Monthly Archives: February 2011

Take this job and Chuck it

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From the press office of Tennessee’s Third District Congressman:

Congressman Chuck Fleischmann announced today that he will begin his “Chuck on the Job” initiative next Thursday, February 24, during his second Constituent Work Week. Chuck will be working a shift at Hoskins Drug Store in Clinton, Tennessee.

“Business owners and employees across America have been hurting the last few years, and many of my colleagues in Washington have lost touch with the problems and the people experiencing them. That is why I am beginning my initiative to work at local businesses in the 3rd District as I return home throughout the year,” Fleischmann said.

“It is the small businesses, and those they hire, who are impacted the most by the regulations imposed by Congress. While I owned and operated a small business for 24 years, I want to continue to make sure I experience first-hand the challenges small businesses go through on a daily basis. I am looking forward to working alongside the same people I work for in Washington, and I will use my experiences, and my position on the Small Business Committee, to insure that business owners have a voice in Washington standing up for them.”

Congressman Fleischmann will continue his “Chuck on the Job” initiative regularly when he returns home for Constituent Work Weeks throughout the 112th Congress.

I know what your elected officials did last week

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Because I clearly hate myself, I am going to try writing a weekly digest that highlights key moments in our elected officials’ public lives. If you have an idea for a catchy series title, provide it below.

In the state House of Representatives, Deputy Speaker Steve McDaniel (R-Parkers Crossroads) introduced a bill that would change the rules and prohibit last-minute floor amendments, even though when Democrats controlled the Legislature, Republicans—including Majority Leader Gerald McCormick—had a lot of fun introducing such surprises. Tom Humphrey explains.

Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris (R-Germantown) championed a new state law that prohibits the Memphis City Schools system from immediately dissolving if a referendum scheduled for March 8 passes. Fellow Shelby County Senators Beverly Marrero and Jim Kyle, both Democrats, argued against it. Kyle shrewdly (if unsuccessfully) used the typically Republican argument for more local control over local matters. Norris countered that the Memphis school system is “a special special school district” and that the state has an overriding responsibility to make sure adequate education is provided. From the Memphis Flyer:

The bill, a response to the ongoing controversy over school-system merger and/or special school districts in Shelby County would restructure public-school education in the county and allow a merger of Memphis City Schools and Shelby County Schools in such a way [that might create] one or more special school districts.

Governor Bill Haslam created a little distance from some of his fellow Republicans in the General Assembly by suggesting that if immigration reform laws are too harsh, they might prevent international businesses from choosing Tennessee. Sen. Bill Ketron (R-Murfreesboro) said that he will work with the governor to address some of these concerns.

U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann invoked Mark Winslow‘s favorite British prime minister during a floor speech on behalf of small businesses. Meanwhile, Fleischmann’s chief of staff, Chip Saltsman, was quoted in a Politico article on the backlash suffered by former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum after Santorum made some admittedly gauche remarks about potential 2012 rival and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. “’One thing they don’t like in a Republican primary is attacking other Republicans,’ (Saltsman) said. ‘That’s not the best way to make a name for yourself.’” Is he perhaps citing a lesson learned?

Fleischmann also granted this blog an exclusive interview last week, the results of which are posted here.

U.S. Senator Bob Corker kept all of his committee assignments, which are Banking, Energy, Foreign Relations, and the Special Committee on Aging, of which he is the ranking Republican.

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander will make another attempt for the party’s whip (my hair back and forth?) position in the Senate, following the announcement that Sen. John Kyl (R-Ariz.) will retire. Side note: some Arizona Democrats are pushing for U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords to run for the open seat. Um, what? The courageous lady is amazingly recovering from being shot in the head. She ordered toast with breakfast. One step at a time, please.

Checking-in with Chuck

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U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann (R) was elected last November to serve Tennessee’s Third District in the 112th Congress. The congressman took time on Tuesday, February 8 — right before he was due on the House floor — to answer some questions for readers in this district and beyond.

Note: the questions and answers below are not verbatim, but are edited from notes taken during the conversation.

