of time on rules. They know if there is no integrity for the rules there is no integrity for the game, and pretty soon the fans do not watch the game because the game has no integrity.\u00a0\r\nThat is why the NFL goes to such great lengths about its rules. There are officials all over the field. They are standing, you know, right in the middle of the play. There is an instant review of every call they make. When they make a call, they huddle to see if they interpreted the rule right.\u00a0 If a coach doesn't like it, he has an opportunity to challenge the ruling. There is someone up in a box who looks at that and reviews it. Today, Monday morning in New York, in the National Football League office, senior retired officials get together and they review every single call and every single no-call that was made yesterday in every league game. They grade every single official based on those calls, and rarely does anyone get 100 percent. The NFL is in a constant review of the rules because if there is no integrity to the rules, they know there is no integrity to the game, and there will be no fans.\u00a0\r\nI say this because on Thursday, the last day we were here, November 21, before senators went home for Thanksgiving, the Democratic majority destroyed the rules of the Senate. With all of the Republican members opposed and three Democratic members opposed, the Senate voted 52 to 48 to invoke the so-called nuclear option, allowing a majority of senators present and voting \u2013 so not necessarily 51 \u2013 to approve presidential nominees except for Supreme Court Justices. For those positions, they eliminated the filibuster, which required 60 votes to proceed to an up-or-down majority vote.\r\nThat is what Senator Reid went through a few minutes ago.\u00a0 He was saying that we will move for cloture, we will have an intervening day, and then we will have a cloture vote. Before Thursday, before November 21, that took 60 votes. Although, as I said, in the case of federal district judges it had never been used to deny a seat. But now it only takes a majority of those present and voting. This was the most dangerous restructuring of Senate rules since Thomas Jefferson wrote the rules because it creates a perpetual opportunity for what Alexis de Tocqueville called, when he traveled our country in the 1830s, one of the greatest threats to our democracy, and that is the \u201ctyranny of the majority.\u201d\r\nThis stunning rules change by the Senate majority can best be described as Obamacare II. One of the things that Americans really didn't like about the new health care law, Obamacare, was that it was passed in the dead of night by a purely partisan vote during a snowstorm. It showed that those who had the votes could do whatever they wanted no matter what the minority thought, and we can see the results: millions of Americans having their policies canceled. Next year, tens of millions will \u2013 those who get their insurance through employers. This is another example of that kind of power play. This time the goal was to help the administration and the Democratic majority advance its radical agenda, unchecked through the courts and the executive agencies.\r\nAs the Senator from Michigan, Senator Levin, said \u2013 quoting a former Republican senator, Senator Vandenberg \u2013 Senator Levin is a Democrat \u2013 said on that Thursday, \u201cIf a majority of the Senate can change its rules at any time, there are no rules.\"\u00a0\r\n\u201cIf a majority of the Senate can change its rules at any time, there are no rules.\u201d\r\nSimilar to the Pittsburgh game, if the home team can change its rules at any time there are no rules to the game.\u00a0\r\nEvery child knows that there have to be rules to the game. So, I have this question: How am I and how are other senators supposed to serve in a Senate with no rules? How is this different from what could have happened in Pittsburgh if they changed the rules in the middle of the game? Or if the Red Sox, finding themselves behind in the ninth inning, added a few innings just to make sure they beat the Cardinals in the World Series. In the Senate, future majorities could do whatever they want, end the filibuster for legislation, removing any obstacle to the tyranny of the majority. Just as if there were no integrity of the rules of football and there would be no integrity of the game and there would be no fans, if there were no integrity to the rules of the Senate, there is no integrity for the Senate and no respect for this part of our system of government.\r\nI think I was not overstating it when I said this is the most dangerous change to the rules since Thomas Jefferson wrote them. When he did write the rules, he had this to say about why we have rules. His words are in the Senate rules book that every single one of us has and hopefully have read at least the beginning parts of. This is worth reading \u2013 by Jefferson. It is titled, \u201cThe Importance of Adhering to Rules.\u201d\r\nRemember the argument here is not about the filibuster; it is about how the rules were changed.\u00a0 \u201cThe Importance of Adhering to Rules.\u201d I am going to read a little bit of this. According to Thomas Jefferson, when he wrote the Senate rules:\r\n\u201cMr. Onslow, the ablest among the Speakers of the House of Commons, used to say, \u201cit was a maxim he had often heard, when he was a young man, from old and experienced members, that nothing tended to throw power more into the hand of administration and those who acted with the majority of the House of Commons, than a neglect of, or departure from, the rules of proceeding:\u00a0 that these forms, as instituted by our ancestors, operated as a check and control on the actions of the majority; and that they were in many instances a shelter, and a protection to the minority, against the attempts of power.\u201d\r\nThis is Thomas Jefferson writing about the importance of rules when he wrote the Senate rules. Continuing:\r\n\u201cSo far the maxim is certainly true, and is founded in good sense, that as it is always in the power of the majority, by their numbers, to stop any improper measures proposed on the part of their opponents, the only weapons by which the minority can defend themselves against similar attempts from those in power, are the forms and rules of proceeding which have been adopted as they were found necessary from time to time, and are become the law of the House; by a strict adherence to which, the weaker party can only be protected from those irregularities and abuses which these forms were intended to check, and which the wantonness of power is but too often apt to suggest to large and successful majorities.\u201d\r\nI would think a majority that claims to protect the rights of minorities would be interested in these words of Jefferson and especially in the following words:\r\n\u201cAnd whether these forms be in all cases the most rational or not, is really not of so great importance. It is much more material that there should be a rule to go by, than what that rule is; that there may be a uniformity of proceeding in business, not subject to the caprice of the Speaker, or captiousness of the members. It is very material that order, decency and regularity be preserved in a dignified public body.\u201d\r\nThat was Thomas Jefferson on the importance of Senate rules when he wrote them at the beginning of our country.\r\nThe majority has set a precedent that destroys those rules \u2013 that destroys the integrity of the rules because a Senate in which a majority can change the rules at any time for any reason is a Senate with no rules. That is why it is not too much to say that the Democratic majority has created a perpetual opportunity for the tyranny of the majority. The majority can do anything it wants any time it wants.\r\nIn this case, what it wanted to do was stack the federal court that hears most of the challenges to its radical regulatory agenda with judges who believe in that agenda. Who knows what the next power play will be. First it was Obamacare; then Obamacare II, the change of the rules. What we do know is that this majority has set an unprecedented precedent. They have set the precedent to do whatever they want to do anytime they want to do it. They have created a Senate without rules.\r\nNow, let's talk a little bit about what the justification might be for such a stunning action, because there are so many words thrown around that don't represent facts at all that I wonder about this. For example, the Democrats complain that their radical action was warranted because the Senate is broken. I agree with that. I will explain in a few moments why I think so. Their reason is that President Obama's appointees have been unfairly denied seats by failed cloture votes or filibusters. The charge was \u2013 and you heard the majority leader a few minutes ago \u2013 things have gotten so bad that this Republican minority has treated President Obama unfairly by denying his nominees their seats by failed cloture votes or filibusters. The Democrats have gotten themselves in a room and convinced each other that this is true, but it is flat-out not true.\r\nAccording to the Congressional Research Service \u2013 and I have researched this for several months and asked them this question: Has there ever been any Supreme Court nominee, by any president, who has been denied his or her seat by a filibuster? The answer is no. It is zero. (Now, there is one possible exception. Abe Fortas was nominated by President Lyndon Johnson as Chief Justice.\u00a0 The nomination was in trouble on both sides of the aisle, and to help his friend Abe Fortas save face, President Johnson engineered a cloture vote in 1968. I think the vote was 45 to 43. They called that a win to help Abe \u201csave face.\u201d) But certainly President Obama's nominees have not been denied their seats by a failed cloture vote, and neither have any other presidents\u2019.\u00a0\r\nHave there ever been any cabinet members of President Obama or any other president who have been denied their seats by a failed cloture vote or by a filibuster? According to the Congressional Research Service, the answer is no. The number is zero.\u00a0 There have been no cabinet members who have been denied their seats in the Obama administration by a failed cloture vote.\r\nHave there ever been any federal district judges denied their seats by a failed cloture vote for President Obama or any other president? The answer is zero. Except for perhaps Fortas, there has never been a Supreme Court Justice, cabinet member, or federal district judge nomination in the history of President Obama \u2013 and never in the history of this country has a president's nomination been denied by a filibuster. Interesting.\u00a0\r\nThen why did we go to this stunning radical move on November 21? Well, maybe it was because of sub-cabinet members. How many of those have been denied their seats by a filibuster, according to the Congressional Research Service? Two of President Obama's, three of President George W. Bush's, and two of President Clinton's. That is a total of seven in the history of the Senate when a filibuster has said to a sub-cabinet member that we are going to deny them their seat because of a filibuster or a failed cloture vote. So, President Obama has been treated about exactly the same as his last two predecessors.\r\nIn all of those I just mentioned, among Cabinet members, district judges, Supreme Court Justices, and sub-cabinet members, we only found two Obama nominees who have been denied their seats by a failed cloture vote. Now, that is a fact. That is not a piece of Republican propaganda. That comes from the Congressional Research Service.\r\nWhy is there a fuss about this? Well, maybe it is because of the federal circuit judges. Well, let's talk about that. As for appeals court judges, Republican filibusters have blocked five. Why did that happen? That happened as a result of what happened in 2003, the year I came to the Senate.\u00a0\r\nThen, Democrats got together and said, \u201cWe think President Bush's nominees are too conservative, so, for the first time in the history of the Senate, we are going to block 10 of President Bush's nominees basically because they are too conservative.\u201d I knew some of those judges. I used to clerk on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals for Judge John Minor Wisdom. I knew the respect he had for Judge Pryor. I knew Mr. Pickering, who had really been a pioneer for civil rights in the State of Mississippi in the 1960s and 1970s when it was hard to do that.\r\nThe truth is that the majority of Democrats said, \u201cWe are going to block 10 of the Bush judges. It has never been done before, but we are going to do it with a cloture vote.\u201d\r\nWell, as you can guess, everyone on the Republican side \u2013 and the majority then \u2013 got very excited. The majority leader, Senator Frist, said, \u201cWe are going to change the rules\u201d and do something that Senator Lott \u2013 a majority leader at one time \u2013 said was the \u201cnuclear option.\u201d\r\nThere was great consternation. In 2006, Senator Reid said \u2013 and he recounts this very well in his book \u2013 \u201cto do so would be the end of the Senate.\u201d\r\nI made two speeches. I suggested that, well, this is a terrible thing to do. A president ought to have an up-or-down vote on his circuit judges. So, why don't we see if we can't get a few Republicans and a few Democrats and just take it out of the hands of the leaders and agree we will only use the filibuster on circuit judges in extraordinary circumstances, which was the result.\u00a0 I said at the time that I would never vote for a filibuster on a circuit judge. I adjusted my view to be the same as the Senate precedent that came out of the Gang of 14. Of the 10 Bush judges, five were not confirmed and five were confirmed. In 2003, Democratic senators for the first time in history refused to confirm five presidential nominees for the federal court of appeals by a cloture vote \u2013 by a filibuster \u2013 and the expected happened. Over time, the Republicans now have blocked five nominations. So, Republicans and Democrats are even.\r\nWhen you start something, things have a way of coming back around. What the Democrats said was fair to do in 2003 and 2004, the Republicans now say is fair to do. If the Democrats think the Republican nominees are too conservative, they will block five of them. If we think President Obama's nominees are too liberal, then we will block five of them. We put in the trash heap the tradition that we will never use the filibuster on federal courts of appeals judges.\r\nThe majority leader and others have said, \u201cWell, that is not the only problem. The problem is that President Obama has had to wait too long to get his judges confirmed.\u201d\r\nAgain, that is not true either. This is another case where the Democrats apparently have gotten themselves in a room and convinced themselves that something that isn't true is true. According to the Congressional Research Service, President Obama's second-term cabinet nominees have been confirmed at about the same pace as President Bush's cabinet nominees and President Clinton's cabinet nominees.\r\nThe other day, I heard the majority leader use the example of the distinguished Secretary of Defense and a former member of this body, Senator Hagel, as an example of delay. Well, let me comment on that, if I may. Senator Hagel's nomination was reported to the Senate floor.\r\nThe day after it was reported by the Armed Services Committee, the majority leader filed cloture and called that a filibuster.\u00a0\r\nNow, many Republican senators \u2013 I watched the Senator from Arizona and the Senator from South Carolina and others say on the floor to the majority leader, \u201cThat is premature. You are cutting off debate before we have had a chance to consider the Secretary of Defense of this country.\u00a0 If you will allow us more time\u201d \u2013 at that time we were going into the Presidents Day recess for a week \u2013 \u201cwe will cut off debate the day we come back and then we will have an up-or-down vote.\u201d\r\nBut, no, the majority leader and the White House said, \u201cRam it through.\u201d\u00a0\r\nThey insisted on a vote, the vote was turned down, and he called that a filibuster. I call it cutting off debate \u2013 cutting off debate prematurely. Why in the world wouldn't you allow a Secretary of Defense to be on the floor for more than one day before you cut off the debate prematurely and call it a filibuster?\r\nThe majority leader said: Well, we could be attacked.\u00a0\r\nI think he must have forgotten we had a perfectly adequate Secretary of Defense in place \u2013 Leon Panetta \u2013 until the next one was confirmed, and he was going to be confirmed because the majority had the majority of votes to do that and a cabinet member had never been denied his or her seat because of a cloture vote.\r\nI want to keep coming back to that. A Cabinet member has never been denied confirmation because of a failed cloture vote. A Cabinet member will be confirmed after a while \u2013 after you have questions. But in that case, they filed cloture after one day.\r\nNow, in my case, 20 years ago, when President Bush nominated me as the education secretary, there was a Democratic Senate. I was announced in December, nominated in January, and it was March before some of the Democratic senators saw fit to give me a vote, and I was confirmed by unanimous consent. During that time I tried to get ready for our education program. It gave me some time to work. When President Reagan nominated Ed Meese to be the attorney general, it took a year before the Senate confirmed Ed Meese, but he was confirmed. There have been some cabinet members who have withdrawn their names because they have become embarrassed or for some other reason.\u00a0\r\nIf the question is whether a failed cloture vote has ever been used to deny a cabinet member his or her seat, the answer is no. In the case of Secretary Hagel, I would think one day is not quite long enough to file a motion to cut off debate and claim it is a filibuster.\r\nWhat about judges? Has the Senate been slow on judges?\u00a0\r\nThis year the Senate has confirmed 36 of the president's second-term nominees to circuit and district courts, compared with 14 for President Bush as of November 21 in his second term in 2005. These things are never exact because there are vacancies for a variety of reasons. That is a pretty big difference. It is very hard to argue that it is unfair. But the majority leader did argue successfully that the minority was holding up district judges in order to negotiate for other points.\u00a0 He did that the second time a bipartisan group of us sat down to talk about how to change the Senate rules so we could move along better.\r\nSo what the Senate agreed to do earlier this year was to change the rules to make it easier to confirm district judges.\r\nHere is the procedure: Remember, first they have to be on the calendar. How do they get on the calendar? A committee majority puts them on the calendar. What party has the majority in the Judiciary Committee? The Judiciary Committee majority is Democratic. That puts them on the calendar. So Democrats put them on the calendar. Only the majority leader can take them off the calendar, and when he does that, he has no motion to proceed; he just takes them right off just like he did tonight. If he wants to, he can just bring them up and ask unanimous consent that they be approved, which they often are.\r\nI am told by the Republican leader's office that when the majority leader rammed the rules change through on November 21, there were about 40 or so noncontroversial \u2013 so-called \u2013 nominees who were about to be confirmed, including many district judges. But tonight the majority leader has selected four of the 13 district judges who are on the calendar and made a big show out of the fact that we are going to take an intervening day tomorrow and then we are going to vote on them, I guess, beginning on Wednesday. Under the rules change he asked for, the debate on each one of those can only be two hours, and it is divided evenly, which means the Democrats have an hour and the Republicans have an hour. If the Democrats want to speed things up, they can give their hour back. On a noncontroversial judge, Republicans normally wouldn't say anything, except a word or two of praise. But let\u2019s say the Republicans are upset by the rules changes and we are going to say we will take that whole hour. The Democrats could say two or three minutes of praise for the district judge and we could confirm those four in four hours. That is half a day's work.