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A right-leaning disgruntled Republican comments on the news of the day and any other thing he damn-well pleases.
Dear Rod,
I
hope that your family enjoyed a blessed Christmas season, and I write
to wish you a Happy New Year. A new year means a time for renewal for
many. It's a chance to start over with new resolutions and the prospect
of an upcoming year better than the last. For me, a new year means
leaving home to spend much of the next four months working hard for you
in Nashville. Here's a preview of what I'll be working on.
Friends-
Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful
Christmas and your 2016 is off to a great start! The year upon us
promises to be an exciting one and I’m looking forward to leading the
fight for reduced government spending, protecting our most vulnerable,
and ensuring American families are safe.
Before we look ahead, I want to take a few minutes
and celebrate what we accomplished in 2015. We fought and had many
successes in the battle for faith, family, freedom, hope, and
opportunity. I’m not giving up that fight in the new year and hope to
look back at 2016 with many more successes for the Conservative cause.
Fought for Tennessee taxpayers. This year I achieved permanent tax relief for Tennessee families.
Language in this year’s tax extenders bill made permanent the ability
of Tennesseans to deduct their state and local sales tax from their
federal income tax. I, along with Congressman Kevin Brady, have been
leading the fight in the House on the issue for over a decade. Making
these deductions permanent is vital to Tennessee families and small
businesses as it will allow millions of dollars to be pumped back into
our economy.
Fought to cut out-of-control spending. As I have in every Congress in which I’ve served, I offered my colleagues a choice of spending reduction bills: HR 39,
to make 1 percent across-the-board rescissions in non-defense,
non-homeland-security, and non-veterans-affairs discretionary spending
for each of the fiscal years 2015 and 2016, HR 49,
to make 2 percent across-the-board rescissions in non-defense,
non-homeland-security, and non-veterans-affairs discretionary spending
for each of the fiscal years 2015 and 2016, and HR 58,
to make 5 percent across-the-board rescissions in non-defense,
non-homeland-security, and non-veterans-affairs discretionary spending
for each of the fiscal years 2015 and 2016. You will remember we were
successful in having the 2% cut included in the Budget Control Act of 2011. That one provision has saved taxpayers hundreds of millions since implementation.
Fought for national security. It
seems everyone but our President is very concerned about the security of
this country and the American people. Recently, DHS Secretary Johnson
admitted that ISIS could ‘exploit’ our refugee program to conduct
attacks here at home, something my colleagues and I have been saying for
weeks. We must do everything in our power to eliminate terrorist
threats – which is why I introduced legislation this year that would temporarily defund the refugee resettlement program until certain conditions are met. We must confront the danger of radical Islamic extremism. Senator Sessions is leading this effort in the Senate.
Fought to protect you and your data.
We cannot afford to sit idly by as malicious hacker groups, and the
countries that sponsor them, devise more sophisticated and effective
ways to attack our citizens, businesses, and government institutions. I
introduced HR 1770, The Data Security and Breach Notification Act of 2015,
which would protect consumers by improving data security provisions and
setting a national breach notification standard for industry. The
private sector and government should be working together to share
information about threats. This legislation has successfully moved
through the committee process and is ready for a vote by the full House.
Fought for Fort Campbell. Fort
Campbell is the most heavily deployed Army post in the country,
providing both the personnel and capabilities to respond and to protect
our national interests. When Fort Campbell suffers a troop reduction, it
is felt by our entire nation. I worked hard to ensure Fort Campbell was
not hit hard by this year’s troop reduction. Additionally, I secured a
provision in the National Defense Authorization Act
that authorizes funding for the “Army and Air Force flying hours
program,” to provide training and flight hours at 100% levels for
military aviators. Military installations across the country are facing
budget constraints that will have an impact on military readiness
programs. I have worked tirelessly to ensure the vital flying hours
program provides the training necessary for mission success and the
safety of our soldiers at Fort Campbell.
Fought to improve healthcare.
