Alexander, L Sen

LCV 18%  lately at least against climate

http://scorecard.lcv.org/moc/lamar-alexanderRETIRING 3/19=no lnx<a href="https://www.alternet.org/2020/02/how-the-gop-controlled-senate-is-putting-the-pensions-of-1-3-million-americans-at-risk/">https://www.alternet.org/2020/02/how-the-gop-controlled-senate-is-putting-the-pensions-of-1-3-million-americans-at-risk/</a>How the GOP-controlled Senate is putting the pensions of 1.3 million Americans at riskImage via Wikimedia Commons.Written by Independent Media Institute February 12, 2020by Tom Conway
Glen Heck spent 28 years sweating in a Campti, Louisiana, paper mill that he likes to say was “hotter than nine kinds of hell.”
But now, Heck’s sacrifice may have been for nothing because his multiemployer pension plan is one of about 150 nationwide set to go broke. If that happens, the 78-year-old Heck will have to find a cheaper, lower-quality health plan and keep the beef herd he’s itching to sell.
The Democratic-controlled House passed—with bipartisan support—a commonsense plan to save Heck’s pension and those of another 1.3 million workers, retirees, and widows. But Republican leaders in the Senate refuse to consider it.
In the meantime, the futures of workers and retirees like Heck hang in the balance. Many face retirement with fear instead of anticipation.
Multiemployer pension plans like Heck’s include workers from two or more companies in industries such as transportation, entertainment, construction and paper. Employers make contributions for workers as part of their compensation. Heck and others often give up wage increases or other benefits to fund those plans.
Many of the 1,400 plans nationwide are still healthy. But through no fault of workers or retirees, about 150 are struggling.
Recessions in 2001 and 2008 cut the plans’ investment earnings, and some corporations used bankruptcies to evade pension obligations. Deregulation forced less-competitive companies out of business, straining the plans’ resources.
Now, they owe more money to beneficiaries than they have coming in, and they’re at risk of collapsing. The PACE Industry Union-Management Pension Fund (PIUMPF)—Heck’s plan—is one of them. According to recent projections, the fund will be insolvent in as few as 10 years.
Under the bill passed by the House, the Butch Lewis Act, the Treasury Department would loan money to troubled plans. The plans would use the money to meet their obligations to retirees, and they would repay the loans over 30 years.
The federal government already has an agency, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), to pay benefits to retirees when multiemployer plans crumble. But it’s no substitute for the Butch Lewis Act.
PBGC provides only a fraction of the benefits beneficiaries earned. Also, so many plans are imperiled that the PBGC’s insurance program itself is at risk of collapse.
If plans fail, workers and retirees will lose as much as 98 percent of their benefits. The Butch Lewis Act would ensure that they receive the money they earned, not pennies on the dollar.
Heck, a former officer with United Steelworkers (USW) Local 13-1331 in Campti, knows widows of paper workers—one with a small child—who’d be financially devastated without their late husbands’ pensions. He knows a retiree with major health problems who’d have no way of paying medical bills without his pension checks.
“He’s just worried to death about it,” said Heck, who worked at the paper mill under a handful of operators, including current owner International Paper.
Cedric McClinton, president of Local 13-1331 and a technician at the paper mill, said pensions are the main source of retirement income for many workers and retirees. If those benefits get cut, there’s no easy way to make up the difference.
“You’re either looking at working longer—and who wants to work until you’ve got one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel—or you’re looking at making concessions after you’ve worked all that time,” McClinton said.
Workers worry about downsizing their homes, giving up travel plans and going on government assistance programs.
“We talk about these things all the time,” McClinton said. “It’s real.”
Instead of passing the Butch Lewis Act to fix the pension crisis, Senate Republicans introduced legislation that would make the problem worse.
Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee want to increase the premiums that retirement plans pay PBGC—something that would push currently healthy plans into financial ruin and put more workers’ retirements in jeopardy. The added costs also would propel some employers into bankruptcy, costing workers their jobs.
Grassley and Alexander also want to increase taxes on pensions, taking a bigger slice of the benefits workers earned and imposing a greater burden on retirees unable to afford it.
Workers and retirees didn’t create the pension crisis. But Grassley and Alexander want them to pay for it.
“That’s mind-boggling,” fumed Travis Birchfield, who’s lobbied for the Butch Lewis Act on behalf of Evergreen Packaging workers represented by USW Local 507 in Canton, North Carolina. “We’ve done bailouts and tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires, and then working people can’t get a damn loan?”
Uncertainty gnaws at Birchfield’s coworkers. Some in their 60s are thinking about retirement, but hesitate because of the pension crisis.
“They’ll ask us, ‘what do you think is going to happen?’ We can’t answer those questions,” Birchfield said.
McClinton and Birchfield pounded the halls of the Capitol to share members’ stories and concerns. But Senate Republicans fail to get the message.
Pensions aren’t perks or “extras.” Workers earned these benefits, and they rely on that money being there during their golden years, just as members of Congress count on receiving taxpayer-subsidized pensions when they leave office.
Failing to pass the Butch Lewis Act means consigning 1.3 million Americans to meager retirements. Some will fall into poverty after supporting themselves all of their lives. Many already see their dreams slipping away.
These hardworking men and women deserve immediate Senate passage of a responsible bill that safeguards their futures.
“Nobody’s trying to get rich here,” Birchfield stressed. “We’re just trying to get our retirements.”
Tom Conway is the international president of the United Steelworkers Union (USW).
This article was produced by the Independent Media Institute.<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/21/opinion/to-slow-global-warming-we-need-nuclear-power.html" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none; font-size: small;">https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/21/opinion/to-slow-global-warming-we-need-nuclear-power.html</a>with whitehouse sen =no lnxRepublicans turn to Frank Luntz’s playbook instead of developing a real climate planRepublican senator's Green New Deal alternative puts lipstick on fossil fuels.JOE ROMMMAR 27, 2019, 1:27 PM
 Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), right, and Joe Manchin (D-WV) in the U.S. Capitol on December 2018. CREDIT: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call]The Senate “debate” about the Green New Deal resolution Tuesday revealed that while the American public is clamoring for concrete climate action, Republicans still deny climate science and have no plan for tackling the greatest preventable threat to the nation and the world.
Indeed, the only GOP senator to release a plan with any actual details is Lamar Alexander (R-TN). But in a remarkably self-contradictory NPR interview Tuesday, he claimed America can address the climate crisis by keeping coal plants open and building more natural gas plants.
One of the pillars of Alexander’s plan is a renewed push on “fusion” power, which the nation and the world have been pursuing for a half century and which experts say still won’t be commercial for many decades, if ever. Even Alexander’s plan concedes, “This is still a dream,” but expresses hope that we can make a little progress in five years.
All of the latest science makes clear that we have no time for dreams. Deep cuts in fossil fuel use and carbon pollution must be made by 2030, or we will be unable to stop a series of ever more costly climate impacts, including mega-droughts, super-storms, floods, and rapid sea level rise.

