From around the world they came to pay tribute to the former Prime Minister of Great Britain, Baroness Margaret Thatcher. They were slow to seat themselves as they shared their common reverence for two now departed among them: Lady Thatcher and President Reagan.

It was my distinct honor to be among them and offer my respects to a woman who became a transformational world leader.

She grew up as the grocer’s daughter and lost two races before her constituency chose her to represent them in the House of Commons.

Her rise to Prime Minister was not without it’s hardships, but it was done with great grace. In fact, grace might be the watchword of her life’s journey.

She led, she fought, she nurtured, and she inspired all with that stern womanly grace now synonymous with “the Iron Lady.”

Baroness Thatcher is for me one of those great conservative leaders. She, along with President Reagan, believed and acted on the principle that one who agreed with 80% of your fight was your ally, not your enemy.

She held true to her conservative principles in the face of overwhelming public opinion. Her determination in freedom and freedom’s cause truly changed the world. She was a noble leader for noble causes.

As heads of state began to arrive, I wondered what Lady Thatcher would have thought of it all. The service was reverent and beautifully delivered, as she would have wanted.

Perhaps the most poignant moment came as Queen Elizabeth II walked up the steps and to her seat without assistance.

It was one strong woman saluting another.

It was dignity personified.

As the final blessing was pronounced, the sun broke through the clouds, brightening the glass windows, and bathing the cathedral in light.

It was a homecoming for a daughter of faith.

As I head back home, I know I’ll keep her legacy close as we continue the conservative fight she championed.

in support of

Marsha PAC

  Congressman Marsha Blackburn’s Leadership Fund

Saturday, May 4, 2013

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9160 Hester Beasley Road

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Take for instance the early morning of Jan. 28, when the Republican congressman — her preferred title, as opposed to congresswoman — from Tennessee’s 7th District, which includes suburbs of Nashville and Memphis, joined MSNBC’s Morning Joe to discuss the budget, the debt and the role of women in business.

Just hours before sequestration, as federal agencies were preparing to cut billions of waste, fraud and abuse from their budgets, the TSA proved once again that it is not only tone-deaf, but in need of immediate reform, announcing a $50 million contract to procure new uniforms for its 50,000 officers. One of my greatest concerns with this announcement is that the organization is continuing to spend tens of millions of dollars on federal law-enforcement uniforms for federal employees who do not have any federal law enforcement training. If there is a clearer example of waste, fraud or abuse, I don’t know what it is.

When Congress created the TSA through the Aviation and Transportation Security Act in 2001, airport screening personnel were designated as federal security screeners. They wore white shirts with appropriate TSA patches and black pants to properly reflect their level of training, which is simply to screen passengers and bags at airport terminals.

In 2008, however, because of low morale within the workforce, the agency administratively reclassified federal security screeners as Transportation Security Officers and Behavior Detection Officers. In addition to new titles, the officers were given federal law enforcement badges and uniforms.

Time magazine contributor Amanda Ripley succinctly summed up the transition in a 2008 article stating that the TSA was “outfitting frontline employees with new gold badges and royal-blue shirts as part of a broader effort to improve their image and make people, to put it bluntly, hate them less.”

Unfortunately, like most image makeovers, the title and uniform upgrades were purely cosmetic, as TSA does not provide the officers with any federal law-enforcement training. Despite their law-enforcement appearance, they are still provided the same basic level of training that they received as federal security screeners.

Since the makeover, the agency has further complicated the problem by allowing its officers to unionize, which led to the largest collective-bargaining agreement since World War II. As part of the union-led agreement, the Transportation Security Officers’ uniform allowance nearly doubled to $446 per year, which is more than the basic uniform allowance for service members in the Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marines and Navy.

To further put that into perspective, a Marine lieutenant who has earned a commission, passed an intense, six-month basic training program and has fought in combat only receives a one-time uniform allowance of $400. That’s a small token of appreciation compared to the annual $446 allowance that’s afforded to TSA officers without any law-enforcement training.

Five years later, workforce morale remains low and uniform costs are continuing to increase at a staggering rate. In 2008, the initial cost to transition the organization’s 43,000 frontline employees over to their new uniforms was $12 million. However, TSA’s recent $50 million uniform agreement for its 50,000 Transportation Security Officers is four times the initial cost, despite the fact that their employees already have uniforms from previous years.

