Bob Corker

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Robert Phillips Corker Jr. (born August 24, 1952) is a US businessman and politician who has served as a junior American Senator from Tennessee since 2007. He is chairman of the current Senate Foreign Relations Committee at the 115th Congress). He is a member of the Republican Party.

In 1978, Corker founded a construction company, which he sold in 1990. He ran for the US Senate in 1994 in Tennessee, but was defeated in the Republican Party by Senate Senate Senate Leader Bill Frist. Appointed by Governor Don Sundquist, Corker served as Commissioner of Finance and Administration of the State of Tennessee from 1995 to 1996. He then acquired two of the largest real estate companies in Chattanooga, Tennessee, before being elected Mayor of Chattanooga-71 in 2000; he served one term (2001-2005).

Corker announced his candidacy for the 2006 US Senatorial election in Tennessee after Frist announced his resignation. Corker defeated Democratic Representative Harold Ford, Jr. in the general election, with 51% of the vote. In 2012 Corker was re-elected, defeating Democrat Mark E. Clayton, 65% to 30%. On September 26, 2017, Corker announced that he would not seek reelection in 2018.

Video Bob Corker

Early life and family

Corker was born in Orangeburg, South Carolina, son of Jean J. (nÃÆ' Â © e Hutto) and Robert Phillips "Phil" Corker. His family moved to Tennessee when he was 11 years old.

Corker graduated from Chattanooga High School in 1970 and obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Management from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 1974. Corker is a member of the Chi Sigma Fraternity. Corker's roommate in the Sigma Chi fraternity is the owner of Cleveland Browns, Jimmy Haslam, whose brother is the current Governor of Tennessee, Bill Haslam.

During the twenties, Corker took part in a mission trip to Haiti, which he believed inspired to become more active in his home community. Upon returning, Corker helped found Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise, a nonprofit organization that has provided low-interest home loans and home maintenance education for thousands of Tennesses since its inception in 1986.

Corker and his wife, Elizabeth, whom she married on January 10, 1987, had two daughters. The family residence is at Anne Haven Mansion, built by Coca-Cola Bottling Company heirs, Anne Lupton and Frank Harrison.

Maps Bob Corker

Business career

In an interview with Esquire, Corker said that he started working when he was 13 years old, collecting garbage and pocketing ice. Then he worked at Western Auto and as a construction worker. After graduating from college, he worked for four years as a construction supervisor. During this time he saved $ 8,000, which he used to start a construction company, Bencor, in 1978. The company's first major contract was with the Krystal restaurant, building a drive-through window. Construction companies became successful, growing 80 percent annually, according to Corker, and in the mid-1980s undertaken projects in 18 states. He sold the company in 1990.

In 1999, Corker acquired two of the largest real estate companies in Chattanooga: the Osborne Building Corporation real estate developer and property management company, Stone Fort Land Company. In 2006 he sold properties and assets that have shaped these companies to Chattanooga entrepreneur Henry Luken.

In recognition of the success of his efforts, the 2005 University of Tennessee in Chattanooga renamed it the "Entrepreneurial Fame Entrepreneurial." Corker said he believes his business background is very valuable in his political career and the experience "gives [him] a unique insight and allows [him] to weigh, in a valuable way". In 2008, Corker's assets were estimated at more than $ 19 million.

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Senate 1994 campaign

Corker first ran for the United States Senate in 1994, taking second place in Republicans for Bill Frist's winner. During the main campaign, the campaign manager Frist attacked Corker, calling it "trash pool". Despite the rhetoric, Corker arrived in Nashville early in the morning after a major offering to the Frist campaign for his help. He went on to campaign for Frist in the general election.

From 1995 to 1996, Corker was the Commissioner of Finance and Administration of the State of Tennessee, a designated position, working for Governor Don Sundquist.

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Mayor of Chattanooga

Corker served as mayor of Chattanooga from 2001-05. While at work he implements bonus systems based on achievements for teachers. The system, established in 2002, rewards teachers and principals for improving student performance in the lowest-performing schools in Chattanooga. Two years after its implementation, a study published in The Tennessean showed that the percentage of third graders reading at or above the grade level has increased from 53% to 74%. However, a report by the Education Sector think tank suggests that particular teacher training is at least equal to student upgrading.