That’s the central point of the Green New Deal resolution, which calls for a plan to decarbonize the U.S. economy as rapidly as possible, starting with the electricity sector, where we have so many cost-effective alternative to fossil fuels, including solar, wind, and energy efficiency.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) unveils the Green New Deal resolution in front of the U.S. Capitol, February 7, 2019. CREDIT: Alex Wong/Getty Images.]‘Spectacular’ price drops for clean energy obliterate the cost arguments against Green New Deal]Some GOP senators mocked the whole notion of climate action, most notably Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) who went on a bizarre rant Tuesday about Star Wars and Sharknado. He ended by saying that the solution to climate change, like “the solution to so many of our problems,” is “to fall in love, get married, and have some kids.”
The remaining Republican senators were hardly more serious, since they repeated the tired talking points from a playbook developed two decades ago by Republican pollster and messaging expert Frank Luntz — a plan built around repeating the poll-tested words “technology” and “innovation” over and over and over.
“The way to do this consistent with American values and American capitalism is through technology and innovation,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said Tuesday.
Fox news has devoted more time to covering the Green New Deal than other TV media outlets.]The 20-year-old playbook that explains Republicans’ attacks on the Green New Deal“The Republicans want to solve this problem with belief in the innovation fairy” which “will spray innovation pixie dust on this problem and it’ll go away,” as Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) said Wednesday. “You can’t just say the word innovation, you have to change the economic structure to allow innovation to happen.”
Alexander’s 10-point plan — “A New Manhattan Project for Clean Energy” — is nothing but technology and innovation on steroids. There are no emissions reduction targets or specific goals of any kind.
But in reality, Republicans have long opposed or mocked actual federal investments in clean energy development. Remember their incessant mocking of loans to solar companies like Solyndra? And President Donald Trump has repeatedly proposed gutting federal investment in clean energy despite overwhelming popularity among GOP voters.
While Alexander may accept the scientific consensus that climate change is an urgent threat, a baby step many of his fellow Republicans have yet to take, his plan is empty and full of contradictions.
For instance, he bragged to NPR that “the United States leads the world in reducing carbon emissions.” But then he immediately criticized the “conversation” around the Green New Deal, saying that what Democrats “usually mean when they have this kind of conversation is, we’re going to close the coal plants. That’s not necessary.”
Apparently Alexander is unaware that the main reason we lead the world in reducing carbon emissions is that we lead the world in shutting down coal plants.
There is no possibility that some miracle technology will appear in a few years to somehow make existing coal plants both carbon free and yet more competitive than new solar and wind power plants. After all, those plants are already money losers without any new technology added on.
A major new report released this week found that replacing 74 percent of coal plants with renewable energy sources would immediately reduce costs. And by 2025, virtually all existing coal plants — and many natural gas plants — will be unable to compete with renewables.
Wind turbines generate electricity at the San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm near Palm Springs, California, with snow-covered Mt. San Jacinto in the background. CREDIT: Robert Alexander/Getty Images]It’s cheaper to replace most coal plants with renewables than keep them open, per reportYet Alexander’s plan calls for investment in natural gas power plants. Again, the country needs a carbon-free grid as soon as possible, not one built around dirty and costly fossil fuels.
The plan also calls for more nuclear power, while pointing out that “building the Vogtle nuclear plant in Georgia, the only two new reactors being built in the U.S., could cost as much as $27.5 billion,” and while conceding that the cleaner alternatives are 10 times cheaper. This is not a discrepancy that “innovation pixie dust” can fix.
“This is a bold agenda,” Alexander’s plan claims, but in reality it is just more delay, more hand-waving, more lipstick on a pig, more tired talking points from two decades ago.
All his plan demonstrates is just how intellectually bankrupt the entire Republican Party is in responding to the existential threat of climate change. =<a href="https://thinkprogress.org/faith-groups-epa-toxix-chemical-regulations-power-plants-5da1991f1969/">https://thinkprogress.org/faith-groups-epa-toxix-chemical-regulations-power-plants-5da1991f1969/</a>3/19Faith groups and a bipartisan alliance of lawmakers are coming out hard against the Trump administration’s efforts to rollback rules overseeing toxic chemicals at power plants.During a hearing on Monday, <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2019-03/documents/mats-public-hearing_preliminary_speaker_list-18march2019.pdf" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">representatives from a number of religious and spiritual organizations,</a> including evangelical Christian, Catholic, and Jewish groups, spoke out against the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) plans to weaken the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) rule.The MATS rule aims to limit the amount of mercury and other toxic gases emitted from power plants as a byproduct of burning coal or oil. The Trump administration has moved to weaken the rule in a boon to the fossil fuel industry that could see human health severely impacted, worrying a number of religious organizations in the process.And they aren’t alone in their objections. Also on Monday, a bipartisan group of senators <a href="https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/cache/files/19d7d59f-8a58-468b-85d7-248bd26ecc7d/dear-administrator-wheeler-final-w-signatures.pdf" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">wrote to EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler</a> opposing “any action that could lead to the undoing” of the MATS rule. The outpouring of objection from religious organizations coupled with emerging opposition from some Republicans marks a hard break with President Donald Trump, who will likely rely on groups including conservative Christians to maintain the presidency in 2020."When I hear the words ‘protect human health’ I think of Jesus,” said Melody Zhang, a member of Young Evangelicals for Climate Action (YECA), at the public hearing Monday. “Jesus always acted out of compassion for the under-heard. I challenge you to live out this EPA mission by upholding the Mercury Rule.”Zhang was among more than a dozen speakers associated with a faith group that spoke out against the MATS rollback during the hearing. They were joined by many others; the all-day event saw speakers ranging from medical professionals opposing the rule change to hardline supporters of the rollback like representatives from Murray Energy, the coal company that once hired Wheeler as a lobbyist.The number of religious groups opposing the administration’s anti-environment agenda is far from a monolith and many people of faith have supported the president’s mass rollback of environmental regulations more generally. But for the speakers on Monday, the connection between faith and upholding rules like MATS is clear.“We start with the concept that we care for God’s creation,” Jose Aguto, associate director for the Catholic Climate Covenant, told ThinkProgress. “Especially the poor and vulnerable … we find that the measure of every institution is life and dignity.”Established in 2011, the Obama-era MATS rule limits hazardous pollution at both coal and oil-burning power plants. The standards have been credited with saving up to 17,000 lives per year, even as the energy industry and other stakeholders have sought to block MATS through litigation.The EPA, however, isn’t moving to get rid of MATS entirely. Instead, the agency would reduce the emphasis the rule places on public health data, which justifies costs to power plants by prioritizing the well-being of people. The EPA would subsequently place emphasis on the costs to fossil fuel interests, which can be steep. That new approach would greatly reduce the effectiveness of MATS, likely threatening thousands of lives in the process.Weakening the MATS rule, Aguto said, “threatens life and dignity.” As a Catholic, he emphasized concern for the health of fetuses; mercury is a toxin that can have severe impacts in utero, causing brain damage along with potential hearing and vision problems.“We feel that this is a real threat,” Aguto continued, calling any MATS rollback a “renunciation of the EPA’s very mission.”