Celebrating Independence Day

Senator Corker released the following statement in honor of Independence Day.

“I know all Tennesseans join me as we celebrate Independence Day and give thanks for the privilege of living in the greatest country on Earth,” said Corker. “No matter the challenges we may face here at home, we should all remember the many things that unite us as Americans so we can join together to move our nation forward.”

Continuing to Fight for a Vote on the Corker-Toomey Tariff Amendment

In remarks on the Senate floor last week, Senators Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) sought an up-or-down vote on their amendment to the farm bill that would require congressional approval of tariffs designated under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. The request for a vote was blocked by Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio). 

The amendment has attracted a wide range of support and is cosponsored by Senators Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.).

“I just want to reiterate for a minute before I ask for this amendment to be called up the fact that this particular amendment, number one, is cosponsored by 14 people of various ideologies on both sides of the aisle,” said Corker. “It is probably one of the most supported amendments we’re going to vote on as it relates to the farm bill. Is the farm bill the right place? Absolutely. Farmers around our country are being hurt by this administration’s trade policies more than 20 farm bills could help them, so it’s very important for us to address this issue now."

“People in our nation are being hurt today,” added Corker. “People are being hurt. You saw the Harley-Davidson issue. They are going to move some of the jobs overseas to avoid these tariffs. Other companies are going to be doing the same. Right now farmers are being hurt around our country. On July 1, a whole nother set of countermeasures are coming in from other countries. On July 6, there will be a whole nother of countermeasures coming in. I just want the record to be clear. The senator from Ohio, my friend, won’t even allow us to vote. If he disagrees with this policy, he can vote against it. He’s not even allowing us to vote on something that could ease and stop the pain that’s being inflicted on our country…”

“A tariff is a tax on the American people,” concluded Corker. “What the senator from Ohio is doing is saying that the Senate should not even vote on a measure to alleviate the pain that Americans are going to feel, the jobs that are going to be lost over the next couple of months as this trade war continues, and I’m just disappointed.”

Following his remarks on the floor, Corker released the following statement.

“Tariffs are a tax on the American people, and as additional retaliatory measures take effect on July 1 and July 6, the harm being done to the U.S. economy, businesses and consumers will only get worse,” said Corker. “We will continue to fight for a vote on the Corker-Toomey tariff amendment and are hopeful we will be able to secure a vote in the near future.”

Click here or on the image above to watch the senator's floor remarks.

More Than 270 Business and Agriculture Groups Urge Senators to Support Corker-Toomey Tariff Legislation 

Last week, 51 national trade groups and 222 state and local chambers joined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in sending a letter to U.S. senators urging them to support bipartisan legislation authored by Senators Corker and Toomey that would require the president to submit to Congress any proposal to adjust imports in the interest of national security under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.

“This legislation is broadly supported by people on both sides of the aisle with a wide range of ideology, and I thank the many organizations that have joined our effort over the past month,” said Corker. “A tariff is a tax on Americans, and it is my hope that the Senate will soon rise to the challenge and reassert its constitutional responsibility on trade policy without hindering the president’s ability to negotiate.”

Full text of the letter and the list of organizations is available online here.

USA Today: Exclusive: Limit Trump tariffs, businesses tell Congress in letter

Protecting Tennessee's Wilderness

Senator Corker released the following statement after the Tennessee Wilderness Act passed the Senate last week as a provision in the farm bill. 

“Millions of people visit Tennessee each year to experience our incredible God-given outdoor amenities, and it’s important that the Cherokee National Forest be preserved for future generations of Americans to enjoy,” said Corker. “I thank Senator Alexander and Representative Roe for their commitment to protecting our wilderness and encourage the conference committee between the House and Senate to include the Tennessee Wilderness Act in the final farm bill.”

The legislation would designate nearly 20,000 acres of the Cherokee National Forest as wilderness area. Designation as a wilderness area is the highest level of conservation protection to preserve federal land.

Trafficking in Persons Report Provides a Valuable Assessment of Foreign Governments’ Efforts to Eliminate Trafficking

Last week, Senator Corker released the following statement on the State Department’s 2018 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report. The annual report evaluates countries on enforcing laws against forced labor, sexual servitude and other forms of human trafficking, as well as support of victims. Corker also met with individuals honored as “Trafficking in Persons Report Heroes” by the State Department this year for their work to stop trafficking.               