In its uniform contract award announcement, the agency stated that it will accept additional proposals within 30 days after publishing the announcement. Here is my proposal for Secretary Janet A. Napolitano: Take the $50 million that you were going to spend on providing non-federal law-enforcement employees with law-enforcement uniforms and use it to return TSA officers to their original congressionally approved uniforms and titles as federal security screeners.

If the TSA is serious about protecting U.S. citizens, it should immediately put an end to this federally funded charade. Lives are precious, and taxpayer funds are too sacred to waste on advertising available officer positions on pizza boxes and at discount gas stations without providing proper background checks. It’s no wonder there has been a litany of TSA employees abusing their officer positions, including child pornography, theft, prostitution rings, kidnappings and sexual assault.

To return Transportation Security Administration officers to their original title and uniforms, I plan to reintroduce my bill, the Stop TSA’s Reach in Policy Act later this week. This bill will overturn TSA’s administrative reclassification by returning its officers to their original congressionally approved uniforms and titles as federal security screeners. With citizens’ help, we can end this abuse.

Here in Tennessee, we don’t just talk the talk; we walk the walk. When you first elected me in 2002, I promised to fight for our shared conservative values and that’s exactly what I’ve done. Unfortunately my steadfast defense of our shared values makes me a top target for defeat in 2014. So if you, too, are proud to be conservative, please stand with me to begin building our arsenal for the next election.

Will you chip in $5, $10, $25 or any amount today?

As long as Barack Obama is in the White House, we’ll have our work cut out for us. Trust me when I tell you he believes his reelection gives him a mandate to force his socialist agenda upon us. Over the next four years Obama intends to take away our guns, raise our taxes to record high rates to pay for his social experiments, and gut our military with budget cuts that will jeopardize American security.

James, it’s more important than ever before to stand up for our conservative values. That’s why I’m asking you to chip in what you can to ensure I am able to continue fighting for our shared values in Congress.

Please follow this link to chip in $5, $10, $25 or more today.

Thank you in advance for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Marsha Blackburn
Member, United States House of Representatives

P.S. I’m proud to be named the most conservative woman in the U.S. House of Representatives, especially during a time when our shared values are under endless attack from the White House and liberals in Congress. It’s never too early to start thinking about 2014 when everything we believe in is on the line. So will you renew your support for our conservative values by chipping in $5, $10, $25 or more to my reelection campaign today? Thanks–Marsha

What could you possibly have been thinking? The ad you have launched featuring a young actress equating voting for you to a sexual act is offensive to me, to millions of women and to the stature of the office you hold. As a father of two beautiful girls, how could you possibly have allowed this to be aired? Did you approve this? Did someone on your campaign staff actually think this was a good idea? It is offensive, repulsive and should be removed immediately. It is beneath the dignity of the office you hold. Mr. President, are you and your Democrat colleagues so focused on sex and reproductive rights that you really think that is the single motivator for women? Are you not aware that women in 2012 are focused on jobs, the economy, economic opportunity? Women are running companies, serving as the human resource director of companies and helping employees solve problems. Women are doctors, lawyers, teachers, sales managers, marketers. They handle problems in the workplace by day and manage their families by night. They are concerned about the healthcare of their families and are the drivers in healthcare decisions, making 85% of all healthcare decisions. Many women are heads of households. Many are the primary wage earners for their families.

Do you know that many women are voting this year because they have $16T reasons to go to the polls? Debt and out of control spending are at the top of their list. They are concerned that you don’t want to pass a budget. They are concerned that the future for their children is being capped and traded to the countries that own our debt. How can you possibly look these moms in the eye when you have equated their vote to ‘the first time’? Are you really serious?

I find it ironic that you have time to approve such a message but you don’t have time to find out what happened in Benghazi . By the way, we are still waiting to hear directly from you when you were told of the attacks. Did you know before you put your head on the pillow that evening that you had an Ambassador and staff that were in danger? Did you know it was a terrorist attack? When you hob-nobbed in Las Vegas, did you know it was not a video? Was getting out on the campaign trail, seeing your Hollywood friends and raising campaign cash more important that fighting terrorism and defending those who are giving their lives to defend us?

Serving as President of the United States is a privilege that is afforded to few in our country. When you became the 44th President, you accepted the responsibilities of preserving this nation and protecting us from foes, foreign and domestic. Sir, you need to reign in the inappropriate behavior, retract your Rolling Stone comments and get this First Time ad off the air. You should be conducting yourself like the American people expect their President to conduct himself.

