U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Ooltewah, and other House appropriators narrowly avoided a federal government shutdown Dec. 20 with the passage of a continuing resolution into March. Looking ahead, Fleischmann said three things could happen:
— The government could shut down March 14, which Fleischmann did not think would happen.
— The second, he said, would be the passage of another continuing resolution from March 14 to Sept. 30. He said that option would keep the government open, but he does not want that to happen because it would continue to use numbers intended for the 2024 budget year into 2025.
— The third, he said, would be the passage of a yearlong budget starting March 14 and running through Sept. 30.
“Let’s say we went in, and I had a feast at the table — and it was a modest feast — but at the table, there was mashed potatoes,” he said by phone. “In 2024, everybody wanted mashed potatoes, but in 2025, nobody could eat mashed potatoes — but they’re still at the table, OK? But let’s say we needed sweet potatoes. Well, the reality is, if we can get sweet potatoes at the table, that’s great. But guess what? We can only eat sweet potatoes from March 14 to Sept. 30, but we got a year’s worth of sweet potatoes going back now to September.”
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COMMITTEES
Fleischmann will continue to serve on the House Appropriations Committee and the Committee on Science, Space and Technology in the 119th Congress. He will also continue to chair the Energy and Water Subcommittee of Appropriations and serve as a member of its Defense Subcommittee and its Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee. He will also serve on the Energy Subcommittee of Science, Space and Technology.
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., will continue to serve on four Senate committees, including Commerce, Science and Transportation; Finance; Judiciary; and Veterans’ Affairs, her office said by phone.
U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., announced the committees on which he will serve, including Foreign Relations; Appropriations; Rules; and Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, according to a news release.
DID YOU KNOW…
Tennessee and Florida are the only states where public defenders are elected and not appointed.
“All the other public defenders are just — I mean, I hate to say this about my colleagues across the country but — they’re just appointed lackeys,” said Steve Smith, a public defender serving Hamilton County, at a Pachyderm Club meeting Monday evening.
Smith is serving an eight-year term and will be up for reelection in 2030.
RENEAU CHIMES IN
At Pachyderm, Smith said most of his clients are fathers. He also said more kids are born out of wedlock than in the past.
“The government funds households that don’t have fathers,” he said, “more than they fund households that have fathers.”
Michele Reneau, of Hixson, will be sworn into the Tennessee House on Tuesday. Reneau attended the meeting and chimed in.
“The problem is, we take so much federal money from the state that requires us to do these things that keep fathers from being in the home,” Reneau said. “Until the legislature is willing to look at that issue and quit taking federal money on some of these issues — like where we’re giving (housing) money to section 8 people but only if you don’t have a father in the home — well, guess what? That guy’s out of there.”
WILL DOGE DELIVER?
More than half of Tennessee voters are in favor of President-elect Donald Trump’s idea to create a Department of Government Efficiency led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, according to a new statewide poll.
The conservative Beacon Center of Tennessee polled 1,200 registered voters and found that 22% of voters oppose the creation of DOGE.
(READ MORE: Blackburn’s DOGE Acts would return employees to office, move agencies)
While the majority of surveyed voters support the department’s creation, they were split over whether Musk and Ramaswamy will effectively improve government efficiency. According to the poll, 36% believe the duo’s business background will help make the government more efficient, 23% believe the government is too different from business and 33% believe the businessmen could improve government efficiency depending on their approach.
Contact Sarah Dolgin at sdolgin@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6556.