E-MAIL UPDATES

Yes, please periodically send me e-mail updates.*

Click Here

*By subscribing to my
e-mail updates, you are authorizing me to send regular e-mail updates from my office to your e-mail account.

*By answering this survey, you are subscribing to my newsletter.

If you are having trouble, click here.

Please Feel Free to Tell a Friend

Update from Senator Bob Corker
February 3, 2012

Restoring Discipline & Accountability to Spending in Washington

At a news conference Wednesday, Senator Corker joined fellow Senate and House supporters of the Honest Budget Act to announce the introduction of the companion bill in the House of Representatives. The Honest Budget Act, first introduced in the Senate last year, would establish a new barrier to prevent advancing spending bills without a budget and end some common accounting tricks used to conceal the true cost of deficit spending in Washington.

"I voted against all appropriations bills this fiscal year because we continue to spend money without doing the tough work to actually pass a budget, which hasn't happened in the Senate in over 1,000 days. So I'm strongly supportive of this bill to help restore some much needed discipline and accountability to spending in Washington," Corker said. Read more: http://bit.ly/xCsejK.


***click image to view video***

Nashville Public Radio: Corker Wants End to "Budget Gimmicks"

Moving the Keystone XL Pipeline Project Forward

Senator Corker joined a total of 44 senators this week to introduce legislation to approve the Keystone XL pipeline project. The project has been under review for more than three years, but President Obama rejected it last week saying the 60-day provision included in the payroll tax cut extension bill passed in December didn't give him enough time to review the project. The legislation authorizes TransCanada to move forward with construction of the pipeline from Canada to the Gulf Coast, transporting an additional 830,000 barrels of oil per day to U.S. refineries and creating 20,000 direct jobs.

"The Keystone pipeline will create thousands of American jobs and provide our country with access to a large supply of North American energy. There is no good reason to block this project when we really need the energy and the jobs the pipeline would generate," said Corker. Read more: http://bit.ly/z2G3sI.

Nooga.com: Corker, Alexander announce support for new Keystone XL bill
WCYB.com: Tennessee Senator Joins Colleagues In Keystone Pipeline Legislation

Obama Administration's Principal Write-down Proposal for Underwater Home Mortgages is "Terrible Public Policy"

On Monday, Senator Corker said the Obama administration's proposal to write down principal on some underwater home mortgages at taxpayer expense is "terrible public policy" and means Tennesseans and other Americans who acted responsibly will be paying for the consequences of reckless housing practices in other states. Corker introduced legislation later in the week barring the federal government from using taxpayer dollars for principal reduction on home mortgages.

"The idea that federal tax dollars would be used to reduce the principal on some outstanding mortgages and perhaps even bailout investment properties and beach houses is terrible public policy and means that people who acted responsibly in Tennessee will be paying for the bad behavior of lenders and borrowers in places where reckless housing practices were most prevalent, something I find to be irresponsible," Corker said. "While I hope the detailed version of the plan the administration lays out improves over what they announced last week, to ensure taxpayers are protected, I intend to introduce a bill this week that says if states like California or Florida want to reduce principal on mortgages in their states, they can do so themselves with state money, not with federal taxpayer dollars." Read more: http://bit.ly/wbQsAW.

Reuters: Obama's housing plan draws fire, impact seen small
Wall Street Journal: Will the White House Move the 'Boulder' on Principal Write-Downs?
Chattanooga Times Free Press (Editorial): Reckless proposal on housing

Exercising Congressional Oversight of the Consumer Bureau

Senator Corker on Tuesday participated in a Banking Committee hearing where he questioned Richard Cordray over the constitutional issues surrounding his legitimacy to leader the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau after a controversial appointment by President Barack Obama. Following President Obama's decision earlier this month to bypass the Senate confirmation process and install Cordray as director of the bureau, Corker said the appointment undermined any attempt to bring accountability and balance to the bureau.

Corker raised concerns during the hearing Tuesday about the uncertainty caused by constitutional challenges against the CFPB rules because of the way Cordray was appointed.

"What I think you've said is that you've actually had internal conversations with your staff about the fact that as these rules are made, there's no question that there are going to be constitutional challenges to those, which, in many ways, instead of creating predictability out in the consumer market and predictability in the financial market, we're going to have challenges that I would predict will rise to the highest court in the land," said Corker in his questioning of Cordray.

January 31, 2012 - Sen. Corker questions Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray at a Senate Banking Committee hearing.

Reuters: Republicans take aim at new consumer protection agency
Los Angeles Times: Consumer agency chief's appointment is invalid, GOP senators say