“Modern slavery and human trafficking remain a scourge on mankind affecting more than 27 million people around the world,” said Corker. “The TIP Report provides a valuable assessment of foreign governments’ efforts to eliminate trafficking within their borders. I had the privilege of meeting with some of the extraordinary individuals who are leading the fight against trafficking, and I thank the administration for its sincere commitment to addressing this global challenge. Maintaining the integrity of the report is essential for holding governments accountable, so I look forward to carefully reviewing this year’s report as part of our committee’s oversight role.”

In 2015, Corker proposed a bold, bipartisan initiative to end modern slavery worldwide that became law in 2016 and now operates as the Global Fund to End Modern Slavery (GFEMS). GFEMS is designed to leverage limited foreign aid dollars and galvanize tremendous support and investment from the public sector, philanthropic organizations and the private sector to fund projects and organizations around the world working to end modern slavery where it is most prevalent. With support from the administration, the U.S. made a $25 million contribution to the fund in 2017, which was soon after matched by the United Kingdom.

Welcoming Tennesseans to Washington

Last week, Senators Corker and Alexander hosted more than 165 Tennesseans at “Tennessee Tuesday,” a regular breakfast held on Capitol Hill every week the Senate is in session for visitors from the Volunteer State. For more information, click here.

Senator Corker last week congratulated Le Bonheur Children's Hospital (Memphis) on being named a "Best Children's Hospital" by U.S. News & World Report for the eighth year in a row. The senator met with Leeya, one of the thousands of young people whose life has been impacted by the hospital's innovative care. 

Last week, Senator Corker met with Jefferson Award winner Lori Collins of Jackson. Lori is the founder of Redemption Road Rescue in Jackson, a nonprofit organization to help neglected horses and farm animals. The National Jefferson Awards Foundation honors community and volunteer service in America. 

Discussing the Need to Reform the Broken Federal Budget Process

Last week, Senator Corker, a member of the Senate Budget Committee, appeared before the Joint Select Committee on Budget and Appropriations Process Reform.

“I came to Washington 11 and a half years ago, and one of the focuses was on fiscal issues. And what I’ve learned is that Democrats and Republicans both like to spend money. They just like to spend it on different things,” said Corker. “I became a member of the [Senate] Budget Committee a few years ago… It’s nothing but a political tool each side uses. There’s no policy put behind the changes, and as I’ve said to Senator Perdue and others, Senator Whitehouse, we ought to actually do away with the budget committee because it performs no useful function as it relates to causing us to be fiscally sound.”

“Secondly, we major in the minors,” added Corker. “There’s all this talk about appropriations, so we spend the entire year focusing on 30 percent of what we spend, which, again, is majoring in the minors. Seventy percent of the money we spend is on mandatory spending. These are programs that people are counting on, especially during the latter years of their life. We do nothing whatsoever to ensure that they’re going to be fiscally sound.”

Corker provided the joint committee with budget reform recommendations and discussed how the current process lacks a forcing mechanism to ensure the policies outlined in the budget are implemented.

“I think you’ve got a big task. I would say, first of all, put everything on-budget. Everything. Look at combining the operations of both [the] authorizing and appropriating [committees]. Do away with the budget committee and let a few leaders decide what the [spending] caps are going to be over the next couple of years. And quit using the budget itself as a political tool,” recommended Corker.

“The problem is … we use [budget] reconciliation with 50 votes, but it takes 60 votes in the Senate to put policies in place. So, there’s never policy follow-up to the budget proposals,” concluded Corker. “So, both sides are guilty of huge deficits. Both sides like to spend money, just on different things. But the processes we have will never, as they are now constructed, do the things we want to do as a country.”

Click here to watch the senator's remarks. 

Applauding Committee Passage of Cyber Diplomacy Bill

Last week, Senator Corker applauded committee passage of legislation to establish U.S. international policy for cyberspace. H.R. 3776, The “Cyber Diplomacy Act of 2017”, which passed the House of Representatives in January, will establish a dedicated team for cyber issues to be led by a senior State Department official, encourage the president to pursue international arrangements on cyberspace with oversight from Congress, and require a strategy for implementing U.S. international cyberspace policy.

“The security and economic future of our country increasingly depends on working with our allies and partners to maintain a secure, reliable and open internet,” said Corker. “We need a robust agenda for cyber diplomacy with the leadership and congressional oversight necessary to carry it out successfully. Enactment of this legislation will more effectively focus and centralize cyber diplomacy efforts at the State Department.”