| |
Yesterday Tennessee Made History
|
|
| |
It was an exciting day to be at Legislative Plaza and see history being made yesterday. The first official meeting of the Joint Legislative Advisory Committee was convened. This creation of and mission of this committee grew out of the increasing concern of both legislators and grassroots activists about the ongoing encroachment of the federal government on the constitutional rights of the sovereign states.
Members of the committee are: Rep. Judd Matheny, Chairman, Rep. John Ragan, Rep. Joe Carr, Rep. Josh Evans, Rep. Mike Turner, Sen. Mike Bell
Sen. Janice Bowling, Sen. Ferrell Haile, Sen. Thelma Harper, Sen. Jim Summerville. All members were present except Sen. Harper.
There was enough interest in this important issue that other legislators attended: Rep. Jeremy Faison, Rep. G.A. Hardaway, Rep. David Alexander, Rep. Terri Lynn Weaver, Rep. Shelia Butt, Sen. Mark Green, M.D., Sen. Frank Niceley.
It was that concern that drove the motive for taking up the first issue of this committee: The Federal Cost Shifting of the Refugee Resettlement program.
As one article stated: "A newly-created legislative committee met for the first time Wednesday to investigate the indirect fiscal impact of refugee resettlements. They were given an unsatisfying answer: no one is keeping track."
That is the problem. Each year, lawmakers are responsible for passing a budget and certainly have a fiduciary responsibility to the taxpayer to know where these dollars are going. Except....in this case...they don't!!!
Chairman Judd Matheny CLEARLY laid out the parameters of the discussion: It was ONLY about the COST SHIFTING to the states. It was NOT about the value of the refugee resettlement program, it was NOT about what the refugees bring to this state, it was NOT about the work that the providers or participants do.
It is not just Tennessee lawmakers that have these concerns. Two years ago, the National Governors Association stated: "The federal government's unwillingness to provide adequate funding for costs attributable to migration and resettlement services has resulted in a dramatic shift of program costs from the federal government to state and local taxpayers."
The first speaker, Kasar Abdulla, started telling her personal story, which, of course, was compelling. However, as was stated earlier, the value of the program was NOT the subject of the hearing. Chairman Matheny asked her a couple of time to please stick to the topic, but she did not and, in fact, clearly was not prepared to do that. So the Chairman called for the next speaker, Holly Johnson, State Refugee Coordinator, Tennessee Office for Refugees, Catholic Charities of TN, Inc. After Miss Johnson spoke, Don Barnett and Joanne Bregman, Esq. addressed the committee. Bregman's testimony was incredible as she revealed the cold, hard facts and figures. The last speaker Stephen Fotopulos, with the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition was totally out of line with his testimony.
Just as a snapshot, Sen. Mark Green, M.D., observed that using the two numbers provided in the testimonies, the refugee program would be costing TennCare between $7.2million and $12.1million over a four year period. This is the kind of information that is desperately needed for budget purposes and that we have not been able to get hard figures on. The committee passed a motion to ask the Fiscal Review Committee
to do a comprehensive study of all aspects of this program with emphasis on any cost shifting, expenses incurred, what enabling legislation they are acting under, including a proportionality of refugees coming to TN versus other states to present at the November 12 meeting.
You will want to watch the entire hearing--just click on the graphicbelow.
 |
|
|
Top
|
| |
TN committee discusses refugee costs to taxpayers
|
|
| |
A hearing Wednesday at the state Capitol was jam-packed with people on both sides of an emotional political issue: refugee resettlement and what it costs taxpayers.
Last year, Tennessee accepted just over 1,200 refugees from all over the world, according to government statistics. Now, a new legislative subcommittee is asking if the federal government should be shifting that cost to Tennessee taxpayers.
"It raises the issue whether the state or Congress should pay the costs of the federal program," said Joanne Bregman, with the group Eagle Forum.
Bregman wants to know the hidden costs to Tennessee when refugees get food stamps, welfare, public housing and TennCare medical benefits for the first few months while they're here.
Nobody knows the exact figure, but the federal government does send the state about $9 million to support new refugees through Catholic Charities.
The Eagle Forum asked its members to pack the committee room Wednesday to support asking the state to calculate the cost of refugee resettlement.
"We would also like people who immigrate to be people that will be supportive and helpful to the American way - traditional American values, if you will," said Jerry Anderson, of Winchester. |
|
|
Top
|
| |
How Much Does It Cost Tennessee To Be Refugee-Friendly? Lawmakers Want To Know
|
|
| |
Some 1,500 refugees are resettled in Tennessee each year, and now state lawmakers want to know how much they cost.
The program to relocate persecuted people or those from war-torn nations is federally-funded, but Republicans are concerned refugees end up on TennCare or in special English classes, which are partially paid for by the state.
(See a state-by-state breakdown. Tennessee took 1,236 in 2012. Wyoming had 0.)
A newly-created legislative committee met for the first time Wednesday to investigate the indirect fiscal impact of refugee resettlements. They were given an unsatisfying answer: no one is keeping track.
In Tennessee, gatekeeping duties were outsourced to Catholic Charities in 2008 as a way to save money. Activist Don Barnett of Brentwood says the agency naturally wants to relocate more refugees.
