capitolhillconnection

Lawmakers are saying “no” to President Obama’s plans for NASA and the future of human space flight. And one of the many lawmakers standing in the President’s way is Tennessee Democrat Bart Gordon.

Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander will meet with Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan this week. It’s still uncertain whether he or Tennessee’s other Republican Senator will back her nomination.

Retiring Democratic Congressman John Tanner has offered a less-than full-throated endorsement of state Senator Roy Herron, the Democrat vying to replace Tanner in the U.S. House.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are almost done merging the House and Senate versions of the Wall Street overhaul. Tennessee Republican Bob Corker is a member of the conference committee hammering out the final details. He says not enough changes have been made to win his vote.

When President Barack Obama used his speech on the Gulf oil spill this week to push climate change legislation, it breathed new life into an effort stalled in the senate. Tennessee’s congressional delegation is having a mixed reaction to this new attempt to pass energy legislation.

Legislation repealing the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy is currently moving through Congress. But one Tennessee Democrat is among critics who say Washington is acting too quickly to end the ban on gays serving openly in the military.

A jobs bill winding its way through Congress is giving Tennessee lawmakers a tough choice: create jobs or reduce the deficit. Matt Laslo reports from Washington.

Tennessee communities trying to rebuild from historic flooding could be in line for more money from the federal government. Yesterday a Senate committee approved billions of dollars in extra emergency funds for states. Tennessee’s share is $150 million.

As thousands of gallons of oil continued to pour into the Gulf of Mexico, Tennessee Republican Senator Lamar Alexander grilled top oil executives, but also gave his own suggestions to prevent another environmental catastrophe.