Health care costs continue to rise and have become unsustainable for
American families. Obamacare has not delivered upon the promise of
access to healthcare. Millions of people have been given insurance
cards, but find their deductibles and copayments make the insurance
unaffordable and unusable. It is truly too expensive to use. Thousands
are left without healthcare as they find it more difficult to find
providers who are on the narrow Obamacare networks. My office hears
regularly from constituents about the expense and the difficulty with
the website and the bureaucrats who run the program. We also hear from
businesses that are facing enormous fines because they want to provide
better coverage to their employees than what is mandated by the misnamed
Affordable Care Act but are being told no. Obamacare must be
repealed and replaced with what we know works. Patient based reforms
that use market forces to give consumers leverage is the best way to
provide access to quality, affordable healthcare. One part of the
solution is legislation I authored, HR 543, the Health Care Choice Act of 2015,
which would allow Americans to buy insurance policies across state
lines. The bill would allow insurance companies to compete for your
business, offering plans with the benefits you want at a price you can
afford.
Technology is all around us on our smart phones and
watches. And these technologies are one key to improving healthcare
access and outcomes. We must be sure our federal regulators are in the
right lane when it comes to new technologies and their application in
healthcare. The FDA is the agency charged with assuring the safety and
efficacy of drugs and medical devices. But data is not a drug or device
and it makes no sense to regulate it as such. However obvious that is,
it hasn’t stopped the FDA from trying to make medical device law fit
health IT. Medical device legislation was enacted in the 1970s. Leisure
suits were popular and floppy disks had just been invented. We need to
modernize the FDA authorities to reflect the new reality of health IT.
That is why I introduced, HR 2396 the SOFTWARE Act. My SOFTWARE Act was part of a larger piece of legislation, the 21st Century Cures Act. The 21st Century Cures Act
is landmark legislation that will speed treatments to people who have
illnesses ranging from Alzheimer’s, autism, ALS, to zoonotic diseases
and everything in between. This legislation has passed the House and is
in the Senate waiting for action.
Fought for our seniors. You have
worked hard for your social security dollars and they should be there
when you need them. The federal government should not treat social
security as a fungible source to shore up bad programs in the budget. My
bill, HR 603, the Save Social Security for Seniors Act
creates a true trust fund for those social security dollars so that
they may not be appropriated for other uses. I also introduced HR 4090, the Health Care Choices for Seniors Act,
legislation that would allow seniors to choose private insurance over
Medicare without penalty. Due to the mandates of the federal government,
seniors are given no option but to join Medicare. This legislation
establishes a pathway that allows seniors to retain control of their
healthcare decisions, stay with their current doctors and decide what’s
best for them.
Fought for our military and veterans. This year’s defense bill
passed both the House and Senate with an overwhelming bipartisan
majority. The NDAA includes increased pay and benefits for our troops,
safeguards our military personnel by allowing them to carry firearms on
military bases and in recruitment facilities, improves access to child
care on military installations, and provides our military with the
resources needed to protect our country against the ever growing threat
of terrorist groups such as ISIS. Thank you to Friends of Fort Campbell
for the great job you have done in helping me secure some of these wins.
Fought to protect the life of all yet to be born.
Every life is precious and we must work to build a culture that
respects the right to life. The use of taxpayer money to fund big
abortion businesses is both morally indefensible and fiscally
irresponsible. I’m so honored to have been named as Chairman of the Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives.
This select committee is tasked with gathering information and getting
the facts about medical practices of abortion service providers and the
business practices of the procurement organizations who sell baby body
parts Additionally, I wrote HR 3494, the Protecting Infants Born Alive Act, which would amend Title XIX of the Social Security Act to ban any provider proven of violating the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act
from participating in Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP and will allow
states that suspect any violation of this law to ban those suspected
from the state’s Medicaid program.
Fought to keep the internet free. I
have been leading the fight against the Obama Administration’s net
neutrality regulations since they were first proposed in 2010 by Former
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski.
