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We respectively ask Senator Corker, Senator Alexander and State Senate Majority leader Mark Norris to represent the citizens of Tennessee in fighting for and defending the following issues and principles:

• Limiting the power of the Executive Branch and the importance of the Constitution We have allowed the presidency and his administration to become something it was never meant to be under our Constitution.This is not just a concern under our current president but a high concern under a Hillary or Trump presidency as well. We call on our representatives at the state and federal level to follow closely the guidance of the Constitution when it comes to the separation of powers and not allow the presidency to have lawless power not authorized by the Constitution of the United States. Furthermore, Amendment 10 of the Constitution needs to be magnified and followed in as many areas as possible including education and other issues important to the people of Tennessee.
  a) Amendment 10 of the Constitution reads: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people”
  (i) Education, Marriage laws, certain regulations, etc.…

• Obama Administration/DOJ/DOE Abuse of power to manipulate States and undermine privacy and safety for girls As we know on May 13th a lawless unprecedented “guidance” letter was sent by the DOE and DOJ to all public schools in every state. The threat was made “As a condition of receiving Federal funds, a school agrees….”….. The guidance allows boys and young men to violate girl’s privacy in bathrooms, locker rooms and shower areas in publicly funded colleges and grade schools. On May 19th 2016 Senator Corker and Alexander joined other Republican Senators in issuing a joint letter disapproving of the Obama administration’s guidance letter. Thank you for that! However, much more has to be done. What is Senator Corker and Alexander doing to address this issue further? Parents and taxpayers are not accepting this threat and guidance handed down. The privacy and safety of our girls and young ladies is too important to play politics in the normal fashion. We call on Senator Alexander and Corker to vigorously stand against the DOJ and DOE as well as look to DEFUND the DOE.
  a) On average the Federal Government provides only 9% of the money for our Public Educational system. The rest comes directly from the state and local government. What can we do to eliminate this 9% so as to not be bullied with a threat to remove federal funding?
  b) The State of TN has joined the lawsuit with 11 other states against the Obama administration as of May 25th. What else can be done for TN regarding this issue and how can we help??
• Young Women(Age 18-25) required to sign-up for Selective Services - being subject to future drafts There has been some legislative efforts to require young women to sign up for Selective Service just like our young men are. Where does Senator Corker and Senator Alexander stand on this issue? We ask that our Senators vigorously oppose such legislative efforts should they continue to be pushed in the future. Asking (and in this case requiring) our young women to fight our battles against the enemy in direct combat roles is not respecting women but exactly the opposite. Furthermore, it is unnecessary and absolutely destructive to our values and families. 6/12/2016***
  • According to former Marine Corps servicewoman Jude Eden “Combat is not an equal opportunity for women because they don’t have an equal opportunity to survive.” If women’s increased risk of injury makes them more vulnerable when engaging the enemy, why would Congress ever want to require women to be registered for the Selective Service, and ultimately the draft? Women can and do contribute significantly to the overall mission of the military. But military personnel policy, particularly when it comes to combat, should be determined based on military objectives and preparedness, not President Obama’s social agenda. Regardless of whatever merits the bill may have, it deserves to be defeated because lawmakers should not force young women into military services through the Selective Service. – Heritage Action for America
  • *** On Tuesday June 14th Senator Corker and Senator Alexander both voted in favor of S. 2943 which requires young women to sign up for selected services/draft.
    • What can be done to reverse direction here quickly before this becomes law?
    • Why did Senator Corker and Alexander support this bill when Senators Ted Cruz, Mike Lee, Ben Sasse, Jim Risch and others did not?
• Obama Administration/DOL raising the salary threshold for Exempt Status This new law/standard is set to go into effective Dec. 1st 2016. Similar to the effective a heavy increase in the minimum wage would have on jobs, this new exempt status threshold will do the same damage to jobs if not more. With an increase of over 100% going from $455/week ($23,660 per year) to $913 ($47,476 per year) this new law is a job and opportunity killer for entry level and rising professionals. This new exempt status threshold will force employers in many industries to keep individuals hourly and only hire people with heavy experience in positions of future growth and opportunity. Company jobs will be lost due to increased overall labor cost and opportunities to move up in a company will disappear for many. We ask for Senator Alexander and Corker to vigorously protect jobs and business by proposing new legislation that will not allow the DOL to raise this threshold above $30,000/Year with an automatic increase of 10% every three years for the next 9 years. It is reasonable to increase the threshold but doing so at a more appropriate rate will protect jobs and businesses as well as fulfill many of the goals the DOL is looking to accomplish.
  • For Senator Mark Norris: Is there anything at all the State of Tennessee can do in this area?
  • For Senator Corker and Alexander: What legislative strength can be exercised to stop this and what are the chances?
• Religious Freedom The First Amendment says: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” We ask that our representatives vigorously stand for religious liberty within the context of the entire Constitution. Christians as an example must be able to hold their beliefs consistent with the Word of God and teaching of Jesus Christ without being pushed out of the work place or government positions. For the government who should be beholden to the Constitution to say that a business owner or employee has to condone or participate in what the Bible calls wrong or face a penalty, is one of the clearest examples of a first amendment violation.

a) What is Senator Corker and Senator Alexander currently doing to protect our freedoms under the 1st Amendment?
b) What is Senator Mark Norris and the TN legislature doing to protect and uphold the 1st Amendment for Tennesseans?