Marsha Blackburn

Member of Congress

P.S. I can guarantee that I am working my hardest and doing my best to build a victory for my side of the aisle and my candidate, Governor Mitt Romney. And, yes, on November 6, I fully believe that you will find that “we the people” have decided to “be the people.” We are building this victory and will look forward to looking back at this election victory and saying, “Yes, we did build that! We have built this country and it is here to stay!”

And several lawmakers — including Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Brentwood — said they weren’t buying Energy Department assurances that the management and oversight changes needed to prevent a future breach were being put in place.

The comments came as the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing on the July 28 pre-dawn intrusion into the plant by an elderly nun, a house painter and a gardener.

The three protesters sat in the audience in the congressional hearing room as subcommittee members took testimony and grilled department officials about the lapses in maintenance and surveillance procedures that allowed them to enter the Y-12 National Security Complex and spray paint peace messages on the side of a warehouse full of bomb-grade uranium.

Blackburn wanted to know why classified government reports in 2010 that detailed rampant Y-12 security problems, including equipment failures and poorly trained personnel, did not spur corrective actions.

The Washington Post first disclosed the existence of the reports.

Energy Department officials struggled with her questions, some suggesting ultimate responsibility lay with the site manager. The plant is operated by Babcock and Wilcox, a nuclear energy contractor. Others said they would have to go into executive session to discuss those reports because they are classified.

Then, Daniel B. Poneman, deputy secretary of energy, said some security improvements were made, but “the system was not fixed to the point where they were sustained.”

Blackburn was not pleased.

“The ineptness and negligence is mind-boggling as we look at this,” she said, adding, “This is classic bureaucratic passing the buck . . . You fixed them after you were embarrassed and you fixed them two years too late.”

After the hearing, Blackburn said the key question remains. “Who is ultimately responsible? I didn’t get an answer,” she said.
When asked if she would point to Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, Blackburn said, “I would think the secretary of energy would have some responsibility.”

Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., the subcommittee chairman, said afterward he was disappointed in the testimony as well.
“It’s a classic government operation. No one fesses up and nothing gets fixed,” he said.

Earlier in the hearing, Gregory H. Friedman, the Energy Department’s inspector general, said his post-July 28 investigation revealed “troubling breakdowns” on issues such as responding to alarms, maintaining critical security equipment, following proper security protocols and communications.

That some of the equipment, including cameras monitoring the grounds, had been inoperable for months “was widespread knowledge,” Friedman said.

He also said some of the sensors had histories of false alarms triggered by nearby animals. As a result, he said, guards had become complacent about sensor readings.

Such conditions were characteristic of the management and oversight failures on the part of both federal officials and Wackenhut Services Inc., the company charged with providing security.

The plant manager retired 12 days after the incident.

“These issues directly contributed to an atmosphere in which trespassers could gain access to the protected security area directly adjacent to one of the nation’s most critically important and highly secured weapons facilities,” Friedman said.
Some questioned the use of contractors like Wackenhut altogether. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., said she thought making the guards federal employees would inspire them to show more pride on the job. She also brought up a track record of complaints against Wackenhut, including some from other governments. The firm most recently was criticized for not providing enough security personnel for the Olympics in London.

Poneman said the department has issued a show-cause order against Babcock and Wilcox Co., requiring it to prove why its contract should not be terminated.

“Lapses in security will not be tolerated and we will leave no stone unturned,” he said.

The company said Wednesday it has responded to the show-cause order but that its response is not public.

“As a result, a series of extent-of-condition reviews are ongoing throughout Y-12. Specific to our show cause response, we believe we have demonstrated a compelling case for NNSA (National Nuclear Security Administration) to continue our contract,” Chuck Spencer, president and general manager of the Babcock Wilcox Y-12 division, said in a statement.

Additional Facts

Department of Energy actions since protestors broke into Y-12 nuclear weapons complex near Oak Ridge, Tenn. this summer:

• Brought head of security from the department’s Pantex weapons plant outside of Amarillo, Texas to Oak Ridge to reform procedures.

• Reassigned a top energy department official in the area of nuclear security.

• Removed six contractor executives, including the president and acting president of Wackenhut’s Oak Ridge operation.

• Repaired and tested cameras.

• Provided additional training for entire Y-12 workforce.

• Reduced number of false and nuisance alarms.

“I’m honored to address the Party’s delegates and present the Party’s Platform. The Committee work has been a great exercise in grassroots democracy as we gathered input from across the country, then came together to discuss, nominate, and vote on the direction the Great Opportunity Party will take in the next four years. This is a Platform we all can be proud of as we work to restore faith, freedom, hope, and opportunity.”