Hometown Press: U.S. Congressman Zach Wamp : 3rd District Of Tennessee

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Heart of the nation's security
November 2 – A digital message from Rep. Zach Wamp was broadcast to a nearly filled auditorium celebrating the first National Day of Remembrance at the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge. Similar programs were held in several cities across the U.S. to honor nuclear weapons program workers, uranium miners and haulers, many of whom have suffered the results of exposure to workplace toxins.
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New hall of fame inductees honored
October 26 – Ten individuals were recognized during the Anderson County Hall of Fame ceremony. Cpl. Jason Dane Hovater was recognized posthumously for Military Service with the 173rd Airborne Brigade, 2nd Battalion in Afghanistan. Rep. Zach Wamp said, "Cpl. Jason Dane Hovater is an American hero in every sense." Wamp's videotaped remarks were broadcast as Hovater was honored.
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Wamp: DOE should act on USEC loan guarantee
September 4 – With high-skill jobs at stake, DOE should make a decision on a $2B loan guarantee to USEC within six months and, in the meantime, ought to make $45M available to the company, U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp said Thursday. The company has said it would have to "demobilize" the project and lay off workers if it fails to get the DOE loan guarantee.
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Student’s dismay leads to change at U.S. battlefield
August 27 – The opening in the stone wall was too narrow to pass through in a wheelchair and a student wasn’t able to clearly hear what the guide was telling the rest of her classmates. Rep. Wamp contacted the National Park Service about the handicap access at Gettysburg. Oak Ridge teacher Ken Senter said he soon received communications from the office of the superintendent of Gettysburg National Military Park that park officials were working to fix the problem. Now, a 4-foot gap has been made in the wall to permit wheelchair access to the Tennessee monument.
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'Coal' town celebrates its 100th
July 6 – "Your history has given you character. There is a tremendous heritage here," Rep. Zach Wamp said. That history, and much more, was recalled during a 100th birthday banquet in Lake City. The town changed its name in 1939, commemorating the formation of nearby Norris Lake.
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Facility bringing 150-plus workers
June 5 – The Secure Support Facility located at the Horizon Center in Oak Ridge will initially bring more than 150 jobs to the surrounding counties. To celebrate the grand opening of the Q-cleared facility, guest speaker Congressman Zach Wamp said, "I am very proud of what IMPACT Services, Inc. and Omega Consultants have done. They have taken an existing building that was sitting vacant and are turning it into a facility that will provide new jobs for the local community.”
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Zach Wamp praises 2009 service academy graduates
June 4 – Four students from Tennessee’s Third Congressional District completed their undergraduate education at one of America’s service academies, graduating with the Class of 2009. Each year, Congressman Wamp has the privilege of nominating exemplary high school students from Tennessee’s Third District to qualify for appointments to the service academies, including the U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Military Academy at West Point and the U.S. Naval Academy.

Alexander: Build more nuclear power plants
May 28 – This year, Sen. Lamar Alexander the is proposing the country add more nuclear power plants at the Tennessee Valley Corridor's 2009 National Summit. The Corridor partnership, first established in 1995 by Rep. Zach Wamp, includes partnerships in southern and eastern Kentucky, southwest Virginia, middle and east Tennessee, and northern Alabama.
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Halcyon Center at ORNL
April 28 – The 15-year-old Halcyon Commercialization Center, formerly used for office space, was remodeled with funding from three U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awards. The officials praised the leadership and support of Rep. Zach Wamp.
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Muddy Boot Award and Postma Young Professionals Medal
April 28 – ETEC President Jim Campbell, says "Both U.S. Reps. Marilyn Lloyd and Zach Wamp, who combined to serve the 3rd Congressional District for the last 30-plus years, have received Boots for their advocacy of Oak Ridge issues in Washington.”
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RSI gains national ‘best’ ranking
April 20 – Teamwork is what it's all about at Restoration Services Inc. RSI President Staci Ferguson praised the employees for their diligence and hard work: "I'm proud of you all," she said at the end of the breakfast, which also featured brief remarks from U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-3rd District.
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Obama set to sign Green McAdoo bill into law
March 27 – President Barack Obama is soon expected to sign the Trail of Tears Documentation Act and the Green McAdoo National History Study Act into law. U.S. Sens. Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker, along with U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp have worked for several years to move these measures through Congress.