\r\nThe question I asked the majority leader was, \u201cWhat about the other nine? What about the other nine district judges who are sitting on this calendar, put there by the Democratic majority of the Judiciary Committee, and only one person in the Senate can bring them up for a vote, and he didn't bring them up?\u201d Why doesn't he bring them up? He could bring them up today. Tomorrow would be the intervening day and we could vote on Wednesday and vote on them all. He could have brought every single district judge up Thursday before recess, when he turned the Senate into a place that has no rules; Friday would have been the intervening day, and we could have been voting all day today, and by the time we went home for supper, every district judge would be confirmed because of the earlier rules change that limited post-cloture debate on district judges to 2 hours. The only reason I can see to go through all of this is to manufacture a crisis to make the American people think that somehow the minority is abusing its privileges.\r\nI read the Executive Calendar on November 21 very carefully. Remember, this is the document that is on every senator's desk. A nominee has to be on here in order to be confirmed. If a person is an executive nominee, the only person who can bring it up is the majority leader. It is the same with legislation. So legislative matters require a motion of consent. There were only 16 on the calendar who had been there three weeks and only eight more who had been there more than nine weeks, and two of the eight were being held up by Democratic senators. That is hardly a crisis.\r\nFinally, let me address the claim the majority leader didn't take seriously; that is, Republicans have unfairly blocked the president from filling vacancies on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Remember, I pointed out the Democrats started this by saying that if President Bush nominates judges that are too conservative, we will block them, so the Republicans now have blocked an equal number of President Obama's judges. But that is not the primary reason for blocking them. The primary reason is stated in a letter written on July 27, 2006, to the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, a Republican, Senator Specter, from all of the Democratic members of the Judiciary Committee. President Bush had nominated someone for this same court, the District of Columbia Federal Circuit Court, and this is what the Democratic Senators said in 2006:\r\n\u201cWe believe that Mr. Keisler should under no circumstances be considered \u2013 much less confirmed \u2013 by this Committee before we first address the very need for that judgeship, receive and review necessary information about the nominee, and deal with the genuine judicial emergencies identified by the Judicial Conference.\u201d\r\nIn other words, what the Democrats were saying \u2013 and it included a number of the most distinguished members of this body \u2013 the chairman, Senator Leahy, Senator Schumer, Senator Feingold, Senator Feinstein, Senator Kohl, Senator Kennedy, Senator Durbin, Senator Biden \u2013 they were saying that this court, the D.C. court, is an important court, but it doesn't need any more judges. Before we add any more judges to a court that is underworked, we ought to consider transferring those judgeships to courts that are overworked.\r\nThat argument had been made since at least 2001 by Senator Grassley from Iowa, and finally, with some bipartisan cooperation in 2007, he achieved some success. With President Bush's agreement, the Republican president, he agreed with the Democratic senators that the D.C. Circuit should under no circumstances \u2013 those are their words in their letter \u2013 have more judges.\u00a0 They reduced by one the number of judges, and they transferred a judge to the Ninth Circuit, which was overworked.\r\nSo what Republicans have said about the three judges whom the president has nominated to the D.C. Circuit is, before we consider any of them, consider Senator Grassley's bill. Do in 2013 what you said we should do in 2006 and 2007 and which we did in a bipartisan way.\r\nSo how can this be dismissed when Republicans are asking to do in 2013 exactly what the Democrats successfully insisted on in 2006, which is to transfer judges from the courts where they are not needed to the courts where they are needed. In fact, the D.C. Circuit has a lower caseload by comparison today than it did in 2007 when, by a bipartisan agreement, it was considered underworked. The Democrats didn't think it was unfair then to insist that we not appoint more judges to a court that was underworked. It must be they are trying to manufacture a crisis now.\r\nSo if there is no good reason to change the rules in such a dramatic way as the majority did on November 21, why would the majority leader insist on cramming through in a power play a rules change that in 2006 he said would be the end of the Senate?\u00a0\r\nBecause the \u201cnuclear option\u201d vote was not about the filibuster. All of that is pretext. The vote was about allowing the majority to do whatever it wants to do any time it wants to do it.\r\nOne of the things the American people detest about Obamacare, as I said earlier, is that it was crammed through in the middle of the night in a partisan power play and we can see the results.\u00a0 Unlike the civil rights bill which had broad bipartisan support \u2013 I can remember Senator Dirksen and President Johnson working together on it when it required 67 votes in the Senate, and because it achieved that consensus, Senator Russell, the great opponent of the bill, went home to Georgia and said: It is the law of the land and we should now support it.\r\nWhen we cram a big social change \u2013 or any big change \u2013 through the Congress, we are going to get the kind of result we get with Obamacare today: millions of people losing their policies, tens of millions will next year, great concern, Web site not working. That is what we get when we cram things through in a partisan way, and the Democrats have done it again.\r\nSo if the filibuster was not the problem, then why is the Senate not functioning better? Why are we so low in public opinion polls? Frankly, it is because of the Senate leadership. I have had the privilege over the years of watching the Senate. I came here for the first time in 1967 as an aide to Senator Howard Baker, the future majority leader of the Senate. I watched Senator Mansfield and Senator Dirksen. I watched Senator Byrd and Senator Baker. I watched Senator Daschle, Senator Lott, Senator Frist. I wasn't in the Senate all of that time \u2013 I have only been here since 2003 \u2013 but I have seen it over that time up close. All of them could operate this body very well under the rules we had until Thursday of two weeks ago, until November 21.\r\nI was at the Rules Committee meeting when Senator Byrd, former majority leader and acknowledged as the great historian of the Senate, came. He could barely speak, but he had one last message for the Senate and it was: Don't change the filibuster. He called it the necessary fence against the excesses of the executive and the popular will. That was what Senator Byrd said. He also said that under the rules we had until November 21, a majority leader could operate the Senate if he wanted to.\r\nThe current majority leader seems to be unable to do that, and we saw an example of it here tonight. He brings up four district judges, while there are 13 on the calendar. He could have brought them up on November 21 and we could have been voting on all of them today. He could bring them all up today and we could vote on all of them Wednesday, but he is parceling them out as if there were a crisis somewhere. Why is he doing that? I don't see why he is doing that. It is not the way to make the Senate function. It is not what Senator Byrd would do. It is not what Senator Baker would do. I saw them come in and open the Senate to amendments, put a bill on the floor, ask for amendments. Here came 300 amendments. Ask for unanimous consent to cut off amendments. They got unanimous consent because nobody could think of any other amendments, and then Senator Byrd would say \u2013 and Senator Baker did as well \u2013 all right, let's start voting, and vote, vote, vote, vote. Then we could get to about Wednesday or Thursday and senators would think, well, maybe my amendment is not so important, and by Friday, when it was clear the majority leader was going to finish the bill that week, they would drop the amendments, and we got it done.\r\nSo the Senate wasn\u2019t a perfect place \u2013 things were still bumpy. There was Senator Metzenbaum sitting in the front row objecting. There was Senator Williams before him, Senator Allen before him, exercising their rights, but the majority leaders were able to work with that. The Senate worked on Mondays and Fridays, it worked at night, and the threat of that usually caused people who were trying to not show a proper amount of restraint and use of their privileges to back down.\r\nInstead, what the current majority leader does \u2013 and we heard him tonight \u2013 is complain about obstructionism when there isn't any, certainly not on nominations. I am not going to say senators on both sides of the aisle haven't abused their privileges and slowed down the Senate. But he complains about obstructionism when, in fact, he has become the obstructionist in chief by making it more difficult for those of us who are elected from our states to represent the people who have a right to be heard.\r\n\u201cSeventy-seven times this majority leader has cut off amendments in a body whose whole purpose is to amend, debate, and vote. I call it a \u2018gag rule,\u2019 with the majority cutting off the right of American voices to be heard on the Senate floor. He has filed a motion to cut off debate 114 times on the same day he has introduced a bill, and he calls that a \u2018filibuster.\u2019 I call that a gag rule. He has bypassed Senate committees in an unprecedented way: 76 times in the last seven years.\u201d\r\nHe set himself up as the king of the Senate.\r\n\u201cMay I offer an amendment on Iran?\u201d a senator might ask.\r\n\u00a0No.\r\n\u201cMay I offer an amendment on Egypt?\u201d No.\u00a0\r\n\u201cHow about an amendment on Obamacare?\u201d No.\r\n\u201cWhat about a bill on the National Labor Relations Board?\u201d No.\u00a0\r\n\u201cCan we work on appropriations bills?\u201d No.\u00a0\r\nOnly one person is deciding what happens here, when, in fact, the history of the Senate has been a place of virtually unlimited debate on virtually any amendment. That has been the history of the Senate. It is different than the House of Representatives. It has been different than any other body in the world. It operates by unanimous consent, and it requires restraint which hasn't always been exercised, but majority leaders who have been effective have found their way to deal with that.\r\nI have spent the last three years doing my best to help make this place function. I cannot say where this rules change on November 21 will lead, but it is heading in a dangerous direction \u2013 a direction that is dangerous for the Senate and dangerous for our country.\r\nThis is a country that prizes the rule of law. Other countries around the world that do not have it wish they did, they wish they had a country with the rule of law.\u00a0\r\nSo in a country that prizes the rule of law, we now have a Senate without any rules because the Senate majority has decided, for the first time, that a majority can change the rules at any time, for any reason it wants, which makes this a body without rules.\r\nIn a country that yearns for solutions on Iran, on health care, on our debt crisis, we have a king of the Senate saying, \u201cNo amendments, no debate, I will make all the decisions.\u201d\r\nI know of only one cure for this dangerous trend, and that is one word, an election \u2013 the election of six new Republican senators, so power plays such as Obamacare and the November 21 rules change will be ended and the Senate will again be alive with bills, amendments, and debates, reflecting the will of the American people on the important issues of our time.\r\n\u00a0\r\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://web.archive.org/web/20140108114616/http://black.house.gov:80/press-release/black-meehan-seek-answers-irs-security-testing", "Black, Meehan Seek Answers on IRS Security Testing", "2013-12-09", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Diane Black", "B001273", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 Congressmen Diane Black (R-TN-06) and Patrick Meehan (R-PA-07) sent a letter to Danny Werfel, the Acting Commissioner for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), in response to a report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). The IRS is responsible for administering tax credits under Obamacare and TIGTA has reported that \u201ccritical\u201d elements of the security controls failed during testing, potentially risking the exposure of sensitive taxpayer information. Below is the text of their letter, or a digital copy can be found here.\n\u00a0\nThe Honorable Daniel I. Werfel\nActing Commissioner, the Internal Revenue Service\nU.S. Department of the Treasury\n1111 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room 3241\nWashington, DC 20224\n\u00a0\nDear Commissioner Werfel:\nAmericans face a great threat to their personal security online, as it is widely understood that information systems can be hacked.\u00a0 Bad actors are constantly in search of opportunities to exploit vulnerabilities in our infrastructure, many of which are related to misconfigured system components and software flaws.\u00a0 Given this reality, we are concerned for the integrity and security of the sensitive personal data transmitted through the new health insurance exchanges. \u00a0As you know, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is responsible for administering the premium tax credits (PTCs) established under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).\u00a0 Now that the health care exchanges are open for business, it is imperative that the IRS has processes in place to keep taxpayer information secure.\nRecently, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) released a report that was completed on September 27, 2013 \u2013 days before the launch of the Healthcare.gov website.\u00a0 TIGTA determined that IRS has completed development and testing for the Premium Tax Credit Computation Engine (PTC-CE), which will calculate the PTC for eligible Americans.\u00a0 However, \u201ccritical\u201d elements of the security controls failed during testing.\u00a0 Specifically, the report found that twelve controls were only partially implemented during the testing process.\u00a0 The ACA infrastructure components included in those twelve security controls also failed during the Security Controls Assessment, as they did not include the baseline configurations and mandatory configuration settings required by the National Institute of Standards (NIST) and Internal Revenue Manual (IRM) guidelines.\nThe report also found that Change Management Guidelines were not always adhered to when approved baseline security requirements were removed from the PTC Project.\u00a0 Just one of seven baseline requirements was removed from the PTC Project in accordance with the process outlined in the ACA Program Configuration Management Plan, which requires a change request (CR) and change impact assessment.\u00a0\u00a0 The IRS\u2019s IT Cybersecurity organization management stated that the organization does not have access to the CR Tracking System tool.\u00a0 Thus, it cannot ensure that CRs are approved, processed, and is \u201cunaware of when final changes to the baseline security requirements were implemented.\u201d\u00a0 This raises concerns as to whether the IRS can accurately determine how changed requirements will affect the security controls and operation of the PTC-CE.\nTIGTA recommended that the IRS IT Cybersecurity organization resolve or develop a plan with specific corrective actions and time periods for the failed security tests that were reviewed as part of the ACA Security Assessment and Authorization.\u00a0 TIGTA states this resolution or action plan \u201cis needed to ensure the IRS is addressing vulnerabilities in information systems that can be traced to software flaws and misconfigurations of system components for the PTC Project and across other information technology projects being developed\u201d under the ACA.\nWe are also concerned that the TIGTA report indicates that during audit fieldwork, IT Cybersecurity organization officials \u201ccould not provide documentation to verify the corrective measures for the failed test controls.\u201d\u00a0 According to the report, the IRS disagrees with the recommendation to develop an action plan and did not reference the audit findings that triggered the recommendation.\nWe find IRS\u2019 refusal to adopt a corrective action plan of serious concern as the sensitive personal information of American taxpayers may be at risk.\u00a0 This audit raises important questions as to whether the IRS can successfully protect taxpayer data against fraud and abuse.\u00a0 Therefore, to better understand how the IRS plans to securely and successfully transmit taxpayer data, we respectfully request you provide a written explanation of the IRS\u2019s process plan, along with copies of the documented policies for resolving the failed security tests.\u00a0 We also request an explanation on how the IRS coordinates with the ACA Program to ensure that change management guidelines are followed and that the PTC-CE operation is not impaired.\nThank you in advance for your attention to this letter.\u00a0 We look forward to your prompt reply.\u00a0\n\u00a0\nSincerely,\n\u00a0\nPatrick Meehan\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Diane Black\nMember of Congress\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Member of Congress\n####", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://web.archive.org/web/20150110095118/http://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=1b902a94-df95-421b-8f6b-b82d8bec3424", "Alexander Says Farmers Are \u201cOriginal Conservatives,\u201d Highlights Importance of Farm Priorities", "2013-12-09", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "Says farm bill, waterways are important priorities, along with opposing burdensome regulations such as Obamacare, EPA overreach\n***\n\u201cIn Tennessee, farmers work on more than 77,000 farms and take care of approximately 10.8 million acres of land. That means they\u2019re doing a full day\u2019s work before many people even start the workday, and shows why agriculture is one of Tennessee\u2019s most important industries.\u201d \u2013 Lamar Alexander\u00a0\nFRANKLIN, Tenn., Dec. 9 \u2013 U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today highlighted the importance of agriculture in a speech to the Tennessee Farm Bureau, calling farmers the \u201coriginal conservatives\u201d and pledging to keep pushing their priorities \u2013 such as the farm bill \u2013 while fighting burdensome regulations and Obamacare.\n\u201cIn Tennessee, farmers work on more than 77,000 farms and take care of approximately 10.8 million acres of land. That means they\u2019re doing a full day\u2019s work before many people even start the workday, and shows why agriculture is one of Tennessee\u2019s most important industries,\u201d Alexander said. \u201cIt is my hope that legislation that improves certainty for farmers and allows them to increase production will become law, and that we can continue to push back against burdensome regulations. Farmers are the original conservatives, because they conserve and preserve the land for future production and future generations.\u201d\nAlexander spoke in Franklin at the annual meeting of the Tennessee Farm Bureau, applauding the nation\u2019s largest state farm bureau and its leaders for their work on behalf of farmers. The senator discussed a number of farm bureau priorities that have seen progress, including passage in the U.S. Senate, as well as challenges facing the industry that he intends to continue fighting against, such as the higher costs Obamacare is imposing on farmers.