Lamar Alexander

Senate Labor Committee Approves Five NLRB Nominees; Old Issues Remain

NLRB headquartersThe National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has been nonfunctional since January. But even if President Obama's current slate of nominees are approved by the Senate, the issues surrounding its limbo are going to be around for a while, despite the Senate Labor Committee's approval of all five nominations on May 22. Back in  February, Obama re-nominated two members, Sharon Block and Richard Griffin, both of whose recess tenure had been declared unconstitutional by an appeals court weeks earlier. In April, the president named three more persons to round out the five-member board - Harry I. Johnson III, Philip Miscimarra and Mark Pearce.

Taxpayers Fund Impractical Cracker Barrel EV Recharging Scheme

CrackerBarrelIf you were going to run a pilot project that deploys charging stations in a network to enhance the use of electric vehicles, what kind of establishments would you locate them at? Whose customers might be most interested in that amenity?

Certainly Starbucks comes to mind, as might sustainability-crazy Walmart – but how about Cracker Barrel?

NLRB's Boeing Decision Sparks Senate Response

Boeing DreamlinerThe decision last month by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to side with a union trying to block Boeing Co. from operating in South Carolina has entered a new stage: the U.S. Senate. And the implications extend far beyond South Carolina. Last week, on May 12, Senators Jim DeMint, R-S.C., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., introduced a bill, the Job Protection Act (S. 964), to bar the board from overriding an employer's decision to site a facility in a particular state. The measure, which has at least 34 co-sponsors, is a rebuke to NLRB Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon's complaint against Boeing on April 20 that the company had acted unfairly against the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) in opening a facility near Charleston, S.C. to build its planned "787 Dreamliner" jet.

Obama Takeover of Higher Ed Financing Could Bust Taxpayers

America's colleges and universities might not qualify as bailout material, but the nation should get ready for what amounts to massive federal government intrusion into higher education financing. Legislation signed March 30 by President Barack Obama practically seals the deal. And despite the administration's claims to the contrary, taxpayers may find the transition exceedingly expensive. The measure, tacked onto the health care overhaul, requires that campuses using the prevailing system - federally-guaranteed private-sector lending - must move to federal direct lending. The U.S. Department of Education would serve as loan originator, though with a likelihood of contracting with banks to perform servicing.

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