{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=c4741867-8049-408c-b2ac-0755a0270b55", "Alexander: It Is a Good Time for Oak Ridge", "2015-11-20", "2015", "2015-11", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Oak Ridge, Tenn.,Nov. 20U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today said that its a good time to be in Oak Ridge, calling the areas scientific brainpower, energy research,and technological capabilitiessome of the best in the world.\r\nEarlier this year, I suggested naming the four-lane highway from the Knoxville airport to Oak Ridge the Oak Ridge Corridor, Alexander said. Advanced manufacturing and supercomputing at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, construction of the Uranium Processing Facilitywhich is one of the largest construction projects in the countryand cleanup work inOak Ridgeshows the promise of bringing new jobs for East Tennesseans.\r\nAlexander continued, Oak Ridge has a played a key role in scientific research for many decades, and will continue to play a key role in our nations future. Lastweeks formal announcement of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park highlighted the vital role the Manhattan Project played in our historyandthe continuingimpact the projects legacyhas on our nations future. From that effort arosesomeof the countrys great national laboratoriesour secret weapons as we look to the future of keeping our country competitive in the world.\r\nNow more than ever before, the Oak Ridge-Knoxville area is showing great promise for a bright future, Alexander told reporters today at an event at the Oak Ridge municipal building with Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch and Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank.\r\nImworking, in conjunction with the House, on the Energy and Water Appropriations bill which is expected to include a record level of federal funding for Oak Ridge this year.\r\nMayor Gooch said, This is an exciting time for Oak Ridge where great things happen everyday. Last week, our city was introduced to the nation as the newest site in our national park system. This week our senior United States senator is visiting us as he promotes his bipartisan legislation which would greatly enhance the DOE missions in Oak Ridge and which would add momentum to rebranding Pellissippi Parkway as the Oak Ridge Corridor.\r\nAnd Mayor Frank said, Senator Alexanders idea to name the four-lane highway from the Knoxville airport to Oak Ridge the Oak Ridge Corridor is one of the best ideas Ive heard in a long time. The infrastructure, intellectual capital, and skilled workforce of the Manhattan Project carried forth to transform our area into a technological and manufacturing lodestone. Identifying the corridor will serve to multiply our regional success, and highlight the integral role we play in future advancements and security.\r\nAlexander is chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development. In May, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved Alexanders fiscal year 2016 Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill that provided $35.4 billionto fund Department of Energy programs and the Army Corps of Engineers.The legislation, which included $1.2 billion more than the FY2015 enacted level was approved by the Senate Appropriations Committeeby a vote of 26 to 4.\r\nThe appropriations bill approved by the Senate in May provided funding for the following programs and projects that are priorities for Oak Ridge:\r\n \r\nThe Dept. of Energys Office of Science, which supports basic energy research andprovides funding for Oak Ridge National Laboratory\r\nThe Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex\r\nFunding for advanced supercomputing, including the new Summit supercomputer. Once again, the worlds fastest supercomputer will be at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in 2017\r\nDevelopment of the Second Target Station at the Spallation Neutron Source\r\nExascale computing, which is the next leap forward in supercomputing and performs 1,000 times faster than current supercomputers\r\nNuclear infrastructure at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, including hot cells and isotope production facilities to support medical treatments, oil and gas exploration, and deep-space satellites. Many of the isotopes produced in Oak Ridge are not available anywhere else in the world\r\nA new mercury treatment facility and funding for cleanup of nuclear facilities that are no longer in service\r\n \r\nFor access to this release and the senators other statements, click here.\r\nTo stay up-to-date on the senators latest actions, follow him on Twitter and YouTube.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=c4741867-8049-408c-b2ac-0755a0270b55"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5051208902150393, "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"}