\nAlexander highlighted the following Farm Bureau priorities:\n\u00a0\n \nA five-year farm bill to provide certainty to Tennessee farmers. Alexander supported the Senate-passed bill and said he hopes negotiators can reconcile differences between that legislation and a House version, to give farmers a five-year farm bill. Alexander said, \u201cThis bill not only makes significant spending cuts, but it also reforms and modernizes agriculture programs and provides farmers the certainty they need to make future production decisions. It\u2019s time for Congress to act.\u201d\nPassage of immigration reform that secures the U.S. border while creating an immigration system that respects the rule of law and provides farmers with the labor force they need. The Senate has passed immigration reform, and Alexander said he hopes the U.S. House of Representatives will \u201cimprove the legislation and finish the job.\u201d\nThe Water Resources Development Act to prioritize U.S. ports and inland waterways. Both the Senate and House versions \u2013 currently awaiting action by a conference committee \u2013 include portions of Alexander\u2019s plan to replace Chickamauga Lock. Alexander said, \u201cMore than 11 million tons of agriculture products are transported on Tennessee\u2019s waterways annually, including 70,000 tons through Chickamauga Lock.\u201d Both versions also include Alexander\u2019s \u201cFreedom to Fish\u201d legislation to permanently stop the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from constructing physical barriers below 10 dams on the Cumberland River.\n \nAlexander also highlighted concerns for the agriculture industry, including:\n \nBurdensome regulations by the Environmental Protection Agency. Those include requirements Alexander has pushed back against that would have farmers make costly upgrades to store fuel on their farms, as well as overreach on the Clean Water Act, which could regulate puddles in farmers\u2019 fields.\nObamacare, which Alexander said is increasing insurance costs and limiting options for Tennesseans, including farmers and businesses in the agriculture industry. Alexander said, \u201cI\u2019m fighting to repeal and replace Obamacare with step-by-step reforms that will reduce health care costs by encouraging competition, and put Tennesseans in control by giving them more choices.\u201d\n\u201cObamacare II,\u201d a rule change by Senate Democrats seeking to circumvent Republican opposition by allowing 51 votes to confirm presidential nominees \u2013 instead of 60. This will make it easier for President Obama to appoint people who will enact his \u201cradical regulatory agenda,\u201d Alexander said.\nWashington\u2019s out-of-control spending. Alexander said his Fiscal Sustainability Act, introduced with Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), would reduce out-of-control entitlement spending by $1 trillion over the next 10 years. He also noted that he has cosponsored legislation to repeal the federal estate tax, known as the death tax. Alexander said, \u201cWashington needs to address the out-of-control entitlement spending that is driving our $17 trillion debt and taking money out of your pockets.\u201d\n \n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=SpeechesFloorStatements&ContentRecord_id=5560494c-98b6-4578-bb35-64a60eb0b217", "Floor speech: A Senate without rules", "2013-12-09", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "I appreciate the courtesy of the majority leader in allowing me to ask him a question. I have more to say about this whole subject. But let me go back to my point. There are 13 district judges on the calendar. On November 21, when we last met, there were 13 district judges. There is only one person in this chamber who can bring a judge from the calendar to the floor for confirmation. That is the majority leader. Why did he not bring them all up? Why didn't he move them? Because under our rules, all he has to do is make a motion that so-and-so district judge be confirmed. If he files cloture, we have to wait one day, and then we have two hours of debate.\r\nNever in the history of the country, according to the Congressional Research Service, has a district judge been denied his or her seat because of a failed cloture vote, because of a filibuster. I know this from personal experience, because a judge named McConnell from Rhode Island was nominated by President Obama at the recommendation of the Rhode Island senators, and there were a number on this side who said we should filibuster the judge.\r\nI thought not. I argued to all of the Republicans that we never had done that in history and we ought not to do it, we ought not to start it. So, what has happened? I believe, with all due respect, the majority leader is manufacturing a crisis. There is no crisis with those 13 district judges. He is the one who could bring them up. He could have done it on Thursday, November 21, the day he changed the rules. Friday would be the intervening day. The maximum amount of debate the Democrats could require on each judge would be one hour, if they yield back their hour. So in 13 hours, before midnight tonight, they could all be district judges. They were sitting on the calendar waiting for the majority leader to move.\r\nThe same is true with the sub-cabinet members. But let's just stay with the district judges for a minute. I know I am right about this because I have sat down with the Senate historian. I sat down with the Congressional Research Service.\u00a0 I said, has there ever been a president's nominee for a federal district judge who has not been confirmed because of a failed cloture vote? The answer is zero \u2013 not for President Obama, not for President Bush, not for President Clinton, not for any president.\r\nBecause Senator Reid, the distinguished majority leader, believed that the district judges were moving too slowly through the Senate, we changed the rules this past year. We said that with district judges, once there is a cloture vote \u2013 and remember, no judge has ever been denied his seat because of a cloture vote. Once there is a cloture vote, there can only be two hours of debate, one for the minority and one for the majority. So, this is a manufactured crisis. That is what was done in order to do what the Democratic majority did on November 21, which is the most stunning development in the history of the Senate in terms of a rules change, and I intend to talk about that tonight. I want to go through some very specific facts \u2013 not speeches, not something made up, but facts.\r\nI am glad that the majority leader moved four district judges but every one of the other nine might ask, \u201cMr. Majority Leader, why did you not move my name? Why are you leaving me out?\u201d Because you could move it on Monday, wait a day, and on Wednesday you could confirm every single one of the judges there.\r\nThe reason was because the majority leader wanted to make it look like there was a problem here so he could do as Senator Levin said we did on November 21 \u2013 in effect, create a Senate without rules \u2013 over the objection of 48 senators the Democratic majority established a precedent that the Senate can change the rules any time it wants to for any reason it wants to. So, I want to speak a little bit tonight about how I and other senators are expected to serve in a Senate with no rules.\r\nYesterday was a pretty exciting day in the National Football League. There were a lot of close games. The Ravens and the Vikings scored five touchdowns in two minutes and one second. In Pittsburgh, Miami was ahead when the Steelers\u2019 Anthony Brown raced into the end zone after a series of lateral passes. It was one of those things where it is the last play of the game and they start playing, passing to each other. It rarely works. Every now and then it does, and it appeared to in this case because Brown was the last one with the ball. He got into the end zone before time expired, but the officials ruled he had stepped out of bounds before scoring.\r\nWhat if Pittsburgh had said yesterday, \u201cWait a minute, we are the home team. We will change the rules and say if you step out of bounds only once as you are running toward the end zone with lateral passes on the last play of the game, then you score, so Pittsburgh wins the game\u201d?\r\nOr what if they had said, \u201cWe are the home team. We will just add five minutes and see if we can win the game in that five minutes\u201d? They would have been happy in Pittsburgh yesterday, but maybe not for long.\r\nBut what happens when Miami becomes the home team and Pittsburgh goes to Miami to play and Miami changes the rules in the middle of the game so Miami can win? What would happen to the game of professional football if the home team could change the rules in the middle of the game to get the result it wanted? The National Football League knows. They spend a lot of time on rules. They know if there is no integrity for the rules there is no integrity for the game, and pretty soon the fans do not watch the game because the game has no integrity.\r\nThat is why the NFL goes to such great lengths about its rules. There are officials all over the field. They are standing, you know, right in the middle of the play. There is an instant review of every call they make. When they make a call, they huddle to see if they interpreted the rule right.\u00a0 If a coach doesn't like it, he has an opportunity to challenge the ruling. There is someone up in a box who looks at that and reviews it. Today, Monday morning in New York, in the National Football League office, senior retired officials get together and they review every single call and every single no-call that was made yesterday in every league game. They grade every single official based on those calls, and rarely does anyone get 100 percent. The NFL is in a constant review of the rules because if there is no integrity to the rules, they know there is no integrity to the game, and there will be no fans.\r\nI say this because on Thursday, the last day we were here, November 21, before senators went home for Thanksgiving, the Democratic majority destroyed the rules of the Senate. With all of the Republican members opposed and three Democratic members opposed, the Senate voted 52 to 48 to invoke the so-called nuclear option, allowing a majority of senators present and voting \u2013 so not necessarily 51 \u2013 to approve presidential nominees except for Supreme Court Justices. For those positions, they eliminated the filibuster, which required 60 votes to proceed to an up-or-down majority vote.\r\nThat is what Senator Reid went through a few minutes ago.\u00a0 He was saying that we will move for cloture, we will have an intervening day, and then we will have a cloture vote. Before Thursday, before November 21, that took 60 votes. Although, as I said, in the case of federal district judges it had never been used to deny a seat. But now it only takes a majority of those present and voting. This was the most dangerous restructuring of Senate rules since Thomas Jefferson wrote the rules because it creates a perpetual opportunity for what Alexis de Tocqueville called, when he traveled our country in the 1830s, one of the greatest threats to our democracy, and that is the \u201ctyranny of the majority.\u201d\r\nThis stunning rules change by the Senate majority can best be described as Obamacare II. One of the things that Americans really didn't like about the new health care law, Obamacare, was that it was passed in the dead of night by a purely partisan vote during a snowstorm. It showed that those who had the votes could do whatever they wanted no matter what the minority thought, and we can see the results: millions of Americans having their policies canceled. Next year, tens of millions will \u2013 those who get their insurance through employers. This is another example of that kind of power play. This time the goal was to help the administration and the Democratic majority advance its radical agenda, unchecked through the courts and the executive agencies.\r\nAs the Senator from Michigan, Senator Levin, said \u2013 quoting a former Republican senator, Senator Vandenberg \u2013 Senator Levin is a Democrat \u2013 said on that Thursday, \u201cIf a majority of the Senate can change its rules at any time, there are no rules.\u201d\r\n\u201cIf a majority of the Senate can change its rules at any time, there are no rules.\u201d\r\nSimilar to the Pittsburgh game, if the home team can change its rules at any time there are no rules to the game.\r\nEvery child knows that there have to be rules to the game. So, I have this question: How am I and how are other senators supposed to serve in a Senate with no rules? How is this different from what could have happened in Pittsburgh if they changed the rules in the middle of the game? Or if the Red Sox, finding themselves behind in the ninth inning, added a few innings just to make sure they beat the Cardinals in the World Series. In the Senate, future majorities could do whatever they want, end the filibuster for legislation, removing any obstacle to the tyranny of the majority. Just as if there were no integrity of the rules of football and there would be no integrity of the game and there would be no fans, if there were no integrity to the rules of the Senate, there is no integrity for the Senate and no respect for this part of our system of government.\r\nI think I was not overstating it when I said this is the most dangerous change to the rules since Thomas Jefferson wrote them. When he did write the rules, he had this to say about why we have rules. His words are in the Senate rules book that every single one of us has and hopefully have read at least the beginning parts of. This is worth reading \u2013 by Jefferson. It is titled, \u201cThe Importance of Adhering to Rules.\u201d\r\nRemember the argument here is not about the filibuster; it is about how the rules were changed.\u00a0 \u201cThe Importance of Adhering to Rules.\u201d I am going to read a little bit of this. According to Thomas Jefferson, when he wrote the Senate rules:\r\n\u201cMr. Onslow, the ablest among the Speakers of the House of Commons, used to say, \u201cit was a maxim he had often heard, when he was a young man, from old and experienced members, that nothing tended to throw power more into the hand of administration and those who acted with the majority of the House of Commons, than a neglect of, or departure from, the rules of proceeding:\u00a0 that these forms, as instituted by our ancestors, operated as a check and control on the actions of the majority; and that they were in many instances a shelter, and a protection to the minority, against the attempts of power.\u201d\r\nThis is Thomas Jefferson writing about the importance of rules when he wrote the Senate rules. Continuing:\r\n\u201cSo far the maxim is certainly true, and is founded in good sense, that as it is always in the power of the majority, by their numbers, to stop any improper measures proposed on the part of their opponents, the only weapons by which the minority can defend themselves against similar attempts from those in power, are the forms and rules of proceeding which have been adopted as they were found necessary from time to time, and are become the law of the House; by a strict adherence to which, the weaker party can only be protected from those irregularities and abuses which these forms were intended to check, and which the wantonness of power is but too often apt to suggest to large and successful majorities.\u201d\r\nI would think a majority that claims to protect the rights of minorities would be interested in these words of Jefferson and especially in the following words:\r\n\u201cAnd whether these forms be in all cases the most rational or not, is really not of so great importance. It is much more material that there should be a rule to go by, than what that rule is; that there may be a uniformity of proceeding in business, not subject to the caprice of the Speaker, or captiousness of the members. It is very material that order, decency and regularity be preserved in a dignified public body.\u201d\r\nThat was Thomas Jefferson on the importance of Senate rules when he wrote them at the beginning of our country.\r\nThe majority has set a precedent that destroys those rules \u2013 that destroys the integrity of the rules because a Senate in which a majority can change the rules at any time for any reason is a Senate with no rules. That is why it is not too much to say that the Democratic majority has created a perpetual opportunity for the tyranny of the majority. The majority can do anything it wants any time it wants.\r\nIn this case, what it wanted to do was stack the federal court that hears most of the challenges to its radical regulatory agenda with judges who believe in that agenda. Who knows what the next power play will be. First it was Obamacare; then Obamacare II, the change of the rules. What we do know is that this majority has set an unprecedented precedent. They have set the precedent to do whatever they want to do anytime they want to do it. They have created a Senate without rules.\r\nNow, let's talk a little bit about what the justification might be for such a stunning action, because there are so many words thrown around that don't represent facts at all that I wonder about this. For example, the Democrats complain that their radical action was warranted because the Senate is broken. I agree with that. I will explain in a few moments why I think so. Their reason is that President Obama's appointees have been unfairly denied seats by failed cloture votes or filibusters. The charge was \u2013 and you heard the majority leader a few minutes ago \u2013 things have gotten so bad that this Republican minority has treated President Obama unfairly by denying his nominees their seats by failed cloture votes or filibusters. The Democrats have gotten themselves in a room and convinced each other that this is true, but it is flat-out not true.\r\nAccording to the Congressional Research Service \u2013 and I have researched this for several months and asked them this question: Has there ever been any Supreme Court nominee, by any president, who has been denied his or her seat by a filibuster? The answer is no. It is zero. (Now, there is one possible exception. Abe Fortas was nominated by President Lyndon Johnson as Chief Justice.\u00a0 The nomination was in trouble on both sides of the aisle, and to help his friend Abe Fortas save face, President Johnson engineered a cloture vote in 1968. I think the vote was 45 to 43. They called that a win to help Abe \u201csave face.\u201d) But certainly President Obama's nominees have not been denied their seats by a failed cloture vote, and neither have any other presidents\u2019.\r\nHave there ever been any cabinet members of President Obama or any other president who have been denied their seats by a failed cloture vote or by a filibuster? According to the Congressional Research Service, the answer is no. The number is zero.\u00a0 There have been no cabinet members who have been denied their seats in the Obama administration by a failed cloture vote.\r\nHave there ever been any federal district judges denied their seats by a failed cloture vote for President Obama or any other president? The answer is zero. Except for perhaps Fortas, there has never been a Supreme Court Justice, cabinet member, or federal district judge nomination in the history of President Obama \u2013 and never in the history of this country has a president's nomination been denied by a filibuster. Interesting.\r\nThen why did we go to this stunning radical move on November 21? Well, maybe it was because of sub-cabinet members. How many of those have been denied their seats by a filibuster, according to the Congressional Research Service? Two of President Obama's, three of President George W. Bush's, and two of President Clinton's. That is a total of seven in the history of the Senate when a filibuster has said to a sub-cabinet member that we are going to deny them their seat because of a filibuster or a failed cloture vote. So, President Obama has been treated about exactly the same as his last two predecessors.\r\nIn all of those I just mentioned, among Cabinet members, district judges, Supreme Court Justices, and sub-cabinet members, we only found two Obama nominees who have been denied their seats by a failed cloture vote. Now, that is a fact. That is not a piece of Republican propaganda. That comes from the Congressional Research Service.