SAIC Celebration! Shared services HQ opens in Oak Ridge
March 17 – A new office headquarters for Science Applications International Corp. has brought almost 150 new jobs to Oak Ridge and could bring more later, company executives said. Zach Wamp said SAIC has a growing presence here and brings "really, really good jobs that have a huge ripple effect in the community. "We have a booming economy in the middle of this economic downturn.”
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Remote-handled TRU waste arrives in N.M.
March 3 – "For the first time ever, since its creation in 1943 during the war effort, the highest level waste from manmade nuclear materials is being shipped out of Oak Ridge. The safe removal of this radioactive waste is an important accomplishment for DOE and demonstrates its commitment to the continued environmental cleanup of the Oak Ridge Reservation."
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'Building America's future': America's Veterans to TN Engineers program kicks off
February 27 – During a ceremony in the Y-12 New Hope Center, more than two dozen representatives of participating corporations and area universities took to the stage to support the America's Veterans to Tennessee Engineers program. "Across the board, this is a huge win-win," U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, who also attended Friday's kickoff ceremony, said of the America's Veterans to Tennessee Engineers program. "We are paying this forward."
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Elected GOP say ‘no’ to stimulus bill
February 13 – The economic stimulus bill working its way through the U.S. Congress is the largest spending bill ever, and three Tennessee legislators said they don't support it. "There are so many bad things in this huge bill," said Rep. Zach Wamp. "It is a huge amount of debt to incur all at one time, and I don't think it's going to help. It's a flawed notion that we can borrow our way out of this mess," Wamp said, adding that he thinks the bill could actually weaken the economy and slow down the recovery.
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Honoring veterans – every day
November 10 – Freedom in the United States of America is only extended from one generation to the next by the men and women in the uniform of our Armed Forces. Through some periods, these brave Americans were drafted to serve; and in other periods, like this modern era, brave Americans volunteer to serve our country in uniform. By putting their very life and limb between threats to our way of life and our civilian population and standing in the gap on our behalf, they become veterans — our greatest citizens and finest patriots.
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‘DOE secretary approves K-25 land transfer
October 30 – Congressman Zach Wamp announced this week that Oak Ridge will get a boost in its reindustrialization efforts to recruit new industry to the East Tennessee Technology Park's Heritage Center. "By transferring unused land for private development, the Department of Energy will allow Oak Ridge partners to proactively engage companies in advanced manufacturing and other industries," said Wamp.
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‘Get it right’ formula for lab’s success
October 9 – Materials & Chemistry Laboratory Inc., or MCLinc, held an open house in celebration of its 10th anniversary and the company's many successes. Keynote speaker, Rep. Zach Wamp talked about the economy and the struggles the United States is currently experiencing. “Labs like Barry's will help lead us back."
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Huemf milestone celebrated
September 30 – Major construction on a $549M high-security warehouse to hold the government's largest cache of weapons-grade uranium was recently completed in Oak Ridge. ''As the Uranium Center of Excellence, Y-12 is leading NNSA in bringing our nuclear weapons complex into the 21st century," Rep. Zach Wamp said.
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Let's lower energy cost before it's too late
September 18 – One issue is burning in the American public like no other issue, and that is the cost of energy. While the American people continue to suffer at the gas pump, House Democrats have decided to bring a so-called "energy" bill to the floor that doesn't do enough to increase our domestic supply of energy now.
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Tennessee Valley Corridor leads south to transportation future
September 17 – The U.S. consumes and imports more oil than any other country. Of course, we also output a gross domestic product like no other, so it's essential we push for technological advancement to maintain our competitiveness. From transportation to energy, the Tennessee Valley Corridor is providing national leadership to keep America at the forefront of innovation.
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ORNL draws leaders; Pakistan draws concern
August 21 – Referencing comments made to the newly formed Sunset Rotary Club of Oak Ridge, the U.S. representative told a group of reporters Tuesday that he is concerned about how well Pakistan's nuclear weapons are secured compared to the United States. "We're not sure of the outcome in Pakistan," Wamp said. "It's very unstable." Taking into consideration what the congressman called "a very troubling security environment" coupled with an "economy going in the wrong direction," Wamp suggested Pakistan "could be weeks away from chaos or improvement -- and we don't know which. Our country had better watch closely, because (Pakistan) is a linchpin in that region."
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$14M Pro2Serve headquarters breaks ground at new Science and Technology Park
August 20 – Government officials, local business leaders and others gathered at the new Oak Ridge Science and Technology Park at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory on Tuesday to support the groundbreaking of Professional Project Services Inc.'s (Pro2Serve) 115,000-square-foot National Security Engineering Center.
U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp added that "this is not Las Vegas -- and what's done here doesn't have to stay here." The congressman reiterated the need to transfer technology and to take the Oak Ridge area's extraordinary intellectual wealth "and let all benefit from it."
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‘CSIs come here from all over the world’; Forensics facility dedicated in OR
August 19 – The University of Tennessee's National Forensic Academy -- one of the nation's premier training grounds for crime scene investigators -- held a ribbon "explosion" ceremony Monday to open its new training facility at 1201 Oak Ridge Turnpike. Wamp also recognized Russ Dedrick, with the U.S. attorney's office, for creating the meth task force, which led to the Southeast Tennessee Methamphetamine Task Force, which is a state program. "Both programs (STMTF and NFA) are cutting-edge programs out of Tennessee that benefit the nation," Wamp said. "This is when we are very proud of these partnerships," Wamp said, referring to UT and Oak Ridge.
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City celebrates communication system dollars
August 19 – Oak Ridge has received a $1M federal appropriation to improve public safety communications systems, officials announced Monday. Like Washington, D.C., Oak Ridge is a prime candidate for good interoperable systems, said U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, a Tennessee Republican whose district includes Oak Ridge. Wamp advocated for the federal appropriation, or earmark, for Oak Ridge and attended Monday's ceremony.
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‘Extraordinary’
August 19 – The "heroic effort" of rebuilding a school took many people to accomplish, Pat Postma said. Along with Oak Ridge High School Principal Chuck Carringer, School Board Chairman John Smith Jr., Mayor Tom Beehan and U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, Postma recognized the importance of the community and the teamwork that went into making the new $61 million, 382,000-square feet, state-of-the-art facility a reality. Congressman Wamp stated: "Oak Ridge has a legacy that is second to none. It's amazing to me that Oak Ridge does everything so well."
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ORNL wins White House award
June 24 – The Green Transportation Initiative at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has received a White House “Closing the Circle Award,” recognizing outstanding federal environmental stewardship practices. “ORNL is making a meaningful reduction in its petroleum consumption,” U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp said. “The Green Transportation Initiative is an excellent model for other federal agencies to follow in an effort to reduce our use of foreign oil, and demonstrates that the federal government can create new practices that the private sector can follow.”
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Increase the supply of U.S. energy
June 18 – We can only help lower the price of gasoline by implementing an all-of-the-above approach that increases American-made energy, decreases our dependence on foreign oil and creates jobs here at home in the process. The world needs to see us proactively moving toward energy independence, and the best way we can do it is to deploy the technologies and capitalize on our free-enterprise system to solve these problems. We must continue to invest in next generation vehicles to decrease our petroleum consumption.
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The situation in Iraq is improving
June 9 – With the upcoming presidential race and the high cost of energy dominating recent headlines, it has been hard to find much coverage of the good news coming from Iraq. But evidence abounds that shows the surge is working. For the first time, the Iraqi government and army have control of Basra and the Sadr City neighborhood of Baghdad.

