Heidi Alexander: “I often recommend to Tennesseans that they look at the U.S. Congress as if it were a split-screen television set. Here…”

“I often recommend to Tennesseans that they look at the U.S. Congress as if it were a split-screen television set. Here is what I mean by that. During the last month, on one side of the screen you saw the usual Washington, DC, turmoil--Trump versus the squad, Mueller testifying, impeachment votes, battle over the border, Presidential candidates posturing, and of course the daily tweets. On the other side of the screen was the President and congressional leaders agreeing to a 2-year budget that will strengthen our military, help our veterans, fund research for medical miracles, fund research for our National Laboratories, support our national parks, and save taxpayers a boatload of money by providing stability in funding. I might add that this part of the budget--31 percent of the budget-- is not the part of the budget that is creating the budget deficit. This part of the budget that we will be voting on tomorrow has gone up at about the rate of inflation for the last 10 years and is projected by the Congressional Budget Office to go up at about the rate of inflation for the next 10 years. It is the entitlement part of the budget that is the problem, which is why I am voting for what the President and the congressional leaders have recommended, but then also on that side of the screen, away from the Washington, DC, turmoil, there was another story, which is the story I want to talk about today.…”