<div class="related-contentwrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit; padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-rollback-mercury-rule-trump-obama-health-coal-e66b43ec1501/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><div class="related-contentimage" style="box-sizing: inherit; align-self: flex-start; margin: 0px 1rem 0px 0px; width: 171px;"><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-rollback-mercury-rule-trump-obama-health-coal-e66b43ec1501/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;"></a><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-rollback-mercury-rule-trump-obama-health-coal-e66b43ec1501/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-rollback-mercury-rule-trump-obama-health-coal-e66b43ec1501/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-rollback-mercury-rule-trump-obama-health-coal-e66b43ec1501/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-rollback-mercury-rule-trump-obama-health-coal-e66b43ec1501/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-rollback-mercury-rule-trump-obama-health-coal-e66b43ec1501/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-rollback-mercury-rule-trump-obama-health-coal-e66b43ec1501/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/epa-rollback-mercury-rule-trump-obama-health-coal-e66b43ec1501/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;"><figure class="postfigure postfigure--format-thumbnail" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; max-width: 100%;"><div class="postthumbnail" style="box-sizing: inherit; overflow: hidden; position: relative;"><picture id="picture-1089503" class="wp-image-1089503 size-full " data-id="1089503" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><source srcset="https://i0.wp.com/thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/GettyImages-1020826564.jpg?w=1920&crop=0%2C0px%2C100%2C1280px&ssl=1" media="(min-width: 1920px)" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><source srcset="https://i0.wp.com/thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/GettyImages-1020826564.jpg?w=1920&crop=0%2C0px%2C100%2C1280px&ssl=1" media="(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1920px)" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><source srcset="https://i0.wp.com/thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/GettyImages-1020826564.jpg?w=1024&crop=0%2C0px%2C100%2C683px&ssl=1" media="(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px)" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><source srcset="https://i0.wp.com/thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/GettyImages-1020826564.jpg?w=1024&crop=0%2C0px%2C100%2C683px&ssl=1" media="(min-width: 512px) and (max-width: 1024px)" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><source srcset="https://i0.wp.com/thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/GettyImages-1020826564.jpg?w=768&crop=0%2C0px%2C100%2C512px&ssl=1" media="(min-width: 512px) and (max-width: 768px)" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><source srcset="https://i0.wp.com/thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/GettyImages-1020826564.jpg?w=512&crop=0%2C0px%2C100%2C341px&ssl=1" media="(max-width: 512px)" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><source srcset="https://i0.wp.com/thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/GettyImages-1020826564.jpg?w=768&crop=0%2C0px%2C100%2C512px&ssl=1" media="(max-width: 768px)" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><source srcset="https://i0.wp.com/thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/GettyImages-1020826564.jpg?w=3000&crop=0%2C0px%2C100%2C2000px&ssl=1" media="all" style="box-sizing: inherit;">
</source></source></source></source></source></source></source></source></picture></div></figure></a></div><div class="related-contentbody" style="box-sizing: inherit; width: 513px;"><h3 class="related-content__title" style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 2rem; margin: 0px;">EPA to roll back mercury rule in a boon to coal industry and blow to human health</h3></div></div>Speakers associated with faith groups on Monday talked about the role religion has played in their opposition to the Trump administration’s environmental regulation rollbacks, with an emphasis on health concerns.“As I read the Scriptures of my own faith, we are called to follow the example of Jesus Christ, who protected the poor, the marginalized, and the vulnerable — and advised the mighty and the powerful to do the same,” said Rev. Susan Hendershot, president of the organization Interfaith Power and Light, during her testimony, later shared with ThinkProgress.Rolling back MATS, Hendershot argued, would be “morally unacceptable” and at odds with “Christian tradition.”Mirele B. Goldsmith, who spoke on behalf of the Jewish Climate Action Network (JCAN) on Monday, relayed similar concerns about health and the environment to ThinkProgress.“We are seeing a surge in activism by Jews across the country who want to see more, not less, protection for people and nature,” said Goldsmith. “We feel compelled to take action in our homes and synagogues, and to speak up for our values in public.”The faith groups’ opposition comes as bipartisan concern grows over efforts to weaken MATS. The letter sent on Monday to Wheeler included among its signatories Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Susan Collins (R-ME), Tom Carper (D-DE), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Joe Manchin (D-WV). Collectively, the lawmakers argue, “cleaner air means better health, a better economy, and better jobs for residents of our states.”Tillis and Collins are both eyeing re-election in 2020, while Alexander is retiring. Their show of support for the MATS rule indicates that, <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/offshore-drilling-bipartisan-opposition-trump-00d389c5d084/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">along with issues like offshore drilling</a>, clean air could become a bipartisan rallying point during the election.For the faith groups that testified Monday, that line in the sand has already been cemented. Aguto pointed to MATS as a “shining example” of the wider federal assault on environmental regulations.“When we talk about mercury, it’s been recognized for decades as being damaging to human health,” he said. “So to see a reversal of those protections, given decades of medical understanding … [it] is beyond troubling.”https://www.carper.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2018/8/senators-carper-and-alexander-call-on-epa-to-keep-mercury-and-air-toxics-standards-rule-in-placemercury<div class="header" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(40, 59, 90); font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;"><h4 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-weight: 300; line-height: 22px; color: rgb(117, 121, 124); margin: 0px 0px 10px; border: 0px; padding: 0px;">Aug 24 2018</h4></div><div class="post-body" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(40, 59, 90); font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;"><div class="content" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="post-content" style="box-sizing: border-box;">WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), top Democrat on the Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW), and Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), sent a <a href="https://www.epw.senate.gov/public/cache/files/a/d/adb9d439-c3e6-43da-beb1-c58f86ff0a86/2DE02898C197F3615F58FB3F2220575B.18-8-24-carper-alexander-mats-letter-redacted.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; color: rgb(40, 59, 90); text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-color 0.2s ease 0s, color 0.2s ease 0s;">letter</a> to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in support of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) rule. On February 16, 2012, EPA published the MATS rule, which resulted in the first-ever federal standards to limit mercury, acid gases and other air toxic pollution from fossil-fuel power plants. Prior to the rule, fossil-fuel power plants were the largest source of unregulated mercury in the country. MATS has achieved a 90% reduction in mercury power plant emissions. In April 2017, the D.C. Circuit Court granted EPA’s request to delay litigation against MATS, as the agency determines if it wants to make any changes to the rule. The senators’ letter follows a <a href="https://www.eenews.net/assets/2018/07/11/document_gw_04.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; color: rgb(40, 59, 90); text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-color 0.2s ease 0s, color 0.2s ease 0s;">letter</a> by the utility industry also asking EPA to keep the MATS protections in place because investments in air control technology have already been made and installed.Senators Carper and Alexander wrote, “Keeping the current rule in place will provide much-needed certainty for the electric power industry and help protect the health of all Americans.”The senators continued, “EPA struck the right balance between protecting the environment, public health and our economy.  For these reasons and more, we strongly supported the MATS rule when it was finalized and still support the rule today.” “MATS has been a success, and changing the MATS rule just doesn’t make sense,” the senators wrote. A copy of the letter can be found <a href="https://www.epw.senate.gov/public/cache/files/a/d/adb9d439-c3e6-43da-beb1-c58f86ff0a86/2DE02898C197F3615F58FB3F2220575B.18-8-24-carper-alexander-mats-letter-redacted.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; color: rgb(40, 59, 90); text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-color 0.2s ease 0s, color 0.2s ease 0s;">HERE</a>, and the full text of the letter is below:...</div></div></div>4 gop green senhttps://thinkprogress.org/these-4-republican-senators-are-forming-a-group-to-tackle-climate-change-dc667e9f8eb5#.lb11aa1tc==