Despite being struck down by a Federal Appeals Court in January of 2014,
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler announced that the FCC had once again adopted
new Net Neutrality rules on February 26, 2015. In response to this
announcement from Chairman Wheeler, I reintroduced legislation
I first authored in the 112th Congress to block the FCC's efforts to
implement new net neutrality rules. Additionally, I introduced HR 1106, the States' Rights Municipal Broadband Act of 2015,
which would prevent the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from
overriding state and local municipal broadband laws. This fight over the
control of the internet is a First Amendment issue and we will continue
to use every legislative means to block government control of the
Internet.
Fought to close and protect the border.
Secure countries have secure borders. Today, every state is a border
state and every town is a border town. Since coming to Washington, I’ve
worked to ensure that our immigration policies are in sync with this new
reality. My legislation, HR 2964, the CLEAR Act of 2015,
a reintroduction of legislation we first filed in 2006, gives law
enforcement the tools they need to help the Federal government deport
criminal aliens from our country and withholds certain funding for
sanctuary cities. In addition, I’ve led the fight in the House to stop
President Obama’s executive amnesty. I passed an amendment to the
Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill in January to freeze
the President’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program (DACA).
Fought for energy independence.
Cheap and reliable energy is crucial to restoring our economic
strength. We need to pursue clean, economical and responsible energy
options that ensure we have access to the energy we need – including
natural gas, nuclear, and coal. We should not allow ourselves to be
hamstrung by the environmental lobby that pushes winners and losers at
the expense of the American people. This year I introduced HR 1273, the Energy Savings and Building Efficiency Act of 2015,
which increases transparency and cost-effectiveness in the development
of model energy codes, which set the baseline for energy efficiency in
buildings. This legislation was successful and passed the House with
inclusion in HR 702,
common sense legislation that will help promote our energy security,
economic security and national security by lifting the ban on crude oil
exports. The four decades old ban on exporting crude oil was outdated
policy that needed to be updated to reflect current realities.
Fought for Tennessee’s creative community. The Protecting the Rights of Musicians Act, HR 1999,
is bipartisan legislation that would condition the ability of
broadcasters to opt for retransmission consent payments on whether radio
stations they own pay performers for their music. Further, a provision
that would prohibit the Federal Communications Commission from imposing
radio chip mandates for mobile devices has been added to the bill.
Internet radio pays music creators fair market value for their
performances, Satellite radio pays music creators for performances,
Cable and Satellite TV/radio stations pay music creators for their
performances. Everyone but AM/FM radio pays. This is a basic issue of
fairness that must be addressed. In addition, I’m leading the effort in
the House to ensure music creators receive fair compensation for their
work as the lead co-sponsor of HR 1733, the Fair Play Fair Pay Act.
It’s been a busy year. Thank you for staying in the
fight with me and I look forward to celebrating many more successes with
you.
-Marsha
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Lamar Alexander |
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) R., Tenn.) is leading the Senate dead-enders who are once again holding hostage the popular ban on Internet-only taxes. The House has passed a permanent ban several times, most recently as part of a larger customs bill. But Mr. Alexander and friends are blocking Senate action until Congress also votes on a more controversial measure to give state and local governments more authority to force out-of-state merchants to collect online sales taxes. Sen. Alexander tells us that his opposition to the Internet Tax Freedom Act is a “simple matter of federalism,” and that it’s “none of Washington’s business” whether states and localities want to apply new taxes online. The Senator is mis-defining federalism to justify more taxing. (link)I have supported Lamar Alexander ever since he first ran for governor. Back then, Tennessee was a predominantly Democrat state. East Tennessee was solidly Republican but the rest of the state was Democrat. Winfield Dunn had been elected governor in 1971 but was the first Republican to win that office in fifty years. At that time Governors could only serve one term. Following Governor Dunn, Democrat Congressman Ray Blanton ran for and won the office of Governor. It was not long into his term as governor that the accounts of corruption began being rumored. It was the selling of pardons and paroles that finally brought him down.