In 2003, Corker started a program called ChattanoogaRESULTS, facilitating monthly meetings with public service department administrators to evaluate their performance and set goals for improvement. This program has been continued by the successor of Corker, Ron Littlefield. Corker has recognized the increasing cooperation between departments to reduce crime in Chattanooga. The city data shows a 26% reduction in crime and a 50% reduction in violent crime between 2001 and 2004.

Corker is also heavily involved in the development of Enterprise South Industrial Park in Chattanooga. Then, as US Senator, he worked with state and local officials to recruit Volkswagen to open production facilities on the site.

During his term as mayor, Corker also oversees a $ 120 million riverside renovation project, including an expansion of the Hunter Museum, the renovation of the Creative Discovery Museum, the expansion of the Chattanooga River River Walk, and the addition of new saltwater buildings to the Tennessee Aquarium.

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AS. Senate

Selection

2006

In 2004, Corker announced that he would seek the US Senator's seat to be vacated by Sen. Bill Frist, who had announced that he would not run for re-election. In the main Republican Party, Corker faces two former congressmen, Ed Bryant and Van Hilleary. Both opponents ran as powerful conservatives, denouncing Corker as a moderate and eventually labeling him a leftist. In the course of his campaign, Corker spent $ 4.2 million on television advertising, especially in the western part of the state, where he is relatively unknown. In August, he won with 48% of the vote; Bryant got 34% and Hilleary got 17%.

In an election campaign, Corker's Democrat, Harold Ford, Jr., challenged Corker to seven state-of-the-art television debates. In response, Corker said he would argue against Ford, although he disagrees with seven debates. Both candidates eventually participated in three television debates: in Memphis on October 7 in Chattanooga on October 10, and in Nashville on October 28th.

The race between Ford and Corker is described as "among the most competitive and evil" in the country. In October 2006, when polls showed that Ford retained a slight advantage over Corker, the Republican National Committee ran a controversial television advertisement that attacked Ford. In a 30-second advertisement, the voice of a "road man" bite stating Ford was wrong because Tennessee was interspersed with two white women's shots that excitedly called back Ford - who was African-American and unmarried at the time - at the Playboy Party. This ad ends with this woman who cheerfully invites Ford to call her. Corker denounced the ad and requested that it be removed from the air.

Corker wins the election with less than three percentage points. He is the only unconverted Republican elected to the US Senate in the 110th Congress. Corker was sworn in as Senator on January 4, 2007.

2012

In November 2012, Corker won a re-election bid with 65% of the vote. Corker faces conservative Democrat Mark E. Clayton, from Davidson County, near Nashville, who receives 30% of the election vote. Clayton was ruled out by his own party, the urging leaders of the Democrats writing in their chosen candidate in the race against Corker; the reason given by the party is Clayton's association with hate groups, a clear reference to the fact that Clayton is vice president of the United States-based Public Advocate of the United States interest group D.C.

Tenure

Corker is one of the original members of Geng 10, now made up of twenty members, which is a bipartisan coalition looking for a comprehensive energy reform. The group is pushing for a bill that will drive state-by-country decisions on offshore drilling and authorize billions of dollars for conservation and alternative energy.

In June 2008, Corker was among 36 senators who voted against the cloture movement necessary to allow for further progress from the Lieberman-Warner Climate Act, a move to establish a cap-and-trade framework to reduce GHG emissions glass in the United States. Not long before, Corker has offered three amendments to actions that focus on returning as much money as possible to American consumers, in part by eliminating free international and offset benefits. Two years later he backed the proposed Senate resolution to express disagreement with the rules put forward by the Environmental Protection Agency on the findings that jeopardize identifying greenhouse gases as regulatory issues under the Clean Air Act. In the spring of 2011 he became a joint sponsor of the Energy Tax Prevention Act, which will amend the Clean Air Act to ban the EPA from regulating greenhouse gases, and thus aims to protect households and businesses from paying increased fees passed on to them by businesses are forced to comply with the new regulations. Corker said at the time that he hoped that as an alternative to administrative regulation by the EPA, Congress would "determine the rational energy policy for the country, broadly advance our energy security and maintain existing policies to ensure clean air and water.

In 2008, Corker was one of sixteen Senators who opposed the tax rebate stimulus plan, criticizing him as a "political stimulus" for the election campaign. He then described the stimulus package that passed Congress as "ridiculous".