running 2014  <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamar_Alexander">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamar_Alexander</a>In December 2012, Alexander announced he would be seeking re-election to a third Senate term in 2014.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamar_Alexander#cite_note-57" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[57]</a>In an August 2013 letter to Alexander signed by over twenty Tennessee <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_Party_movement" title="Tea Party movement" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">tea-party</a> groups, the groups called on Alexander to retire from the Senate in 2014, or face a primary challenge.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamar_Alexander#cite_note-58" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[58]</a> The letter stated: "During your tenure in the Senate we have no doubt that you voted in a way which you felt was appropriate. Unfortunately, our great nation can no longer afford compromise and bipartisanship, two traits for which you have become famous. America faces serious challenges and needs policymakers who will defend <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservatism_in_the_United_States" title="Conservatism in the United States" style="color: rgb(11, 0, 128); text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">conservative values</a>, not work with those who are actively undermining those values."<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamar_Alexander#cite_note-59" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[59]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamar_Alexander#cite_note-60" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[60]</a>

----http://www.alternet.org/print/civil-liberties/inside-nras-bizarre-battle-prevent-ban-sale-ivory-us
==

wants good air in Tenn

threatened with primary by koch$/inhofe:

But the effort may have broader implications. Tea party groups — like FreedomWorks — are potentially gearing up to target Alexander in his 2014 primary just as Sens. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) were targeted by the right this year.

The perception that Inhofe was tied to the groups’ activities was further enhanced given the background of one of his key committee aides. Inhofe’s deputy staff director on the panel, David Banks, was a partner for C. Boyden Gray’s Washington, D.C., law firm before coming to the committee. Gray is on the board of directors for FreedomWorks and has also had ties with Americans for Prosperity.

---full:=
 politico:<table cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" width="650"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2">Senators clear the air in a toxic dispute
By: Darren Goode
June 14, 2012 10:38 PM EDT</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="story" valign="top" style="margin-bottom: 7px; margin-top: 5px; display: block;">A disagreement between Republican Sens. <a href="http://www.politico.com/tag/jim-inhofe" target="blank" style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 51, 153);">Jim Inhofe</a> and <a href="http://www.politico.com/tag/lamar-alexander" target="blank" style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 51, 153);">Lamar Alexander</a> over circumventing the Environmental Protection Agency’s air toxics rule for power plants got personal this week.Alexander was surprised at a news release that Inhofe’s Environment and Public Works Committee staff sent out Tuesday that questioned the political motives behind Alexander’s opposition to the Oklahoma Republican’s upcoming Senate vote challenging EPA’s so-called utility MACT rule.People close to Alexander have also suggested that Inhofe or his staff might have been directly involved in an effort by tea party groups to pressure Alexander and other senators in both parties to vote for Inhofe’s challenge. And the same groups may go after Alexander in his 2014 primary.Tuesday’s press advisory for a noon speech Inhofe was giving on the Senate floor that day — along with the speech itself — called an alternative plan offered by Alexander and Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) a “cover vote” for senators in a tough spot over Inhofe’s challenge.The advisory from Inhofe’s committee staff also embedded a <a href="https://www.politicopro.com/story/energy/?id=12037" target="_blank" style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 51, 153);">POLITICO article</a> describing television, radio and online ads by tea party groups targeting Alexander and several other senators regarding the vote.That led to a direct confrontation between the two Republicans at a closed-door Senate GOP policy lunch Tuesday in the Capitol, multiple aides said.“There was an honest misunderstanding between the two of us,” Inhofe told POLITICO on Wednesday.Inhofe said Alexander was troubled by the implication that the Oklahoma Republican was personally working with outside groups to target fellow Republicans.“I’ve got all the stuff here to give him so he knows exactly what I said,” Inhofe said while opening a manila envelope with papers in it as he headed into another Senate GOP lunch Wednesday. “Certainly, I was not implying that I would have had people call his office and all that, which I didn’t do. That was this large group of people that are supporting this thing.”Inhofe was in the middle of pointing out the number of groups that support his effort when Alexander walked by on his way into Wednesday’s lunch.Inhofe pulled him aside into an alcove, and the two spoke for a few minutes before heading into the lunch together.Afterward, Inhofe said all is OK between the two.“That was a misunderstanding of a press release, and it’s been clarified now and we’re very close, very good friends,” Inhofe said.An Alexander aide echoed that there are no hard feelings. “They’ve been friends and colleagues for a long time and simply have a disagreement over policy,” the aide said.But privately, some Republicans have grumbled that Inhofe stepped over the line and violated an unwritten rule by politically going after a fellow Republican.For Alexander, this includes the insinuation by Inhofe that the Tennessee Republican’s alternative with Pryor is merely political protection for other senators.Alexander has long argued that EPA regulations, if done properly, are essential to preserving the air quality in his state — which includes the Great Smoky Mountains and other tourist attractions. “Ever since I’ve been in the United States Senate, I’ve introduced legislation to clean up the air in Tennessee,” Alexander said on the Senate floor Tuesday afternoon. Earlier Tuesday on the floor, Inhofe had said the point of the Alexander-Pryor proposal was “just to have something out there that senators in a tough spot can claim to support.” Their proposal would extend the compliance deadline for companies under the utility MACT to six years, while Inhofe’s would kill the rule altogether.Inhofe said he isn’t backing away from that assertion. “I still say that,” he said Wednesday.After he spoke with Alexander on Wednesday, Inhofe further emphasized that while he appreciates the effort of outside groups looking to scrounge up support for his challenge, he isn’t personally involved and doesn’t even know what they’re up to.“They’re not even asking me for advice as to what to do,” he said. “They’re running their own ads. I don’t even know what they’ve run or where they’ve run.”Inhofe said his staff “without my knowledge” included a copy of the POLITICO story in Tuesday’s press advisory, and Alexander “thought that was from me.”“I had nothing to do with that. And I think he understands that now,” Inhofe said after Wednesday’s lunch.The article described a pledged $1 million set of radio and TV ads from American Commitment, a group led by Phil Kerpen, a former vice president for policy at Americans for Prosperity. Kerpen’s group has been running ads in Tennessee, West Virginia, New Hampshire and Maine.Those include ads urging Alexander to “stand up for Tennessee” with his vote.A separate online campaign from the tea-party-backing FreedomWorks is running in Tennessee, West Virginia, Florida, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio and Pennsylvania.Inhofe said FreedomWorks is “an independent organization, they can do anything they want.”Inhofe had participated in an episode of “Tea Time with Max Pappas,” an online show hosted by FreedomWorks, that ran May 31 and included discussion of Inhofe’s utility MACT challenge. But Inhofe on Wednesday said he didn’t know how extensively the group was working around the vote.“I’m glad they are. There may be some targets that they can influence,” he said.But the effort may have broader implications. Tea party groups — like FreedomWorks — are potentially gearing up to target Alexander in his 2014 primary just as Sens. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) were targeted by the right this year.The perception that Inhofe was tied to the groups’ activities was further enhanced given the background of one of his key committee aides. Inhofe’s deputy staff director on the panel, David Banks, was a partner for C. Boyden Gray’s Washington, D.C., law firm before coming to the committee. Gray is on the board of directors for FreedomWorks and has also had ties with Americans for Prosperity.An Inhofe spokesman said it is committee practice not to have aides comment to the media but emphasized that Inhofe and Alexander have been longtime friends and that the Oklahoma Republican himself has had “no involvement in going after Sen. Alexander in any kind of capacity.”Manu Raju contributed to this report.</td></tr></tbody></table>

Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.