In the past I have often disagreed with some of the positions taken by Representative Rick Womick. Now however, I think Womick has come up with an idea that has merit and that is that the State should simply stop issuing marriage license. There is nothing that I am aware of that requires the state to issue marriage license. The Supreme Court has said the State can not refuse to issue a marriage license to two people of the same sex. However, what would happen it the State did not issue any marriage license?
People could still go to the local court house and have their marriage recorded, just as they can have a prenuptual agreement, a will, or a mortgage lien recorded. By recording something, the State bears no responsibility for its accuracy. If Donald Duck and Micky Mouse want to have a marriage license recorded, the recording authority is simply recording the data, not validating it. It three people want to record a "marriage" that does not in and of itself make it legal or condoned by the State. If people want to get married and not bother recording the marriage, that would be fine too; they would still be married. I like what Womick is saying. Unless I hear a persuasive agreement as to why this is not a good idea, I am for it.
I am not one who believes in the discredited theory of nullification. However, not cooperating with the Federal government is not the same as defying the Federal government. The U. S. Constitution does not even mention marriage. Surely there is no way the Federal government could force a state to issue marriage license if the state decided to get out of the business of doing so.
Rick Womick |
From time to time we hear anecdotal stories of the public school systems prohibiting students from expressing their Christian faith. Certainly it does happen, but if challenged, the public schools system often backs down. Also, schools systems often try to purge schools of any recognition of the dominant Christian culture in which we live by doing such things as changing "Christmas break" to "winter break." Because of a separation of church and state, school boards do not have to pretend that the school break that happens at the end of the year is not a "Christmas" break.
One reason secularist and politically correct bullies often win is because Christians are so damn meek and mild. Christians do have rights. If you don't stand up for your rights however, you will lose them.
The following list of "25 Surprising Facts about Religious Rights in Public Schools" is copied from an email I received from Tennessee Eagle Forum. Eagle Forum got if from Liberty Institute. To view the 33-page book that contains this list and other information about religious liberty in public schools see the Religious Liberty Protections Kit for Students and Teachers.
1. Students and educators do have First Amendment
religious rights inside public schools.
2. Students can speak about their faith even when
teachers must be neutral.
3. Schools cannot treat religious activity differently than other activity.
4. Students can pray during lunch, recess, or other
designated free time.
5. Students can pray silently during a school's
moment of silence.
6. Students can read the Bible or other religious
materials at school.
7. Students can share their faith with fellow students.
8. Schools can acknowledge religion.
9. Students can pray, either individually or as a
group, at school athletic competitions, student
assemblies, or other extracurricular activities
when school officials are not involved.
10. In many cases, a school district can allow student-
led prayer before an athletic competition (such as
a football game), a student assembly, or other
extracurricular event as part of the school
program.
11. Students can pray at graduation ceremonies or
include religious content in their speeches.
12. A public school can refer to "Christmas" and
have a "Christmas party" if the intent is not to
advance Christianity.
13. A public school can display Christmas
decorations if the intent is to teach and not part
of a religious exercise.
14. A public school can include religious Christmas
music, art, or drama in a school play or performance
if it is used to teach history or cultural heritage and
not advance a particular religion.
15. Students can give out Christmas gifts with
religious messages at school parties.
16. Students can incorporate their faith or religion
in classroom and homework assignments under
normal and appropriate circumstances.
17. A public school district cannot be hostile toward
religious beliefs.
18. Teachers and other public school employees can
discuss religion with students under many conditions.
19. Teachers and other public school employees can
discuss religion with other teachers or other school employees.
20. A public school or a teacher cannot limit religious speech by students unless they limit other speech.
21. Students can have a religious club at their school.
22. Religious student groups can meet on campus
whenever other non-curricular clubs can meet.
23. Religious clubs can use the same school resources available to non-religious clubs
(e.g., school facilities, bulletin boards, public address system) to promote or facilitate club events.
24. In most states, teachers or other public school employees may attend a religious student group's meetings in a supervisory role.
25. Members of religious student clubs can distribute flyers about meetings and events just like non-religious clubs.