Nashville

“Food banks can be a real a lifeline to some of our state’s most vulnerable citizens,” said Governor Phil Bredesen. “These Recovery Act funds will help put food on the table for Tennesseans in need.”

“At a time when more and more people are turning to food banks for help, I am pleased that Second Harvest Nashville will receive these funds to help continue providing necessary services to our community,” said U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper of Nashville.

The federal funds are to help reimburse agencies for costs incurred in distributing food to the needy during the previous fiscal year. Allocations are based on the most recent U.S. Census Bureau poverty estimates for counties in each food bank’s service area. Food banks sharing in the funding include:

• Chattanooga Area Food Bank – $55,005
• Mid-South Food Bank, Memphis – $150,118
• Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee, Knoxville – $111,729
• Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee, Nashville – $205,122
• Second Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Tennessee, Washington Co. – $50,994

“Local food banks have seen the demand for their services increase due to the current economic situation. We’re glad these Recovery Act funds will be able to help cover some of the cost of providing food assistance to those who really need it in communities across Tennessee,” said state Agriculture Commissioner Ken Givens.

State Agriculture officials expect a similar allocation of ARRA funds for the current federal fiscal year, which began Oct. 1. Those funds will be used to assist community action agencies, which also distribute food to the needy in communities across Tennessee.

The Tennessee Department of Agriculture administers emergency food assistance in the state and distributes USDA commodities for the National School Lunch Program to Tennessee schools. Last year, TDA distributed more than 43 million pounds of food valued at $43 million to schools, childcare institutions and non-profit charities.

For more information on TDA, visit www.TN.gov/agriculture. For more information on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, visit www.tnrecovery.gov.

Chris and Becky Link, Imagination Branding, Nashville, Tennessee

“As a small business owner who knows I need to offer quality, affordable healthcare to all my employees in order to attract the best workers and to compete with larger businesses, I support H.R. 3200 and so should Rep. Cooper,” said Chris Link of Imagination Branding, which is based in Nashville. “I want to know why Rep. Cooper is standing in the way of sensible legislation that will help small business owners like me.” In the Fifth Congressional District, 16,000 small businesses could receive tax credits to provide coverage to their employees, according to a recent report from the House of Representatives’ Energy & Commerce Committee.

“As the result of a billing error made by a hospital I went to, I was forced to declare medical bankruptcy”, says Lyle McLevain of Nashville. “Because of their mistakes, a lack of strong regulations of the health insurance industry, and an antiquated medical records and billing system, I had to declare bankruptcy – even though I had insurance. I want to strongly urge the support of sensible legislation that will protect people like me.” In the Fifth District, H.R. 3200 would cap annual out-of-pocket costs at $10,000 per year and it would restore fairness for residents by eliminating loopholes like the one that sent Ms. McLevain into bankruptcy.

The report from the Energy & Commerce Committee revealed critical ways the passage of H.R. 3200 would improve the healthcare of residents in the 5th District:

• Eliminating the Medicare Part D “donut hole” to help seniors. Each year, 7,800 seniors in the district hit the donut hole and are forced to pay their full drug costs, despite having Part D drug coverage. The legislation would provide them with immediate relief, cutting brand name drug costs in the donut hole by 50%, and ultimately eliminate the donut hole.
• Relieving the burden of uncompensated care for hospitals and health care providers. In 2008, health care providers in the district provided $82 million worth of uncompensated care, care that was provided to individuals who lacked insurance coverage and were unable to pay their bills. Under the legislation, these costs of uncompensated care would be virtually eliminated saving residents with health insurance approximately $1,000 every year.
• Providing coverage for the uninsured. There are 97,000 uninsured individuals in the district, 14% of the district. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that nationwide, 97% of all Americans will have insurance coverage when the bill takes effect. If this benchmark is reached in the district, 76,000 people who currently do not have health insurance will receive coverage and peace of mind.
• No deficit spending. The cost of health care reform under the legislation is fully paid for: half through making the Medicare and Medicaid program more efficient by eliminating waste and half through a surtax on the income of the wealthiest individuals. This surtax would affect only 3,600 households in the district. The surtax would not affect 98.9% of taxpayers in the district.
• Help for small businesses. Under the legislation, small businesses with 25 employees or less and average wages of less than $40,000 qualify for tax credits of up to 50% of the costs of providing health insurance. There are up to 16,000 small businesses in the district that could qualify for these credits.
• Health care and financial security. There were 2,060 health care-related bankruptcies in the district in 2008, caused primarily by the healthcare costs not covered by insurance. The bill provides health insurance for almost every American and provides common sense limits on annual out-of-pocket costs at $10,000 per year, ensuring that no citizen will have to face financial ruin because of high health care costs.