\r\nWhy is there a fuss about this? Well, maybe it is because of the federal circuit judges. Well, let's talk about that. As for appeals court judges, Republican filibusters have blocked five. Why did that happen? That happened as a result of what happened in 2003, the year I came to the Senate.\u00a0\r\nThen, Democrats got together and said, \u201cWe think President Bush's nominees are too conservative, so, for the first time in the history of the Senate, we are going to block 10 of President Bush's nominees basically because they are too conservative.\u201d I knew some of those judges. I used to clerk on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals for Judge John Minor Wisdom. I knew the respect he had for Judge Pryor. I knew Mr. Pickering, who had really been a pioneer for civil rights in the State of Mississippi in the 1960s and 1970s when it was hard to do that.\r\nThe truth is that the majority of Democrats said, \u201cWe are going to block 10 of the Bush judges. It has never been done before, but we are going to do it with a cloture vote.\u201d\r\nWell, as you can guess, everyone on the Republican side \u2013 and the majority then \u2013 got very excited. The majority leader, Senator Frist, said, \u201cWe are going to change the rules\u201d and do something that Senator Lott \u2013 a majority leader at one time \u2013 said was the \u201cnuclear option.\u201d\r\nThere was great consternation. In 2006, Senator Reid said \u2013 and he recounts this very well in his book \u2013 \u201cto do so would be the end of the Senate.\u201d\r\nI made two speeches. I suggested that, well, this is a terrible thing to do. A president ought to have an up-or-down vote on his circuit judges. So, why don't we see if we can't get a few Republicans and a few Democrats and just take it out of the hands of the leaders and agree we will only use the filibuster on circuit judges in extraordinary circumstances, which was the result.\u00a0 I said at the time that I would never vote for a filibuster on a circuit judge. I adjusted my view to be the same as the Senate precedent that came out of the Gang of 14. Of the 10 Bush judges, five were not confirmed and five were confirmed. In 2003, Democratic senators for the first time in history refused to confirm five presidential nominees for the federal court of appeals by a cloture vote \u2013 by a filibuster \u2013 and the expected happened. Over time, the Republicans now have blocked five nominations. So, Republicans and Democrats are even.\r\nWhen you start something, things have a way of coming back around. What the Democrats said was fair to do in 2003 and 2004, the Republicans now say is fair to do. If the Democrats think the Republican nominees are too conservative, they will block five of them. If we think President Obama's nominees are too liberal, then we will block five of them. We put in the trash heap the tradition that we will never use the filibuster on federal courts of appeals judges.\r\nThe majority leader and others have said, \u201cWell, that is not the only problem. The problem is that President Obama has had to wait too long to get his judges confirmed.\u201d\r\nAgain, that is not true either. This is another case where the Democrats apparently have gotten themselves in a room and convinced themselves that something that isn't true is true. According to the Congressional Research Service, President Obama's second-term cabinet nominees have been confirmed at about the same pace as President Bush's cabinet nominees and President Clinton's cabinet nominees.\r\nThe other day, I heard the majority leader use the example of the distinguished Secretary of Defense and a former member of this body, Senator Hagel, as an example of delay. Well, let me comment on that, if I may. Senator Hagel's nomination was reported to the Senate floor.\r\nThe day after it was reported by the Armed Services Committee, the majority leader filed cloture and called that a filibuster.\r\nNow, many Republican senators \u2013 I watched the Senator from Arizona and the Senator from South Carolina and others say on the floor to the majority leader, \u201cThat is premature. You are cutting off debate before we have had a chance to consider the Secretary of Defense of this country.\u00a0 If you will allow us more time\u201d \u2013 at that time we were going into the Presidents Day recess for a week \u2013 \u201cwe will cut off debate the day we come back and then we will have an up-or-down vote.\u201d\r\nBut, no, the majority leader and the White House said, \u201cRam it through.\u201d\r\nThey insisted on a vote, the vote was turned down, and he called that a filibuster. I call it cutting off debate \u2013 cutting off debate prematurely. Why in the world wouldn't you allow a Secretary of Defense to be on the floor for more than one day before you cut off the debate prematurely and call it a filibuster?\r\nThe majority leader said: Well, we could be attacked.\r\nI think he must have forgotten we had a perfectly adequate Secretary of Defense in place \u2013 Leon Panetta \u2013 until the next one was confirmed, and he was going to be confirmed because the majority had the majority of votes to do that and a cabinet member had never been denied his or her seat because of a cloture vote.\r\nI want to keep coming back to that. A Cabinet member has never been denied confirmation because of a failed cloture vote. A Cabinet member will be confirmed after a while \u2013 after you have questions. But in that case, they filed cloture after one day.\r\nNow, in my case, 20 years ago, when President Bush nominated me as the education secretary, there was a Democratic Senate. I was announced in December, nominated in January, and it was March before some of the Democratic senators saw fit to give me a vote, and I was confirmed by unanimous consent. During that time I tried to get ready for our education program. It gave me some time to work. When President Reagan nominated Ed Meese to be the attorney general, it took a year before the Senate confirmed Ed Meese, but he was confirmed. There have been some cabinet members who have withdrawn their names because they have become embarrassed or for some other reason.\r\nIf the question is whether a failed cloture vote has ever been used to deny a cabinet member his or her seat, the answer is no. In the case of Secretary Hagel, I would think one day is not quite long enough to file a motion to cut off debate and claim it is a filibuster.\r\nWhat about judges? Has the Senate been slow on judges?\u00a0\r\nThis year the Senate has confirmed 36 of the president's second-term nominees to circuit and district courts, compared with 14 for President Bush as of November 21 in his second term in 2005. These things are never exact because there are vacancies for a variety of reasons. That is a pretty big difference. It is very hard to argue that it is unfair. But the majority leader did argue successfully that the minority was holding up district judges in order to negotiate for other points.\u00a0 He did that the second time a bipartisan group of us sat down to talk about how to change the Senate rules so we could move along better.\r\nSo what the Senate agreed to do earlier this year was to change the rules to make it easier to confirm district judges.\r\nHere is the procedure: Remember, first they have to be on the calendar. How do they get on the calendar? A committee majority puts them on the calendar. What party has the majority in the Judiciary Committee? The Judiciary Committee majority is Democratic. That puts them on the calendar. So Democrats put them on the calendar. Only the majority leader can take them off the calendar, and when he does that, he has no motion to proceed; he just takes them right off just like he did tonight. If he wants to, he can just bring them up and ask unanimous consent that they be approved, which they often are.\r\nI am told by the Republican leader's office that when the majority leader rammed the rules change through on November 21, there were about 40 or so noncontroversial \u2013 so-called \u2013 nominees who were about to be confirmed, including many district judges. But tonight the majority leader has selected four of the 13 district judges who are on the calendar and made a big show out of the fact that we are going to take an intervening day tomorrow and then we are going to vote on them, I guess, beginning on Wednesday. Under the rules change he asked for, the debate on each one of those can only be two hours, and it is divided evenly, which means the Democrats have an hour and the Republicans have an hour. If the Democrats want to speed things up, they can give their hour back. On a noncontroversial judge, Republicans normally wouldn't say anything, except a word or two of praise. But let\u2019s say the Republicans are upset by the rules changes and we are going to say we will take that whole hour. The Democrats could say two or three minutes of praise for the district judge and we could confirm those four in four hours. That is half a day's work.\r\nThe question I asked the majority leader was, \u201cWhat about the other nine? What about the other nine district judges who are sitting on this calendar, put there by the Democratic majority of the Judiciary Committee, and only one person in the Senate can bring them up for a vote, and he didn't bring them up?\u201d Why doesn't he bring them up? He could bring them up today. Tomorrow would be the intervening day and we could vote on Wednesday and vote on them all. He could have brought every single district judge up Thursday before recess, when he turned the Senate into a place that has no rules; Friday would have been the intervening day, and we could have been voting all day today, and by the time we went home for supper, every district judge would be confirmed because of the earlier rules change that limited post-cloture debate on district judges to 2 hours. The only reason I can see to go through all of this is to manufacture a crisis to make the American people think that somehow the minority is abusing its privileges.\r\nI read the Executive Calendar on November 21 very carefully. Remember, this is the document that is on every senator's desk. A nominee has to be on here in order to be confirmed. If a person is an executive nominee, the only person who can bring it up is the majority leader. It is the same with legislation. So legislative matters require a motion of consent. There were only 16 on the calendar who had been there three weeks and only eight more who had been there more than nine weeks, and two of the eight were being held up by Democratic senators. That is hardly a crisis.\r\nFinally, let me address the claim the majority leader didn't take seriously; that is, Republicans have unfairly blocked the president from filling vacancies on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Remember, I pointed out the Democrats started this by saying that if President Bush nominates judges that are too conservative, we will block them, so the Republicans now have blocked an equal number of President Obama's judges. But that is not the primary reason for blocking them. The primary reason is stated in a letter written on July 27, 2006, to the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, a Republican, Senator Specter, from all of the Democratic members of the Judiciary Committee. President Bush had nominated someone for this same court, the District of Columbia Federal Circuit Court, and this is what the Democratic Senators said in 2006:\r\n\u201cWe believe that Mr. Keisler should under no circumstances be considered \u2013 much less confirmed \u2013 by this Committee before we first address the very need for that judgeship, receive and review necessary information about the nominee, and deal with the genuine judicial emergencies identified by the Judicial Conference.\u201d\r\nIn other words, what the Democrats were saying \u2013 and it included a number of the most distinguished members of this body \u2013 the chairman, Senator Leahy, Senator Schumer, Senator Feingold, Senator Feinstein, Senator Kohl, Senator Kennedy, Senator Durbin, Senator Biden \u2013 they were saying that this court, the D.C. court, is an important court, but it doesn't need any more judges. Before we add any more judges to a court that is underworked, we ought to consider transferring those judgeships to courts that are overworked.\r\nThat argument had been made since at least 2001 by Senator Grassley from Iowa, and finally, with some bipartisan cooperation in 2007, he achieved some success. With President Bush's agreement, the Republican president, he agreed with the Democratic senators that the D.C. Circuit should under no circumstances \u2013 those are their words in their letter \u2013 have more judges.\u00a0 They reduced by one the number of judges, and they transferred a judge to the Ninth Circuit, which was overworked.\r\nSo what Republicans have said about the three judges whom the president has nominated to the D.C. Circuit is, before we consider any of them, consider Senator Grassley's bill. Do in 2013 what you said we should do in 2006 and 2007 and which we did in a bipartisan way.\r\nSo how can this be dismissed when Republicans are asking to do in 2013 exactly what the Democrats successfully insisted on in 2006, which is to transfer judges from the courts where they are not needed to the courts where they are needed. In fact, the D.C. Circuit has a lower caseload by comparison today than it did in 2007 when, by a bipartisan agreement, it was considered underworked. The Democrats didn't think it was unfair then to insist that we not appoint more judges to a court that was underworked. It must be they are trying to manufacture a crisis now.\r\nSo if there is no good reason to change the rules in such a dramatic way as the majority did on November 21, why would the majority leader insist on cramming through in a power play a rules change that in 2006 he said would be the end of the Senate?\u00a0\r\nBecause the vote was not about the filibuster. All of that is pretext. The vote was about allowing the majority to do whatever it wants to do any time it wants to do it.\r\nOne of the things the American people detest about Obamacare, as I said earlier, is that it was crammed through in the middle of the night in a partisan power play and we can see the results.\u00a0 Unlike the civil rights bill which had broad bipartisan support \u2013 I can remember Senator Dirksen and President Johnson working together on it when it required 67 votes in the Senate, and because it achieved that consensus, Senator Russell, the great opponent of the bill, went home to Georgia and said: It is the law of the land and we should now support it.\r\nWhen we cram a big social change \u2013 or any big change \u2013 through the Congress, we are going to get the kind of result we get with Obamacare today: millions of people losing their policies, tens of millions will next year, great concern, Web site not working. That is what we get when we cram things through in a partisan way, and the Democrats have done it again.\r\nSo if the filibuster was not the problem, then why is the Senate not functioning better? Why are we so low in public opinion polls? Frankly, it is because of the Senate leadership. I have had the privilege over the years of watching the Senate. I came here for the first time in 1967 as an aide to Senator Howard Baker, the future majority leader of the Senate. I watched Senator Mansfield and Senator Dirksen. I watched Senator Byrd and Senator Baker. I watched Senator Daschle, Senator Lott, Senator Frist. I wasn't in the Senate all of that time \u2013 I have only been here since 2003 \u2013 but I have seen it over that time up close. All of them could operate this body very well under the rules we had until Thursday of two weeks ago, until November 21.\r\nI was at the Rules Committee meeting when Senator Byrd, former majority leader and acknowledged as the great historian of the Senate, came. He could barely speak, but he had one last message for the Senate and it was: Don't change the filibuster. He called it the necessary fence against the excesses of the executive and the popular will. That was what Senator Byrd said. He also said that under the rules we had until November 21, a majority leader could operate the Senate if he wanted to.\r\nThe current majority leader seems to be unable to do that, and we saw an example of it here tonight. He brings up four district judges, while there are 13 on the calendar. He could have brought them up on November 21 and we could have been voting on all of them today. He could bring them all up today and we could vote on all of them Wednesday, but he is parceling them out as if there were a crisis somewhere. Why is he doing that? I don't see why he is doing that. It is not the way to make the Senate function. It is not what Senator Byrd would do. It is not what Senator Baker would do. I saw them come in and open the Senate to amendments, put a bill on the floor, ask for amendments. Here came 300 amendments. Ask for unanimous consent to cut off amendments. They got unanimous consent because nobody could think of any other amendments, and then Senator Byrd would say \u2013 and Senator Baker did as well \u2013 all right, let's start voting, and vote, vote, vote, vote. Then we could get to about Wednesday or Thursday and senators would think, well, maybe my amendment is not so important, and by Friday, when it was clear the majority leader was going to finish the bill that week, they would drop the amendments, and we got it done.\r\nSo the Senate wasn\u2019t a perfect place \u2013 things were still bumpy. There was Senator Metzenbaum sitting in the front row objecting. There was Senator Williams before him, Senator Allen before him, exercising their rights, but the majority leaders were able to work with that. The Senate worked on Mondays and Fridays, it worked at night, and the threat of that usually caused people who were trying to not show a proper amount of restraint and use of their privileges to back down.\r\nInstead, what the current majority leader does \u2013 and we heard him tonight \u2013 is complain about obstructionism when there isn't any, certainly not on nominations. I am not going to say senators on both sides of the aisle haven't abused their privileges and slowed down the Senate. But he complains about obstructionism when, in fact, he has become the obstructionist in chief by making it more difficult for those of us who are elected from our states to represent the people who have a right to be heard.\r\nSeventy-seven times this majority leader has cut off amendments in a body whose whole purpose is to amend, debate, and vote. I call it a gag rule, with the majority cutting off the right of American voices to be heard on the Senate floor. There have been 114 times when he has filed a motion to cut off debate on the same day he has introduced a bill, and he calls that a filibuster. I call it a gag rule. He has bypassed Senate committees in an unprecedented way: 76 times in the last seven years.\r\nHe set himself up as the king of the Senate.\r\n\u201cMay I offer an amendment on Iran?\u201d a senator might ask. No.\r\n\u201cMay I offer an amendment on Egypt?\u201d No.\u00a0\r\n\u201cHow about an amendment on Obamacare?\u201d No.\r\n\u201cWhat about a bill on the National Labor Relations Board?\u201d No.\u00a0\r\n\u201cCan we work on appropriations bills?\u201d No.\u00a0\r\nOnly one person is deciding what happens here, when, in fact, the history of the Senate has been a place of virtually unlimited debate on virtually any amendment. That has been the history of the Senate. It is different than the House of Representatives. It has been different than any other body in the world. It operates by unanimous consent, and it requires restraint which hasn't always been exercised, but majority leaders who have been effective have found their way to deal with that.\r\nI have spent the last three years doing my best to help make this place function. I cannot say where this rules change on November 21 will lead, but it is heading in a dangerous direction \u2013 a direction that is dangerous for the Senate and dangerous for our country.\r\nThis is a country that prizes the rule of law. Other countries around the world that do not have it wish they did, they wish they had a country with the rule of law.