“Is climate change happening? Yes. I don’t know how much [man-made emissions contribute], but the national academies of science of all the industrial countries say it’s a significant amount. So let me put it this way: If it were a house, I’d buy fire insurance.”

----

NORMAN ORNSTEIN: Let me just offer a bit of a caveat here on two fronts. First, we're not saying Democrats are angels here. Plenty of flaws there. But I also hold out still some hope for the Senate. You have a number of Republicans in the Senate, and this has less to do with ideology than with focus. Are you there to solve problems, or are you there either to pursue a radical agenda or to gain political advantage? Everybody's going to look for political advantage.

There are problem-solvers in the Senate. They are flawed ones, as we saw with the gun bill. You know, people like Lamar Alexander or Bob Corker, who joined with most of their colleagues. But I've talked to them when it comes to either reforming the nomination process, doing something in a larger fiscal sense that will include revenues, acting on immigration. I think you've got some opportunities here. Those opportunities will go to the House, and the only way they'll pass is with far more Democrats than Republicans. And they may not make it through. But we don't have a lost cause yet in the Senate.

===

<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Lamar_Alexander">http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Lamar_Alexander</a>

<h3>Environmental record</h3>

For more information on environmental legislation, see the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Portal:Energy_and_Environment_Policy_%28U.S.%29" title="Portal:Energy and Environment Policy (U.S.)">Energy and Environment Policy Portal</a>

<h4>Introduced carbon-capture legislation</h4>

Alexander introduced legislation with Sen. <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Barbara_Boxer" title="Barbara Boxer">Barbara Boxer</a> (D-Calif.) in May 2007 that would make the Capital Power Plant a demonstration site for new carbon-capture technologies. The bill would authorize the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Environmental_Protection_Agency" title="Environmental Protection Agency" class="mw-redirect">Environmental Protection Agency</a> (EPA) to award a competitive $3 million contract for a 2-year project. The measure would require technology that has been used in at least three other power plants that are at least five times larger than the Capital Power Plant.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Lamar_Alexander#cite_note-0" title="">[1]</a>

<h3>Oil record</h3>

Lamar Alexander has voted in favor of big oil companies on 89% of important oil-related bills, according to <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Oil_Change_International" title="Oil Change International">Oil Change International</a>. These bills include Iraq War funding, climate change studies, clean energy, and oil import reductions. <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Lamar_Alexander#cite_note-1" title="">[2]</a> See below for oil money in politics.

On May 10, 2005, Sen. Alexander voted for the REAL ID Act of 2005, included in the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Tsunami Relief (H.R.1268), which passed the Senate unanimously. However, the Senator still criticized the driver's license provisions of the REAL ID Act, which he said would create national identification cards and leave state governments with the responsibility for paying for them. He stated, "It is possible that some Governor may look at this and say: Wait a minute, who are these people in Washington telling us what to do with our driver's licenses and making us pay for them, too?"

<dl>

<dd>Main article: <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=REAL_ID_Act_of_2005" title="REAL ID Act of 2005">REAL ID Act of 2005</a></dd>

</dl>

<h3>Anonymous hold on Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act</h3>

On April 17, 2007, when Sens. <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Dianne_Feinstein" title="Dianne Feinstein">Dianne Feinstein</a> (D-Calif.) and <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Russ_Feingold" title="Russ Feingold">Russ Feingold</a> (D-Wis.) brought the Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act, which would require senators to file their campaign finance reports electronically to the Federal Election Commission, to the floor for a unanimous consent motion, Sen. Alexander objected to the bill for an anonymous senator from the Republican side. This anonymous objection amounted to a senator placing a “secret hold” on the bill, effectively stopping it.

<dl>

<dd>Main article: <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Senate_Campaign_Disclosure_Parity_Act_of_2007" title="Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act of 2007">Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act of 2007</a></dd>

</dl>

...

<h4>Conference chairmanship</h4>

On December 6, 2007 Alexander won a Senate Republican leadership vote to become the chairman of the GOP Conference, the third highest-ranking leadership spot of the party in the Senate. The position spearheads the caucus’s messaging and communications strategy. Alexander, in a secret ballot of 31-16, defeated Sen. <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Richard_Burr" title="Richard Burr">Richard Burr</a> (R-N.C.) who attempted to appeal to more junior conservatives, arguing that fresh ideas were needed to reform a party that had lost its way on federal spending issues. After winning, Alexander said he planned to visit the other 48 Republican senators and craft a message aimed at attracting independent voters while energizing the base.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Lamar_Alexander#cite_note-Raja_12-06-2007-2" title="">[3]</a>

Alexander’s victory came one year after Sen. <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Trent_Lott" title="Trent Lott">Trent Lott</a> (R-Miss.) won in an upset by one vote for the position of minority whip, the second ranking position. In late November 2007 Lott announced he would resign from the Senate at the end of December, opening his caucus position. Current Conference Chairman <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=John_Kyl&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="John Kyl (page does not exist)">John Kyl</a> (R-Ariz.) moved up to the minority whip spot uncontested. Kyl and Alexander would assume their new roles January 1, 2008.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Lamar_Alexander#cite_note-Raja_12-06-2007-2" title="">[3]</a>

<h2>Money in politics</h2>

This section contains links to – and feeds from – money in politics databases. <crpcontribdata>cid=N00009888&cycle=2006</crpcontribdata>

<table class="prettytable"><tbody><tr><th colspan="3">Links to more campaign contribution information for Lamar Alexander

from the Center for Responsive Politics' <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org" class="external text" title="http://www.opensecrets.org" rel="nofollow">OpenSecrets.org</a> site.</th></tr><tr><td>Fundraising profile:</td><td><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.asp?cycle=2006&cid=N00009888" class="external text" title="http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.asp?cycle=2006&cid=N00009888" rel="nofollow">2006 election cycle</a></td><td><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/allsummary.asp?cid=N00009888" class="external text" title="http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/allsummary.asp?cid=N00009888" rel="nofollow">Career totals</a></td></tr><tr><td>Top contributors by organization/corporation:</td><td><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/contrib.asp?cycle=2006&cid=N00009888" class="external text" title="http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/contrib.asp?cycle=2006&cid=N00009888" rel="nofollow">2006 election cycle</a></td><td><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/allcontrib.asp?cid=N00009888" class="external text" title="http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/allcontrib.asp?cid=N00009888" rel="nofollow">Career totals</a></td></tr><tr><td>Top contributors by industry:</td><td><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/indus.asp?cycle=2006&cid=N00009888" class="external text" title="http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/indus.asp?cycle=2006&cid=N00009888" rel="nofollow">2006 election cycle</a></td><td><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/allindus.asp?cid=N00009888" class="external text" title="http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/allindus.asp?cid=N00009888" rel="nofollow">Career totals</a></td></tr></tbody></table>

<ul>

<li><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/revolving/search_result.asp?mem=Alexander%2C+Lamar" class="external text" title="http://www.opensecrets.org/revolving/search_result.asp?mem=Alexander%2C+Lamar" rel="nofollow">Revolving door profile for Lamar Alexander</a> from the Center for Responsive Politics' <a href="http://www.OpenSecrets.org" class="external text" title="http://www.OpenSecrets.org" rel="nofollow">OpenSecrets.org</a> website.</li>