“Jim Cooper has repeatedly said that he supports the President when it comes to healthcare reform, but then when it comes time to stand tall and vote to protect his residents from skyrocketing medical costs, he says ‘no’ to a bill that the President endorses” says Tony Cani, state director for Change That Works Tennessee. “Mr. Cooper also says he supports a public option plan, which would help cover nearly every American and would lower healthcare costs by increasing competition, but when it comes time to vote for H.R. 3200 – which has a strong public option plan – he says ‘no’. Maybe in Washington, ‘no’ means something different, but in Tennessee, Jim Cooper’s ‘no’ is going to mean that working families, small business owners, retired folks, and the uninsured may have to continue to suffer under the current system that is breaking family budgets and our nation’s economy. Tennesseans deserve the same peace of mind Representative Cooper gets from his generous and taxpayer-funded healthcare.”

The America’s Affordable Health Choices Act, which continues to be debated in the House of Representatives, has been endorsed by President Obama, the AARP, the American Medical Association, the National Association of Nurses, organized labor, and dozens of other groups and trade associations across the political and economic spectrum.

About Change That Works Tennessee

Change That Works is a project of the Service Employees International Union which is focused on building a grassroots network across the country in support of healthcare reform and other issues that affect working families.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Reps. John Tanner (D-TN), Mike Castle (R-DE), Allen Boyd (D-FL), Jim Cooper (D-TN) and Baron Hill (D-IN), along with U.S. Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD) are joining with redistricting reform advocates to end gerrymandering – the political power grab that too often cripples Congress’ ability to work together on bipartisan solutions.

They introduced the bipartisan, bicameral Fairness and Independence in Redistricting (FAIR) Act at a Capitol Hill press conference with redistricting reform advocates and grassroots leaders, including Americans for Redistricting Reform. Tanner has sponsored similar legislation since 2005.

“We must reform the system so the people can elect their representatives instead of allowing politicians to select their constituents with computer software based on strictly political considerations,” Congressman Tanner said. “When politicians draw district lines, it often favors political partisanship and self-protection over public interest. Gerrymandered districts breed partisanship and discourage Members of Congress from working across the aisle on real solutions to the challenges facing our country.”

“The political center continues to disappear, and fewer Members are willing to work across the aisle,” Congressman Castle said. “Instead we are seeing increased identification with political parties and issues driven and debated from the more extreme ideologies. Curbing this trend isn’t impossible; we can make a difference with this legislation.”

“When politicians carve up Congressional districts for partisan interests, democracy suffers,” Congressman Cooper said. “Gerrymandering is backroom politics at its ugliest: it protects incumbents, increases partisanship and stifles the will of the people. The FAIR Act will solve these problems by putting decisions about district lines in the hands of unbiased judges.”

“Gerrymandering should be a concern to all Americans,” Sen. Johnson said. “Creating a fair and balanced way of representing the American people is something I’m proud to support.”

The FAIR Act sets minimum national guidelines for states to follow in drawing Congressional district lines. A bipartisan commission in each state would draw that state’s Congressional map exactly once every 10 years, following the release of new Census data. Districts would be drawn to adhere to the Voting Rights Act, equal population, geography and local boundaries. The legislation only affects Congressional districts and does not address district lines for state and local elections.

“Redistricting reform must occur in the 111th Congress or the next round of gerrymanders will begin anew in the wake of the 2010 Census,” said J. Gerald Hebert, Executive Director of the Campaign Legal Center and Program Administrator of Americans for Redistricting Reform. “The current system is a terrible disservice to the citizens of this country and a gross distortion of the democracy envisioned by the founding fathers for the legislative branch. The time to fix this system is now. It will be too late if we wait for the inevitable public outrage that will follow the next wave of gerrymanders. The time to act is now.”

Modern gerrymandering – the art of drawing creative district boundaries to benefit a candidate or political party – dates back to the 1962 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Baker v. Carr, a case that originated in Shelby County, Tennessee, Tanner said. Shelby County Quarterly Court Chairman Charles Baker, originally from Millington, Tennessee, sued the State of Tennessee over unequal representation in the state legislature. Baker argued that Shelby County, as a metropolitan area, was underrepresented compared to Tennessee’s rural communities.