\u00a0\r\nSo in a country that prizes the rule of law, we now have a Senate without any rules because the Senate majority has decided, for the first time, that a majority can change the rules at any time, for any reason it wants, which makes this a body without rules.\r\nIn a country that yearns for solutions on Iran, on health care, on our debt crisis, we have a king of the Senate saying, \u201cNo amendments, no debate, I will make all the decisions.\u201d\r\nI know of only one cure for this dangerous trend, and that is one word, an election \u2013 the election of six new Republican senators, so power plays such as Obamacare and the November 21 rules change will be ended and the Senate will again be alive with bills, amendments, and debates, reflecting the will of the American people on the important issues of our time.\r\nI ask unanimous consent to have printed in the record the letter from the year 2006 from the Democratic senators on the Judiciary Committee saying there should be no new judges added to the D.C. Court of Appeals because it is underworked.\r\nI yield the floor.\r\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://cohen.house.gov/welcoming-holiday-season", "Welcoming the Holiday Season", "2013-12-06", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Dear Friend,\nI hope you and your loved ones had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are enjoying the holiday season. This week, Congress returned to Washington for the last weeks of the year. This current Congress has so far been the least productive in history, but I hope that after the shutdown battles of the last few months, we can all come together to deal with the issues before us. We should pass a budget that averts yet another shutdown early next year, roll back the cuts that are hurting the middle class, and extend unemployment benefits and the food stamp program so that the least among us can live with dignity. Keep reading to learn more about what went on this week.\nHelping Memphians Get Covered  Remembering Nelson Mandela  Promoting Immigration Reform  Working for a Living Wage  Celebrating Hannukah  Promoting American Innovation and Ingenuity  Grants to Memphis  White House Internships  Grant Announcements\nHelping Memphians Get Covered\nAll Memphians should have quality health coverage and the President\u2019s landmark Affordable Care Act\u2014also known as Obamacare\u2014is making affordable, higher-quality coverage available to people who have not had access to it in the past. Luckily, many who have been unable to afford quality coverage in the past are now eligible to enroll in Tennessee\u2019s Health Insurance Marketplace. If you do not have health insurance coverage, you may be eligible to save money on your health care premiums\u00a0in the Marketplace.\nOn Monday evening, I hosted a telephone town hall with Anton Gunn, the Director of External Affairs for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to answer questions about the law and discuss the law\u2019s benefits. During the hour-long town hall, more than 7,000 citizens of the Ninth District participated and I enjoyed the opportunity to speak with them.\nIf you are on Medicare or your employer is going to offer qualified health insurance next year that you will enroll in, you\u2019re already covered and won\u2019t need to enter the Marketplace for your health coverage. If you aren\u2019t sure whether or not you will need to use the Marketplace to get insurance, call the Marketplace Hotline at1-800-318-2596or visit www.HealthCare.gov. You can also call my office or the Marketplace Hotline to find out if TennCare (Tennessee\u2019s Medicaid program) is a coverage option for you. If you are one of the millions of Americans who need health insurance, you can sign up\u00a0for coverage that will take effect January 1, 2014 until December 23, 2013. Enrollment in the marketplace will remain open until March 31, 2014 if you miss the deadline for coverage starting in January. Visit www.healthcare.gov\u00a0 today to look at out your options.\nThe Affordable Care Act is already working for families across the Ninth District and the recent government shutdown didn\u2019t change that. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 147,000 individuals in the district now have health insurance that covers preventive services without co-pays, $3.1 million in insurance premiums have been returned to consumers, and more than 5,000 seniors on Medicare paid a total of $5.9 million less for their prescription medications as we continue to close the \u2018donut hole.\u2019 Also, health insurance companies can no longer discriminate against patients with pre-existing conditions and young adults up to age 26 can now stay on their parents\u2019 insurance plan.\nMany of the Marketplace website issues that have been in the news recently have been resolved.\u00a0However, the Marketplace website is only one tool that you can use to sign up for coverage. If you are having trouble accessing the website, please do not hesitate to call the Marketplace Hotline at 1-800-318-2596 or visit Seedco Mid-South for in-person help. Seedco is located at 22 North Front Street (Suite 900), and they can be reached by phone at 901-528-8341. If you have any other questions, you should also feel free to call my office at 901-544-4131.\nRemembering Nelson Mandela\nAs a fighter for both human and civil rights, no one was greater than Nelson Mandela. Much like Martin Luther King Jr., President Mandela had a dream for his people that fundamentally changed society for the better. And much like Abraham Lincoln, President Mandela understood the virtue of reconciliation and the value of making peace with one\u2019s enemies for the betterment of their country. This understanding helped unify a divided people and heal the wounds of apartheid.\nSadly, the world lost him yesterday. After hearing of his passing, I looked at the statue of President Mandela that sits on my Capitol Hill desk with great sadness, but with many fond memories of the humility, self-sacrifice, and enduring warmth shown by one of the world\u2019s most revered and respected people. The loss that his passing represents to the world community can only be offset by his countless good deeds and the transformative example that he set for each of us.\nIn the 1980\u2019s, I joined with my former Democratic colleagues in the Tennessee State Senate in voting for sanctions against the apartheid regime. As I reflect on Mandela\u2019s passing, I am especially proud of that vote. He was such a great leader and I remain deeply affected by his steadfast moral rectitude. I also recall his visit to Memphis in 2000, where he was awarded the National Civil Rights Museum\u2019s International Freedom Award. As President Obama eloquently said last night: \u201cWe have lost one of the most influential, courageous, and profoundly good human beings that any of us will share time with on this Earth.\u00a0He no longer belongs to us\u2014he belongs to the ages.\u201d\nPromoting Immigration Reform\nToday, I joined my friend Representative Keith Ellison from Minnesota in a fast to show our support for comprehensive immigration reform. Bend the Arc\u2014a Jewish group\u2014asked me to participate today and the Muslim Public Affairs Committee asked Congressman Ellison. You can read about our fast in today\u2019s Commercial Appeal. Representative Ellison and I are both members of the 2006 freshman class in Congress, and we often work together to further the cause of justice. When we do, it reflects the racial progress this country has made: his Minnesota district is mostly white though he is not, and mine is mostly African American though I am not. Since early November, a group of advocates for immigration reform have been on a hunger strike just steps away from the Capitol in Washington, but few on the other side of the aisle have been swayed. This issue is too important to families across our nation for Congress to ignore it any longer\u2014and I hope that Speaker Boehner brings a comprehensive plan to the floor as soon as possible.\nWorking for a Living Wage\nThis week, the University of Tennessee announced that it will raise the minimum wage for its employees to $9.50 an hour. I commend the University and its leadership for setting this positive example.\nThroughout my career, I have fought to raise the minimum wage to ensure that hard-working Americans can earn a living wage and won\u2019t have to struggle to provide for themselves and their families. I was proud to vote for an increase in the federal minimum wage in 2007 and am honored to be a co-sponsor of H.R. 1010, the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013, which would increase the federal minimum wage to $10.10.\nI urge the Tennessee Board of Regents and my colleagues in the House of Representatives to follow the lead of the University of Tennessee and ten states across the nation that have raised the minimum wage this year. Raising the minimum wage would help thousands of Memphians and millions of Americans, reduce income inequality and strengthen American families.\nCelebrating Hannukah\nYesterday evening, I attended a Hannukah party hosted by President Obama at the White House. While there, I met Larry David (the head writer of Seinfeld and creator of HBO\u2019s Curb Your Enthusiasm). I mentioned to him that of all the events I\u2019ve been to at the White House, I was struggling to think of a Jewish person that was as revered by the people attending the event\u2014only Sandy Koufax came to mind. He told me that was the nicest compliment he\u2019d ever received. I\u2019ve long been a fan of his and it was very nice to meet him.\nPromoting American Innovation and Ingenuity\nYesterday, I voted for the Innovation Act, a bipartisan jobs bill that will reform the patent system to unleash creativity and promote entrepreneurship in our country. I was glad to see the legislation receive the support of a majority of both Democrats and Republicans when it passed by a vote of 325-91. I also supported several amendments, which unfortunately failed, to further guarantee due process. Although it is not a perfect bill, it would help protect inventors from abusive litigation by so-called \u201cpatent trolls\u201d and make other needed reforms to the patent system. As it moves through the legislative process, I hope it can be improved even further.\nOur patent system helps keep the United States on the forefront of innovation and creativity. We must do everything we can to ensure that inventors can continue to forge breakthroughs that will lead to economic growth and jobs. I\u2019m glad that Republicans and Democrats could work together on this important legislation that promotes innovation, just like we did with the America Invents Act in 2011, which was introduced in the House by then-Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Lamar Smith from Texas and passed in a bipartisan manner.\nGrants to Memphis\nThis week, I announced almost $400,000 to help St. Jude Children\u2019s Research Hospital continue its important research. You can read more about the grant here.\nWhite House Internships\nThe White House Internship Program is currently accepting applications from young people who are interested in government and devoted to public service. If you\u2014or anyone you know\u2014 would like to spend some time working at the White House, gaining valuable professional experience and building leadership skills, I would like to take this opportunity to urge you to apply. The application deadline is January 5th, 2014. Click here\u00a0for more information.\nGrant Announcements\nI regularly release a list of grant announcements from federal agencies like the Department of Health and Human Services, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Transportation, and others. These federal funding opportunities are available to faith-based and neighborhood associations, nonprofits and other community organizations in the 9th District. The announcements are\u00a0updated regularly on my website.\nAs always, I remain.\u00a0  \n\tMost sincerely,\n  \n\tSteve Cohen  \n\tMember of Congress", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://web.archive.org/web/20150110145517/http://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=28b38984-b9b0-4752-9c7e-f14b480f5425", "Alexander Statement on Interior Department Rule Change", "2013-12-06", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "Says Interior Department rule grants \u201cfederal hunting licenses\u201d to kill eagles\n***\n\u201cBy now it\u2019s no secret this administration will go to great lengths to tilt the scales to benefit the wind industry at great cost to taxpayers, and at the cost of killing a great symbol of our freedoms, the American bald eagle.\u201d \u2013 Lamar Alexander\u00a0\nNASHVILLE, Dec. 6 \u2013 U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today made the following statement regarding the Interior Department\u2019s announced rule revision that will extend from five to 30 years permits allowing renewable energy projects to kill or injure American bald eagles:\n\u201cBy now it\u2019s no secret this administration will go to great lengths to tilt the scales to benefit the wind industry at great cost to taxpayers, and at the cost of killing a great symbol of freedom, the American bald eagle,\u201d Alexander said. \u201cIt\u2019s appalling that after bringing the American bald eagle back from the brink of extinction, today\u2019s Interior Department announcement grants renewable energy projects what is essentially a federal hunting licenses to kill\u00a0not only American bald eagles, but also golden eagles. We need even treatment of the law for energy development, regardless of source, and this revised rule misses the mark by giving continued leniency to renewable energy projects, such as wind farms.\u201d\nThe U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimated annual bird mortality from wind energy production to be approximately 440,000 in its fiscal year 2013 budget justification, and the figure is expected to exceed one million as more wind turbines are put in service.\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://cohen.house.gov/press-release/cohen-announces-nearly-400000-st-jude-childrens-research-hospital", "Cohen Announces Nearly $400,000 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital", "2013-12-05", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "[WASHINGTON, DC] \u2013 Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today announced that St. Jude Children\u2019s Research Hospital in downtown Memphis was awarded $393,750 in grant funding for a research project regarding LC3-Associated Phagocytosis. The grant comes through the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services\u2019 (HHS) National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).\n\u201cThis funding will be used to continue important research at St. Jude, one of the world\u2019s finest health care institutions,\u201d said Congressman Cohen.\nThe NIAID conducts research to better understand, treat, and prevent disease. For over 60 years, research funded by the NIAID has led to innovations in therapy, new vaccines, diagnostics tests, and other technologies that have improved the quality of health for millions of people in the United States and around the world.\nFounded in 1962, St. Jude is one of the world\u2019s leading children\u2019s cancer research hospitals and is focused on finding cures for and saving children from cancer and other life-threatening diseases.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://cohen.house.gov/press-release/cohen-statement-passing-nelson-mandela", "Cohen Statement on the Passing of Nelson Mandela", "2013-12-05", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "[WASHINGTON, DC] - Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) released the following statement upon learning of the passing of civil and human rights leader His Excellency Nelson Mandela:\n\u201cAs a fighter for both human and civil rights, no one was greater than Nelson Mandela,\u201d said Congressman Cohen. \u201cMuch like Martin Luther King Jr., President Mandela had a dream for his people that fundamentally changed society for the better. And much like Abraham Lincoln, President Mandela understood the virtue of reconciliation and the value of making peace with one\u2019s enemies for the betterment of their country. This understanding helped unify a divided people and heal the wounds of apartheid.\u201d\n\u201cAfter hearing of his passing, I looked at the statue of President Mandela that sits on my Capitol Hill desk with great sadness, but with many fond memories of the humility, self-sacrifice, and enduring warmth shown by one of our generation\u2019s most revered and respected statesmen. The loss that his passing represents to the world community can only be offset by his countless good deeds and the transformative example that he set for each of us.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://roe.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=363509", "Majority of House Majority supports RSC American Health Care Reform Act", "2013-12-05", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Phil Roe", "R000582", "roe.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON D.C. The RSC's American Health Care Reform Act today reached another milestone by gaining its 117th cosponsor, a majority of House GOP members.\r\nReps. Roe and Scalise released the following statements:\r\nI am proud to see support growing for the American Health Care Reform Act, a commonsense conservative plan to make health care less expensive and more accessible, said Dr. Phil Roe, Chairman of the RSC's Health Care Working Group. With a majority of House Republicans supporting this bill, it's time that President Obama stop claiming Republicans don't have solutions. The health care system in this country was broken before Obamacare, and his law has only made things worse. There is an answer to our country's health care problems, but President Obama's health care law is not it. This bill has real solutions and I am glad to see so many conservatives, under the leadership of Chairman Scalise, rally around it.\r\nAmerican families and small businesses deserve and demand real solutions to the serious problems that exist in our health care system, RSC Chairman Steve Scalise said. It is encouraging to see so much momentum building behind the American Health Care Reform Act, which is focused on putting patients back in charge of their health care decisions and lowering costs so hard-working taxpayers have more options for their families. I look forward to this bill continuing to gain momentum as it moves through the legislative process and ultimately comes up for a vote on the House Floor.\r\nH.R. 3121 was drafted by RSC Chairman Steve Scalise, RSC Health Care Working Group Chairman Dr. Phil Roe, and working group members Rep. Marsha Blackburn, Rep. Renee Ellmers, Dr. John Fleming, Dr. Paul Gosar, Dr. Tom Price, and Rep. Todd Rokita. Specifically, H.R. 3121, the RSC's American Health Care Reform Act:\r\n \r\n    Fully repeals President Obama's health care law.\r\n    Provides tax reform that allows families and individuals to deduct health care costs, just like companies, leveling the playing field and providing all Americans with a standard tax deduction for health insurance.\r\n    Spurs competition by allowing Americans to purchase health insurance across state lines and enabling small businesses to pool together and get the same buying power as large corporations.\r\n    Reforms medical malpractice laws in a commonsense way that limits trial lawyer fees and non-economic damages while maintaining strong protections for patients.\r\n    Expands access to Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), increasing the amount of pre-tax dollars individuals can deposit into portable savings accounts to be used for health care expenses.\r\n    Safeguards individuals with pre-existing conditions by bolstering state-based high risk pools and extending HIPAA guaranteed availability protections.\r\n    Protects the unborn by ensuring no federal funding of abortions.\r\n \r\nMore information on H.R. 3121 can be found here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=3748399d-2ca4-4c21-8ad2-72db5b9c66b5", "Alexander Statement on the Passing of Former South African President Nelson Mandela", "2013-12-05", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, Dec. 5\u2013 U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today made the following statement on the passing of Nelson Mandela:\r\n \r\n\"Visiting Nelson Mandela's Robben Island prison cell and then reading his autobiography taught our family inspiring lessons from a remarkable life that helped to achieve a political result few imagined possible.