<li><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/travel.asp?CID=N00009888" class="external text" title="http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/travel.asp?CID=N00009888" rel="nofollow">2006 privately funded travel profile for Lamar Alexander</a> from the Center for Responsive Politics' <a href="http://www.OpenSecrets.org" class="external text" title="http://www.OpenSecrets.org" rel="nofollow">OpenSecrets.org</a> website.</li>

<li><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/pfds/candlook.php?CID=N00009888" class="external text" title="http://www.opensecrets.org/pfds/candlook.php?CID=N00009888" rel="nofollow">Personal finance profile for Lamar Alexander</a> from the Center for Responsive Politics' <a href="http://www.OpenSecrets.org" class="external text" title="http://www.OpenSecrets.org" rel="nofollow">OpenSecrets.org</a> website.</li>

</ul>

<h3>Oil money in politics</h3>

Lamar Alexander has received $127,350 in oil contributions during the 110th congress. $76,500 of those dollars were from industry PACS. <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Lamar_Alexander#cite_note-3" title="">[4]</a>In total, Alexander has accepted $256,400 from oil companies since 2000, which makes him one of the top recipients of oil money in the Senate.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Lamar_Alexander#cite_note-4" title="">[5]</a> See above for oil and energy voting record.

==

Grist:

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) is a patient politician. At age 38, he <a href="http://www.vanderbilt.edu/magazines/vanderbilt-magazine/2010/04/deep-roots-strong-tree/">walked a thousand miles</a> around the state of Tennessee to win support, door to door, for his successful campaign to become the state's governor. Now, at 71, Alexander is facing another grueling slog: building political consensus around issues like energy and climate change at a time of seemingly intractable congressional gridlock.

The senator recently announced plans to <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0911/63919.html">forfeit his role</a> as Republican Conference chair, the No. 3 leadership position in the Senate, so he'll be free to reach across the aisle and work toward bipartisan solutions. "[S]ome of us have to be willing to try to get results that include coalitions," <a href="http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/mobile/?type=story&id=2016301107&">he said</a>. That's a rare sentiment at a time when the Tea Party is pushing Republican politics toward right-wing intransigence.

Alexander has bucked the party line on issues like climate change (he believes it's human-caused), cleantech R&D (he wants to plow big money into electric cars and solar), mountaintop-removal coal mining (he opposes it), and a carbon tax (he's at least willing to consider it, even if he's not yet endorsing it). Still, this self-described "<a href="http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_209507.asp">very Republican Republican</a>" is right in line with the GOP in his love for nuclear power and offshore drilling. He sets himself apart from both parties with his deep-seated aversion to wind power.

I spoke with the renegade senator by phone last week about his vision for America's energy future and the role he wants to play in shaping it.

<h2>Top 5 Industries, 2005-2010, Campaign Cmte</h2>

</div>

<table id="topIndus" class="datadisplay"><thead><tr><th>Industry</th><th>Total</th><th>Indivs</th><th>PACs</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr class="rowTint"><td>Lawyers/Law Firms</td><td class="number">$403,900</td><td class="number">$307,650</td><td class="number">$96,250</td></tr><tr><td>Retired</td><td class="number">$345,966</td><td class="number">$345,966</td><td class="number">$0</td></tr><tr class="rowTint"><td>Real Estate</td><td class="number">$345,050</td><td class="number">$304,550</td><td class="number">$40,500</td></tr><tr><td>Leadership PACs</td><td class="number">$305,550</td><td class="number">$0</td><td class="number">$305,550</td></tr><tr class="rowTint"><td>Securities & Investment</td><td class="number">$255,749</td><td class="number">$216,749</td><td class="number">$39,000</td></tr></tbody></table>

