Tennessee: Wamp says 1 seat not enough insurance

WASHINGTON — Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn., said the surprise election of state Rep. Kent Williams, R-Elizabethton, to speaker of the Tennessee House should serve as a reminder to all Republicans that no lead is safe.

Republicans hold a one-seat majority in the state House but saw their best-laid plans to install Rep. Jason Mumpower, R-Bristol, go awry when all 49 House Democrats backed Rep. Williams, who voted for himself, as speaker. The final vote was 50-49 in favor of Rep. Williams.

“Republicans now know that one seat is not enough,” said Rep. Wamp, who is running for governor in 2010. “We need insurance. I do think this will mobilize our base to get rid of the good ol’ boy system. And this is pure good ol’ boy politics.

“I do hope our margins are more than just one (after the 2010 elections) to prevent something like this from happening again. We regret this, but there’s no sense in crying over spilled milk.”

DAVIS GAINS NEW COMMITTEE SEAT

Rep. Lincoln Davis, D-Tenn., has been assigned a seat on the House Science and Technology Committee.

The committee has jurisdiction over most nondefense federal research and development programming, including NASA and the National Science Foundation. It also has jurisdiction over the research arms of the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency and others.

“From the moon landing to the work at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Arnold Air Force Base and the University of Tennessee Space Institute, our country has always been a leader in scientific and technological frontiers,” Rep. Davis said. “I am excited to take on this responsibility and help move America forward towards its next great achievement.”

Within the committee, Rep. Davis will serve on the subcommittee on energy and environment, as well as the subcommittee on investigations and oversight.

With this committee assignment, Rep. Davis gives up his seat on the House Agriculture Committee, but as a member of the House Appropriations Committee he sits on its agriculture and rural development subcommittee.

ISAKSON CALLS FOR BANKING INVESTIGATION

Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., along with Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., introduced a bill this week to create a Financial Markets Commission that will be charged with investigating the near collapse of the banking system.

“When Enron and WorldCom failed at the start of this decade, Congress rushed to legislate and regulate without all the facts,” Sen. Isakson said. “We need to make sure we don’t repeat that reaction as we seek to recover from today’s financial crisis.”

The seven-member, bipartisan Financial Markets Commission would be modeled after the 9/11 Commission and have one year to investigate what led to the financial crisis. It would report its findings to the president and Congress, with recommendations for statutory or regulatory changes.

The commission would be composed of appointees by the president, speaker of the House, House Republican leader, Senate Democratic leader, Senate Republican leader and chairman of the Federal Reserve’s board of governors.

Compiled by Washington correspondent Herman Wang.

E-mail Herman Wang at hwang@timesfreepress.com