\"\r\n \r\n                                                              ###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=d38795e4-d06a-45da-9e39-2c1c0894ee0b", "Alexander on \"Statement of Facts\" in Case Against Former Chief of Staff", "2013-12-05", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, Dec. 12 - U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) made the following statement when details of the criminal complaint against Ryan Loskarn were released:\r\n\u201cThe courts will determine his guilt or innocence, but the information in the complaint is repugnant and disturbing.\u201d\u00a0\r\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://web.archive.org/web/20140221085858/http://black.house.gov/press-release/black-questions-website-security-income-verification-hearing-obamacare", "Black Questions Website Security, Income Verification at Hearing on Obamacare", "2013-12-04", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Diane Black", "B001273", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "(Click image above for video)\nWashington \u2013 Today, Congressman Diane Black (R-TN-06) participated in a Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Hearing on Obamacare and questioned the witnesses participating on recent reports of severe security risks associated with the website. Congressman Black questioned whether it was fair to mandate that individuals use this website when their sensitive personal information could be at risk. To watch video of her questioning, click here.\nFor information about the hearing, click here.\n###\nCongressman Diane Black represents Tennessee\u2019s 6th Congressional District. She has been a registered nurse for more than 40 years and serves on the House Ways and Means and Budget Committees.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=6aa7cef9-46dd-41c6-bc80-055a44cc4447", "Alexander Accepts \u201cRestoring the Balance\u201d States\u2019 Rights Award", "2013-12-04", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Says states, local leaders should be left to make more decisions about taxes, education and other issues reserved to states under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution\r\n***\r\n\u201cNothing made me madder when I was governor of Tennessee than folks in Washington thinking they knew best \u2013 coming up with a bright idea and leaving the state to pay for it, or keeping us from making our own decisions about taxes or education.\u201d \u2013 Lamar Alexander\u00a0\r\n\r\nWASHINGTON, Dec. 4 \u2013 U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today spoke before the National Conference of State Legislatures and accepted its \u201cRestoring the Balance Award\u201d for standing up for the rights of states.\r\n\u201cNothing made me madder when I was governor of Tennessee than folks in Washington thinking they knew best \u2013 coming up with a bright idea and leaving the state to pay for it, or keeping us from making our own decisions about taxes or education,\u201d Alexander said. \u201cWe need to get the federal government out of the way and let governors, state legislators and local elected officials lead.\u201d\r\nThe \u201cRestoring the Balance Award\u201d is given to members of Congress who have worked successfully to advance and protect states\u2019 rights in United States\u2019 federal system of government. Examples of Alexander\u2019s work standing up for states\u2019 rights include the Marketplace Fairness Act \u2013 which would allow states to decide for themselves whether to require remote sellers such as online retailers to collect state sales taxes that are already owed on a sale \u2013 and his efforts to move decisions about whether schools and teachers are succeeding or failing back to states and local communities.\r\nOf the Marketplace Fairness Act, Alexander said: \u201cThe Marketplace Fairness Act is about two words: states\u2019 rights. I believe in the Tenth Amendment, and I don\u2019t think Tennessee or other states should have to play \u2018Mother, may I?\u2019 with the federal government to set their own tax policies.\u201d\r\nOf education reform, Alexander said: \u201cOver the last decade, the U.S. Department of Education has become so congested with federal mandates that it has become, in effect, a national school board. The best way to help 50 million children in 100,000 public schools learn what they need to know and be able to do is to return that responsibility squarely where it belongs\u2014on parents, teachers, communities and states.\u201d\r\nAlexander spoke at the National Conference of State Legislatures\u2019 fall forum, which included hundreds of state legislators, state staff and others from around the country.\r\nThe Marketplace Fairness Act passed the U.S. Senate by a vote of 69-27 on May 6, and has the support of conservative leaders like Al Cardenas, head of the American Conservative Union, Reagan economist Arthur Laffer and Republican governors from all over the country. Alexander has also introduced legislation to fix \u201cNo Child Left Behind\u201d by restoring local authority when Congress considers its reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.\r\n\u00a0# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://cohen.house.gov/press-release/cohen-commends-ut-raising-its-minimum-wage", "Cohen commends UT for raising its minimum wage", "2013-12-03", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) released the following statement in response to the announcement that the University of Tennessee will raise the minimum wage for its employees.\n\u201cI commend the University of Tennessee for setting this example to raise the minimum wage for its employees to $9.50 an hour.\u00a0 Throughout my career, I have fought to raise the minimum wage to ensure that hard-working Americans can earn a living wage and won\u2019t have to struggle to provide for themselves and their families.\u00a0 I was proud to vote for an increase in the federal minimum wage in 2007 and am honored to be a co-sponsor of H.R. 1010, the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013, which would increase the federal minimum wage to $10.10.\n\u201cI urge the Tennessee Board of Regents and my colleagues in the House of Representatives to follow the lead of the University of Tennessee and ten states across the nation that have raised the minimum wage this year.\u00a0 Raising the minimum wage would help thousands of Memphians and millions of Americans, reduce income inequality and strengthen American families.\u201d\n#\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 #\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://duncan.house.gov/obamacare-costs-soaring-beyond-estimates", "Obamacare Costs Soaring Beyond Estimates", "2013-12-03", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "John Duncan", "D000533", "duncan.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Mister Speaker: Some are trying to create the impression that the only problem with Obamacare is the website, and the experts will soon fix that. Actually the biggest problem with the so-called Affordable Care Act is that it is unaffordable already. We are already having trouble paying for all the federal medical programs we have now. The costs of all our federal medical programs have been greatly underestimated at the start. Now with many millions more losing their coverage than the Administration predicted, added to the millions previously uninsured, the costs of Obamacare are already estimated at possibly four times more than when it was passed, and it is not even fully in place. And since it took 3 \u00bd years to even get a screwed-up website partially ready, most people don\u2019t believe the federal government can run our health care system efficiently in the first place. More bureaucratic, less-humane medical care and all at much greater cost to taxpayers at both the federal and state levels. This plan is already a mess that will ultimately lead to shortages, waiting periods, and great decline in the quality of American medical care.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://web.archive.org/web/20140221085940/http://black.house.gov/press-release/black-statement-tigta-report-obamacare-fraud", "Black Statement on TIGTA Report on Obamacare Fraud", "2013-12-03", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Diane Black", "B001273", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013\u00a0Today, Congressman Diane Black (R-TN-06) issued the following statement upon release of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration\u2019s report finding that the Internal Revenue Service has inadequate provisions in place to prevent Obamacare subsidy fraud:\n\u201cThis report confirms what many of us already knew: doling out subsidies before ensuring eligibility will lead to widespread fraud and abuse at taxpayer expense. This is why I introduced and the House passed legislation, the No Subsidies Without Verification Act, that would have protected taxpayers from as much as $250 billion in fraudulent payments, according to one estimate. Verification is commonsense, but unfortunately the President decided to delay verifying eligibility for subsidies this summer in a mad rush to push forward with his unworkable healthcare law. Obamacare is a train wreck that is\u00a0 not only wrecking our healthcare system but also inviting widespread fraud and abuse at taxpayer expense.\u201d\nRESOURCES:\n9/12/13: House Passes Rep. Black Bill \u2013 No Subsidies Without Verification Act\n7/31/13: Black's Op-Ed in Investor's Business Daily: ObamaCare Honor System For Subsidies Will Invite Fraud\n###\nCongressman Diane Black represents Tennessee\u2019s 6th Congressional District. She has been a registered nurse for more than 40 years and serves on the House Ways and Means and Budget Committees.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://web.archive.org/web/20140221090012/http://black.house.gov/press-release/black-house-floor-obamacare-unmitigated-disaster", "Black on House Floor: Obamacare is an Unmitigated Disaster", "2013-12-03", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Diane Black", "B001273", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "(Click image above for video)\nWashington \u2013 Today, Congressman Diane Black (R-TN-06) took to the House floor to talk about the President\u2019s broken promises on Obamacare. She shared a story of a constituent whose insurance premiums are skyrocketing and urged Democratic lawmakers to break ranks with the President and help protect Americans from this disastrous law. To watch video of her remarks, click here.\n###\nCongressman Diane Black represents Tennessee\u2019s 6th Congressional District. She has been a registered nurse for more than 40 years and serves on the House Ways and Means and Budget Committees.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://cohen.house.gov/press-release/cohen-hosts-telephone-town-hall-affordable-care-act-0", "Cohen Hosts Telephone Town Hall on Affordable Care Act", "2013-12-02", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) tonight hosted a Telephone Town Hall with U.S. Health and Human Services Director of External Affairs Anton Gunn to discuss the Affordable Care Act (ACA).\n\u201cTown halls give constituents an opportunity to discuss issues and concerns about laws that have a daily impact on their lives,\u201d said Congressman Cohen.\u00a0 \u201cToday we discussed how the Affordable Care Act is already helping constituents in the Ninth District and answered many questions about the law.\u201d\nThe Telephone Town Hall meeting began at 6:35 p.m. CST and lasted approximately one hour.\u00a0 More than 7,000 District 9 constituents participated in the call and asked questions about the Affordable Care Act.\u00a0 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.\nAdditional information about the Affordable Care Act, including information about the health insurance plans made available through the health insurance marketplace, can be found online at https://HealthCare.gov (en Espa\u00f1ol: https://CuidadoDeSalud.gov).\u00a0 The website provides information and offers online web chats with trained specialists.\u00a0 A 24-hour hotline with translation services for 150 languages is available at (800) 318-2596.\u00a0 Additionally, the local non-profit Seedco offers trained experts to help walk Memphians and Shelby County residents through the application process and help them enroll in insurance plans. Seedco's Mid-South office is located at 22 North Front Street (Suite 900), and they can be reached by phone at (901) 528-8341.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://web.archive.org/web/20131215220025/http://www.corker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/video?ContentRecord_id=63e0f51e-7930-4d33-beb4-4f89221c4c3e", "Corker Discusses Obamacare and Iran on CBS' \"Face the Nation\"", "2013-12-01", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Bob Corker", "C001071", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "Dec 01 2013\n \n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tDecember 1, 2013 - Senator Bob Corker, R-Tenn., ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee, talked about Obamacare and Iran on CBS' \"Face the Nation.\"\n\t\t\n\t\n\n\n\tPermalink: http://www.corker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2013/12/corker-discusses-obamacare-and-iran-on-cbs-face-the-nation\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tClick play to view the video or follow this link  \n\t\t\t\thttp://youtu.be/0RZc2Ix23dE", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://web.archive.org/web/20131215222944/http://www.corker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ContentRecord_id=9ae3193e-c389-4ebf-863e-7f40cc813ab8", "Corker on \u201cFace the Nation\u201d: \u201cA Lot of Negative Surprises\u201d as Americans Enroll in Obamacare", "2013-12-01", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Bob Corker", "C001071", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON \u2013 On CBS\u2019 \u201cFace the Nation\u201d today, U.S. Senator Bob Corker, R-Tenn., said Americans will likely experience a lot of \u201cnegative surprises\u201d as they continue to enroll in Obamacare.\n\u201cWe all get calls from incredibly distressed citizens who have had their policies cancelled yet are unable to enroll in a new plan\u2026.At the end of the day, while there will be a few winners, most Americans are going to find a less dynamic health system, and they're going to find that the cost of the health care they're able to purchase is going to be a lot higher. They're also going to realize that their choices are far less,\u201d said Corker. \u201cUnfortunately as people enroll I think there's going to be a lot of negative surprises as to what they're able to enroll in.\u201d\nCorker further said the fundamentals of Obamacare were done in a \u201cchaotic\u201d way.\n\u201cGenerally speaking, the fundamentals of this to me were done in a chaotic way, much like we're seeing in the roll out\u2026. I don't know how you fix a program that was put together in this manner with only one side of the aisle and taking the shortcuts that were taken to put it in place,\u201d said Corker.\nAs mandated by law, Corker, his family and staff will enter the Obamacare exchanges on January 1, 2014.\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://roe.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=363052", "Roe Statement on Yearlong Delay of Online Enrollment for Small Businesses", "2013-11-27", "2013", "2013-11", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Phil Roe", "R000582", "roe.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON D.C. \u2013 Rep. Phil Roe, M.D. (R-TN) released the following statement on the Obama administration\u2019s delay in online enrollment for small businesses that want to purchase health coverage through the federally-run exchanges:\r\n\u201cThis announcement, made one day before Thanksgiving, is just further proof that Obamacare is a disaster,\u201d said Roe. \u201cThe administration broke another promise when they said that small businesses would be able to purchase insurance coverage through the website \u2018sometime in November.\u2019\u201d\r\n\u201cWhen President Obama talked about purchasing insurance through Healthcare.gov, he said it would be similar to purchasing a television online,\u201d Roe continued. \u201cThis is clearly not the case. You can\u2019t force someone to purchase a product without giving them a way to do it. We\u2019ve known for a while that Obamacare was unaffordable, but now it\u2019s proving to be unattainable. This is unacceptable and I believe it\u2019s unfair to leave the American people on the hook for the administration\u2019s failure to deliver what they\u2019ve promised. Today\u2019s announcement is further proof that we need to provide fairness for all Americans and delay this law altogether.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=1170f9d0-c1e6-4839-8c5e-b70127d3ad9d", "Alexander Compounding Legislation Signed Into Law to Help \u201cPrevent Another Nightmare for Tennesseans Like Last Year\u2019s Terrifying Meningitis Outbreak\u201d", "2013-11-27", "2013", "2013-11", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "President signs Alexander compounding bill, which will make sterile compounded drugs safer by clarifying oversight of compounding pharmacies\r\n***\r\n\u201cTennesseans deserve this law to make it clear exactly who is in charge of overseeing each compounding facility, so there will be no questions about who\u2019s on the flagpole.\u201d \u2013 Lamar Alexander\u00a0\r\n\r\nMARYVILLE, Nov. 27\u2013 Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the senior Republican on the Senate health committee, today praised the signing into law of The Drug Quality and Security Act, a result of a legislative agreement he reached with House and Senate health committee leaders to make injections of compounded sterile drugs safer.\r\nAlexander said: \u201cI have been working with my Senate colleagues for a year to find a solution that would help prevent a repeat of the terrifying meningitis outbreak that has killed 16 Tennesseans and made so many others so sick. Tennesseans deserve this law to make it clear exactly who is in charge of overseeing each compounding facility, so there will be no questions about who\u2019s on the flagpole.\u201d\r\nHe added: \u201cThis law affects the health and safety of millions of Americans. It is important in Tennessee to those 16 families who had a family member die.\u00a0 It is important to the dozens of families with a member of their family who is sick because of those injections.\u00a0 It is important to those families who may still become sick in our state and other states.\u201d\r\nLast November, when the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held its first hearing on the deadly meningitis outbreak, Alexander called for a new model of oversight of sterile compounding pharmacies. Alexander and HELP Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Ranking Member Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) announced legislation agreement and the bill was passed by the House on Sept. 28. The bill, cleared by both houses of Congress on Nov. 18, \u00a0\u00a0clarifies current federal law regarding pharmacy compounding and resolves the patchwork of current federal regulation by applying a uniform standard nationwide.\r\nThe legislation distinguishes compounders engaged in traditional pharmacy practice from those making large volumes of compounded drugs without individual prescriptions. Compounders who wish to practice outside the scope of traditional pharmacy practice can register with the Food and Drug Administration as \u201coutsourcing facilities,\u201d subject to FDA oversight in much the same way as traditional manufacturers. Those who choose to remain traditional pharmacies will continue to be primarily regulated by State Boards of Pharmacy as they are in current law.\r\nIt also offers providers and patients better information about compounded drugs, by directing FDA to make a list of FDA-regulated outsourcing facilities available on FDA\u2019s website, requiring detailed labeling on compounded drugs, and prohibiting false and misleading advertising.