</div>

=wiki<h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">Science<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap; unicode-bidi: -webkit-isolate;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lamar_Alexander&action=edit&section=7&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Science" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">edit</a>]</h3>In 2007, a species of springtail, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosberella_lamaralexanderi" title="Cosberella lamaralexanderi" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Cosberella lamaralexanderi</a>, was named in his honor partially because of his support in the Senate for scientific research funding.<h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">Health care reform<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap; unicode-bidi: -webkit-isolate;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lamar_Alexander&action=edit&section=8&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Health care reform" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">edit</a>]</h3>On July 15, 2009, Alexander voted against President Obama's health care reform bill in the Senate<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health,Education,Labor_and_Pensions_Committee" title="Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee</a>.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamar_Alexander#cite_note-39" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[39]</a> Alexander stated that he opposed the bill because he says it will result in higher state taxes, an increased federal debt, government-run health care, and Medicare cuts, and instead supports a different approach to reform.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamar_Alexander#cite_note-40" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[40]</a> Alexander voted against the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patient_Protection_and_Affordable_Care_Act" title="Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act</a> in December 2009,<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamar_Alexander#cite_note-senate-41" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[41]</a> and he voted against the<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_Care_and_Education_Reconciliation_Act_of_2010" title="Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010</a>.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamar_Alexander#cite_note-42" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[42]</a><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">Bipartisanship<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap; unicode-bidi: -webkit-isolate;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lamar_Alexander&action=edit&section=9&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Bipartisanship" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">edit</a>]</h3>According to the 2009 annual vote studies by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congressional_Quarterly" title="Congressional Quarterly" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Congressional Quarterly</a>, Alexander is one of the most bipartisan Republican members of the Senate.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamar_Alexander#cite_note-43" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[43]</a> According to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Journal" title="National Journal" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">National Journal</a>’s 2009 Vote Ratings, he was ranked as the 32nd most conservative member in the Senate.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamar_Alexander#cite_note-44" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[44]</a>On June 25, 2009, Lamar Alexander was one of 8 Republicans to cross the aisle and vote for confirmation of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Hongju_Koh" title="Harold Hongju Koh" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Harold Hongju Koh</a> as Legal Adviser to the State Department.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamar_Alexander#cite_note-45" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[45]</a> Five days later, Alexander again broke ranks with conservative Senate Republicans when he announced his support for the nomination of Supreme Court nominee <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonia_Sotomayor" title="Sonia Sotomayor" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Sonia Sotomayor</a>.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamar_Alexander#cite_note-46" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[46]</a><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">Background Checks<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap; unicode-bidi: -webkit-isolate;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lamar_Alexander&action=edit&section=10&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Background Checks" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">edit</a>]</h3>In April 2013, Senator Alexander was one of forty-six senators to vote against the passing of a bill which would have expanded background checks for all gun buyers. Alexander voted with 40 Republicans and 5 Democrats to stop the bill.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamar_Alexander#cite_note-nytimes-47" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[47]</a><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">Committee assignments<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap; unicode-bidi: -webkit-isolate;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lamar_Alexander&action=edit&section=11&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Committee assignments" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">edit</a>]</h3><ul style="line-height: 22.4px; margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" png="png" base64="base64" ivborw0kggoaaaansuheugaaaauaaaanaqmaaabb8jblaaaablbmvex="iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAUAAAANAQMAAABb8jbLAAAABlBMVEX" auow5qsojaaaaaxrstlmaqobyzgaaabnjrefucb1jyeabbqw="AUow5QSOjAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAABNJREFUCB1jYEABBQw" wlcagqeagpidyt0ivcsaaaaasuvork5cyii="); color: rgb(37, 37, 37); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" xmlns:data="data"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_Committee_on_Appropriations" title="United States Senate Committee on Appropriations" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Committee on Appropriations</a><ul style="line-height: 1.6; list-style-type: disc; margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAUAAAANAQMAAABb8jbLAAAABlBMVEX///8AUow5QSOjAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAABNJREFUCB1jYEABBQw/wLCAgQEAGpIDyT0IVcsAAAAASUVORK5CYII=);"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_Appropriations_Subcommittee_on_Energy_and_Water_Development" title="United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development</a> (Ranking Member)</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_Appropriations_Subcommittee_on_Commerce,Justice,Science,and_Related_Agencies" title="United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_Appropriations_Subcommittee_on_Labor,Health_and_Human_Services,Education,and_Related_Agencies" title="United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_Appropriations_Subcommittee_on_Transportation,Housing_and_Urban_Development,and_Related_Agencies" title="United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_Appropriations_Subcommittee_on_Defense" title="United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Subcommittee on Defense</a></li></ul></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_Committee_on_Health,Education,Labor,and_Pensions" title="United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions</a> (Ranking Member)<ul style="line-height: 1.6; list-style-type: disc; margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAUAAAANAQMAAABb8jbLAAAABlBMVEX///8AUow5QSOjAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAABNJREFUCB1jYEABBQw/wLCAgQEAGpIDyT0IVcsAAAAASUVORK5CYII=);"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_Health_Subcommittee_on_Children_and_Families" title="United States Senate Health Subcommittee on Children and Families" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Subcommittee on Children and Families</a> (Ex Officio)</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_Health_Subcommittee_on_Employment_and_Workplace_Safety" title="United States Senate Health Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety</a> (Ex Officio)</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_Health_Subcommittee_on_Primary_Health_and_Aging" title="United States Senate Health Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging</a> (Ex Officio)</li></ul></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_Committee_on_Rules_and_Administration" title="United States Senate Committee on Rules and Administration" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Committee on Rules and Administration</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Congress_Joint_Committee_on_Inaugural_Ceremonies" title="United States Congress Joint Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Joint Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Congress_Joint_Committee_on_the_Library" title="United States Congress Joint Committee on the Library" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Joint Committee on the Library</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Congress_Joint_Committee_on_Printing" title="United States Congress Joint Committee on Printing" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Joint Committee on Printing</a></li></ul><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">Caucus memberships<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap; unicode-bidi: -webkit-isolate;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lamar_Alexander&action=edit&section=12&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Caucus memberships" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">edit</a>]</h3><ul style="line-height: 22.4px; margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" png="png" base64="base64" ivborw0kggoaaaansuheugaaaauaaaanaqmaaabb8jblaaaablbmvex="iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAUAAAANAQMAAABb8jbLAAAABlBMVEX" auow5qsojaaaaaxrstlmaqobyzgaaabnjrefucb1jyeabbqw="AUow5QSOjAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAABNJREFUCB1jYEABBQw" wlcagqeagpidyt0ivcsaaaaasuvork5cyii="); color: rgb(37, 37, 37); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" xmlns:data="data"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Congressional_International_Conservation_Caucus" title="United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">International Conservation Caucus</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Sportsmen's Caucus</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee_Valley_Authority" title="Tennessee Valley Authority" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Tennessee Valley Authority</a> Caucus (Co-Chair)</li></ul><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">Legislation sponsored<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap; unicode-bidi: -webkit-isolate;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lamar_Alexander&action=edit&section=13&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Legislation sponsored" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">edit</a>]</h3>The following is an incomplete list of legislation that Alexander introduced in the Senate.<ul style="line-height: 22.4px; margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" png="png" base64="base64" ivborw0kggoaaaansuheugaaaauaaaanaqmaaabb8jblaaaablbmvex="iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAUAAAANAQMAAABb8jbLAAAABlBMVEX" auow5qsojaaaaaxrstlmaqobyzgaaabnjrefucb1jyeabbqw="AUow5QSOjAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAABNJREFUCB1jYEABBQw" wlcagqeagpidyt0ivcsaaaaasuvork5cyii="); color: rgb(37, 37, 37); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" xmlns:data="data"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PREEMIE_Reauthorization_Act(S.252;113th_Congress)" title="PREEMIE Reauthorization Act (S. 252; 113th Congress)" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">PREEMIE Reauthorization Act (S. 252; 113th Congress)</a> - a bill that would reauthorize research programs on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preterm_birth" title="Preterm birth" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">preterm births</a> that are run by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centers_for_Disease_Control_and_Prevention" title="Centers for Disease Control and Prevention" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a>.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamar_Alexander#cite_note-marchofdimes1-48" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[48]</a> It would also authorize grants and demonstration programs to be run by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_Resources_and_Services_Administration" title="Health Resources and Services Administration" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Health Resources and Services Administration</a> that will try to decrease preterm births. It passed the Senate on September 25, 2013.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamar_Alexander#cite_note-252sum-49" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[49]</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Exchange Information Disclosure Act - a bill that would require the government to report on the number of visitors and enrollees on the federal government's healthcare exchanges, as well as what level of insurance coverage people buy on the exchanges. The bill would apply only to the federally-run healthcare exchanges, which cover 36 states, not the state-run exchanges, according to Ripon Advance. On January 16, 2014, the U.S. House passed the bill.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamar_Alexander#cite_note-50" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[50]</a> Its companion bill <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exchange_Information_Disclosure_Act(H.R.3362;113th_Congress)" title="Exchange Information Disclosure Act (H.R. 3362; 113th Congress)" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Exchange Information Disclosure Act (H.R. 3362; 113th Congress)</a> was introduced in the House by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Terry" title="Lee Terry" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Rep. Lee Terry (R, NE-2)</a>.