As Gordon Bows Out, A Look At Recent Votes

Democrat Bart Gordon is the latest in a string of Democratic members of Congress who’ve recently announced their retirement.

Gordon joins another Tennessee Democrat – John Tanner – in not seeking re-election next year. Both were big Republican targets in the coming midterm elections.

Gordon took over the seat held by Al Gore in 1985. A member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition, Gordon chairs the House Science Committee.

Last month, Gordon became one of the 39 House Democrats to vote against the reform bill pushed by party leaders and President Barack Obama. He said the legislation fell short in cutting the cost of health care, and expressed concerns about Medicare reimbursement rates during the House negotiations.

“Right now we have a situation where many physicians will not take any more Medicare patients because of the low reimbursement, so we don’t want to exacerbate that.”

His vote against his own party on the divisive health care issue didn’t endear him to conservatives. Gordon, while undecided on whether to vote for the climate change bill to deal with global warming, ultimately voted for the so-called “Cap and Trade” legislation saying it would help create jobs and protect the environment.

Gordon also co-sponsored legislation passed in the House to restrict the importation of radioactive waste from abroad. That bill cleared the House and is waiting for Senate action. He was also instrumental in the Family Medical Leave Act, signed into law back in 1993.

The Murfreesboro resident is chairman of the House Science and Technology Committee. And he takes pride in ushering a new law to promote math and science education. President Bush signed Gordon’s America COMPETES Act in 2007.

Reported by Manuel Quinones