In December 2008, Corker opposed a federal bailout for the failure of US carmakers, and expressed doubts that the company could be saved. Corker proposes that federal funds be reserved for cars only when accompanied by cuts in labor costs and other concessions from unions. The United Auto Workers (UAW), which has previously received a series of cuts in its current contract, is trying to delay further cuts until 2011, while Corker called for the cuts to come into effect in 2009. Republicans blame the UAW for failing to reach an agreement while the UAW claims that Corker's proposal choose "workers and pensioners for different treatment and make them bear the entire burden of restructuring." Corker's plan to protect taxpayers through tough conditions on any federal aid, however, was ultimately embraced by both President George W. Bush, which put Corker's terms in executive orders, and President Barack Obama, through his automated task force.

In September 2009, Corker became a ranking member of the Senate Special Committee for Aging, replacing former Sen. Mel Martinez.

On May 20, 2010, despite his initial role as the prime Republican negotiator on financial regulatory reform, Corker voted against the Senate's financial regulatory bill ("Returning the American Financial Stability Act", S. 3217, the Senate version of what eventually became Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act), which include provisions for increased oversight of financial derivatives traded by major US banks and financial institutions.

After the Senate election, Corker expressed his disappointment with the bill, stating, inter alia, that it did not adequately address concerns about the integrity of loan guarantees, or the need to strengthen bankruptcy laws, and provide for orderly liquidation. The main criticism of financial reforms offered by Corker on June 10, 2010, at the House and Senate joint conference on Financial Regulation, is that it will hurt industry and employment if passed.

Corker opposes the limit for credit card fees imposed by banks on merchant transactions.

Corker is one of three Republicans to support the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START START) at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in September 2010.

In April 2013, Corker was one of 46 senators to vote against a bill that would expand the background checks for all weapon buyers. Corker voted with 40 Republicans and 5 Democrats to stop the bill.

Corker has called for softening the role of outside spending in elections by giving political candidates the right to approve ads on behalf of those created by outside committees.

Committees assignment

• Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee
  • Subcommittee for Housing, Transport and Community Development
  • Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance and Investment
  • Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection
• Foreign Relations Committee (Chairman)
  • Subcommittee on African Affairs (Ex Officio)
  • Subcommittee on European Affairs (Ex Officio)
  • Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific (Ex Officio)
  • Subcommittee on Near and Southern Asia and the Middle East (Ex Officio)
  • Subcommittee in the Western Hemisphere and Global Narcotics Affairs (Ex Officio)
  • Subcommittee on International Development and Foreign Assistance, Economic Affairs,
    and International Environmental Protection (Ex Officio)
  • Subcommittee on International Operations and Organization, Human Rights, Democracy
    and the Global Women's Issue (Ex Officio)
• Special Committee on Aging (Member rank, 2009-2011)

Retirement

On September 26, 2017, Corker announced that he would not seek reelection in 2018, defending his pledge when he ran in 2006 to serve only two periods in the Senate. After announcing his resignation, Corker intensified his opposition to President Donald Trump, accusing him of lying, degrading the United States, and undermining his global position.

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Political position

Corker scored 83% on the 2008 United States Conservative Union Congress Rating. According to National Journal's 2009 Vote Ratings, he was ranked 34th as the most conservative member of the Senate.

The 111th Congress

• National Journal: 66% Conservative
  • Economy: 29% Liberal/69% Conservative
  • Social issues: 29% Liberal/70% Conservative
  • Foreign policy: 41% Liberal/56% Conservative
• Americans for Democratic Action: 10% (Liberal Scores)
• National Taxpayer Association: 83% (Class: B; Rank: 24)

Social policy

In the 2006 primary campaign, Corker's opponents claimed that he had changed his view of abortion since his first Senate campaign in 1994. Corker replied that he was "wrong in 1994" when he said that the government should not interfere with the individual's right to have an abortion. , states that he now believes that life begins at conception. Corker has changed his position and opposed abortion on request except when the life of the mother is threatened or in cases of rape or incest.

Fiscal Policy

In 2006, Corker supported the 2001 tax withholding and permanent 2003 tax withholding. He has shown an interest in replacing the federal progressive income tax with a flat tax.

He supported $ 350 billion in TARP funding in 2008, and opposed the release of an additional $ 350 billion in 2009.

In 2011, Corker voted in favor of the Republican alternative budget proposed by Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI), a proposal that would eliminate the health care provided through the Medicare program instead of providing senior subsidies for part of the cost of obtaining private medical care. insurance. Corker calls programs like Medicare and Social Security as "generation theft".