“There is an obvious conflict of interest in Tennessee, which has meant less of a voice for Tennesseans in a process that directly affects them,” Barnett told state lawmakers Wednesday.
What Are We Really Talking About?
But cutting off resettlements wouldn’t necessarily save much money, argues Catholic Charities state director Holly Johnson. And she points to the potential lost benefits of refugees who start businesses. She suggests the attention to money may be a red herring.
“I feel like there’s something else going on that I’m not aware of,” she said after the hearing.
Stephen Fotopulos of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Committee was gaveled down for being out of order when he suggested the interest in resettlement costs was because many of the refugees come from Muslim nations in the Middle East and Africa.
The chairman of the new “Joint Government Operations Legislative Advisory Committee” is Judd Matheny (R-Tullahoma). He tried to keep the conversation focused on the fiscal impact of resettlement, but he has previously sponsored legislation aimed at Muslims, such as a bill to outlaw Islamic code. |
|
|
Top
|
| |
GOP lawmakers question cost of refugee resettlement in Tennessee
|
|
| |
 Republican lawmakers are raising concerns about the cost of letting foreign-born refugees resettle here, an exercise that has immigrant advocates questioning their motives.
The Tennessee General Assembly’s newly created Joint Government Operations Legislative Advisory Committee agreed on Wednesday to begin a comprehensive fiscal study of the state’s participation in the federal Refugee Resettlement Program.
The program, in which Tennessee and 48other states are partners, provides refugees new to the United States a range of placement, health and employment services. Its budget for Tennessee, $8.9 million last year, comes solely from the federal government.
But Tennessee Republicans are pointing to other, indirect state taxpayer costs associated with the arrival of refugees: their participation in TennCare, languages services in public schools and public housing.
Sen. Mark Green, R-Clarksville, called the issue a matter of reviewing a program that allows refugees to pursue the American Dream in Tennessee versus carrying out the state’s fiduciary responsibility.
A discussion on these costs Wednesday, held before a packed committee room of immigrant advocates and members of the conservative Tennessee Eagle Forum, came after legislation on this topic stalled last session.
That bill, sponsored by Republicans Sen. Bill Ketron and Rep. Rick Womick, would have required the state’s refugee resettlement agencies to “pay the state certain costs incurred by the state from resettlement activities.”
Since 2008, when then-Gov. Phil Bredesen opted to outsource oversight, the nonprofit Catholic Charities has managed immigration services for Tennessee.
On Wednesday, state Rep. John Ragan, R-Oak Ridge, asked specifically about Wyoming, the one state that doesn’t take part in the program. “If the General Assembly voted to refuse to accept any more refugees, would that put us in the same category as Wyoming?” he asked.
Holly Johnson, Catholic Charities’ state coordinator for the Tennessee Office of Refugees, responded that she believed it would.
|
|
|
Top
|
| |
The OTHER Big News
|
|
| |
 The OTHER business item on the agenda was to announce the plan to pursue just one more - FIRST IN THE NATION event. A bilateral joint session in January between the 132 state lawmakers and the Tennessee Congressional delegation - our two US Senators and nine Congressmen. Chairman Matheny noted the continuing disconnect between the federal government and state government stating that this time would be used to address the issues of paramount importance to Tennesseans. Chairman Matheny reviewed the importance of proper communication about the issues that the federal government is conducting and how those impact the lives of Tennesseans for the next legislative session. The goal of this joint session would be that when the federal delegation returns to Washington they would understand what they need to do to enable us to be the best we can be here in Tennessee. |
|
|
Top
|
NOTE: If someone forwarded this email to you and you would like to receive more like this, click HERE to Register. For more information about Tennessee Eagle Forum, go HERE.
|
Forward this email to a friend
| |
|
|
Historic Committee Meeting
Thank you to all who attended. The filled hearing room and overflow clearly demonstrated both the value of this committee and the validity of this issue. The next meeting of this committee is November 12. Put that on our calendar.
|
|
| |
|
|
OUCH!
The AFL-CIO will no longer be giving money to the Tennessee Democratic Party or its affiliates, reports WPLN.
Delegates of the state’s umbrella group for labor unions voted this week to stop contributing to partisan groups and redirect the money to individual candidates, even Republicans.
“I’m not saying that we’re going to go out there and start throwing support to Republicans,” says Tennessee AFL-CIO president Gary Moore. But the message is very clear. We’re going to support candidates who support the working men and women of this state and understand what it is to struggle.”
The AFL-CIO hasn’t been particularly happy with Democrats anyway. Several have voted against union positions on issues like workers comp and prevailing wages.
But Moore says the shift away from Democrats is also a recognition that the GOP is in control of the Tennessee legislature.
Nationally, labor leaders have been trying to build bridges with Republicans on issues such as immigration and energy policy.
“We have to be a group that doesn’t shy away because a person is a Republican,” says Terry O’Sullivan, president of the Laborers’ International Union of North America.
O’Sullivan addressed AFL-CIO members gathered in Nashville Tuesday on the need to be more open to reaching across the aisle. He acknowledged the difficulty given how unions are demonized in states like Tennessee.
Source here.
|
|
|