\r\nThe bill also includes legislation to track and trace the more than 4 billion prescriptions that are written in America every year to help ensure their safety, replacing today\u2019s patchwork of state prescription-drug tracing laws by creating a new uniform framework for tracking drugs from the manufacturer to the pharmacy. There is currently no system for tracking the drugs that make up some 4 billion prescriptions per year in the United States, which means consumers can receive\u00a0drugs that are stolen, counterfeit, or ineffective.\r\nThis legislation requires the entire drug supply chain\u2014including manufacturers, repackagers, wholesale distributors, third-party logistics providers, and dispensers\u2014to pass along transaction information, history, and statements, as applicable, when there is a change of ownership. The last comprehensive effort to establish safeguards for the drug distribution supply chain was 25 years ago with the passage of The Prescription Drug Marketing Act.\r\n\u00a0\r\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=21d3802c-43a6-40e4-9bbc-6783d66cb0e5", "Alexander Bill to Reduce Premature Births Signed Into Law", "2013-11-27", "2013", "2013-11", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "President signs Alexander PREEMIE bill, which will reduce infant deaths and disabilities related to premature birth\r\n***\r\n\u201cThis is an important step to help reduce the rate of premature births in Tennessee, which is over 12 percent.\u201d \u2013 Lamar Alexander\r\nMARYVILLE, Nov. 27\u2013 U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the senior Republican on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today praised the signing into law of his bill to reduce infant deaths and disabilities by expanding research, education, and intervention activities related to premature birth.\r\n\u201cThis is an important step to help reduce the rate of premature births in Tennessee, which is over 12 percent. Our legislation will help doctors and researchers working on saving infant lives and preventing births from happening too early,\u201d Alexander said. \u201cWe have made great progress since we first put the spotlight on premature birth, but it remains the leading killer of newborns and a major cause of lasting disabilities.\u201d\r\nAlexander introduced the \u201cPREEMIE\u201d bill with committee member Senator Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), which passed the HELP Committee in February and cleared both houses of Congress in early November. The legislation reauthorizes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u2019s (CDC) research and programs on preterm birth, including improving national data tracking on preterm birth, and conducting studies. The bill also reauthorizes programs at the Health Resources and Services Administration aimed at improving the treatment and outcome for infants born premature.\u00a0\r\nThe bill also includes two provisions: the CHIMP Act Amendments to ensure the National Institutes of Health is able to continue caring for the chimpanzees it owns; and a provision to create a National Pediatric Research Network to encourage collaboration among researchers and optimize pediatric research.\r\nThe legislation is supported by the March of Dimes Foundation, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Association of Women\u2019s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses, the Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs, the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, the Association of State & Territorial Health Officials, and the National Association of County & City Health Officials.\r\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://web.archive.org/web/20131207221943/http://black.house.gov/press-release/supreme-court-will-consider-americans%E2%80%99-religious-rights-under-obamacare", "Supreme Court Will Consider Americans\u2019 Religious Rights Under Obamacare", "2013-11-26", "2013", "2013-11", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Diane Black", "B001273", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "Washington\u2014 Today, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments in Hobby Lobby vs. Sebelius, a case challenging the ability of the government to force employers to provide services that violate their rights of conscience. Republicans and Democrats have joined together to support legislation that would overturn the coercive mandate.\nH.R. 940, the Health Care Conscience Rights Act, was introduced by Congressman Diane Black (R-TN), and is cosponsored by 188 members of the House. Congressman Dan Lipinski (D-IL) is an original cosponsor of the bill. While Congressman Pitts supports the bill, he has a policy of not cosponsoring legislation referred to the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, which he chairs.\n\u201cI am pleased that the Supreme Court has agreed to review the Obama Administration\u2019s contraceptive mandate,\u201d said Congressman Diane Black. \u201cBeing an American means being able to freely choose our faith and live by the dictates of that faith at home, at church, and in the public square. This Administration\u2019s assault on religious liberty is an affront to our Constitution and the Supreme Court must now use this opportunity to preserve the liberties that our country was founded upon by striking down the HHS\u2019 unconstitutional mandate.\u201d\n\u201cI am very pleased that the Supreme Court will consider whether Obamacare is violating the religious freedom of employers,\u201d said Congressman Pitts. \u201cOne employer in my own district, Conestoga Wood Specialties, has been fighting alongside Hobby Lobby. Conestoga and people of faith across the nation are waiting to see if the court will protect their constitutional right to live out that faith in the marketplace.\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m pleased that the Supreme Court has decided to hear this case that, at its core, is about preserving the most fundamental of American rights: the rights to religious liberty and conscience,\u201d said Congressman Lipinski. \u201cAlthough I am hopeful the justices will recognize that the HHS mandate infringes upon these basic constitutional rights, I will continue to be a strong supporter of the Health Care Conscience Rights Act to preserve these freedoms and protect Americans so they can practice their beliefs as they choose.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://web.archive.org/web/20140221090104/http://black.house.gov/press-release/black-discusses-impact-obamacare-fox-business%E2%80%99-varney-co", "Black Discusses Impact of Obamacare on Fox Business\u2019 Varney & Co.", "2013-11-26", "2013", "2013-11", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Diane Black", "B001273", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "(Click image above for video)\nWashington \u2013 Today, Congressman Diane Black (R-TN-06) joined host Stuart Varney on Fox Business\u2019 Varney & Co. to discuss the latest on Obamacare and its impact on our healthcare system. To watch the interview, click here.\nRELATED:\nFox News: Almost 80 million with employer health care plans could have coverage canceled, experts predict\n###\nCongressman Diane Black represents Tennessee\u2019s 6th Congressional District. She has been a registered nurse for more than 40 years and serves on the House Ways and Means and Budget Committees.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=3c2a62b0-a9cd-4e30-9e44-2cad571acea3", "Alexander Says \u201cNo\u201d to Airplane Cell Phone Conversations", "2013-11-26", "2013", "2013-11", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Says airline cabin privacy \u201cmay not be enshrined in the Constitution, but surely it is in common sense\u201d\r\n***\r\n\u201cImagine 2 million passengers, hurtling through space, trapped in 17-inch-wide seats, yapping their innermost thoughts. The Transportation Security Administration would have to hire three times as many air marshals to deal with fistfights.\u201d \u2013 Lamar Alexander\r\nMARYVILLE, Nov. 26 \u2013 U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander\u00a0(R-Tenn.)\u00a0said today that he will introduce legislation,\u00a0if necessary, to stop the Federal Communications Commission from allowing cell phone conversations on airplanes.\r\n\u201cImagine two million passengers, hurtling through space, trapped in 17-inch-wide seats, yapping their innermost thoughts,\u201d the senator said.\u00a0\u201cThe Transportation Security Administration would have to hire three times as many air marshals to deal with the fistfights.\u201d \u00a0\r\nAlexander continued. \u201cStop and think about what we hear now in airport lobbies from those who wander around shouting personal details into a microphone: babbling about last night\u2019s love life,\u00a0bathroom plans, next week\u2019s schedule, orders to an\u00a0assistant, arguments with spouses. Imagine this noise while you travel, restrained by your seatbelt, unable to escape.\u201d\r\nThe senator said. \u201cThe FCC commissioners will earn the gratitude of the two million Americans who fly each day by deciding: text messages, yes;\u00a0conversations, no.\u201d \u00a0\r\n\u00a0\r\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=8b519170-ca7e-4b73-b11a-deda99437c32", "Alexander Statement on Supreme Court Agreement To Review Obamacare Religious Freedom Case", "2013-11-26", "2013", "2013-11", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "MARYVILLE, Nov. 26 \u2013 U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the senior Republican on the Senate health committee, today released the following statement on the Supreme Court\u2019s announcement that it will review a mandate in Obamacare that requires business owners to offer employees reproductive services that violate the institutions\u2019 religious beliefs:\r\n\u201cRequiring business owners to defy the basic tenets of their faiths shows a disturbing disregard for the Constitution\u2019s protections of religious freedom, and I hope the Supreme Court agrees.\u201d\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=NewsArticles&ContentRecord_id=0095c70b-f7e9-4c25-9cb7-b62992bb6104", "Washington Post: Op-ed by Sen. Alexander: Without the filibuster, a tyranny of the majority", "2013-11-25", "2013", "2013-11", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Thursday\u2019s stunning\u00a0rules change by Senate Democrats\u00a0can best be described as Obamacare II: another exercise of partisan political power to permit the majority to do whatever it wants. This time, the goal was advancing its agenda unchecked through the courts and executive agencies.\r\nWith all Republican members opposed, the Senate voted 52 to 48 to invoke the \u201cnuclear option,\u201d allowing a majority of senators present and voting (so, not necessarily 51) to approve presidential nominees except for Supreme Court justices. For those positions, this eliminated the\u00a0filibuster, which required 60 votes to proceed to an up-or-down majority vote.\r\nThis was the most dangerous restructuring of Senate rules since\u00a0Thomas Jefferson wrote them. It creates a perpetual opportunity for \u201ctyranny of the majority,\u201d which Alexis de Tocqueville called one of the greatest threats to American democracy.\r\nAs Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) noted, quoting former senator Arthur Vandenberg on Thursday: \u201cIf a majority of the Senate can change its rules at any time, there are no rules.\u201d It is as if the Red Sox, finding themselves behind in the ninth, added a few innings to make sure they could defeat the Cardinals in the World Series. Future majorities could, for example, end the filibuster for legislation, removing any obstacle to tyranny of the majority.\r\nDemocrats offered flimsy excuses, many of which are untrue:\r\nExcuse No. 1: President Obama\u2019s appointees have been unfairly denied seats by failed cloture votes, or filibusters.\r\nAccording to the\u00a0Congressional Research Service, no Supreme Court nominee has been defeated by filibuster in the Senate. None. (An arguable exception is\u00a0Abe Fortas\u2019s doomed nomination\u00a0as chief justice, about which President Lyndon Johnson engineered a face-saving cloture vote.)\r\nThe number of federal district judge and Cabinet nominees defeated by filibuster? Zero. Regarding sub-Cabinet nominees, there were two for President Obama, three for George W. Bush and two for Bill Clinton. That\u2019s it.\r\nAs for appeals court judges, Republican filibusters have blocked five, but that happened only after Democrats first blocked five. Beginning in 2003, Democrats blocked 10 Bush nominees. This was the first time that a president\u2019s circuit court nominees were blocked by the failure to obtain cloture. Republicans considered the nuclear option, decided against it, and five of the 10 were confirmed.\r\nExcuse No. 2: President Obama\u2019s nominees have waited too long for confirmation.\r\nAccording to the Congressional Research Service, Obama\u2019s second-term Cabinet nominees have been confirmed at about the same pace as those of Presidents Clinton and Bush.\r\nThis year, the Senate has confirmed 36 of Obama\u2019s second-term nominees to circuit and district courts, compared with 14 for Bush at this point in 2005.\r\nOn Friday, the Senate\u2019s executive calendar listed 54 nominees who have been waiting less than three weeks for confirmation, 16 who had waited for up to nine weeks and only eight who have been waiting more than nine weeks. Two of those eight nominees were being \u201cheld\u201d by Democratic senators.\r\nExcuse No. 3: Republican obstruction left the Democratic majority leader unable to act.\r\nOnly Democratic committee majorities can place nominees on the executive calendar. Only the majority leader can move their confirmation. He may do so anytime he chooses.\r\nWhat if obstructionist Republicans were to place holds on 10 sub-Cabinet nominees? Under the rules that existed before Thursday, the majority leader could have filed a cloture motion on those nominees on Monday and confirmed them by Friday \u2014 unless 41 Republicans voted against cloture. Again, that has happened to only two Obama nominees for non-judicial sub-Cabinet positions and only seven times in Senate history.\r\nIn his last Senate speech, former majority leader Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) warned against destroying the filibuster, which he called the \u201cnecessary fence\u201d against the executive and popular passions. Majority leaders could do whatever they needed to do under the rules, Byrd said.\r\nExcuse No. 4: Republicans have unfairly blocked the president from filling vacancies on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.\r\nIn 2006, Democrats insisted on doing precisely what Republicans are asking in 2013: moving judges from courts where they are not needed to where they are needed most. They did not think this unfair then.\r\nIn 2006, Democrats on the Judiciary Committee, including Sens. Patrick Leahy, Joe Biden, Chuck Schumer and Dick Durbin, said that \u201cunder no circumstances\u201d should new judges be confirmed to the D.C. court because its workload was half the national average and there were judicial emergencies elsewhere.\r\nWith Bush\u2019s approval, the Senate reduced the number of seats on the D.C. Circuit by one, moving that slot to the 9th Circuit. The D.C. Circuit hears fewer cases today than it did in 2007.\r\nSo why would Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) engineer a rules change that he said in 2006 \u201cwould be the end of the Senate\u201d? Because the vote was not about the filibuster. It was about permitting the majority to do whatever it wants.\r\nCall it Obamacare II, for which the only cure is a referendum next November.\r\nRead more about this topic: Dana Milbank: Democrats\u2019 power grab Ruth Marcus: The Democrats\u2019 mistake The Post\u2019s View: The \u2018nuclear\u2019 fallout Eugene Robinson: Forced to go \u2018nuclear\u2019 Jennifer Rubin: \u2018Nuclear option\u2019 has many consequences James Downie: The GOP has only itself to blame\r\nLamar Alexander, a Republican, represents Tennessee in the Senate.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://cohen.house.gov/press-release/cohen-commemorates-50th-anniversary-assassination-president-john-f-kennedy", "Cohen Commemorates 50th Anniversary of the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy", "2013-11-22", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "[WASHINGTON, D.C.] \u2013 Congressman Cohen (TN-09) today commemorated the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States:\n\u201cPresident Kennedy inspired me to pursue a legislative career and dedicate my life to public service,\u201d said Congressman Cohen. \u201cPresident Kennedy came to Memphis when I was 11 years old.\u00a0 He was campaigning in Memphis and turned toward me near the Methodist Church on Union and I was able to take a photo of him that hangs on my wall in Washington and is one of my most prized possessions, as well as one of my most prized memories. I was 14 years old when he was assassinated, but his death left an indelible mark on me and on millions of others. President Kennedy saw that politics could be an honorable profession and famously spurred countless Americans to serve their nation with the immortal words: \u2018ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.\u2019\u201d\n\u201cPresident Kennedy gave his life to this country; his assassination was a great loss for our nation. As we remember the life he lived as well as the sad occasion of his death 50 years ago today, I hope my fellow Americans will take a moment to think back on the good that he did while he was with us: working for a more just society and fighting for both our civil rights as well as our human rights. He remains greatly missed.\u201d\nA photo of the Congressman with the many photos and posters of the Kennedy family he has in his Capitol Hill office is available here, and video of the Congressman speaking on the House floor about President Kennedy\u2019s assassination is available here. Congressman Cohen also visited Arlington National Cemetery this week to pay his respects to President Kennedy at the site where the President is buried. A photo of the Congressman at the Kennedy gravesite is available here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://cohen.house.gov/press-release/cohen-passenger-experience-would-be-changed-worse-if-faa-allows-cell-phone-calls", "Cohen: Passenger Experience Would Be \"Changed for the Worse\" If FAA Allows Cell Phone Calls In Flight", "2013-11-22", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "[WASHINGTON, D.C.] \u2013 With the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reportedly considering a rule proposal that could allow for voice calls from cell phones during domestic air travel, Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today drafted a letter to Michael Huerta, Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), strongly urging the FAA to maintain the ban on cell phone calls in flight. The letter also expresses concerns about disruptions to passengers\u2019 flight experience as well as for consumer safety.\n\u201cI share the concerns of the flying public and many aviation industry professionals that the flying experience would be not only markedly less pleasant, but less safe as well, if the ban on cell phone calls during flight were lifted\u201d said Congressman Cohen. \u201cAllowing these calls would disrupt the right of consumers to enjoy the quiet comfort of their flight and potentially puts their safety at risk as well. Simply put, the flying experience in the United States would be forever changed for the worse if voice calls are allowed on flights. I hope the FAA considers these important safety and comfort concerns and makes the right decision.\u201d\nYesterday, the Association of Flight Attendants released a statement explaining: \u201cAny situation that is loud, divisive, and possibly disruptive is not only unwelcome but also unsafe.\u201d\nCongressman Cohen\u2019s letter is currently being circulated among his colleagues in the House of Representatives and will then be sent to Administrator Huerta.