Local leaders open Alabama office
June 6 – Top leaders from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Y-12 National Security Complex and Oak Ridge Associated Universities recently announced a plan to open an Oak Ridge-Huntsville Partnership Office in Huntsville. The announcement was applauded last week by U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp during the Tennessee Valley Corridor's National Technology Summit.
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Wamp announces service academy appointees for 2008
May 29 – Seven students from Tennessee's Third District were nominated by U.S. Congressman Zach Wamp and selected by three of the country's service academies to begin their studies this summer. "Attending one of America's military academies is a challenging and unique experience in higher education," Wamp said.
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Answering our country's call
May 23 – How fortunate we are to live, work and worship freely in this great nation; however, throughout history, these things have come at a high cost. Our independence is only possible because of those who came before us and died to defend it. Maintaining liberty is arduous work, and there are times we must show the world that we believe in freedom enough to fight for it. This is how we preserve our way of life and hand down the mantle of freedom to each new generation.
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Wamp offers independence security act
May 21 – In an effort to increase American energy capacity and rebalance the nation's energy portfolio, Congressman Zach Wamp and 17 of his colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives introduced the Main Street USA Independence Security Act. "As part of an 'all-of-the-above' approach, the Main Street USA Independence Security Act is a comprehensive capacity bill. While many of these initiatives have been introduced in the past, the unsustainable cost of energy makes it necessary again to propose new energy sources for America," Wamp said.
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Alexander’s 7-step “Manhattan Project” addresses energy issue
May 12 – Sen. Lamar Alexander came to Oak Ridge to promote a five-year project aimed at making America energy independent and more environmentally friendly within a generation. U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp said the nexus between national security, energy and the environment is the "most important policy issue of our generation. We have to act. This cannot wait."
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‘All of the above’ approach to addressing energy costs
April 30 – Rising fuel costs are bearing down on our nation's economy and are hampering economic recovery. The more money people have to spend on gasoline, the less they have to spend on other goods or services. But we can't just drill our way out of the problem, we have to employ an "all the above" strategy with alternative sources as the centerpiece.
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Federal nuclear cleanup group discusses Oak Ridge site
April 8 – The U.S. House of Representatives’ Nuclear Cleanup Caucus held a briefing on the progress of the Oak Ridge Office’s Environmental Management program. “This briefing gives our site managers and contractors the opportunity to provide valuable insight to congressional offices around the country about the specific progress made and the challenges faced at Oak Ridge,” Rep. Zach Wamp said.

Wamp named ‘ranking’ Republican for military, veterans appropriations
February 6 – In his years of leadership with the House Appropriations Committee Zach Wamp has served on six of the 12 appropriations subcommittees. Now he’ll have the opportunity to take the lead on veterans’ issues through his new appointment as the top “ranking” Republican of the Subcommittee on MILCON-VA. “The highest honor I have is to serve those who serve,” Wamp is quoted as saying.