In 2013, Corker supported the Marketplace Fairness Act and voted for his share in the Senate. Marketplace Fairness Act will allow countries to start collecting sales tax on online purchases.

Corker is the only Republican senator who voted against the Senate version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 before being sent to a conference committee with the House, citing concerns about the deficit. On December 20, 2017, Corker, who previously said he would "take a closer look at the products developed at the conference before making a decision on the latest legislation," voted in favor of the Cuts and Jobs Act tax report, saying, "In the end, after 11 years in the Senate I know every bill we think is imperfect and the question is whether our country is better with or without this law I think we are better off with it I realize this is a bet on the enterprising spirit of our country, and that is a bet I'm willing to do. "

Some commentators pointed out that the new provisions added to the final version of the bill, which some called "Corker Kickback," could financially benefit the Senator. In response, Corker's office stated that the senator is not a member of the tax-writing committee or he is not involved in lawmaking, and that he has not requested any special tax provisions during months of debate. Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) called the statement of Corker's voice "categorically wrong," adding, "It takes a lot of imagination - and possibly there is not a bit of alignment - to say that the provisions that have been published for more than a month, are disputed on the floor of the House of Representatives, including the bill passed by the House of Representatives, and identified by JCT as a matter that requires a compromise between the participants is somehow a secret and last-minute addition to the conference report. "Chairman of House Ways and Means Kevin Brady (R- Texas) also denied the accusation, saying, "To claim that Senator Corker has something to do with it, in my view, is nonsense.This is the provision we have striven for, we think it's important and important for the last pass-through approach. "The Majority Senate of John Cornyn (R-Texas) added," What is the purpose of this exercise is, the story false and this created, is to undermine public confidence in this package of tax reforms... Some of our friends on the other side of the aisle and their allies in what is called the mainstream media ran with it in a dishonest effort â € <â € < to frustrate us so as not to pass the bill and undermine the integrity reputation of one of our senators. "

Foreign policy

Corker traveled to Iraq for the first time as senator in February 2007 as a member of the Foreign Relations Committee to study the situation on the ground. In March 2007, he later expressed his opposition to the deadline for the arbitrary withdrawal of US troops in Iraq and expressed his support for General David Petraeus's counter-insurgency strategy. Corker said that further reductions in US troops in Iraq should be based on improving conditions in the country. In May 2008, Corker and US Democratic Senator Bob Casey advocated for sharing a greater burden among Iraq's neighbors in funding the reconstruction effort in the country.

In April 2009, Corker criticized President Obama's war strategy, which encouraged civil efforts to rebuild the impoverished nation and placed nuclear-armed Pakistan at the center of the struggle: "I do not know what it is, besides sending in additional troops I hope we dig deeper, "Corker said. He expects that the United States should establish the economic structure and governance of Afghanistan after decades of war.

In April 2015, Corker's position in Iraq was an upheaval in the Middle East that preceded Barack Obama's presidency, and that by invading Iraq in 2003, the United States "took a big stick and beat the honeycomb", unleashing a competition that might take decades to complete..

Corker supports supplying Ukraine (against the War in Donbass) with deadly weapons.

In 2017, Corker criticized President Trump's provocative tweet against North Korea as impulsive. He said, "Many people think that there is some kind of 'good cop' action, bad cop 'is ongoing, but that's not true." He further expressed concern that Trump's reckless behavior can lead to war. Corker's comments are not filled with public dissent; Republicans seem to agree with Corker.

Health care policy

In September 2009, Corker opposed amendments to healthcare reforms that would legitimately allow Americans to buy cheaper Canadian drugs. He opposes President Barack Obama's health reform law. He voted against Patient Protection and the Affordable Care Act in December 2009, and he voted against the Health and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.

In late February 2010, Corker became the sole senator to retire Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky in a 30-day extension filibustering of the expired unemployment and COBRA benefits.

In the midst of Republican efforts to lift the ACA after Trump's election, Corker said in July 2017 he would support a revocation bill in the Senate even if it did not include a replacement effort.

Environment

While Corker has expressed skepticism about the extent to which humans contribute to global warming, by 2015 he supports a resolution expressing the Senate's sense that climate change is real and that humans contribute to it. He prefers to tax carbon. Corker opposed John McCain's campaign proposal in 2008 to suspend the 18-cent-per-gallon federal gas tax, calling it "pandering extraordinaire".