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["http://cohen.house.gov/remembering-president-kennedy", "Remembering President Kennedy", "2013-11-22", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Dear Friend,\n50 years ago today, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. This week, I visited President Kennedy\u2019s grave at Arlington National Cemetery to pay my respects. Keep reading to learn more about this week in Washington.\nRemembering President John F. Kennedy  Commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the Gettysburg Address  Helping Families Travel with Their Pets  Promoting American Innovation and Ingenuity  Protecting Human Rights Abroad  Helping Memphians Get Covered  2014 U.S. Capitol Historical Society Calendars Are Available  White House Internships  Grant Announcements\nRemembering President John F. Kennedy\nPresident John F. Kennedy inspired me to pursue a legislative career and dedicate my life to public service. When I was 11, JFK campaigned in Memphis and I was on the street with my camera hoping to see him and get a photo.\u00a0As the motorcade passed me near the Methodist Church on Union, John Kennedy, sitting up on the backseat of the convertible in which he rode, turned backed toward me and waved and I snapped the photo which I\u2019ve cherished as one of my most prized possessions, as well as one of my most prized memories.\u00a0The photo hangs on the wall in Washington D.C., near my desk, and I look at it often.\nI was 14 years old when President Kennedy was assassinated, but his death left an indelible mark on me as it did on millions of other Americans. President Kennedy was a statesman who believed that politics could be an honorable profession and famously inspired countless Americans to serve their nation with the immortal words: \u201cask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.\u201d\nPresident Kennedy gave his life to this country; his assassination was a great loss for our nation. As we remember the life he lived, as well as the sad occasion of his death 50 years ago today, I hope my fellow Americans will take a moment to think back on the good that he did while he was with us: working for a more just society and fighting for both our civil rights as well as our human rights.\nBefore the House of Representatives adjourned for the week, I spoke on the House floor to commemorate his life. You can watch my speech here. This week, I was also reminded of one of the favorite records listened to in the Kennedy White House: the original cast recording of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe\u2019s Camelot. The recording of the musical included a line that Jacqueline Kennedy wanted her husband and his Presidency to be known for: \u201cDon't let it be forgot that once there was a spot, for one brief, shining moment that was known as Camelot.\u201d\nCommemorating the 150th Anniversary of the Gettysburg Address\nThis week also marked the 150th anniversary of President Lincoln\u2019s Gettysburg Address. Most of us likely remember Lincoln\u2019s famous \u201cfour score and seven years ago\u201d line, but perhaps less well remembered are the words that came later in his address.\u00a0However\u00a0they are just as powerful:\n\u201cThe world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what [the soldiers] did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us\u2014that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion\u2014that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain\u2014that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom\u2014and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.\u201d\nOne hundred and fifty years later, I am proud to serve in the same legislative body where Abraham Lincoln once served and I remain dedicated to working hard on the great tasks before us today: ensuring equality, freedom, and fairness for all.\nHelping Families Travel with Their Pets\nOn Wednesday morning, I joined dog trainer and television personality Laura Nativo and Congressman Jeff Denham from California at Washington\u2019s Union Station for a press conference in support of the Pets on Trains Act of 2013. Earlier this year, Congressman Denham and I introduced the bill to allow families and passengers to travel with domesticated cats and dogs on certain Amtrak trains\u2014something Amtrak\u2019s current policies do not allow.\nThose of us lucky enough to have pets are greatly blessed with their companionship. When travelling on Amtrak, families should be able to bring their pets along.\u00a0Our bill would establish a pet policy on Amtrak trains so pets \u2013 which are a part of the family \u2013 won\u2019t be left at home to fend for themselves this holiday season.\nPromoting American Innovation and Ingenuity\nOn Wednesday, I supported bipartisan patent reform legislation in the House Judiciary Committee that would unleash creativity and create jobs. Although it\u00a0is not a perfect bill, it would help protect inventors from abusive litigation by so-called \u201cpatent trolls\u201d and make other needed reforms to the patent system. As it moves through the legislative process, I hope it can be improved even further. Our patent system helps keep the United States on the forefront of innovation and creativity. We must do everything we can to ensure that inventors can continue to forge breakthroughs that will lead to economic growth and jobs. I\u2019m glad that Republicans and Democrats could work together on this important legislation that promotes innovation, just like we did with the America Invents Act in 2011, which was introduced in the House by then-Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Lamar Smith from Texas and passed in a bipartisan manner.\nProtecting Human Rights Abroad\nOn Monday, I joined with my colleagues in the Congressional Caucus on Turkey to welcome a delegation of Turkish officials to Capitol Hill. While Turkey is one of our most valued allies, I feel we must always hold our friends and allies to the goals of justice and equality to which the United States aspires.\u00a0With that in mind, I asked the Turkish Foreign Minister about reports of antisemitism coming out of their country. These reports are disturbing, and we must do everything we can to promote tolerance of all people, in our country and beyond our borders.\nHelping Memphians Get Covered\nAll Memphians should have quality health coverage and the President\u2019s landmark Affordable Care Act\u2014also known as Obamacare\u2014is making affordable, higher-quality coverage available to people who have not had access to it in the past. Luckily, many who have been unable to afford quality coverage in the past are now eligible to enroll in Tennessee\u2019s Health Insurance Marketplace. If you do not have health insurance coverage, you may be eligible to save money on your health care premiums\u00a0in the Marketplace.\nIf you are on Medicare or your employer is going to offer qualified health insurance next year that you will enroll in, you\u2019re already covered and won\u2019t need to enter the Marketplace for your health coverage. If you aren\u2019t sure whether or not you will need to use the Marketplace to get insurance, call the Marketplace Hotline at 1-800-318-2596 or visit www.HealthCare.gov. You can also call my office or the Marketplace Hotline to find out if TennCare (Tennessee\u2019s Medicaid program) is a coverage option for you. If you are one of the millions of Americans who need health insurance, you can sign up\u00a0for coverage today that will take effect January 1, 2014. Enrollment in the marketplace will remain open until March 31, 2014, but you can go online to www.healthcare.gov\u00a0 today to check out your options.\nThe Affordable Care Act is already working for families across the Ninth District and the recent government shutdown didn\u2019t change that. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 147,000 individuals in the district now have health insurance that covers preventive services without co-pays, $3.1 million in insurance premiums have been returned to consumers, and more than 5,000 seniors on Medicare paid a total of $5.9 million less for their prescription medications as we continue to close the \u2018donut hole.\u2019 Also, health insurance companies can no longer discriminate against patients with pre-existing conditions and young adults up to age 26 can now stay on their parents\u2019 insurance plan.\nMany of the Marketplace website issues that have been in the news recently have been resolved.\u00a0However, the Marketplace website is only one tool that you can use to sign up for coverage. If you are having trouble accessing the website, please do not hesitate to call the Marketplace Hotline at 1-800-318-2596 or visit Seedco Mid-South for in-person help. Seedco is located at 22 North Front Street (Suite 900), and they can be reached by phone at 901-528-8341. If you have any other questions, you should also feel free to call my office at 901-544-4131.\n2014 U.S. Capitol Historical Society Calendars Are Available\nMy office currently has a limited number of 2014 U.S. Capitol Historical Society calendars available. If you would like to receive next year\u2019s calendar, please complete this short form on my website . Due to the rules of the House, I am only able to mail calendars to residents of Tennessee\u2019s 9th District. Please feel free to share this email with other citizens of the Ninth District who may be interested in receiving one but who do not receive my eNewsletter.\nWhite House Internships\nThe White House Internship Program is currently accepting applications from young people who are interested in government and devoted to public service. If you\u2014or anyone you know\u2014 would like to spend some time working at the White House, gaining valuable professional experience and building leadership skills, I would like to take this opportunity to urge you to apply. The application deadline is January 5th, 2014. Click here\u00a0for more information.\nGrant Announcements\nI regularly release a list of grant announcements from federal agencies like the Department of Health and Human Services, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Transportation, and others. These federal funding opportunities are available to faith-based and neighborhood associations, nonprofits and other community organizations in the 9th District. The announcements are\u00a0updated regularly on my website.\nAs always, I remain.\u00a0  \n\tMost sincerely,\n  \n\tSteve Cohen  \n\tMember of Congress", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://web.archive.org/web/20131128224708/http://www.corker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ContentRecord_id=b3538cce-ba5e-4dd9-b95e-87fa70dfa807", "Corker Introduces Legislation to Keep Pressure on Iran", "2013-11-22", "2013", "2013-11", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Bob Corker", "C001071", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Following an announcement that the Senate will consider Iran legislation in December, U.S. Senator Bob Corker, R-Tenn., ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, introduced a bill setting conditions for an acceptable final agreement with Iran that would restrict sanctions relief until Iran agrees to eliminate the threat of its nuclear program.\u00a0 The Iran Nuclear Compliance Act of 2013, consistent with Iran\u2019s existing obligations under the U.N. Security Council, requires Iran to fully comply with any interim deal reached in Geneva and further agree to the terms of an acceptable final agreement before the president of the United States could waive additional sanctions.\u00a0 Further, it would restore all sanctions if Iran violates the terms of the interim agreement.\n\u201cIt\u2019s important for the Senate to proceed with this debate and keep the pressure on Iran during negotiations over their illicit nuclear program,\u201d said Corker.\u00a0 \u201cMany of us have concerns that an interim agreement in Geneva will diminish U.S. leverage without Iran meeting its existing international obligations.\u00a0 That outcome could result in the interim deal becoming the final deal, legitimizing Iran\u2019s enrichment activities in violation of numerous U.N. Security Council resolutions.\u00a0 Whatever the outcome in Geneva may be this week, I\u2019m hopeful the Senate will work in a bipartisan fashion to strengthen the position of the U.S. in these negotiations so we can reach a final status agreement that will prevent the Iranians from ever developing a nuclear weapon.\n\u201cToward that end, I\u2019ve offered legislation that would ensure Iran is in full compliance with any interim agreement and agrees to the essential terms of an acceptable final deal before the U.S. could further lift sanctions.\u00a0 It would further cause any sanctions relieved in the interim to snap back if Iran violates any of its commitments under such an agreement.\u00a0 We all want diplomacy to succeed, so I look forward to working with my colleagues and with the administration to support a successful outcome in these negotiations that are critical for the peace and security of the U.S. and the world.\u201d\nText of the legislation and a one-page summary are attached and available online here.\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"], ["https://web.archive.org/web/20131202205404/http://black.house.gov:80/press-release/roll-call-improving-our-tax-code-american-students-and-families", "Roll Call: Improving Our Tax Code for American Students and Families", "2013-11-22", "2013", "2013-11", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Diane Black", "B001273", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "In Case You Missed It:  \nImproving Our Tax Code for American Students and Families\nBy Reps. Diane Black and Danny K. Davis\nPublished November 22, 2013\nOver the last few months, the media has described Congress as \u201cdysfunctional\u201d and \u201cbroken,\u201d and the public as \u201cfrustrated\u201d and \u201cangry\u201d with its lawmakers. Interestingly, those are the same words that are used to describe today\u2019s tax code.\nThat is what spurred the two of us \u2013 a Democrat from Chicago and a Republican from Nashville \u2013 to start working together to fix the tax code so that students and families would have an easier time affording higher education.\nIt\u2019s a well-known fact that the cost of education is climbing, and that for too many, the ability to save and pay for college without ending up under a mountain of debt, is simply out of reach. Today\u2019s broken tax code does little to ease that financial burden or provide a sense of security that education will be a reality in the future. In fact, because it is such a complex and confusing system, more than 80 percent of Americans say that dealing with the tax code makes them frustrated and angry.\nAs the chair and co-chair of the Ways and Means Committee Education Tax Reform Working Group, one of 11 working groups tasked with exploring how to make the tax code simpler and fairer for families, frustration with the code was a common theme in our meetings. Working with the Joint Committee on Taxation, we learned that currently there are 15 different tax breaks for education \u2014 four are designed to help individuals save prior to becoming a student, nine are available while the student is in school, and two exist for when the student has completed his or her education. It was overwhelming when we had tax experts explain it, and so it was not difficult to imagine parents trying to navigate and understand it all. After sorting through the 90 pages of IRS instructions, parents would simply just toss up their hands and say, \u201cI give up.\u201d\nDuring our time together on the Education Tax Reform Working Group, our work didn\u2019t end when we delivered our report to our colleagues. Instead, our desire to provide at least some relief from that frustration led the two of us to work even further to see how we could clean up the code and actually help students and families in their struggles to finance education costs.\nThat process has led us to introduce the Student and Family Tax Simplification Act. This legislation consolidates four existing education provisions \u2014 the Hope Credit, the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC), the Lifetime Learning Credit, and the tuition deduction \u2014 into a single, modernized and strengthened AOTC. As outlined in the legislation, the new AOTC, which would be permanent and partially refundable, would:\n\u2022Provide a 100-percent tax credit for the first $2,000 of eligible higher education expenses and a 25-percent tax credit for the next $2,000 of such expenses (for a maximum credit of $2,500).\n\u2022The first $1,500 of the credit would be refundable, meaning that families could receive the benefit regardless of whether they have Federal income tax liability.\n\u2022The credit could be used to offset expenses for tuition, fees and course materials.\n\u2022The credit would be available for up to four years of post-secondary education at qualifying four-year universities, community colleges, and trade and vocational schools.\n\u2022The credit would begin to phase out for families with income between $86,000 and $126,000 (half those amounts for single individuals), ensuring that the credit provides the greatest benefit and value to low- and middle-income families.\nStreamlining the number of education provisions and retooling those that are most effective has another benefit, too \u2013 it allows us to simplify the code and reduce some of the confusion that exists today. As a result, students can spend less time figuring out how to finance the cost of a higher education and more time developing the skills they need to succeed in a knowledge-based economy.\nIt ought to be easier for any family to plan, save and invest in education. Our bipartisan bill makes common-sense reforms to make the tax code simpler and fairer when it comes to helping Americans afford the cost of a college education.\nCongressman Diane Black, R-Tenn., is a member of the Ways and Means, and Budget Committees. Congressman Danny K. Davis, D-Ill., is a member of the Ways and Means, and Oversight and Government Reform Committees.\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "truncated": false, "filtered_table_rows_count": 903, "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 \"state\" = :p0 and \"year\" = :p1 order by date desc limit 101", "params": {"p0": "TN", "p1": "2013"}}, "facet_results": {"party": {"name": "party", "type": "column", "hideable": false, "toggle_url": "/press/releases.json?state=TN&year=2013", "results": [{"value": "Republican", "label": "Republican", "count": 737, "toggle_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?state=TN&year=2013&party=Republican", "selected": false}, {"value": "Democrat", "label": "Democrat", "count": 166, "toggle_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?state=TN&year=2013&party=Democrat", "selected": false}], "truncated": false}, "chamber": {"name": "chamber", "type": "column", "hideable": false, "toggle_url": "/press/releases.json?state=TN&year=2013", "results": [{"value": "House", "label": "House", "count": 903, "toggle_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?state=TN&year=2013&chamber=House", "selected": false}], "truncated": false}, "state": {"name": "state", "type": "column", "hideable": false, "toggle_url": "/press/releases.json?state=TN&year=2013", "results": [{"value": "TN", "label": "TN", "count": 903, "toggle_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?year=2013", "selected": true}], "truncated": false}, "year": {"name": "year", "type": "column", "hideable": false, "toggle_url": "/press/releases.json?state=TN&year=2013", "results": [{"value": "2013", "label": "2013", "count": 903, "toggle_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?state=TN", "selected": true}], "truncated": false}}, "suggested_facets": [], "next": "2013-11-22,https~3A~2F~2Fweb~2Earchive~2Eorg~2Fweb~2F20131202205404~2Fhttp~3A~2F~2Fblack~2Ehouse~2Egov~3A80~2Fpress-release~2Froll-call-improving-our-tax-code-american-students-and-families", "next_url": "http://dpwillis-congress-press-search.hf.space/press/releases.json?state=TN&year=2013&_next=2013-11-22%2Chttps~3A~2F~2Fweb~2Earchive~2Eorg~2Fweb~2F20131202205404~2Fhttp~3A~2F~2Fblack~2Ehouse~2Egov~3A80~2Fpress-release~2Froll-call-improving-our-tax-code-american-students-and-families&_sort_desc=date", "private": false, "allow_execute_sql": true, "query_ms": 229.45692064240575, "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"}