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamar_Alexander#cite_note-3362sum-51" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[51]</a></li></ul><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">Republican leadership<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap; unicode-bidi: -webkit-isolate;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lamar_Alexander&action=edit&section=14&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Republican leadership" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">edit</a>]</h3>In late 2006, Alexander announced that he had secured the requisite number of votes to become the<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party(United_States)" title="Republican Party (United States)" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Republican Party</a>'s <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minority_Whip" title="Minority Whip" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Minority Whip</a> in the Senate during the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/110th_Congress" title="110th Congress" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">110th Congress</a>. Even though he was seen as the preferred choice of Minority Leader <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitch_McConnell" title="Mitch McConnell" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Mitch McConnell</a> and the Bush Administration, he lost the election to former <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senate_Majority_Leader" title="Senate Majority Leader" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Senate Majority Leader</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trent_Lott" title="Trent Lott" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Trent Lott</a> by one vote (25–24).<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamar_Alexander#cite_note-52" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[52]</a>Alexander would get a second shot at entering his party's leadership a year later when Lott announced his intent to resign from the Senate by the end of 2007. Sen. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Kyl" title="Jon Kyl" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Jon Kyl</a> of Arizona, then <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Conference_Chairman_of_the_United_States_Senate" title="Republican Conference Chairman of the United States Senate" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference</a>, ran for Whip and was elected without opposition. With the Conference Chair vacant, Alexander announced that he would seek the position.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamar_Alexander#cite_note-53" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[53]</a> He would go on to defeat Sen.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Burr" title="Richard Burr" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Richard Burr</a> of North Carolina by a margin of 31–16.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamar_Alexander#cite_note-54" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[54]</a>Alexander stepped down as Conference Chairman in January 2012, citing his desire to foster consensus. He said, "I want to do more to make the Senate a more effective institution so that it can deal better with serious issues." He added, "For these same reasons, I do not plan to seek a leadership position in the next Congress", ending speculation that he would run for the position of Republican Whip after Jon Kyl retired in 2013.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamar_Alexander#cite_note-55" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[55]</a><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">2008 re-election campaign<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap; unicode-bidi: -webkit-isolate;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lamar_Alexander&action=edit&section=15&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: 2008 re-election campaign" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">edit</a>]</h3><div class="hatnote relarticle mainarticle" style="font-style: italic; padding-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; color: rgb(37, 37, 37); line-height: 22.4px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Main article: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee_United_States_Senate_election,2008" title="Tennessee United States Senate election, 2008" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Tennessee United States Senate election, 2008</a></div>In April 2007, Alexander announced he would run for re-election to the Senate in 2008.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamar_Alexander#cite_note-56" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[56]</a>Alexander was favored throughout the entire campaign, due to his long history in Tennessee politics and a disorganized Democratic opposition. His rivals were former state Democratic Party Chairman <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Tuke" title="Bob Tuke" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Bob Tuke</a>, who won a heated primary, and Libertarian candidate <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_T.Lewis" title="Daniel T. Lewis" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Daniel T. Lewis</a>.Alexander won reelection in a landslide, taking 65 percent of the vote to Tuke's 32 percent. Alexander also carried all but one of Tennessee's 95 counties; he lost only in majority-black <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haywood_County,Tennessee" title="Haywood County, Tennessee" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Haywood County</a> in western Tennessee. He won the normally Democratic strongholds of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davidson_County,Tennessee" title="Davidson County, Tennessee" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Davidson</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelby_County,Tennessee" title="Shelby County, Tennessee" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Shelby</a> counties—home to Nashville and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memphis,Tennessee" title="Memphis, Tennessee" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Memphis</a>, respectively. Alexander also benefited from the coattails of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McCain" title="John McCain" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">John McCain</a>'s solid victory statewide in the Presidential race.<h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">2013 Presidential Inauguration Role<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap; unicode-bidi: -webkit-isolate;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lamar_Alexander&action=edit&section=16&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: 2013 Presidential Inauguration Role" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">edit</a>]</h3>As co-chairman of the Joint Congressional Inaugural Committee, Alexander was one of the speakers at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_inauguration_of_Barack_Obama" title="Second inauguration of Barack Obama" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Second inauguration of Barack Obama</a> on January 21, 2013, alongside the Committee's chair,<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Schumer" title="Charles Schumer" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Senator Charles Schumer</a>.<h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">2014 senatorial re-election campaign<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap; unicode-bidi: -webkit-isolate;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lamar_Alexander&action=edit&section=17&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: 2014 senatorial re-election campaign" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">edit</a>]</h3><div class="hatnote relarticle mainarticle" style="font-style: italic; padding-left: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; color: rgb(37, 37, 37); line-height: 22.4px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Main article: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_election_in_Tennessee,_2014" title="United States Senate election in Tennessee, 2014" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">United States Senate election in Tennessee, 2014</a></div>In December 2012, Alexander announced he would be seeking re-election to a third Senate term in 2014.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamar_Alexander#cite_note-57" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[57]</a>In an August 2013 letter to Alexander signed by over twenty Tennessee <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_Party_movement" title="Tea Party movement" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">tea-party</a> groups, the groups called on Alexander to retire from the Senate in 2014, or face a primary challenge.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamar_Alexander#cite_note-58" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[58]</a> The letter stated: "During your tenure in the Senate we have no doubt that you voted in a way which you felt was appropriate. Unfortunately, our great nation can no longer afford compromise and bipartisanship, two traits for which you have become famous. America faces serious challenges and needs policymakers who will defend <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservatism_in_the_United_States" title="Conservatism in the United States" style="color: rgb(11, 0, 128); text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">conservative values</a>, not work with those who are actively undermining those values."<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamar_Alexander#cite_note-59" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[59]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamar_Alexander#cite_note-60" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[60]</a>Alexander's campaign has a war chest of $3.1 million in cash going into his 2014 re-election bid.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamar_Alexander#cite_note-61" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[61]</a>=<div>=</div><div>https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2017/01/04/senate-schedules-confirmation-hearing-for-betsy-devos-trumps-pick-for-education-secretary/</div><div>
</div><div><div>=</div><div>The Senate education committee has scheduled a confirmation hearing for Betsy DeVos, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to helm the education department, for Jan. 11.</div><div>
</div><div>DeVos, who has spent more than two decades advocating for charter schools and taxpayer-funded school vouchers, is one of eight Trump nominees that Democrats have singled out for additional scrutiny. Two of the others are Sen. Jeff Sessions, Trump’s pick for attorney general, and ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, Trump’s pick for secretary of state.</div><div>
</div><div>DeVos’s hearing is scheduled to take place on the second day of Sessions’s scheduled two-day hearing with the Judiciary Committee and the same day that Tillerson is tentatively scheduled to face the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.[so much for deal not to overlap?]</div><div>
</div><div>[Here are the eight Trump Cabinet picks Democrats plan to target]</div><div>
</div><div>A billionaire power broker and major Republican donor, DeVos has not held elected public office nor worked as an educator. She is likely to face questions about her advocacy track record, particularly in her home state of Michigan, where she played a key role in shaping a fast-growing charter-school sector that even many charter-school supporters criticize as lacking in oversight and quality. Senators also are likely to ask her about her support for using public money to pay tuition at private and religious schools — one of the most polarizing ideas in education.</div><div>
</div><div>But committee members also likely will use the confirmation to question DeVos about her views on a range of other Education Department subjects about which she has previously said little or nothing publicly. Those include her view of for-profit colleges, which have faced intense scrutiny under the Obama administration; her plans for implementing the new Every Student Succeeds Act; and her plans for the Office for Civil Rights, which is responsible for enforcing anti-discrimination laws in schools and which some Trump surrogates have said should be stripped of power.</div><div>
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</div><div>DeVos has not yet responded to the committee’s questionnaires and requests for financial disclosures, according to an aide to Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the education committee’s ran..</div><div>
</div><div>Many Republicans are hopeful that DeVos, an avowed conservative, will oversee a shrinking of the federal footprint in education. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) previously said he hoped that she would “implement the new law fixing No Child Left Behind just as Congress wrote it, reversing the trend to a national school board and restoring to states, governors, school boards, teachers, and parents greater responsibility for improving education in their local communities.”</div><div>
</div><div>[Education Department civil rights officials urged to work through tough times ahead]</div><div>
</div><div>Murray has said that she will ask DeVos to explain her plans to expand early childhood education and address college affordability and student debt. Murray also said she will press DeVos on her views of campus sexual violence, which many colleges are now handling very differently under pressure from the Obama administration, and school bullying.</div><div>
</div><div>“Right now students, parents, teachers and school leaders across the country are demanding to know how his Secretary of Education will ensure the safety and respect of all students, of all backgrounds, all across this country — and I will be focused throughout this process on how his nominee intends to do just that,” Murray said in a statement in November, when Trump named DeVos as his nominee.</div></div><div></div>

Alexander, L Sen

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