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Controversy

Sale of protected wetlands

In 2003, Osborne Enterprises, an affiliate of the Corker Group real estate company, sold a protected wetland near Chickamauga Creek South in Chattanooga to Wal-Mart for $ 4.6 million. In July 2003, environmental educator Sandy Kurtz filed a restraining order to stop Wal-Mart's construction. After being briefly enforced, the lawsuit was dismissed on 15 July 2003. The Wal-Mart opened in May 2004.

Prosecutor Joe Prochaska, who represents Kurtz, served from 1992 to 1997 as a member of Davidson's Democratic executive committee. Prochaska accused Corker of selling the land shortly after approval of the construction was approved. However, public records indicate that the land was approved for development by the city before Corker became mayor in April 2001. As part of the development plan, the Corps of Engineers approved the completion of 2.5 hectares of wetlands, to expand access. road, in exchange for the creation of an additional 11 hectares of new wetlands in nearby areas. Public records do not show Corker's involvement in the approval process.

In 2006, during the United States Senate campaign against Democrat Harold Ford Jr., the second lawsuit filed by Kurtz, again represented by Prochaska, and the Tennessee Environmental Council. The lawsuit alleges Wal-Mart is violating adjacent protected areas that are also held by Corker's company. The lawsuit alleges that Corker did not fully express his interest in the property where Wal-Mart was built or in adjacent natural areas at the time the deal was made. The Corker Campaign denied that an article published on March 5, 2003 at Chattanooga Times Free Press publicly identified the ownership of Corker on land, through Osborne Enterprises, and that as mayor, a blind faith forbade Corker from getting involved in such matters affecting his business.

On October 13, 2006, the lawyer involved in the case announced a settlement agreement. The details of the settlement are not announced, but the court records show that part of the settlement involves a 45-day option for the Tennessee Environmental Council to purchase more than 13 acres (53,000 m ² ) land in dispute that the Council hopes to dedicate to public use.

Blind faith

Shortly after taking office as mayor, Corker volunteered to place Hamilton County real estate company and his business into a blind faith to avoid "even the perception of any conflict". Corker states that the visibility of his property and public knowledge of his ownership in it serves as another inspection of his actions as mayor.

On October 11, 2006, The Commercial Appeal reported that blind faith that Corker arranged to run his business to avoid a conflict of interest when he mayor "may not be all blind". According to the e-mails found by Appeal (some of them previously considered missing):

Corker often met with employees from his private company while the mayor from 2001 to 2005, and he shared business tips with others. Corker also got help to organize the 2001 mayoral campaign from City Hall, where a government secretary submitted a voter list and arranged a meeting for a millionaire commercial real estate developer.

E-mails indicate that Corker often meets with officials from his private company, the Corker Group, which is part of blind trust, while he is the mayor. When asked about this e-mail by Appeal , Corker said that he thought blind faith had "worked so well" and that he had sold most of his business ownership so he could avoid a conflict of interest in the Senate.

Volkswagen

In 2014, Corker, a longtime union opponent in Tennessee, is trying to influence the election of blue-collar workers at the Volkswagen Chattanooga plant whether to allow the United Auto Workers to represent them.

On the first day of the three-day election, Corker said he "had a conversation" and "based on them believing that if workers voted against the UAW, Volkswagen will announce in the coming weeks that it will produce its mid-new SUV size here in Chattanooga. "Corker's public statements contradict statements by Volkswagen officials ahead of the election that the vote results will not affect the determination of whether the SUV will be made in Chattanooga or in Puebla, Mexico. National Labor Relations Council expert Kenneth G. Dau-Schmidt of Indiana University Bloomington said Corker's remarks were "shocking" and an attempt to intimidate workers against opposing UAW representations. The UAW has been dealt a "stinging defeat" after the majority of employees at the Volkswagen plant voted against joining the union.

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Electoral history

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References

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Further reading

• Calabresi, Massimo (April 20, 2015). By reporting by Alex Altman, Alex Rogers and Zeke J. Miller. "The tireless makers of the Tennessee deal". Political. Time (South Pacific ed.). 185 (14): 10-14.

src: www.conservativereview.com

External links

• Senator Bob Corker is the official US Senate site
• Bob Corker for the Senate
• Bob Corker on Curlie (based on DMOZ)
• Appearance in C-SPAN

Source of the article : Wikipedia