The Supreme Court ruled in Baker’s favor, setting the precedent for the judicial branch to insert itself into the issue of representational mapping. This eventually led to other similar rulings, such as the “one person, one vote” principle.

“’One person, one vote’ is important for our representative democracy, but over the years, professional politicians have overreached in redistricting,” Congressman Tanner said. “Politicians choosing their constituents shuts voters out of the process.”

About Congressman John Tanner

Tanner, a founding member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats, represents the 8^th Congressional district in West and Middle Tennessee. He serves on the House Ways and Means Committee, where he chairs the Social Security Subcommittee, and on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He also chairs the U.S. delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and is serving a two-year term as NATO Parliamentary Assembly President.

When Democrats from five Tennessee counties gather at the Charles Hand farm, Ben Johnson is sure to be there with his campaign buttons, lapel pins, and bumper stickers. Johnson, who lives in Lebanon, Tennessee, was quick to point out that he makes his wares “for democrats only,” and will use only Union vendors to print his products.

In fact, the theme of the day was a strong support of Unions throughout the area. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), which represents Trane workers locally, was a major sponsor of today’s event.  The strong Union presence was in honor of the Labor Day event.

According to the Department of Labor, Labor Day was first celebrated in New York City on Tuesday, September 5, 1882. By 1894, the US Congress had passed its recognition of Labor Day as a national holiday to be celebrated on the first Monday of September of every year.

The Ballistic Pintos of Old Hickory, TN performs at the Charles Hand Farm. Photo by David W. Shelton

The strong Union presence was matched by a sincere excitement of area Democrats who had a single mission in mind for next November’s election, as voiced by Kim McMillan, senior advisor to Governor Phil Bredesen: “Tennessee is and will be a blue state.” This was a message that was voiced by nearly everyone who spoke at the event.

Speakers were quick to point out that their mission wasn’t to put an end to the Bush regime, but rather send home those who they say “empowered” him. One target is the US Senate seat currently occupied by former governor Lamar Alexander. McMillan introduced Mike McWhorter, the son of another former governor—Ned McWhorter—as a possible candidate. His mission, McMillan said, would be to “send Lamar and that plaid shirt back home.”

McWhorter has not officially announced his candidacy, but said that he was seriously considering the option. He pointed out several issues that he would address, including the war in Iraq, which came up often throughout the night. Republican policies in Iraq, he said, “are wrong.” He also said that the current administration is “mortgaging our country’s future” with an “out-of-control” national debt.

Tennessee’s Democratic party president Gray Sasser addressed a general excitement for the future for the party in the state, and said that the party’s primary goal is “to make darn sure that no red pickup truck will ever get anywhere near the White House next November.” The reference was to the popular “red pickup truck” senatorial campaign led by former Republican US Senator Fred Thompson, who announced his candidacy for the Presidency this week.

Other speakers for the event were 5th District Congressman Jim Cooper, TN AFL/CIO president Jerry Lee, and the keynote address was provided by the R. Thomas Buffenbarger, International President of the IAM union. Buffenbarger has served as president of that union since 1997.

The day wasn’t all speeches and rhetoric, though. Music was provided by the Ballistic Pintos, a country group out of Old Hickory, Tennessee. The group featured drummer Richie Albright who often played with Waylon Jennings, and vocals by Bobby Keel.

State Senator Rosalind Kurita talks with attendees at the Labor Day Celebration. Photo by David W. Shelton

There was a dart competition between unions, for which a trophy was awarded to the United Auto Workers, who apparently “played only slightly less badly that everyone else.”

Attendees had an opportunity to vote for their nominee for the President of the United States of America. In an informal (and unofficial) straw poll, Hillary Clinton was the clear favorite, with John Edwards coming in second.

The day wasn’t without its lighter moments, which featured “the world’s smallest horse,” as described by his owner, local attorney Kevin Kennedy. He said that the miniature dwarf horse, “Twinkie the Wonder Horse,” is only 46 pounds and 16 1/2” tall. The equine miniature was a star attraction, drawing children from all over to pet a horse that was far smaller than they were.

Clarksville electrician Bill Edmonson provided democratic spirit by donning a donkey mask, which he kept on throughout the speeches. Edmonson offered plenty of applause and “thumbs ups” for the speakers.