U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon: Career highlights on The Murfreesboro Post

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U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon: Career highlights

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Posted: Monday, December 14, 2009 9:39 am

U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon Career Highlights

Seniority
39th most senior Member of the U.S. House of Representatives – 39th of 435 Took office January 3, 1985

Current Committee Assignments
Chairman of the Science and Technology Committee
Energy and Commerce

Past Committee Assignments
Financial Services
Rules
Chair, Consent Calendar

Other Service
Served as Deputy Whip
Member of the Blue Dog Coalition
Transatlantic Legislators Dialogue member
NATO Parliamentary Assembly participant

Good Ideas and Consensus
Gordon is known for working to make the Science and Technology Committee a “committee of good ideas and consensus.” Since Gordon became the committee’s chairman, 67 Committee bills and 49 resolutions passed through the House. All received bipartisan support, and most passed with an overwhelming majority.

Constituent Service During his time in Congress, Gordon has helped tens of thousands of Middle Tennesseans cut through government red tape when they were having problems dealing with federal agencies and programs, such as the Department of Veterans Affairs, Medicare, and Social Security.

Gordon has held more than 2,000 open meetings, call-ins and listening sessions over the years.

Congressional Web sites www.house.gov/bart - personal office
www.science.house.gov – Science and Technology Committee

Legislative Highlights

America COMPETES Act (Signed into law on August 9, 2007; Public Law #110-69): Gordon authored The America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science Act. The America COMPETES Act will improve the United States’ ability to compete in the global marketplace. The law:
• authorized $33.6 billion over fiscal years 2008-2010 for federal science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education programs;
• authorized multiple grant programs to help educate current and future teachers in the areas of science and math;
• invested in basic research and supports young researchers by expanding early career grant programs;
• established the Advanced Research Projects-Agency (ARPA-E) to engage in high-risk, high reward alternative energy research under the Department of Energy (DOE); and
• authorized doubling of funding for the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the National Science Foundation and the DOE Office of Science.

Reducing America’s Dependence on Foreign Energy (Public Law #110-140, 12/19/2007): Gordon authored legislation to expand research, development and demonstration of cutting-edge energy technologies, and promote renewable domestic energy sources. The Energy Independence and Security Act, included Gordon’s Energy Storage Technology Advancement Act, which:
• included a bill Gordon authored to help advance energy storage technologies that are critical to more widespread use of renewable electricity and advanced batteries for vehicles; and
• incorporated renewable technologies as part of an “all-of-the-above” domestic energy policy.

Higher Education and Student Aid (Public Law #02-325, 7/23/1992; Public Law #103-322, 9/13/1994; and Public Law #04-134, 4/26/1996): Through his involvement in three Higher Education Reauthorization Acts and other efforts to help families cope with rising college costs, Gordon worked to put a college diploma within reach of more students by making college more affordable and accessible. Gordon:
• initiated a wide-ranging investigation into the federal student aid system that has been responsible for reducing the loan default rate by more than half, saving more than $3 billion a year in student loan defaults, and making financial aid more accessible to low- and middle-income students.
• authored changes that included barring schools with high default rates from participating in the Pell Grant program, eliminating the Pell grant for prisoners program and cracking down on fly-by-night schools.

Family Medical Leave Act (Signed into law on February 5, 1993; Public Law #103 3): As a member of the House Rules committee, Gordon coauthored the Family Medical Leave Act compromise in 1990 that was ultimately signed into law in 1993. This legislation:
• ensured workers could take job-protected unpaid leave to care for a new baby or a sick child, spouse, or parent.

Stones River National Battlefield and Tennessee Civil War Heritage Area (Public Law #100-205, 12/23/1987; Public Law #102-225, 12/11/1991; and, Public Law #104-333, 11/11/1996): Gordon worked to preserve Tennessee’s historic Civil War battlefields and ensure future generations have the opportunity to walk on the hallowed ground where our nation’s history unfolded. His efforts:
• doubled the area protected by the historic Stones River National Battlefield, one of the nation’s 10 most endangered civil war battlefields; and
• secured more than $20 million in federal funding for Stones River National Battlefield;
• created the Tennessee Civil War Heritage Area, which authorized $10 million to help promote tourism and conserve Civil War Heritage in all 95 Tennessee counties.

Methamphetamine Remediation Research Act (Public Law #110-143, 12/21/2007): In the midst of a methamphetamine epidemic in Tennessee, Gordon learned that local communities did not have the tools they need to clean up former meth lab sites. In response, he crafted legislation to help local officials determine when a former site was safe for future occupants. The law:
• directed the EPA to develop standards to help local communities clean up former meth labs; and • directed the National Institutes of Standards and Technology to develop meth detection equipment for field use.

Regulating 1-800 and 1-900 Numbers (Public Laws #102-556, 10/29/1992; Public Law #104-104, 2/8/1996): When outraged constituents contacted Gordon about their inflated phone bills after they called 1-800 numbers and were re-routed to high-cost 1-900 numbers without their knowledge, Gordon introduced legislation to regulate 1-800 and 1-900 numbers for the first time. Those bills became part of laws that:
• prohibited charges on calls to 1-800 numbers;
• gave consumers the right to block 1-900 numbers and required 1-900 operators to disclose rates and give people the chance to hang up before they incur charges; and
• prohibited any charges on telephone bills for calls routed through 1-800 numbers.

Helping Families Adopt Children Into Loving Homes: After learning that the Romanian government held more than 100,000 abandoned children in unfit, warehouse-like orphanages, Gordon introduced legislation in 1993 to block Romania’s Most Favored Nation trade status unless Romania changed its policy and allowed these children a chance to be adopted into loving homes.
• As a result of Gordon’s efforts, Romania passed its own law saying children would be considered abandoned and eligible for adoption if they had been left in orphanages for more than six months without contact from their parents.
• Adoptions increased dramatically because of the new law, and Gordon has also supported measures in favor of domestic adoption policies that encourage more families to provide a loving home for children awaiting adoption.

Tagged under Bart Gordon, Gordon

Member Opinions:

By: truthandjustice1 on 12/14/09
We will miss you Bart, great job. I am sure you will remain very active but, anyway have a wonderful retirement with your family.

By: ItsGood on 12/14/09
Some of us are very glad you will miss Bart.

By: biker on 12/15/09
One of the champions of the pork barrel as listed in the article, but not called what it is.