Senate poll: Lamar Alexander leading Gordon Ball
Lamar Alexander, onetime pitchman for national education standards, says DC should not dictate Common Core to states
U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander launched election television ad, directly attacking Gordon Ball
Opinion:
Re-elect Haslam, Alexander
Age: 74
Occupation: U.S. senator, previously governor of Tennessee, U.S. secretary of education, University of Tennessee president, college professor, attorney and businessman
Residence: Maryville
Family: Married, four children, six grandchildren
Education: Maryville High School; Vanderbilt University, B.A.; New York
University School of Law, J.D.
Previous Public Office Experience: Previously governor of Tennessee, U.S. secretary of education, University of Tennessee president
Church or Civic Involvement: Presbyterian Elder
Achievements: As a result of legislation I added to the Water Resources Reform and Development Act, Chickamauga Lock could be completed as much as six years earlier – helping to keep commerce moving and create jobs all throughout East Tennessee.
What is the biggest challenge facing the office you are seeking, and how would you address it?
Our greatest challenge is raising family incomes. It is too hard to find a job today because it has become too hard to create new jobs. The main reason for this is that the federal government has imposed so many costs and regulations on job creators – from Obamacare to new taxes. We need to liberate our free enterprise system from many of these rules and regulations. That is the best way to get our economy moving again and to raise family incomes.
To repair the damage Obamacare has done, we should replace it with step-by-step reforms that increase freedom and choice and reduce the cost of health insurance. This will not only lower health care costs, it will make it easier for Americans to find a good job since job creators will find it less expensive to create new jobs.
Why should voters choose you?
My goal is to transfer to Washington, D.C. the low-tax, balanced budget and job growth policies that I helped put in place as governor of Tennessee.