TennesseeTicket: How is the relationship between you (and other freshmen members) and the House leadership (Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.))?
Chuck Fleischmann: The entire Republican conference has changed for the better with the influx of 87 freshmen, mostly conservatives, including myself. The House is able to take action quickly, as freshmen are working with more senior members. The Senate has a slower process.

TT: You have said that reducing the deficit is a critical priority. What steps are you taking to do so?
CF: One, I voted to roll back all federal spending to 2008 levels, with the exception of the Department of Defense. Secondly, I co-signed a pledge to cut over one hundred billion dollars from the fiscal year 2011 budget. I have studied the proposals by Congressman Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.), our House Budget Committee chairman.

TT: Yes, Representative Ryan has outlined what some say is a bold plan, especially when it comes to entitlements. Do you agree with his across-the-board approach?
CF: With entitlement spending, the first thing we can do is to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse. It is our responsibility to make sure those are not happening.

TT: Though your party enjoys a majority in the House, obviously you’re working with a Democratic Party majority in the Senate, and of course a Democrat in the White House. How is this working so far?
CF: Excellent. Democrats are feeling pressure on the fiscal reforms, because they are looking ahead to the 2012 election, and they know that the American people will continue to send the message that they sent in 2010 if Washington does not respond to their demands.

TT: How do you balance cutting so much from the budget with economic needs in your district, such as Oak Ridge National Laboratory, or the Chickamauga lock?
CF: It’s about prioritizing spending, and getting the federal government back to its Constitutional duty. The Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a national security concern, so that is clearly a priority. Also, I believe infrastructure, such as highways, is another area where the federal government is right to be involved. Unfortunately, I understand that work has stopped on the Chickamauga lock; this has to be addressed. The key is to programmatically fund projects such as this.

TT: What do you most want to accomplish in your first year in Congress? What will you most proudly hold up when you come home for Christmas?
CF: I hope the accomplishment for which I’m most proud will be my work on the Small Business Committee to promote job growth in the private sector. There are areas in the district, such as Union and Claiborne Counties, that need to share in the growth that Bradley and Hamilton Counties have seen. We need to lower the barriers, like regulations and taxes, that prevent small business growth. We also need to sustain existing business—we don’t want to lose any businesses.

TT: Thank you for your time. It would be great to check-in like this on a semi-regular basis throughout the session, as time permits.
CF: Thank you. I look forward to it.

Chattarati editor-in-chief David Morton contributed to the inputs for this post.

A little (more) conversation

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Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger has kicked off his tenure with a series of community meetings, one in each county commission district, to be held over a period of seven weeks. The public is invited, as are local elected officials. Apparently the sessions can get preachy when the latter gets involved.

Two meetings are scheduled for next week: on Monday, Feb. 7, at East Hamilton School, and on Tuesday, Feb. 8, at East Ridge Middle School. Both start at 6:00 p.m. More information can be found at www.hamiltontn.gov/countyconversations or by calling (423) 209-6109.

Busting a CAP in federal spending

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U.S. Senators Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) have introduced a bill that would introduce sweeping cuts to the federal budget over the next decade. From Sen. Corker’s website:

The Commitment to American Prosperity Act, the “CAP Act,” would:

(1) Put in place a 10-year glide path to cap all spending – discretionary and mandatory – to a declining percentage of the country’s gross domestic product, eventually bringing spending down from the current level, 24.7 percent of GDP, to the 40-year historical level of 20.6 percent, and

(2) If Congress fails to meet the annual cap, authorize the Office of Management and Budget to make evenly distributed, simultaneous cuts throughout the federal budget to bring spending down to the pre-determined level. Only a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress could override the binding cap, and

(3) For the first time, eliminate the deceptive “off-budget” distinction for Social Security – providing a complete and accurate assessment of all federal spending.

Tennessee’s senior U.S. Senator, Lamar Alexander, is a co-sponsor, as are both senators from Georgia; the rest of the initial co-sponsor list comprises Republican Sens. Richard Burr of North Carolina, Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, Mark Kirk of Illinois, and John McCain of Arizona.